SJA #15 : The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

"And I know the legends of the Doctor! The man of ice and fire, who walked among gods. Once held the key to time in his hands! Now, he is surrounded by children!"

Episode #15:        The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.
Companions:        Sarah Jane Smith, the 9th Doctor, K9, Luke Smith, Rani Chandra and Clyde Langer.
Air Date:               29th to 30th October 2009.

After Sarah Jane starts acting suspiciously, Luke, Clyde, Rani and K9 investigate. They discover she has a boyfriend, Peter Dalton, and they are going to get married. Clyde suspects Peter may be an alien. At the wedding, an old enemy returns. As the gang find themselves trapped in a time loop in Limbo, can a very special friend from the past save Sarah Jane, her friends and the entire planet Earth from the wrath of the Trickster?


It has taken three seasons but we finally get the much anticipated appearance of the Doctor in an episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures. It isn't his best as even once he turns up it is still a show about Sarah Jane and her friends, and they solve the adventure with him as the effective companion. Still, it's about time that he showed up in the show.

The story itself is okay. The Trickster has tricked Sarah Jane and her chums into becoming trapped within a second in time unless she agrees to be married and have her memory of saving the Earth erased. The Doctor tries to rescue her but first must use the TARDIS to break through that second barrier. Clyde becomes charged with Artron energy (temporal energy basically) and uses it to defeat the Trickster. As plots go it is fairly basic but worth a watch just for the Doctor.

This episode features another well known British actor, Nigel Havers. Havers was a household name in the 1970's and 80's. The first time I saw this adventure I was quite impressed as he's another actor who I wouldn't have pegged as the sort to appear in a show like the Sarah Jane Adventures. 

However, sitting here writing this I am finding it difficult to write anything interesting about this story. It is fun to have the Doctor on the show but the story is otherwise average with little to really talk about or get excited about. It's him that makes it. Without the Doctor it would have been a fairly bland SJA story. Watch it just for the appearance of the Doctor.

SJA #14 : The Mad Woman in the Attic

"There were these two races, and they had a war. My people weren't involved, but because we could read the timelines, they attacked us. So many were exterminated. My parents put me in a ship and sent me out into space."

Episode #14:        The Mad Woman in the Attic.
Companions:        Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Rani Chandra and Clyde Langer.
Air Date:              22nd to 23rd October 2009.

The year is 2059. In the derelict attic of 13 Bannerman Road, an elderly Rani Chandra tells the story of the day she met the alien Eve and her life went wrong.

In this story we see a future that will never come to pass where the heroes of Bannerman road no longer exist, except for an elderly Rani living in the attic of Sarah Jane's old house. In the modern day the companions have a falling out and come to investigate stories of a red demon in an abandoned theme park. Here they meet the alien named Eve, a survivour of the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords, who has the power to control people and read the time lines.

Eve however is not a villain in the traditional sense of the Whoniverse. She doesn't want to destroy or rule the Earth. She just wants friends and to not be alone. Unfortunately she is only a teenager in theory and she doesn't know how to control her powers. As in typical science fiction tales she needs the guidance of another to control her gift and it is this sort of growing and coming of age tale that we have. It makes a nice change from the usual faire of the Doctor Who universe even if it is an overdone science fiction trope.

Part of the future reading shows us that the Doctor is "coming back" which is a reference to the next episode. At the culmination of the adventure we get K9 back and I hope he's going to be a regular character.

While I watched this episode I had an odd thought considering the events of Children of Earth and major stories like it, how do those aliens on Earth handle the strange events that plague the Earth in the early 21st century? Maybe we will never know.

The Mad Woman in the Attic is an entertaining episode but for me I felt that it needed something more. The plot is slow and it is another SJA adventure were really nothing happens.

SJA #13 : Prisoner of the Judoon

"The Judoon's only interest is in stopping that creature getting away. Humans don't matter. Under the Articles of the Shadow Proclamation we barely exist. Too primitive."

Episode #13:        Prisoner of the Judoon.
Companions:        Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Rani Chandra and Clyde Langer.
Air Date:              15th to 16th October 2009.

Sarah Jane and the gang face the most dangerous day of their lives as the rhino-like Judoon return. When prisoner Androvax the Annihilator crash-lands on Earth, the Veil is set free to turn Earth's technology against itself. His next intended victim is Sarah Jane. As the Judoon fleet approaches Earth, it's a race against time to stop Androvax. With Genetec Systems' technology on the rampage and Rani's parents taken prisoner, can anything stop the Army of the Infinitesimal?

The third season the Sarah Jane Adventures opens with a rather good story. The writers have come up with a quite a good idea in Prisoner of the Judoon which works on a number of levels. Children will enjoy the adventure but teens and adults will pick up on a deeper story surrounding the reasons for the villains actions.

As you can guess from the title we see the return of the Judoon, last seen in The Stolen Earth. Another proper Doctor Who is nice to see. There are also references to the upcoming animated episode Dreamland, where we learn the true account of the Roswell UFO crash. I'm going to be interested to see if it links up correctly.

