The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 11 "Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith" part 1
We start the final story of the season with Mr. Smith detecting a meteor heading for Earth. The meteor threatens to release a pathogen which threaten life on Earth. Arriving at the meteor crash site, the gang is surprised to learn that the threat has already been eliminated by the mysterious arrival of a strange woman. Seeking to learn more about the stranger, and wishing to determine if she's a threat to humanity, the gang chase her, but quickly lose track of her. The are surprised to find her, as she's moved into their neighborhood. The confront her at her home, and learn her name "Ruby White", but the woman rudely cuts them off and little else is learned of her motivations.
Sarah, Clyde, and Rani go to intercept an alien invasion force. Sarah is starting to act oddly, as she shows little concern about putting the kids in danger, and gives Clyde a ray gun. The aliens, soldiers for the Dark Horde, are an advance squad of three here to determine the threat level of humanity. Sarah fails to bring her sonic lipstick, and failed to have the ray gun she had given Clyde charged, leaving the group in mortal danger. They are saved when Ruby arrives, and drats the kids in a maneuver involving three devices to which seem to imprison the alien soldiers and encourages them to teleport back to their ship.
Sarah continues to show an alarming failure of memory, as Ruby takes over as mentors for the teens. Sarah forgets that Luke's away at college, forgets K-9's name in a webcam conversation with Luke, and perhaps most alarmingly forgets the Doctor's name. Ordering a scan from Mr. Smith, it is determined that she is experiencing an onset of dementia, and that there is no cure.While it seems to us viewers that this condition is not natural, seeing her reaction is heartbreaking knowing that Liz was just a year away from succumbing to cancer.
Her uncharacteristic behavior continues as she invites Ruby to the attic, where she basically gives everything she has to Ruby. She gives her her house, Mr. Smith, and her role as the planet's protector. Of course, it comes to no surprise that it was all a ruse, and with Sarah no longer able to command Mr. Smith, and with her growing degradation of her mental faculties, she is powerless to prevent Ruby's scheme from succeeding. Ruby transports Sarah to her basement, where she introduces her to her "stomach" (ooookay?), chains her to the wall, and proceeds to suck her lifeforce in order to feed her external stomach. One of the more bizarre cliffhangers this show's had, that's for sure...
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
25th January, 2013
BBC America is showing some recent episodes tonight, providing us with a day's break from The Sarah Jane Adventures. "The Power of Three is being broadcast while I'm travelling home from work, disqualifying this airing from this project. That leaves us with the "The Angels Take Manhattan" which Elaine and I last saw on its fall broadcast, and "The Snowmen" which we have seen twice before. I'm choosing to do less of a blow-by-blow account of the plots, and focus more on general impressions, specially any different takes I have from this viewing.
Series 7 episode 5 "The Angels Take Manhattan"
I'm looking forward to seeing this again, as we haven't seen it since its original broadcast. The film noir setting fits the pattern of season 7 of each episode being a self-contained take on a classic movie genre. My wife notices the poster of the statue of liberty in the elevator in the apartment building being used by the Angels. Many people have complained that the statue would not have had a chance to move, as at any time many eyes are actively watching it. Maybe the image from a poster (or any number of postcards, photos, etc.) could have created the statue we view on the buildings roof? Probably a bit of a stretch of an explanation, as this could have created any number of statues, but the rules are vague enough to create any number of explanations for the Statue of Liberty's appearance.
The scenes in modern New York provide us with a chance to see The Doctor relax with the Ponds. This won't last of course. The Melody Malone novel drives the plot as the typical tight-plotting of Steven Moffat is in evidence. I had always thought that the definition of a "fixed point in time" hinged on the Doctor's specific knowledge of the events, and I was delighted to see that confirmed in this story. Back in the 30's, we get our first River sighting, and she is absolutely stunning in that black gown.
Chasing Rory back to the past puts the story into high gear. Matt Smith's chemistry with Alex Kingston is wonderful, as usual, in the scene with River trapped in the grasp of the injured Angel. You never feel the age difference in their interactions, and I think both actors should be credited for this. River's reaction to the Doctor using regeneration energy to heal her broken wrist implies that he probably cost himself years of his life. This seems to recall a similar use of life force in "Rise of the Cybermen", and I think it's safe to assume he's lost a similar amount of time here.
