The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 5 Episode Titles

With three stories filmed prior to the death of leading star, Elisabeth Sladen, the BBC have announced that the six episodes/three stories that were filmed for the show's fifth season will air in October 2011 both BBC1 and CBBC. According to DWM, the stories are titled Sky, The Curse Of Clyde Langer and The Man Who Wasn't There. While the first two stories were written by Phil Ford, the last one was written by Gareth Roberts and the only one that sees Tommy Knight reprising his role as Luke Smith. Guest stars for the series include Peter Bowles, Christine Stephen-Daly and James Dreyfuss. More details soon to follow.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 5 Update

I should've mentioned this last week but it seems that contrary to some initial reports, the BBC will not be filming any additional episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures fifth season, following the death of actress Elisabeth Sladen.

Instead they will however air the six episodes that were already filmed later in the year. A time and date has yet to be confirmed.

My Sarah Jane – A Tribute To Elisabeth Sladen

Sarah Jane: “Don’t forget me.”
The Doctor: “Oh, Sarah, don’t you forget me.”

It took me a while to watch this tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, who sadly passed away four days before transmission of the sixth series of Doctor Who but congrats to CBBC for coming up with a lovely tribute to the late actress in such short notice.

A host of different people that the actress worked with contributed to this 15 minute programme – recent Doctors such as David Tennant and Matt Smith, former companion actress Katy Manning, Lis’s younger co-stars Daniel Anthony, Tommy Knight and Anjili Mohindra as well as John Barrowman and Russell T. Davies.

The tribute gave up some of the best clips from Sarah Jane’s 37 year TV run as well as some interesting comments. John Barrowman wisely noted how a lot of modern day companions are influenced by Sarah Jane and it’s easy to see where he’s coming from as well and David Tennant lamented about the character being part of his childhood.

Most touching was Barney Edwards talking about the celebration of the character’s impact (and the actress) as opposed to mourning her loss but I did get a laugh out of Katy Manning labelling Sarah Jane the ultimate Who girl (or something to that effect). Definitely the highlight of the 15 minutes here.

- Lots of clips were used from both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures but none from K9 And Company.
- Nice use of Adele and Elvis Costello here, musically.
- Poor Daniel Anthony and Tommy Knight looked drained during this.
- Shame Tom Baker didn’t make a contribution but what he had written about Elisabeth Sladen was lovely.

Definitely worth watching but an all too sad a reminder that one of the most iconic and influence companions is sadly no longer with us. Fandom is a sadder place without our Sarah Jane Smith.

A Tear, Sarah Jane?

I don't usually do blogs about deaths but like many Doctor Who/The Sarah Jane Adventures fans, I was saddened and shocked to hear that actress Elisabeth Sladen has passed away. The actress, 63 died of cancer yesterday morning and had been ill for months. She is the second companion actor to have passed away this year, following the death of Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier) in February.

I didn't grow up with the Classic Series but once I had seen Sarah Jane Smith in School Reunion and watched her subsequent stories with the Third and Fourth Doctors, I knew there was something about the character and actress that struck a chord and her own foray into a spin-off series gave the character a much needed new audience and to paraphrase the lovely Miss Smith, no one is ever going to forget you.

A true legend sadly no longer with us. I don't know whether the filmed segments of Series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures will air either but DWM will be dedicating an issue to the actress later in the year while Doctor Who will also be doing a tribute as well.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x06: "Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith"

Written by Gareth Roberts And Clayton Hickman
Directed by Joss Agnew

Ruby (to Sarah Jane/Clyde/Rani): “I’m afraid not. This is where the adventures. Yours, not mine.”

Thank goodness it’s been long since confirmed that this show will be returning in 2011 for a fifth series or otherwise, “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith” really would’ve felt like the end of the road for the Bannerman Road gang. Hell, we even had the reminder that no-one is irreplaceable drilling through our heads in this story as well.

Sarah Jane’s been fighting off alien menaces for quite a long time now that at some point, it would have to be looked into as to whether or not she could carry on. Sarah Jane might be able to prevent a lot of things but ageing ain’t one of them and the idea of someone similarly fighting the good fight would be another.

I guess it was obvious that Ruby White would turn out to be too good to be true. She was a direct parallel of Sarah Jane – smartly dressed, initially standoffish and packing some impressive alien tech, which also included the equivalent of her own alien computer in the shape of Mr White.

Add to the fact both Clyde and Rani themselves couldn’t help but compare/notice the similarities between Sarah Jane and Ruby and the whole thing was set in stone. Sarah Jane felt like she was beginning to lose herself and Ruby was conveniently there to pick up the pieces.

Forgetting the sonic lipstick when facing the Dark Horde was a bad moment for Sarah Jane as it gave Ruby the opportunity to play hero with saving Clyde and Rani’s lives but it also meant that Ruby could get closer to Sarah Jane to really put her plans into effect as well. And yes, I totally saw Ruby’s true colours emerging.

In fact, I was damn tempted to scream at my screen when Sarah Jane gave Ruby control over Mr Smith and given that Julie Graham isn’t one of my favourite actresses, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed the hammy moments with Ruby in this entire story.

Ruby’s turn as she revealed to Sarah Jane that she had been sucking the life form out of her managed to retain some menace even if it was rather hammy as well but it also came to show how much trouble Sarah Jane had unwittingly become in. I know Sarah Jane would eventually defeat Ruby with some help but there was some nice touch and go moments in this one as well.

First of all was the fact that Mr Smith tried to alert Clyde to the real identity of Ruby, which only ended up in Clyde getting locked in a prison ship and then there were Rani’s attempts of placating the Katesh creature whilst Luke and K9 banded together to put Mr White out of commission and regain control over Mr Smith.

The final couple of scenes in this story weren’t too conflicting. Ruby’s desire for chaos at the expense of Sarah Jane and the gang was never going to end well for her but the fact that she was stupid enough to underestimate all of them also did help matters. For a creature adept at faking meteor landing and having Sarah Jane doubt herself so heavily, Ruby really did come a cropper in the end.

Of course, there’s no fear in Ruby in actually being destroyed. While she’s still alive and seething on her prison ship, I can only assume that Julie Graham will somehow reappear in the next series and after three series of the Trickster, perhaps Ruby will be another ongoing foe for Sarah Jane to have to deal with. The writers could have a lot of fun with her as a recurring foe.

As for a lot of the other stuff, taking out the seriousness of Sarah Jane’s plight, I’ve got to use this review as an opportunity to heap praise on Gita Chandra. While Ruby had both Clyde and Rani initially convinced that Sarah Jane had done a runner, Gita herself used the logic of maternal instinct as a means of debunking that theory.

I could say it was Gita just being her usual hopeful self but a part of me wonders if there’s something inside Gita that’s trying to remember all her alien encounters and knowledge of who Sarah Jane really is. I’m still convinced that wiping Gita’s memory was a bad move and one that could have consequences and perhaps this was a hint of that.

As for Luke – it was nice to see him back for a full appearance in this story but it’s almost like he is no longer a part of the series if that makes sense. Yes, he was instrumental in Ruby’s downfall but I guess that I’ve gotten so used to not seeing him that it felt a little strange seeing him again.

Also in “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith”

Sarah Jane ended the story with another one of those ‘life is a big adventure on Earth’ type of speeches.

