The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Series [DVD]

Always nice to see the return of some monsters from Doctor Who such as the Slitheen, and also some new ones like the Trickster.If you like Doctor Who at the start of Eccleston and Tennant's era, you'll enjoy this

An imaginative interpretation of the Doctor Who universe, in a terrestrial setting but retaining the gadgets, supercomputers, aliens and adventures. Definitely aimed at children but appreciable by adults either nostalgic for the Tom Baker era or keen on the modern Doctor's more humorous and light-hearted stories.The collection starts with the `Invasion of the Bane', a 60 minute special that see the transformation of the title character from a lonely, heart broken investigative journalist to an initially awkward though loving mother with her very own `Doctor Who'-esque companions. And like the Doctor needs his grounding human companions, Sarah Jane needs her imaginative, open minded teenagers.The series proper starts with the relatively disappointing `Revenge of the Slitheen'. Whilst I appreciate that the monsters were popular with children, a little more appropriate continuity would be nice, i.e. use the monsters but perhaps a new `family' and, more importantly, a fresher story? Instead, the writers directly draw on Aliens of London, World War Three and Boom Town but ignore the latter's single surviving Slitheen talking about being all alone. Ah well, the Slitheen get the story they deserve at the end of the series.Much better is the `Eye of the Gorgon', a nice use of the reality-behind-the-myth formula and complete with the amusing reference to the funny looking Sontarans ##oon to be resurrected Doctor Who badies#. Following this is the equally strong Warriors of Kudlak, an interesting play on the warriors-who-can't-stop-fighting scenario, though in this case its more because the commanding officer is actually a confused computer rather than being unable to accept defeat...`Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?' is by far an away my favourite story. Evil temptation incarnate, the Trickster offers a terrified child the impossible choice of whether to die or sacrifice your friend to save yourself. With maturity and reflection, complete with a bit of ethical prompting from a teenager #nicely reversing the adults-educating-children-about-right-and-wrong norm# comes altruism and, luckily for our heroine, sacrifice for #rather than of# your friends. Plus there's a silly little monster running around for the kids. Excellent.The series ends strongly with `The Lost Boy'. A good episode that causes the viewer to doubt the previously established story line as the gang is rudely torn apart by the grounding intrusion of real world establishments - a sonic lipstick isn`t half as effective against the police or social workers as it is against two metre tall, green aliens that hide in a skin suit. Oops, just given away who is behind it all. Or have I? All I'm saying is that it's a good thing that robot dogs now come equipped with teleports.

Misses what must be the pilot 'Invasion of the Bane' so obviously some things seem to have happened without our knowledge. Good price but NEEDS SUBTITLES

Thank you, Russell T. Davies: "Doctor Who" triumphantly revitalized; "Torchwood" a spin-off that stunned; "The Sarah Jane Adventures" which also works a treat. The Doctor's former companion (Elisabeth Sladen now about sixty, though it is hard to believe) continues to battle against hostile aliens with the help of her sonic lipstick (a gift from the Doctor) and a team of young friends: neighbour Maria, genius Luke and streetwise Clyde.Here are six hour long adventures, most of them divided in two. All are well done. Some contain genuine surprises. (Who could have anticipated that shock in the final episode?)Of course there are absurdities. Sarah Jane has a house full of alien artefacts and a truly awesome computer, yet she keeps a spare key under the flower pot. Of course there are irritations, Maria's mother especially. I also regret the trailers before the credits. We should be able to reflect on what we have seen, try to anticipate how the story lines will develop. When used in this way trailers do not whet the appetite but spoil the meal. Why not include them as an optional extra or at least show after the credits?These are minor matters, for there is so much to admire: great plots, fine production values, a likable central cast, good (= bad) monsters. For children? Why only them? I am seventy and was hooked. Great entertainment.

I hadn't seen the Sarah Jane Adventures before, and had been a bit nervous after watching an episode or two of Torchwood. I didn't like the American-style 'team' approach and didn't take to Torchwood at all. Too many guns, too many explosions and too many (superfluous) team members all taking it in turns to be in charge.Then the new Doctor Who series came out, with yet another American team set-up, shallow character development and that obnoxious Scottish female with the flamingo-like legs and unintelligible accent. So I gave up on that too.Eventually I decided to take the plunge and bought the Sarah Jane DVD - if only for the sake of watching Elizabeth Sladen again.I've just watched the first episode and I'm delighted!No criticisms at all. I hadn't realised how much I missed Russell T Davies. Gone are the 'oh-so-clever' and totally unnecessary plot twists. Of course the plot's a bit childish - the stories are aimed at children!Acting and production values are top-notch and the script is brilliant. This is up to the standards of the best of Doctor Who: Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Christopher Ecclestone and David Tennant.I hope the rest of the series lives up to the promise.

It come on time which was good and I am really enjoying it :)

Love this show when I was younger. Still as good as I remember. Reckon the Trickster should've made it into Doctor Who though

Bought it to relive my childhood. Absolutely holds up to what I remember. Love it sm