Buffy's Spike Carries a Torchwood

Lots of gay fans tuned into Buffy the Vampire Slayer every week to see James Marsters as Spike, the lovesick and sardonic bloodsucker with major attitude and awesome hair.

Now comes word that Marsters will be playing a decidedly pansexual character - Marsters describes him as a bit naughty and a bit psychopathic - on Torchwood, the BBC spin-off of Doctor Who created by Russell T. Davies (who also created the original Queer as Folk).

Starring gay actor John Barrowman, Torchwood is a queer-friendly science-fiction series featuring characters of seemingly every possible sexual stripe. (Plus, if you hadn't noticed, its title is an anagram of "Doctor Who.")

Marsters' episodes will premiere in the U.K. in 2008 and should make their way to the States via cable and DVD soon thereafter.