Sarah Jane: “What are you doing here?”
Ruby: “Saving the world. All in a good day’s work. Goodbye.”

Ruby was largely decked out in red for the whole story and had a sports car. Oh and her was similarly styled like Sarah Jane’s.

Sarah Jane (to Ruby): “You’ve lead a normal life. Nothing’s been normal for me.”

Ruby: “We’re all going to miss you Sarah Jane and your little chums. Wonderful, brilliant Rani, amazing, plucky Clyde. Oh and your son, Lukey, Lukey Pukey. Oh but you don’t want these, your mind’s made up. No looking back, no goodbyes, you’re a hard woman, Sarah Jane. What am I gonna tell these kids?”

Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman previously wrote the 2009 Comic Relief sketch together for the series.

Ruby: “Enjoying the show?”
Sarah Jane (re kids): “They’ll find a way to stop you.”
Ruby: “The hope of the dying tastes so sweet.”

Luke: “You can’t.”
Rani: “It’s the only way or Clyde and Sarah Jane will die.”

Ruby’s prison ship looked pretty similar to the Sontaran ship, except for the white interior of course.

Sarah Jane: “Ruby, you made a big mistake coming here. What we do, it isn’t for the thrills. It’s not yours to take.”
Ruby: “Sarah Jane, I underestimated you.”

Chronology: Late 2010, though none is really specified.

“Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith” is arguably the strongest of the four finales we’ve had and definitely a satisfying end to a series that has certainly come into it’s own over the last few weeks.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x05: "Lost In Time"

Written by Rupert Laight
Directed by Joss Agnew

Clyde (to Miss Wyckham/German Soldiers): “People like you disgust me. You hate and you fear anyone who isn’t the same as you but we’re British and we will fight you every step of the way.”

And for this week only, we get not one but three stories all together. Who needs a TARDIS when you’ve got a mysterious shopkeeper, his parrot and a time window at the ready? The only thing now would be getting Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani within touching distance of the time window but even there, the Shopkeeper was clever by using a local alien story to lure the three of them into his domain.

I think the most surprising thing about this entire story is actually the Shopkeeper himself. Every story has an alien menace and whilst this guy is alien (or possibly human with alien technology); he’s never villainous within both parts of the story. That in of itself has to be a record for the series.

He might have been slightly underhanded in the way he got Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani’s attention but points to him for at least giving them all a purpose while sending them to three different time periods – objects to prevent the destruction of Earth via the time vortex itself. It just would’ve been nicer if had given them a choice in their places of travels.

I didn’t exactly envy Clyde being sent to 1941 in order to get his object but on the other hand, there aren’t that many shows aimed for children that are willing to deal with Nazis invading England and while the dialogue could’ve gone into preachy mode, it’s actually kept well in check by Rupert Laight and Daniel Anthony alike.

Clyde befriended the young George Woods and managed to locate the item in question and even when they were both captured twice during the story; both of them used their wits to get Clyde’s desired object for the Shopkeeper. The German soldier characters were a little on the one dimensional side but even I was a little surprised by Miss Wyckham turning out to be a spy for them.

Clyde’s own courageousness in this story ended up having a detrimental effect on George towards the end but it’s interesting that he was also the first person to successfully complete his task as well. Okay, Rani might have acquired her object before Clyde managed to get his but she stayed somewhat longer than needed for the mission.

Speaking of Rani, she possibly won out for the best of the three storylines given that she had the honour of becoming Lady Jane Grey’s lady in waiting and somewhat angel in the process whilst in 1553. Yes, Rani’s always had a lovely quality about her but now it’s officially canon that she’s otherworldly. Okay, I’m joking but I don’t blame either Lady Jane or servant Ellen for thinking that Rani wasn’t human.

Every time we meet an established historical figure or are thrown into historical events, there’s a blazing reminder that fate cannot be changed. Pompeii still had to fall, Vincent Van Gogh would still end up taking his own life and of course, Lady Grey through no fault of her own would also end up dead.

Rani knew that she couldn’t alter the fact but it didn’t stop her from preventing Lady Matilda’s ill conceived attempts of martyrdom for Jane and it didn’t stop her from comforting the nine day Queen either. It was nice to see Rani doing her best to give the tragic queen some comfort even if she was powerless to change the poor girl’s fate at the same time.

However it did seem that Sarah Jane was able to change fate through her own companion, Emily in this story when she stuck in 1889. Emily definitely fitted the role perfectly and while Sarah Jane’s dismissive attitude towards ghosts wasn’t helpful at the start, it was nice to see the both of them working as a team and figuring out that the voices from the future were belonging to an errant babysitter and two tragic kids doomed to die.

I’m not exactly sure why or how Sarah Jane was able to prevent their deaths but I guess even for this show, it might have gotten away with two kids dying in a fire. Plus I also enjoyed the twist of Emily using her granddaughter, Angela to give Sarah Jane the last object at the very last minute in the present.

Now the only real mystery of this story was – who the hell was the Shopkeeper and was that parrot really his superior? Also we didn’t know why exactly it was those three objects that were key into stopping the Earth from being destroyed either but given that the series is due for a fifth series, there’s a good chance that the Shopkeeper might make a return visit to Bannerman Road.

Also in “Lost In Time”

Clyde seemed to be dressed more grown up in this story. Then again, it’s not improbable for some 17 year olds to own a leather jacket.

Sarah Jane: “How do you know my name?”
Shopkeeper: “Oh, I know a great many things.”

The objects were a hammer/weapon of sorts for Clyde, a dagger for Rani and a key for Sarah Jane.

Emily: “There are ghosts in this house. Everybody says so.”
Sarah Jane: “Just because everybody says so, it doesn’t make it true.”

Lady Grey: “How is this possible?”
Rani: “They’re dead clever where I come from.”

More hints this week on Clyde and Rani when Lady Grey pressed the latter over any males that she might fancy.

George: “We need to escape, don’t we?”
Clyde: “If you hadn’t noticed, we’re both tied up and locked in.”

Matilda (to Rani): “Lady Jane has not been saved. You’ve condemned her to die like a common traitor, forgotten and alone.”

The Doctor’s met Lady Grey in a story called “Nine Day Queen” beforehand. Emily became a doctor as she grew up and George specialised in radar development.

Emily (to Sarah Jane, re mobile phone): “I knew Mr Bell’s invention would catch on but a wireless telephone? The future must be very exciting.”

Lady Grey: “Are you truly of this world?”
Rani: “Don’t be daft, of course I am.”

Shopkeeper (to Sarah Jane): “I’d love to stay and chat but duty calls.”

Chronology: November 23rd 2010, seven days after this season ends, funnily enough.

Interesting story. “Lost In Time” gave us three nice little trips and whilst the time window looked similar to something from another show, I have to admit that Rupert Laight pulled off a superb story this week. Definitely one of the strongest from the series.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x04: "The Empty Planet"

Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Ashley Way

Rani: “I wasn’t panicking.”
Clyde: “You were. So was I.”

Imagine the worst scenario ever – you’re one of two people left in the world. Well, Clyde and Rani really should’ve counted their lucky stars that they were left all alone on Earth with each other. It could’ve been worse. They could’ve been stuck with Chris Moyles and for Clyde that might not have been a favoured option.

