Story: The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor
Written By: Russell T. Davies
Length: 2 Episodes
Year: 2010
As much as I loved Steven Moffat's episodes in series 5, I have to say...theres something that just can't be repeated in Davies style. Davies returns to SJA and not only gets to write for Matt Smith (which is exciting all on its own) but he also brings back Jo Grant!
Much like last season's "Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" the Doctor doesn't really appear until the final moments of Episode 1, but unlike that there is plenty of build up and action in this story prior to his arrival. Re-introducing Jo and her new back-story take up some time, and it is really great to see her again. Manning gives a terrific performance...Jo is pretty much played as if our favorite ditzy assistant from the 70s became a cooky old lady. Its perfect and fun.
The new and exciting way the Doctor arrives is good fun, and when we get into episode two we get a great conversation between Jo and the new fresh faced Doctor. I liked the way Davies wrote this character, had her live a life of adventures and traveling the Earth, but always pining for the Doctor. It makes the ending to "The Green Death" all the more sad. I also thought it was interesting that she had lived this exciting life in spite of missing the Doctor, and Sarah literally wasted years before the Doctor returned to her life and gave her meaning again...but the Doctor returned to her more than once (Jo didn't hear a peep from him since he slipped out of her engagement party at the end of season 10).
We get a lot of continuity nods, which are really fun for the fan but well executed in the episode itself, as to not confuse those not in the know. The Doctor claims he can regenerate 507 times, a nice brushing off the old 13 lives limit (thank god we can move on from that one now...who cares why it has changed it finally has). The Doctor also mentions that he not only checked up on the Tenth Doctor's companions in his final moments during "The End of Time, Part II", but he looked up everybody...even Jo. It makes his final moments seem even more reflective. I really love that Davies added more layers to his previous finale.
Another nice touch is Luke once again makes a cameo via webcam, its nice to see he really isn't completely gone and isn't being replaced. The Shansheeth are unique looking, and definitely feel like they belong in the old show in the 70s, which is fine by me. They don't look THAT great as puppets, but they get the job done on this low budget show...and with some of the great visuals these episodes also had (the effects look pretty damn good, especially things like the UNIT base in the mountain) I will give them a complete and total pass.
This has been the best episode of SJA yet. I was curious as to how well Smith would work in this particular series, but I feel he did the job just as well as he had been in the whole of series 5. I think having the reintroduction of Jo made the waiting around for the Doctor to show up less irritating than it had been last year, and quite frankly: this was a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
NEXT TIME: Clyde and Rani Alone on Earth
Written By: Russell T. Davies
Length: 2 Episodes
Year: 2010
As much as I loved Steven Moffat's episodes in series 5, I have to say...theres something that just can't be repeated in Davies style. Davies returns to SJA and not only gets to write for Matt Smith (which is exciting all on its own) but he also brings back Jo Grant!
The new and exciting way the Doctor arrives is good fun, and when we get into episode two we get a great conversation between Jo and the new fresh faced Doctor. I liked the way Davies wrote this character, had her live a life of adventures and traveling the Earth, but always pining for the Doctor. It makes the ending to "The Green Death" all the more sad. I also thought it was interesting that she had lived this exciting life in spite of missing the Doctor, and Sarah literally wasted years before the Doctor returned to her life and gave her meaning again...but the Doctor returned to her more than once (Jo didn't hear a peep from him since he slipped out of her engagement party at the end of season 10).
We get a lot of continuity nods, which are really fun for the fan but well executed in the episode itself, as to not confuse those not in the know. The Doctor claims he can regenerate 507 times, a nice brushing off the old 13 lives limit (thank god we can move on from that one now...who cares why it has changed it finally has). The Doctor also mentions that he not only checked up on the Tenth Doctor's companions in his final moments during "The End of Time, Part II", but he looked up everybody...even Jo. It makes his final moments seem even more reflective. I really love that Davies added more layers to his previous finale.
Another nice touch is Luke once again makes a cameo via webcam, its nice to see he really isn't completely gone and isn't being replaced. The Shansheeth are unique looking, and definitely feel like they belong in the old show in the 70s, which is fine by me. They don't look THAT great as puppets, but they get the job done on this low budget show...and with some of the great visuals these episodes also had (the effects look pretty damn good, especially things like the UNIT base in the mountain) I will give them a complete and total pass.
This has been the best episode of SJA yet. I was curious as to how well Smith would work in this particular series, but I feel he did the job just as well as he had been in the whole of series 5. I think having the reintroduction of Jo made the waiting around for the Doctor to show up less irritating than it had been last year, and quite frankly: this was a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
NEXT TIME: Clyde and Rani Alone on Earth
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