Get ready for Fox to screw up yet another British show … and since it is also sci-fi, they have the potential of doubly screwing it up.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has bought the rights to the Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood.  For those unfamiliar with the series, it follows a group of humans who handle alien incursions on Earth: sometimes they just need to help the aliens, sometimes they have to fight them, it varies from week to week.

Created by Russell Davies, the man responsible for the most recent Doctor Who reboot, the series has now been optioned by the Fox network in conjunction with BBC Worldwide.  Mr. Davies has been tapped to write the script for the pilot episode, and producers Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter who worked on the British version are also set to be involved.  The most intriguing piece of the puzzle is the possibility that John Barrowman, who plays team leader Capt. Jack Harkness, could possibly be involved also.

While there are a lot of promising aspects to this announcement … it’s Fox.  Fox has a track record of messing up British imports (where’s that Absolutely Fabulous remake they were so happy about?), but they have an even longer track record of messing up sci-fi shows.  Firefly?  Dollhouse? The list is nearly endless.  If this show comes together, they’ll stick it in the Friday night wasteland and we’ll get a couple of episodes before they give it the kiss off like they always seem to do.

How about you just air the British episodes and leave it alone?  I know, such a radical concept on my part!