Every series of this show has had a story where Sarah Jane herself is given a reduced role and the kids are left to face things by themselves. We’ve had “Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane”, “The Mark Of The Berserker”, “Mona Lisa’s Revenge” and now this interesting little gem as well.

With an energy trace that literally seemed undetectable at the start of the story, there was little wonder that it would then come into effect when everyone else disappeared and Clyde and Rani found themselves all alone. I love how this show continues not to patronise its younger audience by the way Clyde and Rani react to the situation.

They’re both scared with everyone gone, though their thoughts naturally focus on their respective families and Sarah Jane but they’re both also determined to figure out how to save everyone even if they’re both guilty of doubting their own abilities to do anything that could help.

The story might be short on guest characters but it’s certainly not short on keeping things moving. Okay, so the first half of the story does drag a little but given that Clyde and Rani are going through every possible scenario imaginable, it’s one of those few times when the slower pace isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Both Clyde and Rani address the possibility that everyone might be dead, which is a fair enough assumption but they also focus in on the fact that the technology isn’t there and that aircraft, cars and animals are all reasonably intact. And there’s the arrival of Gavin as well to make things a little bit more interesting.

Now I have to admit that as soon as I saw Gavin, I twigged that he would be both a) an alien of some sort and b) sort of responsible for everyone’s disappearance. The only thing I couldn’t figure out straightaway was whether or not he was friend or foe and his evasive nature when Rani and Clyde caught up with him certainly didn’t help matters.

It might have sounded like Clyde was being unkind about Gavin but I liked the fact that by noticing the lack of material possessions Gavin had at his aunt and uncle’s place meant that Clyde had the rationale to believe that something wasn’t quite right with the lad. I think Rani was slightly dismissive of it when she was trying to sympathise with Gavin’s miserable family life though.

With only two kids and an alien on Earth, the arrival of the red and yellow robots as well was something of a relief. Okay, I suppose it was obvious again that they would turn out not be villainous creatures – despite them holding everyone to ransom so they could get their “son and heir” but this show’s grey area approach to alien and machine life form (especially this season for some reason) is one of its biggest strengths.

It seemed that even with a countdown looming all over everyone that this story sort of wrapped itself up rather nicely. Gavin finally allowed himself to trust Rani and Clyde long enough so that he could learn of his true nature and when he did, Gavin gave them quite the honour before heading back to his own world.

With the whole world back to normal, I have to admit that the last few minutes are actually the highlight of the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong – I loved Clyde and Rani working together and the shipping vibes between them were really rather sweet but there’s something about the last five minutes that really stood.

First of all, Haresh stood out for me. The way he was eager to catch up with Rani before she went to sleep at the start of the story was telling but more so was him trying to coax the truth out of her about her real whereabouts. I think Haresh might get to the point where he actually finds out what Sarah Jane really does for a living and if/when he does, it had better not turn out the same way it did for Gita. Pulling that stunt once is bad, pulling it twice is plain wrong.

And then there’s Sarah Jane as well. Despite her incredibly reduced role in this story, her presence was still a part of it as well. Both Clyde and Rani were happy to tell her how much she’s changed their lives for the better but at the same time, both of them in spite of their own strengths do need her as well. Plus I liked the fact that Rani and Clyde’s friendship if nothing else is a nice way of showing us that they’re avoiding the same fate that befell Sarah Jane after she left the Doctor too.

Also in “The Empty Planet”

Originally the concept behind this story was destined as one of the 2009 specials for Doctor Who and Gavin made Clyde and Rani Lord and Lady alike.

Clyde: “I just made teas.”
Sarah Jane: “Well, good, cos this could be a late one.”

Both Clyde and Rani were supposed to have finished Great Expectations for school exams. Clyde’s description might not do him well in exams but it’s certainly a nice way of explaining the book nonetheless.

Clyde: “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Rani: “Sarah Jane would be more use to you.”

Gavin: “You’re aliens?”
Clyde: “Rani!”
Rani: “No, but we’ve met aliens. Fought aliens.”

Nice nod to the previous story with Clyde doing a comic strip of the Shansheeth. I also liked seeing Carla again, even if it was brief.

Rani: “We’re both just really nosy. That’s how we got into Sarah Jane’s life.”
Clyde: “She warned us off. Gave us the choice to go back and forget it all.”

Clyde: “You know what?”
Rani: “I’m about to find out.”
Clyde: “This whole thing makes even less sense than before there were any robots.”

Speaking of nods, there was another nice nod to Rani and Clyde being grounded by the Judoon from the last year, even if Clyde has already broken that rule.

Clyde: “I don’t like countdowns. There’s never anything good at the end of a countdown, except New Year’s and even that’s rubbish. I’m sorry. I make stupid jokes when I’m scared.”
Rani: “Yeah, I never noticed.”

Clyde: “Oh you want the sun too? You don’t ask for much, do you?”
Red Robot: “Give us son and heir.”

For the first time this series, this story was a Luke free zone. If he’s not in the next one, I’ll bet he’ll be in the finale.

Gavin: “Clyde, Rani, thank you. Earth was never my home, not really. It is your home and you’re lucky to have people that you love here.”

Clyde: “We’re not alone though, are we?”
Rani: “No, we got each other.”

Chronology: None is specified since the events of “Death Of The Doctor”.

“The Empty Planet” wasn’t my favourite this series but it’s certainly a watchable one, especially for the most part with Clyde and Rani moving things along nicely. Those two are definitely who you’d want around if something like this happened for real.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x03: "Death Of The Doctor"

Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Ashley Way

The Doctor: “Have you been telling people I’m dead?”
Shansheeth: “I apologise. The death notice was released a little too soon but I can rectify this immediately. I’m so sorry for your loss, Doctor. Rest in peace.”

Hands up who believed even for the tiniest of moments that the Doctor was actually dead? Nope, didn’t think so and because of that, I would’ve been far more perturbed if both Sarah Jane and Jo were convinced of the Doctor’s death either.

I’m forgiving of Clyde, Rani and Santiago perhaps believing the idea of the Doctor’s death but I loved that even with UNIT and the Shansheeth talking of the Doctor’s demise that Sarah Jane knew in their guts that their mentor wasn’t exactly. Yes, it’s the type of thing that could’ve underestimated the drama of this charade but it didn’t.

Sarah Jane and Jo both came to the mutual conclusion that if the Doctor ever died, they would feel it and given that Sarah Jane showed awareness over her last encounter with the Doctor involving a regeneration, it’s damn believable that her instincts would kick in again and Jo’s too, despite nearly four decades passing since her last encounter with the Doctor.

The gathering of remembrance scene with the Shansheeth at the UNIT base was interesting. Sometimes you can accuse the show’s use of flashbacks of being self-indulgent but they served a genuine purpose here for more than just the gang remembering the Doctor as even Clyde’s memories proved that this was a continuation to “The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith”.

Having Sarah Jane and Jo however was the one thing that demanded the most attention. Like a lot of people, I’ve always loved Jo and the one thing I was hoping for upon her arrival her was that Russell T. Davies wouldn’t give another companion who had an empty life after travelling with the Doctor. Thankfully he didn’t.

If Sarah Jane’s existence in “School Reunion” had dissatisfaction in them, then Jo’s more fuller life with seven kids and thirteen grandchildren along with her marriage to Cliff was a welcomed relief. More than that, it seems that age has done little to destroy Jo’s chirpy and scatty personality either.

