The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/07/2008 Run time: 360 minutes Rating: Nr
The presence of Elisabeth Sladen in the role that made her famous--intrepid reporter-turned-space adventurer Sarah Jane Smith--is one of the chief joys of The Sarah Jane Adventures, a delightful Doctor Who spin-off for younger viewers from series producer Russell T. Davies. Sarah Jane, once and forever companion to Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker's Doctors, steps capably into the lead for this series, which finds her partnered with a young neighbor (Yasmin Paige) to investigate and combat alien menaces in their comfortable London suburb. Who fans will recognize many of the foes, including the chaos-driven Trickster and the unpleasant Slitheen, both of whom menaced David Tennant's Doctor, but the new villains make their mark as well, most notably the Bane, an alien forced disguised as an ingredient in a soft drink. It's bright, breezy fun, well played by its cast of younger and more mature performers, and quite true to the mix of cheeky charm and outright thrills that has been the earmark of Doctor Who since its origin. And it's a genuine pleasure to have Sladen back as Sarah Jane; her spot-on mix of absolute conviction and gentle tongue-in-cheek humor make her the dream aunt or teacher of every adolescent science fiction fan. Extras on the four-disc First Season set are plentiful, though perhaps not as in-depth as those typically found on Doctor Who DVD releases. The lack of commentaries is perhaps due to the concept that younger fans might not be interested in listening to them, though that strategy short-changes older viewers who have been charmed by the program. Also, the very active menu animation, which depicts the interior of Sarah Jane's house, tends to get a bit tiresome when one tries to navigate the various options. But the featurette "From Journalist to Time Traveller and Beyond" should be a real pleasure for the Who faithful; it's a 30-minute tour through Sarah Jane's adventures with the Doctor, complete with scenes from many Pertwee and Baker serials. Sladen is naturally featured in several interviews, and there are behind-the-scenes clips from the UK children's program Blue Peter, as well as a plethora of info-heavy character profiles and even clips from a pair of audio books. --Paul Gaita
The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete First Season Accessories
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Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (Episode 84)
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Doctor Who - The Invasion of Time (Episode 97)
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The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete First Season Reviews
It's good to see K-9 back, too. This is a new series for campanion Sarah Jane Smith and it ties in nicely with the old and new series of Dr. Who.
The shows have the quality of the Dortor's productions but tempered with a little restraint in the "scream" factor so my 7-10 year old grandkids are okay watching them. Even the 4 year old can take it. This series is okay to share with the pre-teen set, although the storylines are strong enough to interest adults. They like the kids in it and can relate to them (be heroes), fight the bad guy).
This is a wonderful show. Encourage them to make more. I am SO glad. Can hardly wait for the second series to hit DVD. Buy it. And I wasn't even going to go out of my way to watch this. Figured, what the hey, the Doctor's not in it.
And Sarah Jane is almost, just so nearly almost as wonderful as the Doctor in it.
But then I found myself writing a fan fiction story about Sarah Jane and the Tenth Doctor which can be found on fanfiction.net under the title Silver and Gold in case anyone is interested, and after having her living in my head for over a month, I decided I had to see the Adventures. (Sorry, SJ, you of all people will understand how no one can be as wonderful as the Doctor).
And I just love that they've given her her own young ersatz Doctor to raise in the form of Lukethe brown-haired, brown-eyed, tall, slim young man who's super intelligent and more than a bit alienbrilliant.
She deserves her own Doctor, even if it is in the form of an adopted son. And I don't mean to kids, although you probably are to them, too.
I'm talking to 50 something ladies, who, thanks to you, can still see their own potential for being an action hero.
definitely something you could watch with your kids and enjoy. It is a family show. I love K-9. probably more in line with the scariness of the orignal series. Not quite as scary. so I figured it would be too young for me. but I was pleasantly surprised.
I like how they grew SJ's character in the 1st season. If you liked the original Doctor Who you will probably like this series. it is sort of New Doctor Who Lite.
I love that some of the Doctor Who monsters made an appearance. All three shows are great and a welcome addition to my Original Doctor Who DVDs and video tapes :o). but still VERY well written and acted.
Highly recommended. I wasn't sure I would like this new series because the side-kicks were kids. This spin-off series seems to be targeted at families and/or younger viewers the Torchwood series seems to be targeted at adults.
Sarah has grown older, but then so have I, but K-9 was just the same, good doggie. It was a delight to find this true and to have a copy of The Sarah Jane Adventures in my Dr. I had heard that past members of the Doctor's crew had gone on to have their own shows. Who library.
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