Lost in Time
The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 8-9
In one of the most ambitious stories, The Sarah Jane Adventures tackles some seriously dark topics with decent results.
The Review
The stakes in each story of The Sarah Jane Adventures are usually colossal: the Earth is doomed! Here, it’s still true, but things get personal quick in the series’ most mature episode. The set-up is kind of unsuccessful, a mysterious man called the Shopkeeper sends the three to three different places after three different MacGuffins that if not retrieved will destroy Earth. Sarah Jane is sent to an old house in 1889 with a woman named Emily hunting ghosts, and it turns out the house is connected with its 21st century counterpart where two young kids die in a house fire. I think I’m liking Clyde and Rani more than Sarah Jane this series, so this was my least favorite of the three. I did like the twist when Sarah actually doesn’t get the magic key, but a guilty Emily has her descendant deliver it.
Rani is sent to 1553 and the ill-fated teenager Queen Jane who is promptly overthrown and later executed by Mary I. Amber Beattie is very good as the tragic queen who forms a friendship with Rani, and takes solace in Rani saying she will be remembered forever. The most bold has Clyde face up against actual Nazis, in a caper where of course two young boys ward off a German invasion. I can’t believe a Nazi called Clyde a ‘Negro’ on CBBC. The Nazis are very one-dimensional, but hey, I can’t blame them. Really, the biggest issue is the three stories make each one seem a bit rushed, not to mention the ill-defined danger Earth was in. The show took a big swing, it didn’t pay off, but points for trying.
An overstuffed serial is ambitious, but ultimately isn’t perfect. I’m really not sure what they were going for with the Shopkeeper.
8/10 A heartbreaking episode. Maybe wise Clyde didn’t go meet up with the now 83 year old George
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