I laughed at her entrance during the gathering and the ease she had with the Shansheeth’s appearances but more importantly, every scene she had with the Doctor and Sarah Jane was just sheer joy. I love the kids on this show but I’m wondering if it’s time that Sarah Jane needs another adult in her life that’s aware of the alien fighting that she does.

The memory trips with Jo and Sarah Jane during their meditation nicely reminded us of the histories they’ve had with the Doctor but the feelings of the good old day really came to the fore when both girls and the Doctor were on a planet together and two of my favourite scenes came as a result.

First of all, I loved that Sarah Jane asked the Doctor about his last regeneration, even if he was rather evasive about it, which is something the Doctor can be a lot in a script by Russell T. Davies and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He was also evasive at the end of the story with Jo in relation to the Time Lords, which slightly bothered me to a degree.

However the scene where Jo wondered if she was stupid was pretty powerful. Jo’s dippy but she’s never stupid and there were enough times during her tenure with the Doctor where her resourcefulness was pretty dominant so I loved that the Doctor went into great detail of how proud he actually was of her. After everything, he definitely owed Jo that much.

I don’t know why Russell T. Davies decided after so long to bring back Jo but I’m glad he did. I’m also glad that the close relationships that the Doctor had with both Jo and Sarah Jane were also key to the Shansheeth and Tia Karim’s plot to open up the TARDIS for their own schemes but I gotta wonder – why the complicated plot?

Don’t get me wrong – it’s clever to use both Jo and Sarah Jane’s memories of the TARDIS key to instantly drum up a spare copy via a memory weave but wouldn’t have been easier just to have taken it off the Doctor instead. I knew the second that memories were a big part in operating that machinery that they would also be the reason for it to break down as well.

I liked that the Doctor, Rani, Clyde and Santiago got Sarah Jane and Jo to remember everything and the fact that a lead line coffin saved them from being blown to bits unlike the Shansheeth and Tia was also a nice move as well.

As for the Shansheeth, it seems that they fall into the category of being a bad lot from an otherwise noble race. I can understand that being intergalactic undertakers might get to a point where you would take extreme measures in order to prevent death but I wish that Tia’s motives had been better explored. Laila Rouass had a lot of potential but Tia wasn’t as utilised as she could’ve been to the end.

As for the scenes with the Doctor, Sarah Jane and Jo in the TARDIS, I sort of wished they had been longer. I still got a kick out of seeing all three of them together and I really hope that after this story that both Sarah Jane and Jo make their way back onto the main show with the right storyline of course.

In terms of other interesting storylines in this story – Santiago. If there was ever a replacement for Luke needed, Santiago clearly fits the bill. He worked well with Clyde and Rani and on more on one occasion he mentioned his frustration of moving all the time and never seeing his parents. Maybe him and his grandmother could set up shop on Bannerman Road for a little longer. I can only hope, right?

Also, one interesting thing – the Doctor might not have died (though the Shansheeth did try at one point) but the fact that even he said the universe would shiver upon his death seems to me that it’s a storyline that could be explored much sooner than we think. After all, come 2011, we should finally find out who that good man River killed and what the hell the silence is and something tells me that this story might have given a hint to at least one of those upcoming events.

Also in “Death Of The Doctor”

Luke appeared in the first half of this story and even Haresh managed three scenes that involved him revealing how Gita dealt with the death of her parents.

Tia: “I’m sorry, Miss Smith for your loss, sorry for the whole wide world because he’s gone, the Doctor’s gone. He’s dead.”

Going by an educated guess here, but I’m going to assume that Santiago is the oldest of the 13 grandchildren that Jo has.

Tia: “Then you’ll come?”
Sarah Jane: “Oh yes. Nothing’s going to make me miss this. I’ll be there.”

Clyde (to Tia): “You got a moon base? Oh man, I am running out of reactions.”

Companion updates: Brigadier is stranded in Peru again, Liz is on the moon, Amy/Rory are on a planet married to an asteroid, Tegan is fighting for aboriginal rights, Ben/Polly are running an orphanage in India, Ace is running A Charitable Earth, Harry is dealing with vaccines and Ian/Barbara are professors at Cambridge.

Rani (re the Doctor): “Think of all the lives he touched. The whole planet should be in mourning but no-one knows.”

Sarah Jane: “We never actually met but it’s Jo Grant, isn’t it?”
Jo: “It’s a long time since I’ve been called that. It’s Jo Jones since I got married.”

The Doctor mentioned casually to Clyde in this story that he can regenerate 507 times and a lot of the revelations in this story contradict some established stuff from various audios.

Rani: “Honestly, it’ll be fine. We do this kind of thing all the time.”
Santiago: “Hey, my grandmother’s handcuffed herself to Robert Mugabe, I’m loving it.”

Sarah Jane: “I think there’s something wrong.”
Jo: “Wrong? You mean like ‘the old days’ sort of wrong?”

The use of a Groske here (basically a blue Graske) was nice, especially given that apart from teasing Clyde, it was actually an ally rather than an enemy to the gang in this story.

Jo: “Did you think I was stupid?”
The Doctor: “Why do you say that?”
Jo: “Well, I was a bit dumb. Still am I suppose.”

Jo: “Fight it, Sarah Jane. Try to think of something else.”
Sarah Jane: “I can’t.”
Jo: “Neither can I.”

Both Jo and Sarah Jane went through a list of old foes but what amazed me more was the Doctor mentioning that he went to see every companion during “The End Of Time”. Nice to have that confirmation.

Sarah Jane: “It’s daft though we were both saying, we have this theory that if you ever died, we’d feel it somehow. We’d just know but that’s silly, isn’t it?”
The Doctor: “I don’t know, maybe not because between you and me if that day ever comes, I think the whole universe might just shiver.”

Sarah Jane (to Clyde/Rani): “Echoes of the Doctor all over the world. With friends like us, he’s never going to die, is he?”

Chronology: None is directly specified, though it’s been six months since Santiago last had contact with his parents.

“Death Of The Doctor” is a triumph of a story for the series. If you loved Jo Grant/Jones all those years ago, you’ll love her in this one and the banter between her, Sarah Jane and the Doctor is a masterpiece. Despite looking silly, the Shansheeth were interesting villains and although UNIT could’ve been used in a more positive light, this easily beats last year’s “The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith” for Doctor related stories.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Death Of The Doctor - Preview

There's only four days to go but here are some nice promotional pictures for the muchly anticipated story of The Sarah Jane Adventures called Death Of The Doctor.

I love this cast picture of Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen), the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Jo Grant (Katy Manning). Matt Smith just works with everyone nowadays.

This story is making sure that UNIT are represented with Tia Karim (Laila Rouss), the woman responsible for informing both Sarah Jane and Jo that the Doctor happens to be dead. Except he's not and both ladies are being put into a trap by the Shansheeth.

Okay, so they're not visually the most impressive of monsters but apparently the Shansheeth are more than just intergalactic undertakers - they want the means of time travel and using Sarah Jane and Jo's respective memories of their time with the Doctor is a means of achieving it. Oh and Clyde is instrumental to the Doctor in this story in a pretty unique way.

