Sarah Jane goes it alone (The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Series (DVD))

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Series (DVD)
Date:	06/11/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining for the kids, not too frightening and good story lines

Disadvantages: The loud background music is sometimes too loud

For anyone who remembers that show called Doctor Who then you may know that there have been a couple of 'spin offs' shows, one called Torchwood , (an anagram of Doctor who, which is quite fitting) and another called The Sarah Jane Adventures, (Sarah Jane being the third and fourth Doctors companion from the 70's, the third being Jon Pertwee, and fourth being Tom Baker).

In brief, Doctor Who is a show for the general population of all ages, whilst Torchwood is set more on the adult theme, (nothing pornographic just a little more bloody), and The Sarah Jane Adventures was made more for the younger viewers, being first shown on the BBC channel.

Anyway, it is the last of the three which I am going to talk about today, the Sarah Jane Adventures spin off from Doctor Who series, showing the life of one of the Doctors most loyal companions.

The Sarah Jane Adventures initially began its spin off life on New years day in 2007 with a special episode called 'Invasion of the Bane', which introduced the public to Sarah and her young friends, including a new comer called Luke. But the first full series didn't actually begin until September the same year, finishing in November.

Creator: Russell T Davis
Writers: Gareth Roberts, Phil Ford and Phil Gladwin
Directors: Alice Troughton, Charles Martin and Graeme Harper.
Cast:
Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
Yasmin Paige as Maria Jackson
Tommy Knight as Luke Smith
Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer
Alexandra Armstrong as the voice of Mr Smith.


Series one... Brief plots...
(Each episode being approximately 25 minutes long).

Revenge of the Slitheen (2 episodes)

It's Maria and Luke's first day at school but things don't seem to be quite right.
It is not too long before they discover that the school is housing more than pupils and teachers.
Unfortunately, Luke is a little too trust worthy and inadvertently makes an almost fatal mistake, causing more danger to the planet earth from one of Sarah Jane's old foes.

Eye of the Gorgon (2 episodes)

Clyde's Grandmother tell him of some mysterious events happening around her nursing home so Sarah Jane and the kids investigate, soon uncovering scary secrets surrounding some spooky nuns
But when one of the residents gives Luke a precious gift it is the nuns who become the hunters, soon revealing the secrets of the place of worship and what the nuns are actually protecting with-in.

Warriors of Kudlak (2 episodes)

When Sarah Jane begins to suspect an innocent laser gun game centre may be responsible for the disappearance of several children she is soon investigating her theories. She soon uncovers that the people running the centre are not quite what they seem and have plans for the children who play the game.
But when Luke turns up at the centre for a game things really do become more serious for Sarah Jane and the children of planet earth.

What ever happened to Sarah Jane? (2 episodes)

When Maria realises she is the only person that remembers the existence of Sarah Jane, also discovering her own past has changed somewhat, she realises that there's no one who can help her discover the truth.
So when she begins to dig into the past she soon finds some disturbing facts about Sarah Jane and her close friend as teenagers
Then, when she discovers a mysterious woman living in Sarah Jane's house she begins to put the facts together, realising she must find out what has happened to her friend.
But things become more dangerous for Maria when she uncovers some rather angry and very strange enemies.

The lost Boys (2 episodes)

Sarah Jane's world is turned upside down when she is accused of abducting Luke from his 'real' parents, even though she knows exactly where he came from.
When Luke uncovers the truth about his 'new' family, bumping into an old foe, he realises that all is not what it seems.
But when Mr Smith begins to act a little strange Sarah Jane realises that the world could be coming to an end...yet again.

** IN CONCLUSION...

My kids watched the 'pilot' show on New Years day, 'Invasion of the bane', where Sarah Jane saves the world, (again), finding herself a son in the process, and really loved it. But they are big fans of the Doctor Who saga so I never had any doubts about this one.
So once they had seen the initial show they so wanted to see the first series when it came out many months later on the BBC channel.

Anyway, the show itself is very good for the younger audience, although people of all ages will enjoy it, and is well worth watching, bringing some of the Doctors old foes back to the small screen, giving them a chance to destroy the world once more.

The action is pretty harmless so as not to frighten the younger viewers it is aimed at, although some of the aliens do look as though the would keep the kids away from your front door on Halloween night, which would come in handy.

Each episode is in two parts, which is a little annoying when watching it on television as we had to wait a week to see how the story ended, but on the DVDs you get to watch them when ever you want to. And with each one being 25 minutes long you're talking nearly an hour for each story, which is a good length to keep the kids from getting too bored, although with the freaky stuff going on in the show I doubt that they will get bored at all.

As I said, my kids love this show and watch it at every opportunity, be it on the BBC channel or on DVD, so I have a great way to keep them quiet for at least an hour. The only downfall is that once they watch this they than try and emulate the 'monsters' they have just been hoping that Sarah Jane would outwit, which does sometimes lead to one or two 'incidents' involving a so called 'sonic' lipstick and my freshly painted walls.

This first series is full of alien encounters, some coming across a little scary, but all gaining the full attention of Sarah Jane and her young team of alien investigators.
My personal favourite episodes being 'What ever happened to Sarah Jane', which take you back into Sarah Jane's past and introduces you to a rather strange looking character who likes to play tricks on people. But the entire series is well worth watching if you like alien invasions and dodgy looking monsters.


What more can you say about this children's spin off from Doctor Who..? It seems to be aimed at kids between the ages of four and early teens and it works well for those ages. But then again, I am a lot older than early teens, (a hell of a lot older to be honest), and I enjoy watching this show as I find it easy viewing without the risk of my kids being offended or upset, which is a good thing all round.
I have to say that for all those who do remember the 'younger' Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane then you will be quite pleased at how good she still looks in her new role as the saviour of Earth. And in this, her own series, she really does shine as bright as one of the many stars she and the Doctor once flew by.

In all, a fine series aimed at kids but easily enjoyed by all. It has thrills, suspense, action, drama and some strange alien creatures.
If you have seen the show on television and you enjoyed it then I do recommend grabbing a copy of the first series, which is available for around 10 quid from amazon, and for this you get 4 discs with a stunning 330 minutes of child friendly alien adventure.

The one real downside to this series is the way that the background music seems to be louder than the conversation from the actors, leaving you struggling to hear a lot of the dialogue, some of it being quite important to the storyline.
Maybe the powers that be should think about reducing the dramatic music effect so we can hear what the actors are saying.

Summary: A girl only needs a sonic lipstick in her purse.