We reach the story's climax back at Winter Quay. Its funny how Rory himself comments on how cliche' its become for him to die. The scene on the roof between Rory and Amy is spot on, and really provides the emotional resolution to their entire relationship. I know they grow old together in the past, but as far as the Doctor (and us) are concerned it is the end. Amy's resolve to return to the past to be reunited with Rory shows those us who had our doubts about the sustainability of their marriage how wrong we were. It was never a choice between a life of adventure with the Doctor and a life of domesticity with Rory. I think I never gave Amy enough credit for how much she loved Rory. I'm glad I was wrong.
The Doctor ends this story in a really dark place, and that leads into the Christmas special. River's still around to provide the occasional appearance, but one feels that her story's due to come to an end as well. I have no desire to see her interact with any future Doctors, so once Matt's done with the role, I hope she'll be done as well. I suspect that is the plan.
This story works better as an emotional goodbye for the Ponds than it does as a creepy encounter with the Angels. It introduces some typical noir character types, but disposes of them as soon as they serve their purpose to the plot. The plot is as twisty and tight as any Moffat script, but for once you don't feel that the show is holding its arms up in victory in how it pulled it off. It sets up the Christmas special and second half of series 7 well, with the Doctor's devastated reaction to losing Amy. The use of the scenes with young Amelia Pond to wrap up Amy's story in a nice bow is pure gold. Oddly, I had more of an emotional reaction to this 2nd viewing than I did the first. A wonderful finale for a wonderful pair of companions. Rory and Amy, you will be missed.
Series 7 episode 6 "The Snowmen"
Having seen this twice already in less than a month, Elaine declines to watch this with me. I gain little from this third viewing, as unlike the previous two, the episode is edited by BBCA to fit into an hour-long slot. It originally aired in an hour and twenty minute slot. There was little extraneous, as like most Moffat scripts it is densely plotted and the story moves at a break neck pace. We lose major scenes, which for anyone viewing this for the first time, were vital to understand what was happening. The distaste for this edit provides me with little motivation to analyze this story in depth here.
I'll just say that I loved this episode the first 2 times I saw it. I think it is easily the best Christmas special since "The Christmas Invasion". Clara Oswin Oswald is a wonderfully eccentric and perky companion. The mystery of her multiple deaths gives us the ongoing story arc for the second half of this season. The second time I viewed it, I took notice of the odd glowing orb above her as she lay dying, and the Doctor's dialogue during her "deathbed" scenes hint at some preparation having been made. He never seems overly affected by her death, as his recent rise in spirits returning him to a life of adventure overwhelms any other emotion he may be feeling. Or perhaps he knows something we don't about her death....
24th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 10 "Lost in Time" part 2
We return with each of our heroes stuck in time facing their own perils. Although the sands in the Shopkeeper's hourglass run out (so they were running out, apparently), the gang has a bit more time as the time portal doesn't automatically close, even as this does threaten to suck in the entire world. Each of our gang has been distracted from accomplishing their task by trying to solve the problems of the people they've encountered. We can't expect our heroes to turn their back on the innocent, can we?
Rani prevents Matilda from stabbing Jane Grey and we learn that the handmaiden's motive was to make the erstwhile Queen a martyr for the protestant cause. Rani gives Jane a pep talk as Mary's troops surround the tower, encouraging her to show courage, as her memory will live on for centuries. Sensing her other-worldly nature, Ms. Grey assumes Rani's an angel, reinforcing her trust and belief in her treatment of history. Rani takes the dagger and returns to the present, shocking the older handmaiden, but confirming the Queen's belief in her angelic nature.
Clyde and George escape the church and come across an apparent ally in a young (and armed) townswoman. They return to the church to stop the Nazi force, where the lady shows her true allegiance in helping the Germans to recapture the boys. Clyde and George escape, yet again, when Clyde uses his cell phone to make the Germans believe that he has a bomb. George grabs "Thor's Hammer" (because if Clyde did the mini-adventure would come to a premature end), and Clyde's phone gets smashed and left behind (oh that can't be a good thing), but the kids do manage to alert the Home Guard. The Home Guard capture the invaders, George expresses a desire to join the military, and Clyde grabs the hammer and returns to our time.
Sarah Jane and her erstwhile companion Emily wish to attempt to save the future children from the fire, but Sarah doesn't have 24 hours to wait for the next time the clock hits 8pm. Apparently the time stream is stupid, since physically resetting the clock does the trick. This time the mansion appears as it does in the time of the fire, although our heroes can't interact with the people or any physical objects. They learn they can walk through the door leading to the children, but the kids can't hear or see them. Emily's distress over being helpless to help the kids as they begin to set the fire allow her to communicate with them, and the fear allows her to turn the key on the door to allow the children to escape. Sarah is then able to take the key, which is the item she was searching for, but her effort to pass back through the time portal is thwarted when Emily in a panic accidentally grabs the key and keeps her from taking it with her.