And this lad here is Santiago Jones (Finn Jones), the grandson of Jo and being wisened to the fact that monsters exist. I can't wait to see how he interacts with Clyde, Rani and the Doctor. Speaking of the Doctor, it seems that the regeneration limit is due to be tackled in this story, there's also a fair chunk of past references and Amy and Rory's absences are also addressed too. Overall, it look like RTD is going to give us quite a classic story here.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEJzUE9vu80

Death Of The Doctor airs Monday/Tuesday at 5.15pm on CBBC from October 25th and Wednesday/Thursday at 4.30pm on BBC1 from October 27th.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x02: "The Vault Of Secrets"

Written by Phil Ford
Directed by Joss Agnew

Androvax: “Sarah Jane Smith, I need your help.”
Clyde: “My hearing must be going. Did Androvax the destroyer of worlds ask us for help?”

I know, how unlikely is that? Oh, wait, this is the same show that had a Sontaran save the world two years ago, so maybe the idea of a creature as destructive as Androvax seeking the Bannerman road crew for assistance isn’t the most farfetched of ideas that this show could come with, is it?

I really enjoyed the antagonist Veil from “Prisoner Of The Judoon”, so I was happy to learn that he was due back for this season and it was timely that he would appear in this story of all of them. You would’ve thought though that after his previous encounter with Sarah Jane that Androvax would’ve been wise enough to stay away from Earth though.

Still, most aliens never learn and usually wind coming back for seconds (or multiples if they’re Slitheen) and the opening few minutes of Androvax legging it from the Alliance of Shades certainly helped to amp up the action for this story in an impressive way.

But this is a story that also showed a more depleted side to Androvax as well. He was skulking in bushes, poorly taking over Rani and then forced to admit when snared by a containment force field thanks to Mr Smith that he was on the verge of death. Even I found myself feeling bad for Androvax this time around.

However it seemed that Androvax’s mission this time around involved bringing his race back to life. Now I’m not sure that the idea of a restored race of creatures that can take over people’s bodies is the best of ideas but despite her obvious mistrust with Androvax, Sarah Jane still felt compelled enough to aid his plight.

After all, she believed that his people deserved to live but even Sarah Jane wasn’t prepared for the fact that by aiding Androvax’s quest to restore his race that she would have to put the Earth in danger. Of course there would be a catch to this. It wouldn’t be simple enough to let Androvax bring his people back without some form of consequence.

And it also wouldn’t have been a good idea just have relegated the androids Alliance of Shades, led by Mr Dread as little more than thugs wanting to eradicate Androvax and wipe away any human memory knowledgeable of alien encounters too. The levels of grey area in this story are definitely its biggest strength.

Androvax itself was as menacing as ever as it went through the whole story possessing Sarah Jane, Rani, Clyde and even Gita at different moments and while it failed to care about putting the Earth at risk, it was hard not to sympathise a little with his desperation to want to save his own people.

Similarly the brutal tactics and all too willingness from Mr Dread and his androids to resort to extreme tactics of their own to accomplish their goal of protecting Earth, regardless of who was in their way was hardly commendable either but again, their motives were understandable to a certain degree and I can’t help but enjoy some of the scenes between Sarah Jane and Mr Dread.

Rarely has their been a story where she’s really gotten to be flippant with a main antagonist and I think there was a cheeky sense of glee from Elisabeth Sladen over certain lines she got to say to Mr Dread as well. It’s a side to Sarah Jane that might not work every week but is certainly amusing in its own right nonetheless.

However for all the jeopardy that was being thrown about over Androvax’s plan, the solution did seem pretty quick fix though and you can’t help but wonder why Mr Dread didn’t just make the sacrifice with his energy supply earlier to transport Androvax’s ship with his people into space. It certainly would’ve saved the Alliance of Shades, Sarah Jane and Androvax a lot of time when you think about it.

And speaking of easy solution, there’s one big issue I have with this entire storyline and that’s Gita. What was the point of finally having Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani explain more about alien life to her and take a central role in the story if the end result was Mr Dread erasing her memories?

It’s like with the use of retcon in Torchwood and also, I can’t help but think that Sarah Jane made the wrong call here. I know Gita was getting overexcited about the idea of going public with alien life but couldn’t Sarah Jane and the gang have sat down and explained to her why it would be better to keep schtum instead of having her memories erased?

Plus, there’s also the glaring fact that her obliviousness to alien life may have future consequences. Haresh for example is still aware of his previous encounter with the Judoon and Androvax, so if anything, I think Sarah Jane might have caused a problem instead of trying to solve one this week. There’s no way that this can’t come back to bite her in the backside down the line (or more accurately, next season).

As for the BURPSS plot of the story, it could’ve done with some better plotting. Apart from Ocean Waters (what is it with aquatic names in this universe nowadays?), the rest of the characters were a little too background for my liking. Also, in relation to Ocean, she was crucial in Androvax getting the discs to help with his spaceship/surviving race but even with her history of alien encounters with Mr Dread, she was still kind of brushed aside as a result. Then again, maybe she’s another storyline that will have future consequences for Sarah Jane and the gang.

Also in “The Vault Of Secrets”

To get the obvious of the way, Mr Dread and his men were previously seen in the animated feature, “Dreamland”.

Luke: “You see that’s what mum does now that I’m not around to keep an eye on her – sabotages NASA projects.”
Clyde: “She’s so out of control.”

I was thinking that maybe the race that Sarah Jane was trying to prevent NASA from discovering on Mars was either the Ice Warriors or the Flood but I think for the latter, it’s 49 years too early for them.

Haresh: “Sounds thrilling.”
Ocean: “Believe me, Mr Chandra, Ealing is a thrilling place. The aliens are watching us and maybe just waiting for the right moment.”

Mr Smith: “Rani, I sense you’re not quite yourself today.”
Androvax/Rani: “You’re just as annoying as the last time I was here.”

BURPSS stood for British UFO Research And Paranormal Studies Society. Ocean mentioned a few times Ealing, indicating that there was more than her branch out there.

Sarah Jane: “We only want to save Androvax’s species. Why won’t you help us?”
Mr Dread: “The equilibrium must be maintained.”
Rani: “What does that mean?”

Mr Dread: “Impressive, don’t you agree?”
Sarah Jane: “Mr Dread, what happened? Did you call out the AA? Oh, no, no, in your case that would be Androids Association.”

I have to admit that Luke’s appearance in this episode caught me off but then again, he’s still mentioned in Clyde’s opening introduction each week so it’s nice to know that he will still appear on the series from time to time.

Mr Dread: “You have alien technology. It must be confiscated and you must be processed.”
Sarah Jane: “Sorry, hands off.”

Androvax: “And now what, Sarah Jane Smith? Will you help when the rebirth of my civilisation means the end of yours?”
Sarah Jane: “You know I can’t do that.”

There was a moment in this story where Clyde and Rani seemed to be getting closer. Clyde’s take on Terminator lines was pretty amusing as well.

Sarah Jane: “Thank you.”
Mr Dread: “I need a holiday.”

Gita (to Ocean): “I’m sorry, I don’t believe in aliens.”
Rani: “But if you ask me, my mum’s out of this world.”

Chronology: None is specified since the events of “The Nightmare Man”.

“The Vault Of Secrets” definitely continues this show’s records of quality storytelling and while there were certain things that bothered me, overall I did immensely enjoy this one a lot. Next week, it’s Jo Grant and the Doctor – Yay!

