Sarah Jane Adventures: 1.1 Review
The latest of the Doctor Who spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, premiered on SCI FI Channel on Friday to begin a ten episode run. Though the episodes will run only a half hour going forward, the pilot, “Invasion of the Bane” was a full hour and a delightful one at that.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t totally sold on the idea going in. I’m a fan of Doctor Who and an even bigger fan of Torchwood, but Sarah Jane was designed for children and I expected that would put me right off. It didn’t. I found the series to be reminiscent of Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark, both of which I enjoyed when my son was young enough to watch them.
The hero of this story (despite the name of the series) is 13-year old Maria (Yasmin Paige) who moves into a new house with her father thanks to a recent divorce. Right off the bat, I was intrigued by the false impression they offer at the top of the hour — that Maria is living in a happy, in tact home. When we realize this is not the case, it’s a sad little punch in the chin.
We’re then introduced to Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), the not-so-nice journalist who lives next door. American audiences may not recognize Sarah Jane as one of the Doctor’s former companions, but Who fans will find plenty of winks and nods to her old series.
During the night, Maria is woken by a strange purple light coming from Sarah’s house. Like any good, adventurous child, she sneaks over to have a look and is greeted by the site of a fairy-like creature (didn’t we see her on Torchwood?)exchanging pleasantries with Sarah Jane. The next day, the sassy Kelsey (Porsha Lawrence Mavour) befriends Maria and now the real plot begins.
The story is about a new energy drink called Bubble Shock. The marketing is aimed at children and the company even offers a free bus ride into town to visit the factory where copious amounts of the drink are handed out for free. It’s all very Charlie and the Chocolate Factory except that Maria doesn’t like the fizzy drink and refuses to partake. Good thing, since Mrs. Wormwood (Samantha Bond) and her henchmen are up to know good! In the part of the story that 
makes no sense at all, the Bubble Shock people are scanning the DNA of all of the children who visit the factory and then feeding that information into the “Archetype,” a blank-slate clone that looks like a little boy.
Sarah Jane gets involved when she hears that Maria and Kelsey are on their way to the plant. (Apparently she’s not as cold-hearted as she acts.) She confronts Mrs. Wormwood with talk of aliens, which of course, puts her on the hit list.
Then in typical Doctor Who fashion, there’s much running and hiding and alien reveals. Lots of color and noise and over-the-top acting and yet somehow it all works. Remember early Power Rangers? Yeah. Like that. It should be awful, but it isn’t.
So like it or not, Sarah Jane ends up with both girls and the blank boy in tow as she heads for home and for the first time in a long time, her secrets are revealed. She tells them about her former life with The Doctor. She introduces them to K-9 and they ban together to defeat the villains in the end.
Of course, they can’t tell anyone that they just saved the world from an alien invasion because who would believe them? So like all good superheroes, they are bound together by their secret. A fun and fast paced hour.
Watch The Sarah Jane Adventures every Friday night on SCI Fi and check out the official website which is loaded with cool things to click on and explore.
SCI FI Channel Photos: Adrian Rogers
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POSTED IN: Reviews, SCI FI Channel
1 opinion for Sarah Jane Adventures: 1.1 Review
Brian Allen
Apr 14, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It’s really working as family entertainment. With no prodding from me whatsoever, my 21-month-old son crawled into my lap and started watching with me.
He liked the alien creatures and probably the teenage girls too - he’s already quite a little flirt!
I liked it, though. And I checked out the Dr. Who marathon so now I’m a full-fledged addict of this generation’s incarnation.
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