The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Review

Posted on December 1, 2021 by guardion

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4

The Sarah Jane Adventures focuses on Clyde and Rani, to excellent results.

The Review

Here’s the scores for the stories:

The Empty Planet: 10/10

Death of the Doctor: 9/10

Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith: 9/10

The Vault of Secrets: 8/10

Lost in Time: 8/10

The Nightmare Man: 7/10

For a season of The Sarah Jane Adventures, there honestly wasn’t terribly much Sarah Jane, and I think that worked to the show’s advantage. Luke leaves in the first serial and doesn’t come back until the last one, taking K9 with him. This leaves us with Clyde and Rani, and their developing relationship which is wonderful. The two of them work so well together as a team, and the show shines when the two of them get to work together to save the world like in The Empty Planet. The stakes on the show continue to be hilariously high, but in the premise of children’s tv it doesn’t seem to matter much. I think kids can understand ‘save the world from destruction!’ more than emotional stakes. Still, there are those, especially in the final episode where Clyde and Sarah Jane come close to death. It’s a shame this was the final full season of this show, because who knows where it could’ve gone from here.

8.5/10 It was a standard affair

Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith Review

Posted on December 1, 2021 by guardion

Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 9-10

A serial that hits the emotions far harder than expected, Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith introduces a new rival investigator.

The Review

Elisabeth Sladen died on cancer in early 2011, and this was the last Sarah Jane Adventures story broadcast before she died. In it, Sarah Jane’s health starts deteriorating, which she reasons must be due to her age and she gives up her life hunting aliens. It’s tragic knowing that Sladen’s health would actually start declining, and also hard to watch what is essentially dementia. The cause is ‘Ruby White’ supposedly a new younger woman doing exactly Sarah Jane’s job, but turns out she’s a Qetesh, a race that feeds off energy and excitement…and has an out of body stomach. Julie Graham as Ruby provides an excellent foil to Sarah Jane, and even has ‘Mr. White’, a Nintendo DS sized super computer.

Once again, saving the Earth falls to the kids. Clyde and Rani quickly realize Sarah Jane wouldn’t vanish, and Clyde gets sent to Ruby’s ship and orbit to suffocate. Luke drives down and is mad at Rani, but K9 sorts things out and they manage to break up the scheme. The story is still chaotic, but does a lot of things successfully: defeating an evil version of Sarah Jane was a perfect idea. Also, boy if Clyde and Rani aren’t incredibly heroic. Luke’s alright, but his awkwardness hinders the character some while Clyde and Rani are just fantastic. Now I want them to lead a sequel series.

Sarah Jane’s plight reminded me of my grandmother’s dementia, and it was heartbreaking to watch. It’s even worse knowing the world did have to say goodbye to Sarah Jane Smith.

9/10 A fitting finale that is much more meaningful now

Lost in Time Review

Posted on December 1, 2021 by guardion

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

Not sure the Shopkeeper was handled right

The Empty Planet Review

Posted on December 1, 2021 by guardion

The Empty Planet

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 6-7

In a pitch-perfect story, Rani and Clyde’s relationship deepens as they are the last two humans left standing.

The Review

The best episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures have deepened the relationships of the cast and had serious emotional stakes. In this episode, Sarah Jane can’t save them now as Rani and Clyde wake up as the last two humans. Well, two of the last three as they meet a 13 year old named Gavin. Rani and Clyde have to use their own wits to sort out what’s going on, with several intelligent observations: all the cars and planes are gone too, so it’s like Earth wanted to be preserved. They struggle to think of something they’ve done but Sarah Jane hasn’t and realize it was getting grounded by the Judoon. The scenes of a completely deserted London are appropriately haunting, and it’s a great mystery.

It turns out Gavin, who thought himself completely normal, is half-alien, conceived Peter Quill style by his mom and an alien king. Said king has now died, so two brightly colored robots have arrived to deport Gavin on the throne. The real quality comes from Rani and Clyde coming closer to voicing their love for each other. The two compliment each other perfectly, Clyde’s creativity with Rani’s genius, and Rani’s self-confidence with Clyde’s underlying insecurity. Not to mention that as Rani and Clyde apparently vanish to their parents, we see her dad and his mom worrying about them. It’s a great mystery with some great character building. It’s no secret how Anjli Mohindra has had the best post-SJA career, her talent is clear.

No Sarah Jane turns out to be no problem for the show in an all-time classic outing. This is great children’s sci-fi!

10/10 The growth off Clyde and Rani has been great to watch

Death of the Doctor Review

Posted on November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 by guardion

Death of the Doctor

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 5-4

The Eleventh Doctor makes his spin-off appearance for a fun story that remixes a bit on School Reunion.

