SJA #2 : Revenge of the Slitheen

"Let’s have a High School Musical moment! A group hug will sort everything out."

Episode #2:       Revenge of the Slitheen.
Companions:     Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Maria Jackson, Clyde Langer and Mr Smith.
Air Date:            24th September to 1st October 2007.

First days at school are always difficult. For Maria Jackson and Luke Smith, the task of blending in is made all the more difficult when their teachers turn out to be aliens from outer space, back for revenge!

The Sarah Jane Adventures kicks off properly with this entertaining adventure. Luke Smith has to start school for the first time and with his friends he uncovers a plot by members of the Slitheen family to destroy the Earth in revenge for the loss of their family during Aliens of London/World War Three. First off, it is nice to see that they are including events from Doctor Who into the show. This doesn't happen enough between the three shows in my opinion. Secondly, it is still just as silly as that first Slitheen episode was what with farting and appropriate childish humour. Given that SJA is a children's show, it does work well here.

Thankfully the writers dropped the character of Kelsey Hooper in favour of a new one, Clyde Langer. Clyde is a typical teenager boy who thinks he's better than he is and has his world turned around when he learns that aliens are real - despite Earth and London in particular, being invaded quite clearly in recent years. Now that he has seen aliens he becomes apart of the regular gang and becomes more likable as the show goes along.

This adventure features a young Slitheen boy of about 12 years old which adds a nice dilemma as to whether he should be left to die with the rest of his kind. Obviously with this being child friendly the Slitheen boy escapes perhaps to come back and bother the team in the future? 

Revenge of the Slitheen is a good start to the show and a lot better than the awful Invasion of the Bane. Reusing a well liked monster race, making references to those Doctor Who episodes and maintaining a hint of a dark plot with some fun moments makes it watchable. Plus it has Sarah Jane too.