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THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES |
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Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen Luke Smith - Thomas Knight Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony Rani - Anjli Mohindra 
OTHER SARAH JANE ADVENTURES SERIES Series 1 Series 2 Series 4 Series 5 DOCTOR WHO The Sarah Jane Smith Years The Tom Baker Years The Christopher Ecclestone Year The David Tennant Years Torchwood 
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Prisoner of the Judoon- Part 1 Originally transmitted October 15th 2009A spaceship falls out of the sky over London, so Sarah Jane and the gang head over to the site where the escape pod landed. There, they find a Judoon guard, injured and in pursuit of an alien planet destroyer, one who can inhabit the bodies of other lifeforms. Bodies like that of Sarah Jane Smith. It is becoming traditional to start of a new series of THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES with as story that features aliens from DOCTOR WHO. In this case it's the rhino-headed policemen of Smith and Jones. Unfortunately, these aren't one of the more believable races that the show has created and are humourless thugs to boot. The Judoon here is both humourless and unbelievable as the prosthetic head is clearly puppeteered and the mouth rarely matches the soundtrack. The veil creature, on the other hand, is much more interesting and fun, despite having a poorly CGI'd tongue no matter what body he is inhabiting. When he takes over Sarah Jane, it gives Elisabeth Sladen a chance to vamp it up as a thoroughly evil villain, something that she takes to with all too evident relish. The plot is sparse and quickly set up, not leaving a lot to be explained in the second half which, on this showing, will probably involve a lot of running around. It's still thoroughly entertaining for the younger audience though. Written by Phil FordDirected by Joss Agnew Top Prisoner of the Judoon- Part 2 Originally transmitted October 16th 2009The possessed Sarah Jane takes over the company manufacturing nanoforms and sets the microscopic robots to building him a new getaway spaceship. Luke, Rani and Clyde, however, are hot on the trail having talked Mr Smith the computer out of blowing them all sky high, but can they stop the Judoon from taking the alien before it parts with Sarah Jane and save the Earth? This episode is set entirely inside the factory complex and so there is lots of running around the corridors, comedy dodging of Rani's parents and the Judoon proving to be highly ineffective law enforcers allowing kids to lock them in vaults and being thwarted by pay and display rules. The real shock, though, is that evil Sarah Jane is so much fun that it's almost a disappointment when the slightly sanctimonious normal Sarah Jane reappears. It's also a bit Deus Ex Machina to have a genius child around who can do anything given a computer and a couple of minutes, but that's all quibbles in another highly entertaining SARAH JANE ADVENTURE. Written by Phil FordDirected by Joss Agnew Top The Mad Woman in the Attic- Part 1 Originally transmitted October 22nd 2009Rani is a bit annoyed when she feels sidelined by the gang as news comes in from their old friend Maria, so when an old friend contacts her about wierd happenings in an abandoned amusement park, she goes off to investigate on her own. There she finds a red-skinned alien that has turned other young people in zombies and who might be intent on turning her into an embittered old woman in the future. After an entertaining, but fairly cartoonish first story, THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES gets back to what it does best - bringing challenging and grown up stories to a younger audience. The framing device that uses Rani as the titular mad woman in the attic in the future is nicely shocking and sets up a sense of doom and foreboding that the rest of the episode can't quite capitalise. This is something of a surprise given the creepy possibilities of abandoned fairgrounds. What really works in this episode is the bantering relationship between the characters, most especially between Clyde and Sarah Jane. Daniel Anthony has become the lead of the young players, but then he does have the flashier role to play with. His character meshes nicely with Elisabeth Sladen's more relaxed Sarah Jane, a woman who has come to terms with her situation and her new friends and is enjoying life. It is nice to see a kids' show allowing such development of its major characters. And better still, the 'coming next' section shows the return of an old friend. Written by Joseph LidsterDirected by Alice Troughton Top The Mad Woman in the Attic- Part 2 Originally transmitted October 23rd 2009Sarah Jane finally catches up with Rani, who has made friends with Eve, a red-skinned alien with strong powers. When Rani tries a bit of reverse psychology, Eve takes her over as well, but the use of power is likely to destroy her. Sarah Jane