The Shopkeeper has placed Clyde's and Rani's pieces of the Chronosteen in a box, but all seems lost when Sarah fails to give him her piece. A woman enters the shop with the key in the nick of time, allowing them to avert disaster. The woman is Emily's granddaughter, who was given instructions to return the key to Sarah Jane on the day and place from the article in the newspaper Sarah had left in the past. (121 years seems like a long time for merely 2 generations to have passed. The lady bringing the key didn't seem that old.) The Shopkeeper and his parrot who was the one in control, apparently, take their leave and vanish into thin air without us learning anything about what the hell had just happened.
The granddaughter's name is Angela Price, and through her we learn of Emily's becoming a medical Doctor. Internet searches allow us to discover Clyde's and Rani's companions' fate. Jane Grey's faith in her was confirmed in a letter to her sister. George is still alive, having entered the armed forces towards the end of the war at the age of 16. Recently, at age 83, George received a decoration from the Queen for his work in radar technology. (maybe the technology from the abandoned cell phone helped?) I'd like it if Clyde could go visit him someday.
Trips to the past are always fun on this show, and this story is no exception. The world of the past is somewhat sanitized, as is understandable for a kids' show. Once again, each of the regulars having their own separate adventure allows each to shine. Having dropped down to three regulars has allowed the remaining characters to reap the benefit of the greater focus. I do feel that the show doesn't do a good job of explaining the origins of the Shopkeeper, or of the Chronosteen, but in the Shopkeeper's case, the mystery is at least part of the character's appeal. I suspect the writers intended for the character to return, although Sarah's passing probably didn't allow enough time for this. Overall, I'd rank it my second favorite story of the season to this point, only failing to overcome the nostalgic appeal of "Death of the Doctor".
We return with each of our heroes stuck in time facing their own perils. Although the sands in the Shopkeeper's hourglass run out (so they were running out, apparently), the gang has a bit more time as the time portal doesn't automatically close, even as this does threaten to suck in the entire world. Each of our gang has been distracted from accomplishing their task by trying to solve the problems of the people they've encountered. We can't expect our heroes to turn their back on the innocent, can we?
Rani prevents Matilda from stabbing Jane Grey and we learn that the handmaiden's motive was to make the erstwhile Queen a martyr for the protestant cause. Rani gives Jane a pep talk as Mary's troops surround the tower, encouraging her to show courage, as her memory will live on for centuries. Sensing her other-worldly nature, Ms. Grey assumes Rani's an angel, reinforcing her trust and belief in her treatment of history. Rani takes the dagger and returns to the present, shocking the older handmaiden, but confirming the Queen's belief in her angelic nature.
Clyde and George escape the church and come across an apparent ally in a young (and armed) townswoman. They return to the church to stop the Nazi force, where the lady shows her true allegiance in helping the Germans to recapture the boys. Clyde and George escape, yet again, when Clyde uses his cell phone to make the Germans believe that he has a bomb. George grabs "Thor's Hammer" (because if Clyde did the mini-adventure would come to a premature end), and Clyde's phone gets smashed and left behind (oh that can't be a good thing), but the kids do manage to alert the Home Guard. The Home Guard capture the invaders, George expresses a desire to join the military, and Clyde grabs the hammer and returns to our time.
Sarah Jane and her erstwhile companion Emily wish to attempt to save the future children from the fire, but Sarah doesn't have 24 hours to wait for the next time the clock hits 8pm. Apparently the time stream is stupid, since physically resetting the clock does the trick. This time the mansion appears as it does in the time of the fire, although our heroes can't interact with the people or any physical objects. They learn they can walk through the door leading to the children, but the kids can't hear or see them. Emily's distress over being helpless to help the kids as they begin to set the fire allow her to communicate with them, and the fear allows her to turn the key on the door to allow the children to escape. Sarah is then able to take the key, which is the item she was searching for, but her effort to pass back through the time portal is thwarted when Emily in a panic accidentally grabs the key and keeps her from taking it with her.
The Shopkeeper has placed Clyde's and Rani's pieces of the Chronosteen in a box, but all seems lost when Sarah fails to give him her piece. A woman enters the shop with the key in the nick of time, allowing them to avert disaster. The woman is Emily's granddaughter, who was given instructions to return the key to Sarah Jane on the day and place from the article in the newspaper Sarah had left in the past. (121 years seems like a long time for merely 2 generations to have passed. The lady bringing the key didn't seem that old.) The Shopkeeper and his parrot who was the one in control, apparently, take their leave and vanish into thin air without us learning anything about what the hell had just happened.
