THE TEMPTATION OF SARAH JANE SMITH
Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Graeme Harper
I could be uncharitable and call this the Sarah Jane rip-off of Doctor Who’s Father’s Day)…complete with dark force feeding off the changes to history, and the protagonist’s parent(s) recognizing what needs to be done in order to preserve the future.
Frankly, rip-off or not, it’s a wonderful episode full of honest emotion, creepy moments, rich dialogue, and fabulous direction from the maestro himself, Graeme Harper. Who else can take a rural, early 1950s/rationing Britain and make such a mundane, beige-and-tweed world seem fast-paced and exciting with such deftness? Very few, I’d wager…
It’s a nice sequel (conceptually and artistically) to last season’s Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane, with a few extra goodies: the apocalyptic future Britain, the surprising depth of the enslaved Graske, Rani & Clyde trying to save the day (they are both on absolutely top form…and their dialogue is first rate), and Luke trying to be protective of his mum, even though she’s not making is easy for him.
But this is Elisabeth Sladen’s showcase, and she does a wonderful job playing a woman who should know better, giving in to her feelings…and showing us that she’s not quite the invulnerable super-woman we’ve all convinced ourselves she is. The icing on the cake is her discovery of the police box, and erroneously thinking that the Doctor has arrived to save the day. The result makes for some nice comedy…and a poignant reminder that she will have to settle the situation on her own…even though it will bring about her worst nightmare.
All in all, fabulous stuff, and a tear did run down my cheek when the doomed Mr. & Mrs. Smith drove off in their car at the climax. But I do have to say…the disco-dance staggering of the defeated Trickster was - to put it mildly - unique…and not in a good way.
Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Graeme Harper
This one starts off brilliantly. Part One is an epic-mini movie, with a rip-roaring pace that leaves most of the previous episodes of this season far behind. The music seems more urgent, the cast more energized, and the two guest stars anchor the story brilliantly. Samantha Bond is even better than she was in Invasion of the Bane as the returning Mrs. Worwmood: all snooty, high-class malevolence. She chews the scenery in exactly the way scenery SHOULD be chewed…by taking everything (even her own bon-mots) with excessive seriousness. But the key fanwank moment is the return of Nicholas Courntey as the Brigadier: aging, but with the same deadly eyes, the same voice of authority, and the same long-suffering attitude to the alien menaces he continues to encounter. Sir Alistair is now the been-there, done-that man…and everything else is simply details. Even hordes of rampaging, one-eyed squiddy things (thank you again, Clyde).
Then we get to Part Two…and things go wrong. We get a nice cliffhanger with the return of the disgraced Sontaran, Kaagh…but then he’s side-lined for most of the rest of the episode as muscle-with-a-gun (though to give him credit, he as a few nice scenes with Clyde). Meanwhile, Sarah, Rani & the Brig spend half the episode unconscious in a flower shop, while Luke tries to fight off the seductive maternal offerings of Mrs. Wormwood…which goes on FAR longer than it should, and pushes Samantha Bond over the edge from controlled evil to over-the-top shouting and stage-whispers. This is almost tolerable, thanks to Thomas Knight’s delightful & opportunistic acting…about the only thing living up to the potential that exists in the script.
Even the breathless conclusion comes to a juddering halt, after some epic & well-orchestrated pyrotechnics at a stone circle (Graeme Harper, once again saving the day). We have a perfunctory good-bye to the Brigadier, and finish off with a cheesy voice-over that doesn’t suit the mood or the situation…just an attempt to mimic the conclusion of last year’s finale, The Lost Boy. It wasn’t necessary.
So…a stumble over the finish line, but the overall season was still worth the race. It was delicious and filling comfort food, tiding us over until the extra-chocolatey Christmas dessert is served: the return of the Doctor…