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 4x01: "The Nightmare Man"

Written by Joseph Lidster
Directed by Joss Agnew

Nightmare Man: “Get away from me.”
Luke: “So there we go. The boy that was made by aliens to destroy the world, saves the world yet again.”

To be fair, Luke’s, it’s not like you managed to defeat the Nightmare Man all by yourself. Everyone in the story literally contributed in their own way to send this particular pest packing but at the same time, there’s no denying that this is Luke’s story, through and through.

For an opening story, it definitely takes a creepier and atmospheric style than we’re used but if there’s one thing I like about this show, it’s that it does actually refuse to play safe and this is definitely a great story for Luke Smith.

Never experiencing nightmares should’ve been one of the few pleasures that Luke generated from not being human but on the last couple of days that he had left before he would head off to Oxford, all Luke managed to do was to experience them and it’s no shocker that his bad dreams would provide such a feast for the Nightmare Man.

None of the nightmares in this story that we see are in anyway original, which is perfectly fine because all the stuff our main characters fear but don’t talk about is nicely addressed. Luke’s excited about going to university but he’s fearful of the fact that he’ll be forgotten by everyone, replaced or resented for his achievements.

The sequences where Sarah Jane was delighting in Luke’s absence, marked with Clyde and Rani’s anger over him getting to leave home a year earlier than them were certainly effective moments. The kind of stuff that the Nightmare Man thrived on and that Luke would then find himself in the unfortunate position of being trapped in his head.

After seeing Thorne a couple of days, I don’t think I was in the mood to see anything that alluded to be locked inside your head but while Luke’s fate is never really that scary, it’s still frightening enough for the narrative to work. I also expected that once the Nightmare Man got free into the real world that he would target Clyde and Rani too.

Clyde’s nightmares of failure could’ve easily been traced back as early as the first year, what with his family history and his lack of academia but Clyde’s always been a street smart kid and has had the support of him mum and Sarah Jane and the gang, so in a lot of ways, I think his nightmare worked the best.

It’s clear that Clyde sees Sarah Jane as a mentor, so the fact that a demented older version of the woman on a mobility scooter berating him over his working in a fast food joint was going to hurt the most. It’s also probably a blessed relief that the story itself doesn’t stay too long inside Clyde’s nightmare as a result.

Rani’s nightmare though was probably the least predictable one in a way. She finally got success by becoming a journalist but had an irritating co-worker in Louise Marlowe desperately trying to get her to expose Sarah Jane as a menace to society. Given that Rani does actually have journalistic aspirations, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps a future plot line was being teased here. At some eventual point, Sarah Jane is going to get close to becoming exposed for her alien fighting activities.

As for Sarah Jane, she was the only main character not to fall asleep, so it meant that there was a nice little confrontation scene between her and the Nightmare Man. I liked that Sarah Jane tried to goad him in making her fall asleep but after Luke’s failed attempts of tricking him, I also knew that Sarah Jane wouldn’t succeed either.

Still defeating the Nightmare Man itself will probably be criticised but to be fair, it was a logical enough solution. Of course having Luke, Clyde and Rani join forces in their nightmares and stand up to the Nightmare Man would do it and seriously after witnessing Amy Pond literally willing the Doctor back into existence a couple of months ago, is it really that much of a cop-out solution? Not really to be honest.

As much as I liked the Nightmare Man as an overall villain (and one I suspect could return), he was just background to the bigger issue of Luke’s departure. Although it was never really announced during the build up towards the fourth season, it’s been known for a while that Tommy Knight was going and this was a great exit story for him.

Luke got to go to Oxford but at the same time, we managed to get believable reactions from Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani from it as well as Luke wondering whether or not he was making the right decision. There was no overly sentimental mush, just a well told story for the end of a long serving character to the series.

Speaking of long serving, I was slightly sorrier to see K9 go than Luke but packing him off with Luke made a lot of sense too. If there’s one thing I will definitely miss, it will be the sarcastic banter between K9 and Mr Smith. I even felt bad for Mr Smith when he admitted that he would miss the tin dog.

Now that it’s Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani, it will be interesting to see how the dynamics shift in this series. I know there’s a new character due for the fifth season and that Luke will also appear in another story in this year but overall, a big change has kind of swept the show and I can’t help but wonder if Rani and Clyde’s respective parents will get suspicious over their children’s continued involvement with Sarah Jane Smith.

Also in “The Nightmare Man”

For once, it was Luke who got the big narration in this story but that makes sense, given that this was his big exit.

Luke: “Mum, Oxford?”
Sarah Jane: “I think you need to do what’s right for you, so yes, Luke, I think you should go.”

Obligatory Slitheen appearance at the start of this episode as one of them tried to blow Sarah Jane and Luke up. Their green was somewhat different.

Sarah Jane: “For years I was alone, just K9 and me. You gave me my life back. You gave me something real to live for. I’m terrified of what’s gonna happen when you go. I’m so scared.”
Luke: “Why?”
Sarah Jane: “Because it feels like I’m gonna lose you.”

Mr Smith: “I thought Luke didn’t dream.”
Sarah Jane: “That’s why I’m asking you to scan him.”
K9: “Do you require everything to be pointed out to you, Mr Smith?”

Julian Bleach has previously played the Ghost Maker in Torchwood and Davros in Doctor Who and now he played the role of the Nightmare Man in this one.

Luke: “Who are you?”
Nightmare Man: “I’m the Nightmare Man. You belong to me.”

Old Sarah Jane: “Are you still serving burgers? I always knew you were a stupid boy.”
Clyde: “Sarah Jane?”

Sarah Jane in the mobility scooter almost reminded me of Nan from The Catherine Tate Show.

Luke: “Come back and face me.”
Nightmare Man: “Hmm, no.”

Rani: “Why do you want to destroy Sarah Jane?”
Louise: “Why do you think? She’s a menace to society.”

The Doctor was referenced at least twice in this story and in two weeks time, Sarah Jane will meet the 11th Doctor and Jo Grant in “Death Of The Doctor”.

Louise: “Breaking news, Rani, Luke’s leaving you. He’s got his A-Levels and he’s going to university. He’s leaving you behind.”
Rani: “I know.”

Sarah Jane: “I’m not scared of you. What’s wrong – not used to someone answering you back? If you’re so strong, send me to sleep.”
Nightmare Man: “You want to have nightmares?”

CBBC are airing the series this year, Mondays/Tuesdays at 5.15pm with BBC1 airing them on Wednesdays/Thursdays at 4.30pm.

K9: “You were adequate company.”
Mr Smith: “You could always contact me, if you need to.”
K9: “I knew you would miss me.”

Chronology: September 10th 2010 by the end of this story.

“The Nightmare Man” certainly opened up the new season on a great note and with so many other stories along the way, the next few weeks should definitely be a blast of entertainment for kids and adults alike.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Sarah Jane/11th Doctor - Cast Picture - Spoilers, People

With less than a week to go, a picture of Matt Smith and Elisabeth Sladen posing together as the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith has surfaced, while DS has revealed some interesting hints about Death Of The Doctor - Jo's had quite a lot of children/grandchildren, the Shansheeth are using Sarah Jane and Jo in relation to the TARDIS, there's updates on the Brigadier and Liz Shaw, flashbacks to previous Doctors, something in regards to his regeneration cycle, the arrival of a Groske (not Graske) and Sarah Jane discovering some interesting things via google.

