Remember Torchwood? A Doctor Who TV spin-off for grown-ups – dark, but often fun, and containing those post-9pm ‘adult themes’.

Torchwood was a specialist government unit of attractive people, led by a Scot with an American accent (or is John Barrowman an American with a Scottish accent?), dealing with various alien creatures on the streets of a Welsh city.

I loved Torchwood, so was delighted to come across Cops and Monsters – a series about a specialist government unit of attractive people, led by a Scot with an American accent (definitely that way around this time), dealing with werewolves, vampires, and zombies (and humans) on the streets of a Scottish city.

From what I’ve seen of the web-based film series, Cops and Monsters looks dark and fun, too – though it’s all done on a fraction of the budget which BBC and CBC put up for the Cardiff underground team in Torchwood.

A talented crew has already completed two episodes as well as trailers and promotional clips, and – despite the small budget – the cast is impressive. As Texas-born Eve Mitchell, founder of PITS (Paranormal Investigation Team Scotland), Kirsty Strain has the kind of striking looks and presence  which John Barrowman brought to Torchwood, and there are familiar faces elsewhere too.

There’s Sarah Louise Madison (from the unforgettable Doctor Who episode, Weeping Angels) as a vampire, and Doctor Who‘s sweet young Amy Pond, Caitlin Blackwood as a werewolf. And look out for Billy Kirkwood, who combines humour and menace as a mysterious character called The Cult Of Many Faces.

All in all, it’s a great package – an interesting horror/scifi premise, set in a near-future Scotland, with a skilful crew, talented and appealling cast, and fun stories. Did I mention the budget? Well, you could help with that because the project is seeking funding through Kickstarter – you can get involved in the current (Sept/Oct 2015) crowdfunding round for as little as £5, to help make this great little project a reality.

I’m in. I hope you’ll join me.

If you like this sort of thing, you may also like these posts on Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein again, Dracula, and the Blood Beast Terror.