The episode deals primarily with the plot involving the Judoon but also has Androvax' attempt to destroy the Earth via nanites (microscopic machines). Even with this the episode also features a heavy humorous element which detracts a little from the adventure. The Judoon, never the brightest creatures as far as we could see, appear even more dumber than normal in this episode and the writers cover it up with uncharacteristic humour.

A good start to the season but we'll see if it holds.

TW #26: Children of Earth

"There's one thing I always wanted to ask Jack. Back in the old days. I wanted to know about that Doctor of his. The man who appears out of nowhere and saves the world; except sometimes he doesn't. All those times in history where there was no sign of him … I wanted to know why not. But I don't need to ask anymore. I know the answer now: Sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame. I'm recording this in case anyone ever finds it, so you can see. You can see how the world ended."

Episode 26 :            Children of Earth.
Companions:           Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, and Ianto Jones.
Air Date:                 6th July to 10th July 2009.

When all children on Earth stop and start chanting "We Are Coming", the Torchwood team investigates. Could this be the start of a global crisis?

Children of Earth was a five part series which took on a much darker tone than any previous Torchwood story had done. Specifically it dealt with an alien visitation who wanted to take 10% of the world's children to be used as an addictive narcotic. The story deals with how people handle this and the potential loss of their children. In that regard elements of the story are rather disturbing.

There is a lot to this story. The alien 456, the British government being corrupt in the light of these events - willing to do anything and screw over anyone who may get in the way, the destruction of Torchwood, Jack having a daughter and grandson, and the death of another main character, Ianto. In some instances it has too much going on but the story is compelling enough to keep you watching.

One thing I like a lot about Children of Earth is that it is the first Torchwood story to truely embrace that fact that it is set in the same universe as Doctor Who. The above quote from Gwen in the final part is especially true in my mind as I often wonder why when Torchwood deals with some pretty major events that the Doctor doesn't appear.
One character, Rupesh, states that due to recent events (not specifically referenced but likely to include things like the Webstar attack and the relocation of Earth, half the world now knows of or believes in the existence of alien life, while the other half is in denial. Suicide rates have risen, which Rupesh ascribes to crises of faith. This may also be reflected by the insanity and suicide of Alex Hopkins, who learnt about upcoming events in 1999.

The aliens known as 456 are suitably alien, as you can see from the photo above. At last we get an alien species which isn't a man in a suit. These are not the typical Whoniverse alien whose motives are simply evil. These creatures want to use human children as drugs. I don't think there is anything quite so evil previously in the Whoniverse. As such I love that they brought us such a species even just once.

One element that isn't covered is with the destruction of the Torchwood facility what becomes of everything that was in there? Weevils, the pet pterodactyl, and even Jack's brother are all unaccounted for.

Children of Earth features Peter Capaldi (the future 12th Doctor) in the role of a rather screwed over civil servant. This is the second appearance for Capaldi in the Whoniverse as he also appeared in Fires of Pompeii with David Tennant

I enjoy dark stories in TV and literature. I find them the most intriguing and fascinating stories in fiction. As such, I should have a good rating for this story. However it is one episode too long for me in being a single continuous story. It is four hours stretched out into five and it feels like it. But it is still entertaining to watch.

Episode #206 : Planet of the Dead

"It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then Doctor... oh, but then... he will knock four times."

Episode #206:      Planet of the Dead.
Companions:        The 10th Doctor.
Air Date:              11th April 2009.

When a London bus takes a detour to an alien world, the Tenth Doctor must join forces with the extraordinary Lady Christina. But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer.

In this adventure the Doctor teams up with professional cat burglar Lady Christina de Souza to escape an alien world, rescue the stranded passengers of a London bus and foil the activities of a race of metal omnivorous flying ray aliens. As you may guess from this it is yet another strange and at times silly adventure. It is entertaining though which is why I don't disapprove quite so much with this one.

Essentially the story revolves around the passengers of a London bus which is drawn through a "worm hole" to a distant desert world. On board is the Doctor and a famous criminal who for this story becomes the companion. The planet turns out to once been the seat of power for a space faring race but they, and everything on their world has been eaten and turned to a sort of dust by strange swarming alien rays. The wormhole is their means of moving from world to world. Trapped on this world they have to work together, and briefly with fly-headed aliens, to find a way home.

As a Doctor Who story goes Planet of the Dead isn't bad. I could for the most part imagine this being done with dodgy BBC graphics for any of the classic Doctors. It is another silly element, a flying bus, which again has me rolling my eyes. I don't think I will ever get used to the weird elements that new Who has included. I must stop grumbling about that. Seriously.

I liked the character of Lady Christina de Souza (played by Eastenders veteran Michelle Ryan) and I was disappointed at the time because she didn't become a new companion for the Doctor. She could have been a good foil for him but in hindsight she might also be the sort of dominant companion that could upstage him. Shame all the same. The other guest star in this story is Malcolm, played by British comedian Lee Evans. He seems to be there for comic relief and not much else, although he does help save the day.

