SPOILER ALERT: Like Doctor Who, its spin-off - The Sarah Jane Adventures - arrives in the UK first, so these entries are based on access to internet episodes. If you wish to wait for a Canadian broadcast, then you should turn away and be VERY patient…
My reviews of The Sarah Jane Adventures won’t be as thorough as I’ve been with other series…
…simply because it’s (theoretically) a children’s show, on a different level to the other TV programs I review…even its parent series, Doctor Who. Therefore, you’ll get thoughts and impressions, but no ratings out of 10.
But make no mistake - it’s a show worth watching, especially if your in the mood for simpler, more straightforward fun. It’s like Doctor Who lite, squeezed into the old-fashioned 25-minute episode format. Concentrated bursts of fun and adventure, with flashes of emotion that take the series outside the realm of its fellow, child-friendly time slot companions.
Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Alice Troughton
It’s utterly sweet.
Revenge of the Slitheen sees The Sarah Jane Adventures roar into full-series format with a great deal of over-the-top campiness (the “catch the sonic lipstick” scene is a ridiculous hoot), lots of running and shouting, and some surprisingly poignant and tender moments. It’s clearly a kids’ show…yet there won’t be a single adult who doesn’t fall in love with what they’re watching.
The returning Doctor Who monsters - the Slitheen - are far more enjoyable than their cousins: they’re so delighted with their devious, moustache-twirling villainy that you can’t help but watch their antics with a big smile. If they were any more obvious, they would be wearing giant placards with the words “WE’RE BAD GUYS” plastered back-to-front. And if that wasn’t enough…we get EVIL KID SLITHEEN for good measure.
Following on from Invasion of the Bane, it re-establishes relationships between the main characters with confident ease, and introduces new addition Clyde with a minium of fuss. But in the midst of the action-and-escape capers, the cast have enough time to explore their new emotional bonds…specifically the parent/child relationships between Luke & Sarah Jane and Maria & her dad, Alan. Sarah’s struggle to accept hew new role provokes fear, frustration…and ultimately warm acceptance. After 30 years, Elisabeth Sladen’s performance remains effortless - just like all the actors who have played the Doctor, she commands the screen, yet knows when to help shine the spotlight on her younger co-stars
The biggest success of the first two episodes is that, in the span of two 25-minute entries, it packs in more action, humour and drama than shows twice its length…and this is a KIDS’ show that we’re discussing! ;-)
Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Alice Troughton
In spite of my happiness with episodes 1 & 2, it’s episodes 3 & 4 that demonstrate real juiciness. There’s still campiness and over-the-top action - this time with EVIL NUNS - but there’s a deeper emotional core at the centre of the story.
How many kids shows can do the following:
(1) Handle something as tricky as Alzheimer’s Disease with a compassion and a deftness of touch lacking in more adult & hard core dramas;
(2) Show the sadness of being older & forgotten…and creating a wonderful parallel between Phyllida Law’s Bea and Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane: two women whom time threatens to chuck into the bin…but they both hold tight to what they have;
(3) Include a realistic freak-out session stemming from the consequences of divorce that doesn’t descend into treacle or strident preaching;
(4) Turn the ex-wife we all hate into a compassionate & conflicted character…and realize that we don’t hate her quite so much…
All this in the middle of a battle with EVIL NUNS (who can snap their fingers while wearing black gloves AND drive around in a old-hearse-Nunmobile) and alien gorgons that turn people into stone!
Just like Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures transcends its premise. Yes, it’s definitely a show geared to the younger demographic…but there’s a reason why we old timers are watching it in droves: it’s an uplifting, hilarious, and warm place we can visit and have the kind of adventures we wished we had in our early teen years.
Nothing wrong with vicarious living. :-)