turns to the thing in the mirror, the thing that might be both stronger than Eve and the saving of her. The conclusion of this story fails to capitalise on the first half due to, ironically, having too much plot. The framing device of the flashbacks from the older Rani, the 'darkness' that is within Sarah Jane, the looking at past and future, the revelations that the Doctor is coming, the ship under the sand. There's just not room enough for them all in the running time and so whole chunks get left out and bridged with a single line of expositionary dialogue. It's also over long before we get to the end, leading to a series of farewell speeches that end up with nobody saying goodbye. And, of course, there is that big reset button to ensure that Rani's future is an altogether more rosy one. Of course, now that we know that she has grandchildren we can be sure that she's never going to get killed off. And it's a huge welcome back to K9 whose job of guarding a black hole is over. Does this mean we can hope for him as a series regular? That would certainly please us. Written by Joseph LidsterDirected by Alice Troughton Top The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith- Part 1 Originally transmitted October 29th 2009Sarah Jane is lying to the gang about where she has been disappearing to and, suspecting alien interference, they follow her. Worse than alien interference, they find that she is on a date and within days the relationship has become serious to the point of a wedding being planned. Can all really be as it seems? After two entertaining, but less than stellar, stories the season kicks off here. Playing on children's fear of change and Sarah Jane's personal history, the story comes up with a scenario that allows for a script with much more subtlety about it and allows Elisabeth Sladen to prove that she can do more than just run around waving a sonic lipstick about. Her performance shows more vulnerability to the character than ever before and makes both Sarah Jane and the story more believable. It's also quite funny as the gang, and Rani's mother, react to the presence of a new man in Sarah Jane's life. Nigel Havers is a good choice for that that man and his easy banter with Luke is very natural. The constant bickering between computer Mr Smith and the newly-returned K-9 is also great fun. It's all going to go wrong, of course, and does so spectacularly as the Doctor appears just in time to see his companion whisked away by and old enemy. This is a perfect example of the show at the peak of its powers, showing many more adult orientated shows just how it should be done, and the second episode of this story is the very definition of unmissable. We'll just not mention the CGI slug creature. Written by Gareth RobertsDirected by Joss Agnew Top The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith- Part 2 Originally transmitted October 30th 2009The Trickster has trapped Sarah Jane and her fiance in a second of time and her friends in another second. The Doctor, who first took Sarah Jane travelling in time and space, tries to reach them both, but in the end it will take another to save them. Season One of the Sarah Jane Adventures and The Temptation of Sarah Jane was the highlight of Season 2 and both of those involvec the Trickster, so it should come as no surprise that the creature should crop up again in the best story of Season 3 to date. Of course, any appearance by David Tennant as the Doctor is going to be a treat (time on his tenure running out as it is), but he actually does little more than running around and waving his sonic screwdriver in the air. In the end, it falls to Clyde and Sarah Jane to drive the solution. That solution is one that has been used before in THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES and And there's another farewell for Sarah Jane and the Doctor, something that never fails to bring a lump to the throat of long-time viewers. Written by Gareth RobertsDirected by Joss Agnew Top The Eternity Trap- Part 1 Originally transmitted November 5th 2009Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani are invited to a large deserted house that is reputed to be home to a variety of ghosts, amongst them a powerful ancient sorceror, by the scientific team investigating it. Sarah Jane doesn't believe in ghosts, but soon the head researcher has disappeared and there are more ghostly goings on than they can stick a electromagnetic measuring device at. THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES goes gothic horror with this story that takes inspiration from the classic horror movie THE HAUNTING with its story of scientific researchers trying to locate the spirits inside a house and THE STONE TAPE, which even gets name-checked. THE HAUNTING takes creepy to whole new levels and whilst THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES is a family show being shown mid-afternoon and therefore can't go overboard on the fear factor it manages to have its own share of creeps along the way. This might be one to check before letting