Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Joss Agnew
A delightful season opener: fast, furious, and rarely pausing for breath.
In that respect, it leads to the only unsatisfying component of the story: the departure of Maria Jackson and her family. Because of real-life circumstances, Yasmin Paige is choosing to leave the show, which should have offered the chance for a solid good-bye and emotional closure to a key component of the success behind The Sarah Jane Adventures. However, the furious pace of the story seems to leave this as an after-thought. Even Elisabeth Sladen seems stunned by the warp-speed nature of the goodbye. Maria informing Luke of her departure is handled much better (with a wonderful performance from Thomas Knight). Overall, the farwell isn’t handled all that badly, but it should have been so much better for such a long running character.
The rest of the story functions much more smoothly. The chase scenes are brilliantly shot (the lush forest cinematography is first rate). The effects are all up to snuff, and the regulars deliver the usual goods. There’s also a lovely surprise that will catch you at the very last moment.
But the greatest kudos go to Anthony O’Donnell as Commander Kaagh, the last survivor of the Sontaran taskforce from the Doctor Who 2-part epic The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky. He may very well be the best Sontaran character since Linx — the original member of the race — was introduced, so long ago in 1973’s The Time Warrior. He’s delightfully vindictive, proud, arrogant, devious and — at times — hilarious. His anger towards various doors starts to become an absurd joy to behold. There’s also something quite comforting about watching Sarah Jane face what could be called one of her arch-enemies. After all, they both started out together…
So…more of the same quality we came to expect from the previous season, in spite of dropping the ball with the Jackson family’s departure. It’s unpretentious action-adventure, with liberal dashes of wit and charm. As a way to ease us back into the Sarah Jane universe, it holds up rather well.