Season 4 airs Mondays/Tuesdays at 5.15pm on CBCC from October 11th and Wednesdays/Thursdays at 4.30pm on BBC1 from October 13th.

Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQmacbWXgXs&feature=related

Trailer 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCr3G4efRQY

Trailer 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dBYORbiRLQ

SJA Series 4 New Photos/Spoilers/Trailer

So, we're about a fortnight away from the new series of The Sarah Jane Adventures and the promotional stuff is in full swing at this rate.

Above is a picture of the full cast in the first story, The Nightmare Man which sees Davros actor Julian Bleach playing the titular baddie as Luke suffers some pretty bad nightmares in this opening story. It's also noteworthy that this story will see Luke bow out of the series as well. Meanwhile the Androvax are back in the second story, The Vault Of Secrets and this time around, they mean business. Also expect some more links to last year's animated Doctor Who story, Dreamland in that story as well as Rani's mother join a group for people who've encountered alien life forms.

What can I tell you about Death Of The Doctor? Actually a damn lot. Both Sarah Jane and Jo Grant believe the Doctor is dead and the Shansheeth are the alien equivalent of undertakers - that's one thing. I can also tell you that Laila Rouss is playing UNIT lady Tia Karim, Jo has a grandson called Santiago and that some of the action also takes place in Mount Snowdon and will feature a Groske, which looks exactly like a Graske. I still have no idea as to how Amy and Rory are not in this story though.

Meanwhile The Empty Planet is an unique tale because it's one where both Clyde and Rani are the only people on Earth, so they've got to figure how to save the day without Sarah Jane and against some robot enemies as well. Originally this idea was going to become one of the specials for Doctor Who in 2009 but something tells me that it was an idea better left for this series instead. Elsewhere, Lost In Time puts Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani in three different time periods and also features the return of the Blathereen.

As for Luke, it's been rumoured that he might resurface in the finale, Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith. Written by both Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman, this promises to be one hell of an emotional ender for the season as Sarah Jane contemplates ageing and Julie Graham will play alien investigator, Ruby White. If none of the above isn't enough to sate your appetite for the new series, what will?

Series 4 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQmacbWXgXs

Series 4 airs Mondays/Tuesdays on CBBC from October 11th at 5.15pm and is repeated on BBC1 on Wednesdays/Thursdays from October 13th at 4.30pm.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 4 Cast Picture

Released a few days ago (sorry for the delay), the Series 4 cast picture of The Sarah Jane Adventures has all the regulars - Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony), Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Luke Smith (Tommy Knight). Behind them include the Androvax, Shansheeth, Dark Horde and the Graske. With the series a month away, here's hoping for some pictures and a new trailer soon. Remember October 11th on BBC1 for the new series.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 4 First Look

Not the best trailer in the world but this 20 second gem does show us what we have to look forward to with the fourth season, due to start on October 11th. The Sarah Jane Adventures we've missed you and Matt Smith is looking great alongside Elisabeth Sladen, isn't he?

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4QKCncJnM&feature=player_embedded

Doctor Who/TSJA: Christmas 2010 Pic And Book Cover

Following Matt Smith and Karen Gillan presenting The One Show tonight, an exclusive picture of the 2010 Christmas special appeared for all of 5 seconds. And apart from Karen letting slip that Rory was in it (I should bloody hope so), the only other information that has been released has been casting, thanks to DWM 425. Guest stars for the special include Michael Gambon, Katherine Jenkins, Pooky Quesnel, Leo Bill, Micah Balfour, Baily Pepper and Danny Horn in all undisclosed roles.

Meanwhile The Sarah Jane Adventures continues their book range and it seems that Gary Russell has adaped RTD's upcoming story, Death Of The Doctor featuring Matt Smith's 11th Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo Grant. Pity Jo isn't on the cover too and it's nice to see that 11 is wearing a white shirt and a grey/black bowtie. So looking forward to this particular story.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Season 4 Episode List

DWM 423 has unveiled all of the titles for the show's fourth season, as well as a few guest cast spoilers. In particular, not content with playing the Ghostmaker on Torchwood and Davros on Doctor Who, Julian Bleach has a role in this series as the Nightmare Man. Plus this year's Doctor story just got more intriguing, didn't it?

4x01- 4x02: The Nightmare Man
Written by Joseph Lidster, Directed by Joss Agnew
Guest starring: Julian Bleach as the Nightmare Man
4x03-4x04: The Vault Of Secrets
Written by Phil Ford, Directed by Joss Agnew
Guest starring: Cheryl Campbell as Ocean Secrets
4x05-4x06: Death Of The Doctor
Written by Russell T. Davies, Directed by Ashley Way
Guest starring: Matt Smith as the Doctor, Katy Manning as Jo Grant
4x07-4x08: The Empty Planet
Written by Gareth Roberts, Directed by Ashley Way
Guest starring: Joe Mason as Gavin
4x09-4x10: Lost In Time
Written by Rupert Laight, Directed by Joss Agnew
Guest starring: Cyril Nri as Mysterious Shopkeeper
4x11-4x12: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
Written by Gareth Roberts And Clayton Hickman, Directed by Joss Agnew
Guest starring: Julie Graham as Ruby White.

Taking Eleven For Granted (Spoilers For TSJA)

Mondays are a brilliant day. Not only do we have the security of knowing that Matt Smith is going to be the Doctor for quite a while but he's also going to be appearing in Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures along with Katy Manning, who will be reprising her role as Jo Grant in a two parter written by Russell T. Davies.

It's been a good 37 years since Katy Manning has played the role of Jo Grant and in the past she's often said that she would only return to the role if the character had shown any growth. Well, we'll see how much she's grown because she too is appearing in Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Look at this nice new picture of both Elisabeth Sladen and Katy Manning side by side.

My only worry is that Amy is missing from proceedings, in spite of near confirmation that Karen Gillan will be reprising the role for Series 6 of Doctor Who. Still, Eleven, Jo and Sarah Jane battling monsters together is going to be awesome. Thank you, RTD.

Hopes for the two parter ...

- Hopefully the season opener or finale this time round.

- Both the Doctor and Jo appear early in the first episode and not the last two minutes.

- A good alien enemy to get into. Please no Slitheen/Blathereen for this one.

- Pure unadulterated awesomeness from Eleven, Sarah Jane and Jo of course.

Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/04_april/19/sj_adventures.shtml

More To Come For Sarah Jane (Yes, There's Spoilers)

Been catching up with some recent news and it looks like we're in luck with this show. Stuff I've uncovered are ...

- There will be 18 episodes this season according producer Piers Wenger, so 9 two parters to look forward to then.
- Luke, Clyde and Rani are in the first year of their A-Levels.
- There were rumours to bring Maria but the producers decided against it.
- Androvax, Slitheen and Blathereen will all resurface this season, though the latter two won't have a big story this time around.
- New creatures include the Nightmare Man (connected to Luke's journey) and vulture undertaker aliens called Shansheeth.
- A new character will be introduced in Series 5 (yes, there's a Series 5 to look forward to as well) but nothing is revealed about that character.
- When asked if Matt Smith may appear in the show, producer Nikki Wilson quoted, "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."
- There will be a story set on another planet and another one set back in time and no, the Trickster is not involved in that one.
- Writers for Series 4 include Phil Ford, Gareth Roberts, Clayton Hickman, Joseph Lidster and Rupert Laight.