The granddaughter's name is Angela Price, and through her we learn of Emily's becoming a medical Doctor. Internet searches allow us to discover Clyde's and Rani's companions' fate. Jane Grey's faith in her was confirmed in a letter to her sister. George is still alive, having entered the armed forces towards the end of the war at the age of 16. Recently, at age 83, George received a decoration from the Queen for his work in radar technology. (maybe the technology from the abandoned cell phone helped?) I'd like it if Clyde could go visit him someday.
Trips to the past are always fun on this show, and this story is no exception. The world of the past is somewhat sanitized, as is understandable for a kids' show. Once again, each of the regulars having their own separate adventure allows each to shine. Having dropped down to three regulars has allowed the remaining characters to reap the benefit of the greater focus. I do feel that the show doesn't do a good job of explaining the origins of the Shopkeeper, or of the Chronosteen, but in the Shopkeeper's case, the mystery is at least part of the character's appeal. I suspect the writers intended for the character to return, although Sarah's passing probably didn't allow enough time for this. Overall, I'd rank it my second favorite story of the season to this point, only failing to overcome the nostalgic appeal of "Death of the Doctor".
Thursday, January 24, 2013
23rd January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 9 "Lost in Time" part 1
The preview promises a time warping adventure this time out, which should provide a good contrast with the other stories this season. We jump right into the story, with Sarah Jane, Rani, and Clyde following up on a report of an alien in a shop downtown. They encounter "The Shopkeeper" who purposefully led them there to recruit them on a mission to retrieve three metal objects hidden throughout Earth's history. Retrieving these objects is necessary to prevent some sort temporal disaster and The Shopkeeper is "forbidden" to retrieve these objects himself. Sarah Jane is left to ponder several unanswered questions: Who hid these objects in Earth's history? For what purpose? Are these objects forged from the Time Vortex the solution to whatever is putting the Earth in peril or the cause? How is the Shopkeeper aware of their previous adventures in time,and can he be trusted? Before she can decide the wisdom of taking this character at his word and putting all of their lives in danger, the Shopkeeper sends each of the gang into a different period of time, informing them that they should appear near the object, they'll know when they've found it, and they'll be returned to the present when they've obtained it.
Rani travels to the tower of London on July 19, 1553, the final day of Jane Grey's 9 day reign. She pulls a Doctor patented move in being mistaken for an expected visitor and manages to become a lady-in-waiting for the ill-fated Queen. She forms an instant bond with the young monarch, but raises the suspicions of another of her handmaidens, Lady Matilda. With Mary I's troops right outside the tower, Rani uncovers a plot by Matilda to assassinate Jane Grey, and observes her unwrapping a dagger made of a suspicious looking metal....
Clyde winds up in a locale right out of "The Curse of Fenric" as he meets a lad named George whose family had been relocated because of WWII. The year is 1941, which is supported by the uniforms of the 3 Nazi invaders they observe landing on the beach. The kids follow the soldiers to a church, where they are found out and captured while trying to hide. The Lieutenant in charge describes the plan to block radio transmissions to provide cover for an invasion, and pulls out a "Thor's hammer" that is much smaller than the one we saw last summer in "The Avengers" (A Norse artificat...hmmm...) to power the scrambling device they are constructing. Clyde realizes that the hammer is glowing and is undoubtedly the item he is looking for...
Sarah Jane comes to in a small room under a flight of stairs. After being unable to locate Harry Potter, she exits the room to encounter a young lady Emily Morris who informs her that the year is 1889. Ms. Morris had arrived at the obviously haunted mansion in order to do a little ghost-busin' apparently. As per normal, the odd events begin at 8pm precisely. They hear voices, and from their use of modern slang, Sarah surmises that they are hearing events from the future, not from the past. Sarah forgets her current task and endeavors to save the future children they're hearing from being burned in the fire the kids are in danger of starting.
We finish the episode back in the present, with the Shopkeeper fretting that the sands in the hourglass he's using to provide the episode's obligatory deadline have about run out. It looks about half full to me, but whatever. Hopefully we'll learn more about his purpose and motivations next week as we've reached the cliffhanger and the end of part 1.
