So here we have series 2 of this show and after the mixed reaction that the last series got, let's see if this one is any better. With a regular cast member leaving and a new one taking residence, as well as the return of an old Doctor Who enemy, this is series 2 of Sarah-Jane Adventures:
The Last Sontaran
So taking place after series 4 of Doctor Who, Alan Jackson (all the original cast return) is offered a job in Washington DC but must seek the approval of his daughter Maria and his ex-wife Chrissie before relocating there with Maria (this by the way is the last episode to star Juliet Cowan). Elsewhere, strange lights are sighted around the Tycho Radio Tower and so Sarah-Jane and Co go to investigate. And what a shock, they find a Sontaran who claims to be the only survivor of the destruction of the 10th Sontaran Battle Fleet (as seen in the 2 part Doctor Who episode from series 4 featuring the return of UNIT and Martha Jones) and as with all Sontarans, he plans to wipe out humanity by disabling and bringing down Earth's satellites onto power plants all over the world. Its up to Sarah Jane and Co to stop him (and for those of you who haven't seen this episode, the battle ends with the most unlikely ally that the team can come across). Now I honestly think that the creators of this show should carefully alter the names of the episodes because they give too much away, but despite that, I'm glad that we get to see a very old enemy of the Doctor's making an appearance outside of Doctor Who and the Sontaran is given plenty of screen time. 8/10
The Day of the Clown
So in addition to the main story here, we also get introduced to our newest regulars, the Chandras which consist of the local florist Gita Chandra (played by Mina Anwar), the new headmaster of Clyde and Luke's school Haresh Chandra (played by Ace Bhatti) and their daughter Rani Chandra (played by Anjli Mohindra). As Clyde and Luke go to greet them and welcome them to Bannerman Road (the road which all the regular cast live in as far as I'm told that is), Sarah-Jane makes it very clear that the new neighbours shouldn't know what Sarah-Jane and the boys get up to (but as you'll come to expect, it doesn't stay that way for long). Clyde and Rani begin to get stalked by a creepy looking clown, prior to the disappearance of various children which has Sarah-Jane and Co go to investigate (which ends with some creepy moments as well as a new ally among Sarah-Jane's team). This episode was actually pretty good. It showed us everything that many of us find creepy about clowns as well as establishing the Chandra family, quite well. But again, the episode's name makes it very obvious on what the episode is all about. 8/10
Secrets of the Stars
Martin Trueman (played by Russ Abbot) is a con artist who reads the star signs of any individual that he meets, all in the ways of getting money (and these days, the only money grabbing gits are those who make bad based off something films and hardware that costs too much. I mean at least put some effort into them, but I'm going off track now). He admits this to his latest customer and then a star comet of some kind hits his house and Martin then gets possessed by a unknown being who also possess his customer too. The next day, the Chandras along with Sarah-Jane, Luke and Clyde attend a show starring Martin Trueman, which is all to do about star signs and as you'll come to expect, Luke doesn't have one as he was activated by the Bane, therefore he was never born. But as the show goes on, the being that is in Martin, begins to take over the minds of those who have a star sign and its then up to Sarah-Jane to stop him (or rather Luke in this case). It was another good episode that gives us some character development in Luke and I liked that they had the news reporters from Doctor Who in there too, all getting some funny moments in their screen time. 9/10
The Mark of the Berserker
In another episode where Sarah-Jane isn't present, Rani comes across a pendant that can be used to control those around the individual that uses it. She attempts to have Mr Smith (Sarah-Jane's extraterrestial computer which can hack into pretty much anything, according to Sarah-Jane Smith, voiced by Alexander Armstrong) scan it, but Sarah-Jane who has gone away for that weekend, disabled him. Meanwhile, Clyde gets to see his dad (known as Paul Langer and is played by Gary Beadle) who like with Maria parents, got divorced with Clyde living with his mother (known as Carla Langer and is played by Jocelyn Jee Esien). As he has a catch up with his dad (who doesn't believe him about him saving the world), Clyde takes him to the attic of Sarah-Jane Smith's house and Paul comes across the pendant from earlier and takes it. Finding out that he can tell people what to do with the pendant, he controls Clyde and has him forget who his friends and mother are, which forces Carla, Rani and Luke to hunt him down, even going as far as getting help from 2 familiar people in Washington DC. I like that we finally get to meet Clyde's parents and for the screen time that they are given, it works out quite well. I also like that some former cast members (who I won't reveal here) get to be seen again which is also a good thing. A good episode all around. 9/10
The Temptation of Sarah-Jane Smith
Some kind of portal in time, sends a boy from the 1950s into the present day, under the orders of The Trickster (a reoccurring villain in the show, played by Paul Marc Davis. Also in Doctor Who but not physically). Sarah-Jane takes him back and realises that the portal can take her to the day when her parents left her. Luke becomes suspicious of Sarah-Jane's odd behaviour and decides to accompany her into the portal, both knowing that this is likely to be a trap set up by the Trickster (or something along those lines anyway). Realising that the day they have come to, is the day when Sarah-Jane's parents abandon her as a baby, Sarah-Jane sees this opportunity to prevent them from doing that, despite Luke's pleas about the consequences of changing time itself. I thought this was a pretty good episode that gives us more of an idea of what Sarah-Jane's past, prior to meeting the Doctor, was like and it works quite well for the most part. 9/10
Enemy of the Bane
In the series finale which sees the return of an old Doctor Who companion (played by the late Nicholas Courtney) and the return of not one but 2 enemies of Sarah-Jane's, Rani's mother mysteriously disappears and Rani has Sarah-Jane to go and look for her. They go to her flower shop and discover a cheque which when scanned by Mr. Smith, is proven to be fake, but has a code which when translated, gives the address of an abandoned warehouse. Sarah-Jane and Rani go to this warehouse and find Gita in a trance alongside Mrs. Wormwood (who we previously saw in Invasion of Bane and is once again played by Samantha Bond). To Sarah-Jane's surprise, Wormwood asks her for help as she is being hunted down by her own kind when she was exiled. When Sarah-Jane and Rani take her to Sarah-Jane's house, she then further explains that the Bane are after something on Earth that can allow the Bane to conquer the galaxy with information about it being stored in UNIT's Black archive which is home to many alien artifacts. Does she really need help and is she allied with anyone and what's her real plan? For the final episode, I thought it was good in that we get to have more information regarding Luke's creation as well as the return of the Bane which was good as well. 8/10
This series was better than the first, but unfortunately seems to be following the same pattern that the last series did in that we see a Doctor Who enemy in the first episode and the same enemy in the last one, as well as the Trickster making an appearance in the second to last episode. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but its one that will wear off very quickly if nothing is done. Despite those points, its still a good series overall. 9/10
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