Planet of the Dead sets up certain references for the end of year finale. One of the passengers on the bus seems to have some sort of psychic ability and she delivers what amounts to a of prophecy, which you can read above.

As a one off adventure if you can get past silly things like a flying bus and some of the awkward humour Planet of the Dead is an enjoyable hour of fun.

Episode #205 : The Next Doctor

The "Next" Doctor: It's strange, though. I talk of Cybermen... from the stars... and you don't blink, Mr. Smith.
The Doctor: Ah, don't blink, whatever you do, don't blink, remember that? The blinking and the statues and... Sally and the angels? No?
The "Next" Doctor: You're a very odd man.
The Doctor: Mmm... I still am.

Episode #205:      The Next Doctor.
Companions:        The 10th Doctor.
Air Date:              25th December  2008.

Christmas 1851, and Cybermen stalk Victorian London. The Tenth Doctor discovers a spate of mysterious deaths, and he's surprised to meet another Doctor! Are two Doctors enough to stop the rise of the CyberKing?

The Doctor is travelling alone again and winds up at Christmas in 1851 just in time to be drawn into the evil schemes of the "Pete's World" Cybermen who have escaped the Void by somehow using Dalek technology. They now plan to convert the Earth using the villainous Mercy Hartigan. On the way he encounters someone he thinks is his future self but ultimately isn't. Much running ensues, the mystery solved and a rather obvious Cyberking is stopped.

The Next Doctor is a story where I cannot decide whether I like it or not. On one had I find the adventure somewhat lackluster and with a glaring historical issue at the end, but at the same time it's not a bad little romp. Some aspects obviously trigger a little OCD in me I guess but I'll come to that shortly. Either way i have decided that since I cannot decide it is unfair to mark the episode down so it gets an average rating from me.

Jackson Lake, the supposed "next Doctor" is quite a good character though I don't see much use for his companion Rossita. It almost makes me wish that Lake had been the next incarnation as until his amnesia/fugue is fixed he makes quite a good Doctor personality. Making him a confused personality thinking he is a Time Lord is a clever idea but once unraveled it feels like a bit of a let down and you almost wish he was the next incarnation of the Doctor.

So, jumping ahead to the historical issue that I mentioned. Well, we have a two hundred foot high Cyberman battle mech stomping all over London. Even Lake says that it will be mentioned of in the history books for years to come. But it wasn't and it really irks me that such a thing was included. Doctor Who is more subtle than that. Even when we had the Loch Ness Monster popping up in London the Doctor does make a point that humans are self deceiving at times. But this wasn't a couple hundred people seeing something in the river Thames, this is thousands of people seeing a giant robot battle suit. Now, this brings me to events from the 11th Doctor... did the reboot of the universe erase these events from ever happening in the first place? It's all timey-whimey again.

One last comment though that does make this episode better for me than other Christmas specials is that it doesn't make too much of a point of it being Christmas in the episode. There are a couple references and then they focus on the adventure, and just get on with it.

SJA #12 : Enemy of the Bane

"In my day UNIT battled Daleks, Cybermen, Autons and Zygons and all manner of space-thuggery."

Episode #12:        Enemy of the Bane.
Companions:        Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Rani Chandra and Clyde Langer.
Air Date:              1st to 8th December  2008.

Gita Chandra is kidnapped by Mrs Wormwood. This turns out to be a snare for Sarah Jane. Mrs Wormwood has joined forces with another of Sarah Jane's enemies, Kaagh. As they prepare to settle old scores, Sarah Jane turns to an old friend.

The final adventure of this season brings back Kaagh and Mrs. Wormwood, this time working together for their own nefarious schemes. They pretend to be allies and then as expected, stab the team in the back. As stories go it isn't very original and I think even the young audience this was aimed at worked it out within the first few minutes. It is the problem with these short episodes that the writers cannot put enough content into the show and keep it good. I know it is kid's television but I am sure CBBC can do better than this.

This episode features the final "proper" appearance in the Whoniverse of fan favourite Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This was Nicholas Courtney's final appearance before he died in 2011. It's rather heart warming to see him back as the Brigadier and it brought back many fine memories of his time on the show.

Enemy of the Bane introduces us to the Black Archive, which we see later on in Day of the Doctor. I was genuinely surprised by this as I didn't know it existed before that episode. Things have changed though as in this story the Archive is a fortified building outside London so I guess everything gets moved to the Tower of London following the events of this story.

Sitting here writing this review I am having trouble thinking of anything really positive to say for this episode. To repeat myself, I understand that the Sarah Jane Adventures are children's programming so I can't expect the same level of awesomeness as I feel for Doctor Who and Torchwood. But still I find episodes like this are dumbed down somewhat. There just isn't anything to them and it is very frustrating because I know that the writers and everyone behind the show can do so much better.