The Review

RTD is back as writer, Matt Smith is here as the Doctor, and almost more excitingly: Katy Manning is back as Jo Grant for the first time. Her entrance is classic Jo, accidentally dropping her vase of flowers, and admiring the Sansheeth aliens. Sarah Jane’s grin when she realizes it’s Jo Grant (or sorry, Jones), is wonderful. The clips of the Third and Fourth Doctors is nostalgia bait, but it’s fun seeing Jo and Sarah Jane, two of the best companions, interacting. One of Jo’s twelve (soon thirteen) grandsons Santiago also gets to meet Rani and Clyde. Both think the other has an amazing life, Jo and Santiago’s family protesting injustice and constantly traveling while Rani and Clyde fighting off aliens and being home in time for tea.

The villains are the Sansheeth, giant vulture aliens who are basically evil funeral home directors which is a pretty great concept. The idea that the Doctor has died is interesting considering how Series 6 is going to go. We have an evil UNIT colonel too, though Laila Rouass is pretty one-note evil. Their whole plan is they stole the TARDIS and are going to use it to stop death, which sounds like a good idea if you think about too hard. Really, the best moments come from Jo heartbroken the Doctor returned for Sarah and not her, and then the Doctor saying he checked in on Jo and was so proud of her. Unsurprisingly since RTD’s writing the Eleventh Doctor feels the most Tenth Doctor like here, but the fact that Matt Smith got to share the screen with Elisabeth Sladen is just wonderful.

It’s a fun adventure, highlighted of course by the return of Jo. It’s a shame the show ended before more classic companions could return, but we’ll get there.

9/10 Jo and Sarah Jane got to go to an alien planet again!

The Vault of Secrets Review

Posted on November 29, 2021 by guardion

The Vault of Secrets

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 3-4

The Sarah Jane Adventures gets back on track with a straightforward story and a returning baddie.

The Review

Down to only two kids on the cast, and down K9, it was time to return to the Chandra family. Gita has dragged Haresh to BURPSS, an ‘alien encounters anonymous’ group to talk about seeing Androvax and the Judoon last season. Turns out, Androvax is back, he broke out of space jail but was fatally poisoned and is trying to save his species. I was please with a lot of of the ambiguity of whether Androvax was turning over a new leaf, it turns out he did genuinely want to save his people but didn’t mind that Earth would have to get destroyed along the way. He hops into Gita and all three of the main cast over the story, and I contend that Anjli Mohindra and Elisabeth Sladen were the best at it. I like when this show has returning villains, keeps it lively.

The most fun bit is that we finally get a stop in from the Men in Black, who are androids deployed in the 50s to cover up alien activity. Angus Wright is a fantastic presence as the imposing leader of the Men in Black, and there is a lot of humor in his no-nonsense performance. Overall, this is a pretty standard, ordinary episode of the series. It does its job successfully, and not too much else. The characters of Ocean and Minty who had been kidnapped by aliens and founded BURPSS are played for comedy, but their story is actually quite sad: they’re completely right and nobody believes them. For a show about aliens, you think real life UFO hunters would garner more respect.

As classically SJA as one could expect, not too much more.

8/10 Meat and potatoes SJA as it were

The Nightmare Man Review

Posted on November 6, 2021 by guardion

The Nightmare Man

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 4 Episodes 1-2

In another premiere of The Sarah Jane Adventures that feels like a finale, Luke sets off from Bannerman Road.

The Review

The fourth season of The Sarah Jane Adventures starts with a pretty unique format. Luke is talking into a camcorder, and we flashback to a year earlier where Luke tells Sarah Jane that he could get into college a year early. So sets in motion a plot where Luke is going away to Oxford, and his anxiety about leaving Bannerman Road. The first episode is very Luke centric, and he is worried that Sarah Jane will replace him or not care about him. Sweetly, the show has not forgotten about Maria, who Luke still keeps in touch with. Luke isn’t supposed to be able to dream, but gets a quite scary one, some guy called the Nightmare Man that he is unable to tell anybody about. Tommy Knight isn’t quite able to hit all the emotional notes here, Luke is pretty awkward character emotionally and I think it was a tough lift, but it still could’ve been better.

Early in the story Clyde is upset that Luke is leaving, and is still going through the trauma of his father leaving. Rani, who is maybe the most capable in the whole show, encourages him to reach out to Luke, and so Clyde throws a surprise going away party to him in the school. Luke encourages Clyde to go dance with Rani, who is undeniably very cool. Rani is almost unrealistically emotionally mature for a teenager, Clyde has a nightmare of just working in a restaurant visited by an elderly Sarah Jane while Rani’s nightmare is just…exposing Sarah Jane as a journalist? It’s not the best serial. In the end, Luke leaves with K9 to protect him, and we get one last last amusing exchange between K9 and Mr. Smith. Without Luke I am really interested to see how the story goes as he was such a key part of the show, but Clyde and Rani are so great I’m not worried.

It’s not a great story, and I hope it’s not a final farewell for Luke.

7/10 Very much a ‘meh’ from me.