The pilot sees Sarah Jane Smith return in her own series. Having returned in 2006, I have to admit that I wasn’t as keen on this series purely because it was going to air on CBBC and not prime-time Saturday night. Whilst watching these I have to be careful not to compare it to Doctor Who or Torchwood because this is aimed at a different audience. We’re introduced to Maria who’s just moved opposite Sarah Jane Smith with her dad who is in the middle of a divorce. So she’s just moved into a new house and her family are splitting up, this sounds like classic teen angst and the perfect opportunity to join Maria up with Sarah Jane. That’s probably a little harsh but it’s the standard series set up.
Whilst trying to set up the characters there is a main plot which centres around Bubble Shock which is a fizzy drink that is a tad too addictive and Sarah Jane is investigating it. There is another Russell T Davies trait with ‘celebrity’ appearances, this time from Konnie Huq and Gethin Jones from the CBBC show Blue Peter. It’s brief but does a job in trying to lure kids to enjoy this drink.
Sarah Jane Smith is quite odd at the beginning because she’s quite hesitant in getting to know Maria or her dad. Though she does have her own Sonic Lipstick and she is closer to her journalistic roots that she had when she joined Doctor Who in 1973. Elisabeth Sladen continues to impress and she’s just as good as in School Reunion. She even gets into a fight when the secretary tries to kill her. It’s very brief (this is a kids show remember) but it shows that this new Sarah Jane is just as tough as the original. We get a nice little back story to what happened to Sarah Jane after she left the Doctor right up to return with the Tenth Doctor. Having to try and find something to do after all those adventures and dealing with bills and stuff.
Yasmin Paige is a perfectly good actress who is does well in being the sad little girl who discovers a scary yet exciting world just across the road. Luke (Thomas Knight) would go on to be quite an interesting character and he does have an interesting debut into the story being the archetype. But it’s Maria’s story and as a result Luke doesn’t get much development in this story. Mrs Wormwood is the standard baddie who is just right for the show. She is the leader of the factory and Samantha Bond is highly enjoyable in the role.
The character of Kelsey Hooper (Porsha Lawrence Mavour) is irritating beyond the relax standards that I have when it comes to approaching characters. It’s not hard to see why she didn’t come back in the series. Also this story does seem very cheesy with the whole Bubble Shock thing. Whilst watching it I thought that the story lacked any dramatic punch which is a shame really. When I was watching CBBC during the early 1990’s there was stuff like The Demon Headmaster which had good characters, drama and was scary.
This was just the beginning of a long series and with the recent death of Elisabeth Sladen I agree with what Russell T Davies said when he said he was glad he got Elisabeth Sladen to do this and I think every fan of Sarah Jane echoes that sentiment.
Whilst trying to set up the characters there is a main plot which centres around Bubble Shock which is a fizzy drink that is a tad too addictive and Sarah Jane is investigating it. There is another Russell T Davies trait with ‘celebrity’ appearances, this time from Konnie Huq and Gethin Jones from the CBBC show Blue Peter. It’s brief but does a job in trying to lure kids to enjoy this drink.
Sarah Jane Smith is quite odd at the beginning because she’s quite hesitant in getting to know Maria or her dad. Though she does have her own Sonic Lipstick and she is closer to her journalistic roots that she had when she joined Doctor Who in 1973. Elisabeth Sladen continues to impress and she’s just as good as in School Reunion. She even gets into a fight when the secretary tries to kill her. It’s very brief (this is a kids show remember) but it shows that this new Sarah Jane is just as tough as the original. We get a nice little back story to what happened to Sarah Jane after she left the Doctor right up to return with the Tenth Doctor. Having to try and find something to do after all those adventures and dealing with bills and stuff.
Yasmin Paige is a perfectly good actress who is does well in being the sad little girl who discovers a scary yet exciting world just across the road. Luke (Thomas Knight) would go on to be quite an interesting character and he does have an interesting debut into the story being the archetype. But it’s Maria’s story and as a result Luke doesn’t get much development in this story. Mrs Wormwood is the standard baddie who is just right for the show. She is the leader of the factory and Samantha Bond is highly enjoyable in the role.
The character of Kelsey Hooper (Porsha Lawrence Mavour) is irritating beyond the relax standards that I have when it comes to approaching characters. It’s not hard to see why she didn’t come back in the series. Also this story does seem very cheesy with the whole Bubble Shock thing. Whilst watching it I thought that the story lacked any dramatic punch which is a shame really. When I was watching CBBC during the early 1990’s there was stuff like The Demon Headmaster which had good characters, drama and was scary.
This was just the beginning of a long series and with the recent death of Elisabeth Sladen I agree with what Russell T Davies said when he said he was glad he got Elisabeth Sladen to do this and I think every fan of Sarah Jane echoes that sentiment.
No comments:
Post a Comment