Released in 2006, Children of Men was a gritty, earthy spin on an apocalyptic sci-fi premise. In a near-future England ruled by an authoritarian regime, no woman has given birth in 20 years: the people alive are the last generation of mankind. When a pregnant illegal immigrant is discovered, a jaded former activist is forced to get her safely out of England, hopefully to reboot the species and, you know, save mankind.

Sure, some of the usual apoco-tastic cliches pop up, particularly in the ending, which I thought sold the rest of a great film short (the woman escapes on a ship called "Tomorrow" -- yikes). But it dealt with some provocative ideas, the cinematography was astonishing, the future-trash atmosphere was spot-on, and the acting was top flight, with Clive Owen as the lead, Michael Caine as his mentor, and Julianne Moore as the leader of the underground.

The film was one of my favorites of 2006, but when I heard that it would be coming to television, my reaction was mixed. Even the best intentions can screw up a good idea, and who's ever accused the major networks of harboring good intentions?

Besides, while Children of Men had significant critical success, it wasn't exactly a blockbuster. Apocalypto, You, Me and Dupree, and Santa Clause 3 all made more money that year. So the best possible news for fans is that it's not going to a major network, where shows have to garner huge audiences, and quickly, to survive. Children of Men is headed for the Sci Fi Channel. Hallelujah! Or at the very least, tentative Hallelujah.

The Sci Fi Channel got off to a bit of a rocky start, mostly showing reruns of series like Dark Shadows. But as the channel matured, it started broadcasting interesting imports and producing some original series. I wasn't a huge fan of early efforts like The Invisible Man and Stargate SG-1, but right when I had written the channel off it kicked off maybe the best show on TV, a dead serious interpretation of the campy '70s classic, Battlestar Galactica.

What's more, David Eick, the writer-producer behind Battlestar Galactica (awesome) and Bionic Woman (not so much) is working on the Children of Men pilot, and has said that it will explore the issues behind the film and the book it came from, like what values and responsibilities a society has when it may actually be the last in history. These are exactly the kinds of ideas that make Galactica so much more than an us-against-the-robots schlockfest.

So the Children of Men series starts out with a great premise, a well-drawn dystopian setting, a talented writer, and a TV home that lets shows come into their own. That doesn't necessarily spell success, but it sure helps.

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