(May 18 2006) - It’s the right time to launch "Torchwood," the spin-off of the successful U.K. series "Doctor Who," series creator Russell T. Davies told SciFi Wire.

"It all sort of gradually came together," Davies said in an interview.

"Torchwood" began production earlier this month.

"I actually vaguely pitched the idea for the program to Executive Producer Julie Gardner before ’Doctor Who,’ when we were working together on a production of ’Casanova.’ We both love science fiction, and we used to talk about shows like ’Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ and one of the great joys of working together was discovering that we both loved that sort of material. She said, ’Wouldn’t it be great to do that sort of thing in Britain?’ So I pitched the opening scene there and then in an e-mail, and she said it was marvelous. So after ’Doctor Who’ became a success, we began talking about it."

"Torchwood" stars Barrowman as Jack Harkness, a character introduced in the first season of "Doctor Who," as well as Eve Myles, Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori.

Davies offered praise for Barrowman. "We also had an enormous response to John Barrowman, who just became a star overnight in a supporting role," he said. "People just loved him, and he had been a star-in-waiting for many years, so we were lucky to have grabbed him at the right time."

The first season of "Doctor Who" can be seen on the SciFi Channel Friday nights at 9 ET. - Article by Scott Nance