The first two series of The Sarah Jane Adventures are available on DVD while the third series should surface later on in the year.

My Review of The Sarah Jane Adventures 3x06: "The Gift"

Written by Rupert Laight
Directed by Alice Troughton

Clyde (upon being covered in Blathereen guts): “Why does this always happen to me?”

When it comes to finales, I won’t lie – I wanted something else. Anything else. Instead we got the Slitheen for five minutes and the Blathereen for the rest of the story. The phrase ‘mixed bag’ definitely seemed appropriate for this story.

The opening sequences had the gang chasing a young boy. Already this was a clue that he wasn’t human. As soon as it was mentioned that the boy had a matter compressor that was the second clue that he wasn’t human. To be honest if the trailers hadn’t spoiled it, I would’ve thought he was some other life form.

Instead the mystery angle was up reasonably quick when the boy’s assistant got out of his guise and revealed himself to be a Slitheen. Aren’t child Slitheen more annoying than their adult counterparts? This one certainly was. In terms of plans, it was another let’s crush Earth and make a profit spiel.

The only difference this time around is that Sarah Jane didn’t save the day. No, that honour went to husband and wife duo, Tree and Leaf who took out their rivals. Certainly a way to introduce the Blathereen but even their seeming act of nobility didn’t quell the gang’s suspicions of them.

Come on, why should we trust the Blathereen? Apart from the fact they’re orange, they look exactly like the Slitheen and they did come across as being a bit too good to be true. Rani seemed to be the only member of the team who was quick to embrace them. It could show recklessness on her part but I sort of got why she was eager to trust them.

Without their intervention, the Slitheen child might have killed Rani and the Blathereen themselves did apologise at great lengths to the gang for the Slitheen crimes committed on Earth. They even offered to come to dinner, which ended up having Clyde to use his culinary skills.

The dinner scene was certainly one of the funniest moments on the show this season. I think this is one of the first times we’ve seen an alien of their ilk chowing down on tomato soup and shepherd’s pie instead of something meatier. It still didn’t stop Clyde from making a few snarky comments though.

Of course the main reason why the Blathereen wanted to attend dinner with the gang was to give them Rackweed. Apparently it was the miracle plant, able to quell famines and the like. Sarah Jane did muse about the fact that aliens bearing gifts rarely turned out well but it didn’t stop her from accepting the gift no less.

I guess the disappointing thing about this story is the gift itself. There was no way that the Rackweed plant was going to be a benevolent offering. It would have to be something sinister and it also had to be something clever enough to even dupe Mr Smith as well. It also didn’t take long to spread either.

In less than a day, it seemed to spread all the way throughout London without Sarah Jane even making it public. Worse than that, it also began infecting people at random. Luke notably was the one who we saw suffer the worst from the plant’s effect, succumbing to the point of near death as well.

It gave Tommy Knight some good scenes to play off with Elisabeth Sladen but as bad as Luke’s predicament was, I never felt that we were actually going to lose him. I’m also glad we didn’t either. But I did find a more ruthless side to Sarah Jane far more interesting than the arrogance The Doctor displayed last Sunday in “The Waters Of Mars”.

When she was on the Blathereen spaceship, I actually wanted her to kill them on the spot. After all minutes before she landed on their ship, they openly ridiculed her stupidity for trusting them. They even managed to briefly turn the tables on her by keeping her captive for a few minutes.

The story did reveal two interesting things. One that the Blathereen had a bit of Slitheen in them and that they were ten times worse than their cousins and two, their addiction to the Rackweed. Seeing them chomp on the stuff was less funny, more grotesque but even they acknowledged that a planet filled with Rackweed would be too much for them.

It seems that the inhabitants from that planet are all just desperate to make money any way they can. Sadly in spite of all the danger surrounding them, that fact almost diminishes the carnage that ensued as a result of the story. Sarah Jane’s trapped on a ship, Luke’s near death and Clyde, Rani and K9 are trapped in the school with Rackweed after them. It doesn’t look.

The solution however of all the noise destroying the Rackweed was a little random though. However it did pay off when such noise also caused the deaths of both Tree and Leaf. Who would’ve thought that farting to death would pop up on this show? Not the most glorious of villain demises, now is it?

As for the end of the story, I thought the picnic scene was touching if a little twee. It’s been an interesting year for this show with the cast certainly more and more grounded into their respective roles. We had moments of Clyde’s silliness for trying to use K9 to cheat in a test, Sarah Jane fears of losing Luke and the snarky factor between K9 and Mr Smith. However for the next season, can we please have the Trickster?

Also in “The Gift”

The opening scene played a little similar to the trailer of the interactive game that was around during the promoting of Season 3.

Rani (re Slitheen): “How do we find him?”
Clyde: “We’d need a bloodhound.”
Sarah Jane: “Oh, why didn’t I think of that?”

This finale was scripted by a new writer, Rupert Laight. I wonder if he’ll be back next season.

Slitheen: “Sarah Jane Smith, how predictable.”
Sarah Jane: “I prefer reliable. Now I won’t ask you again, switch it off.”
Slitheen: “No chance.”

Clyde: “Look at me, cooking for the enemy.”
Sarah Jane: “I didn’t know you could cook, Clyde.”
Clyde: “I’m a man of many talents and it’s only shepherd’s pie. Mum taught me.”

The Blathereen have previously appeared in the Doctor Who book, “The Monster Inside”. This is their only TV appearance so far.

Tree: “Imagine the fame and the glory.”
Sarah Jane: “I’m not too bothered about the fame thing. We do what we do to help the world.”

Mr Smith: “I was going to thank you. A break from the dog is most needed.”
Clyde: “Bit annoying is he?”
Mr Smith: “I couldn’t possibly comment.”

I loved the little shout out to Perivale in this story. I’ll take my Seventh Doctor/Ace references where I can get them.

Rani: “Do you know what cynical means?”
Clyde: “I call it being realistic.”

Rani: “You’re actually going to go through with this, aren’t you? Cheating on a test, you’ve no morals at all.”
Clyde: “Oh and that’s why you love me.”
Rani: “Dream on, Clyde, dream on.”

Once again, both Gita and Haresh were absent from proceedings. So much for them getting bigger roles this season. And Tree was voiced by Simon Callow.

Tree (re Sarah Jane): “You have to feel sorry for her.”
Leaf: “Why? She took the Rackweed because she wanted glory. Same reason they always do. Get their ugly faces in the paper.”

Sarah Jane (re Slitheen): “You’re as bad as they are.”
Leaf: “For that remark we won’t kill you. We’ll keep you alive to watch your beloved planet Earth die and then we’ll kill you.”

The third season is due for DVD release in January 2010. Hopefully there’ll be no delays for it either.

As a finale goes, “The Gift” is a mixed bag. I can’t help but wonder if with some tweaking whether or not “The Wedding Of Sarah Jane Smith” would’ve been the better way to have ended the season. Still the Blathereen weren’t that bad and the character moments were nice as usual and here’s hoping for a fourth season. The show definitely deserves it.

Rating: 8 out of 10.