Written by Joseph Lidster
Directed by Joss Agnew
After the disappointment of Secrets of the Stars, this week we are rewarded a Clyde-heavy episode that manages to do justice to both an excellent character and a fine young actor. Fast, witty, and poignant.
The key to the success of this episode is that the alien mcguffin (the Berserker’s charm pendant) is merely a catalyst to the emotional roller-coaster of the characters. The rest of the story manages to sail along magnificently on the reactions of the cast: their worry at the situation, their desperation in trying to solve the mystery of the pendant, and best of all…trying to cope without Sarah Jane.
That’s right…this is the Sarah Jane-lite episode, so the young ones need to shoulder most of the responsibilities. Luckily, they are all up to the task…and the greatest kudos go to Daniel Anthony. This series of The Sarah Jane Adventures has truly been his coming out party: he gets all the best lines, and he delivers a great deal of pathos that would choke many adults in the same situation. He’s utterly brilliant, and his final scene with Sarah in the attic demonstrates quite an amazing bond between the characters.
Praise must also go to Gary Beadle as Clyde’s prodigal father. He’s got a layer of smarmy “ick” that makes you want to hate him immediately, but it’s made all the more difficult by the superb way his frailties are revealed to the audience…frailties we all see in each other, and in ourselves. He’s not evil…just a less-than-stellar father trying to crawl out of a hole of his own making. It gives the episode another meaty layer of verisimilitude.
The Mark of the Berserker has everything you want from a Sarah Jane episode: lots of great on-the-town & marina filming (giving the episode a distinctly cosmopolitan flavour), cool car chase action, comedy moments that transform into remarkably creepy moments, and the (very well kept) surprise guest appearance by Maria and Alan Jackson. The end result is an episode with the ideal combination of “slickness” and “substance”. And just when you think it can’t get any more enjoyable, Sarah is given her own triumphant, Doctor-ish reveal (complete with mini-fanfare) in the climax of part two. A smashing success, all around.