the very little ones watch it. There's no real plot to speak of. It's just a collection of creepy happenings that will eventually stitch together into some sort of story to be revealed in the second episode, but it is atmospheric in spades and takes the show in a direction that it hasn't gone before. Written by Phil FordDirected by Alice Troughton Top The Eternity Trap- Part 2 Originally transmitted November 6th 2009Erasmus Darkening s not the spirit that he appears to be, but rather an alien with malfunctioning equipment. Whilst Sarah Jane examines that equipment to find out how to defeat him, Clyde and Rani try to distract him, but fall foul of the beast with the glowing eyes. Once Darkening's origins are made clear, the gothic stylings of the episode are undermined, but the beast in the garden is kept wisely out if sight to provide some menace. The human aspect is also brought to the fore with Darkening's victims given some time to make an impact, but there isn't much explanation as to why one returns when all the rest are 'lost'. The scientific explanations are a bit muddled and the big finale falls a bit flat, but the overall effect remains very entertaining. Written by Phil FordDirected by Alice Troughton Top Mona Lisa's Revenge- Part 1 Originally transmitted November 12th 2009Clyde wins a national art competition which has as the prize the first viewing of the Mona Lisa in the UK. The Mona Lisa, however, has other ideas, stepping out of her canvas, getting a blaster gun from Clyde's painting and setting out in search of her mysterious brother. Anyone who gets in her way is likely to end up as pretty as a picture. The story here is as slight as its concept; what if the 'Mona Lisa came to life'? Well for one thing she wouldn't look anything like her painting, actress Suranne Jones having only the most passing resemblance to the Louvre's most famous exhibit. It's also a mystery as to why she sounds like she comes from two miles south of Bolton when she ought to sound sort of Italian. That aside, it's a bit of running around and not a lot else. The main thrust of the plot, it seems, is likely to exist in the second half. Written by Phil FordDirected by Joss Agnew Top Mona Lisa's Revenge- Part 2 Originally transmitted November 13th 2009Mona Lisa's 'brother' turns out to be a painting locked in the gallery's vaults that has the power to send anyone who looks at it mad. With Sarah Jane locked in a painting, it's up to the three kids and the sudden arrival of a friend to save the day, if they can. There is as much plot in this second episode as there was in the first, which is not a lot. There is a lot of running around and the appearance of a Highwayman whose shot with his self-reloading flintlocks is as lamentable as the plotting. The resolution relies so heavily on a 'deus ex machina' new arrival that it undermines everything that came before it (which wasn't exactly hard). There is no explanation as to how the Mona Lisa and her 'brother' can come alive beyond 'special paint from outer space' and no explanation as to why she is such a psycopath. Still, it's lively and exciting enough to keep the younger members of the audience entertained. Written by Phil FordDirected by Joss Agnew Top The Gift- Part 1 Originally transmitted November 19th 2009The Slitheen are back on Earth and they seemed completely prepared for Sarah Jane's interference. They are not prepared, however, for the Blathereen, another family from the same planet who offer Sarah Jane a plant that could make hunger a thing of the past and ask her to be their ambassador. The plant, though, has deadly spores and Luke is their first victim. There is a lot of talking in this episode, which deals mainly with the Blathereen's attempts to talk Sarah Jane into trusting them enough to take the plant they offer and be their ambassador. Considering how quickly the plant reproduces and starts taking over, however, you have to wonder why they didn't just plant a few dozen of the things and stay away from Sarah Jane altogether. The Slitheen have never been our favourite monsters from either SARAH JANE ADVENTURES or Directed by Alice Troughton Top The Gift- Part 2 Originally transmitted November 20th 2009The Blathereen's ragweed is taking over London and infecting more and more people with its sickness-inducing spores. Luke is sinking fast, so Sarah Jane sets off on a desperate mission to deal with the Blathereen face to face and alone whilst Rani and Clyde struggle in a school under siege from the plant. The influence of John Wyndham's That said, the fear that Sarah Jane has to face with the prospect of losing her son is well-played by Elisabeth Sladen and the Blathereen are far less the comedy aliens, the plants doing all of the threatening work. This is the last of the current season and we could have asked to go out on a better story, but the series as a whole has proved once again to be one of the most entertaining genres shows on TV. Written by Rupert LaightDirected by Alice Troughton Top |
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