Katie McGrath

Following the immense success of Doctor Who in the BBC Saturday night schedules, it was only a matter of time before other shows jumped on the bandwagon and recaptured that elusive 'family' audience that hadn't been catered for since the early nineties. And to be honest, Baywatch over on ITV wasn't really family viewing. It was the televisual equivalent of the lingerie section of the Littlewoods catalogue. While a rebooted Robin Hood did well enough to survive three seasons, the true victor of the slot, aside from a certain Time Lord, has been Merlin, a show about the legend of King Arthur an the sorcerer Merlin during their early days, kind of like TH White by way of Smallville. It owes a huge debt to Doctor Who, even going so far as to offer thanks to Russell T Davies in the credits to the first episode and featuring Whoniverse starlet Eve Myles as the main villain in Episode 1. There has been, remarkably, no crossover in writers for the two shows, although Howard Overman, creator of that cult hit most certainly not for a family audience over on Channel 4, Misfits, has written some of the show's finest hours.

For me, the main draw of the show has to be the wonderful Katie McGrath, playing Morgana, destined to become evil but, when we first meet her in the series, is the ward of King Uther, and a sisterly presence in the life of Arthur, soon to be King of the Britons.

I have to be honest here, although I know Merlin to be a good show, I have only seen the first season. This is how I watch TV shows these days, in huge chunks either from Sky+ or on DVD/Blu-ray. At present, I'm having a huge fantasy binge (I blame becoming obsessed with Game Of Thrones) and as such I'm planning on catching up with Merlin (in addition to embarking upon a marathon rewatch - in strict order - of Xena and Hercules and reading a big pile of fantasy fiction - catching up on all those classics like the Shannara series and The Wheel Of Time) and as such, I look forward to much more Katie McGrath. I've always had a soft spot for a villainess...

Yes folks - we're back!

Gillian Anderson

When The X Files first started there were two leads. Over time this would grow into a small, if irregular ensemble. But right there at the start there was David Duchovny, star of, among other things The Red Shoe Diaries and actor in any number of mainstream Hollywood films and relative newcomer Gillian Anderson.

She wasn't the type of person that Fox expected in the role. They wanted someone more 'conventionally attractive'. Anderson, whose diminutive frame barely brings her up to Duchonvy's shoulders, with her clipped accent and bright red hair (actually dyed, Anderson is a natural blonde) didn't immediately sate the executives, but her obvious on-screen chemistry and undeniable talent quickly swung them round and by the third season, despite taking time out to have a baby, the duo of Mulder and Scully were bona fide icons, even having a number one hit single named after them by the Welsh band Catatonia.

But the good times were not to last. The fifth season of The X Files led into a feature movie which did not, as promised, open up the show to a whole new audience, being too reliant on continuity and lacking even basic explanations for who or what these characters were about. The following two seasons of the show, despite the move for the production team to LA (the main difference between LA and Vancouver is that LA locations tend towards deserts and beaches while Vancouver is mainly forests) grew distinctly lacklustre and the seventh season, once rumoured to be the last, ended with Duchovny's departure (he would return for several episodes the following season and for the series finale the following year) and towards the end of the series Anderson herself was easing her way out, Mulder and Scully being replaced by the much less iconic Doggett and Reyes (not that this was any fault of the actors; any mainstream cache the series once had had long since evaporated).

Since the end of The X Files, Gillian Anderson hasn't done an awful lot. She conspicuously hasn't returned to episodic TV as Duchovny did with Californication and has instead spent her time doing supporting roles and the occasional lead in films like How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, Straightheads and A Cock And Bull Story. It's not exactly the most traditional career trajectory, but presumably, having just had her third child, she's not exactly banging on people's doors for work.

For better or for worse though, she changed the face of science fiction television. Until then, although there had been obvious sex symbols in telefantasy (Wonder Woman, Deanna Troi) it was not until The X Files that the show itself became aware of the sex appeal of its leading lady, a trend which has continued to this day. FHM shoots have become the norm for sf babes and while most shows don't have the integrity to keep them as covered up as Carter and Co did on The X Files (you only have to witness the T&A evolution of T'Pol on Enterprise or Buffy's constant nakedness come season four of Buffy The Vampire Slayer). The only comparable character is Sam Carter on Stargate SG-1, a character so often undersexualised that when she appears in a low cut top the fact that she's an attractive woman becomes suddenly and obviously apparent because she spends so much of her time in a very masculine cut of uniform.

Karen Gillan

Our first Girl Friday is of course the lovely and wonderful actress Karen Gillan, whose character on Doctor Who, Amy Pond, and her misadventures with a crack in the time/space continuum give this blog its title.

Almost a newcomer when cast as Amy Pond in Doctor Who, she has only a handful of other credits to her name, but she's only 22 and she has a long and fruitful career in front of her.

And the fact that she wears outfits like this above have seen the show being accused by the tabloids as "too sexy" and while it's true she may be more overtly sexual than any previous companion since Russell T Davies' reboot, her outfits aren't any more outre than those sported by Louise Jameson as Leela or Jo Grant as played by Katy Manning.

All hail the Scottish Agenda, I say. Especially when she obviously likes a drink.