The preview promises a time warping adventure this time out, which should provide a good contrast with the other stories this season. We jump right into the story, with Sarah Jane, Rani, and Clyde following up on a report of an alien in a shop downtown. They encounter "The Shopkeeper" who purposefully led them there to recruit them on a mission to retrieve three metal objects hidden throughout Earth's history. Retrieving these objects is necessary to prevent some sort temporal disaster and The Shopkeeper is "forbidden" to retrieve these objects himself. Sarah Jane is left to ponder several unanswered questions: Who hid these objects in Earth's history? For what purpose? Are these objects forged from the Time Vortex the solution to whatever is putting the Earth in peril or the cause? How is the Shopkeeper aware of their previous adventures in time,and can he be trusted? Before she can decide the wisdom of taking this character at his word and putting all of their lives in danger, the Shopkeeper sends each of the gang into a different period of time, informing them that they should appear near the object, they'll know when they've found it, and they'll be returned to the present when they've obtained it.
Rani travels to the tower of London on July 19, 1553, the final day of Jane Grey's 9 day reign. She pulls a Doctor patented move in being mistaken for an expected visitor and manages to become a lady-in-waiting for the ill-fated Queen. She forms an instant bond with the young monarch, but raises the suspicions of another of her handmaidens, Lady Matilda. With Mary I's troops right outside the tower, Rani uncovers a plot by Matilda to assassinate Jane Grey, and observes her unwrapping a dagger made of a suspicious looking metal....
Clyde winds up in a locale right out of "The Curse of Fenric" as he meets a lad named George whose family had been relocated because of WWII. The year is 1941, which is supported by the uniforms of the 3 Nazi invaders they observe landing on the beach. The kids follow the soldiers to a church, where they are found out and captured while trying to hide. The Lieutenant in charge describes the plan to block radio transmissions to provide cover for an invasion, and pulls out a "Thor's hammer" that is much smaller than the one we saw last summer in "The Avengers" (A Norse artificat...hmmm...) to power the scrambling device they are constructing. Clyde realizes that the hammer is glowing and is undoubtedly the item he is looking for...
Sarah Jane comes to in a small room under a flight of stairs. After being unable to locate Harry Potter, she exits the room to encounter a young lady Emily Morris who informs her that the year is 1889. Ms. Morris had arrived at the obviously haunted mansion in order to do a little ghost-busin' apparently. As per normal, the odd events begin at 8pm precisely. They hear voices, and from their use of modern slang, Sarah surmises that they are hearing events from the future, not from the past. Sarah forgets her current task and endeavors to save the future children they're hearing from being burned in the fire the kids are in danger of starting.
We finish the episode back in the present, with the Shopkeeper fretting that the sands in the hourglass he's using to provide the episode's obligatory deadline have about run out. It looks about half full to me, but whatever. Hopefully we'll learn more about his purpose and motivations next week as we've reached the cliffhanger and the end of part 1.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
22nd January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 8 "The Empty Planet" Part 2
Clyde and Rani escape from their respective robots (Rani with a little help from Gavin) and gather together in the cafe they've turned into an HQ of sorts. They work out that they were spared from the mass kidnapping due to their being "grounded" by the Judoon in an earlier episode, although this still doesn't explain Gavin's presence. This disproves my alternate world theory, but it is a good tie-in with a previous adventure. This implies that whatever race is responsible for the event recognizes the authority represented by the Judoon (perhaps they recognize the Shadow Proclamation, as the Judoon have been shown to be working for them in the past).
The robots attack again, and the kids split up to better evade their would-be captors. The robots catch up with Clyde and Rani, and use the devices on their arms to scan them (aha! I knew it was a scanner!). Using a tabloid newspaper to help the robots assimilate English, the teens are able to communicate with the robots in order to make out their purpose. The screens translate into a countdown of about 25 minutes remaining (a lot of symbols for a simple countdown if you ask me) and the invaders require the air and the sun in order to complete their mission and return the rest of humanity, although if they don't accomplish this before the countdown the people will be trapped permanently. Why, exactly, the countdown exists, and why the force behind the robots would be willing to risk sending humanity to its permanent exile remain a mystery. Rani works out that they're searching for the "son and heir" and comes to the realization that they're searching for Gavin. Well, now they've figured out why Gavin wasn't taken, they just need to figure out where the guy ran off to before the countdown ends.
They find Gavin using clues from his apartment, and try to explain that he's really royalty from another planet. He's wearing a ring given to him by his mother preventing his being detected by the robots (maybe the motivations of those locating him are not as noble as they may seem. The mother must've been frightened for Gavin's safety to want him to remain hidden, either from his father or from his people.) Once he removes the ring and receives the transmission that was being blocked by it he rather quickly accepts who he is and is excited to be leaving this stinking planet that has been the only home he has ever known (maybe there was some memories that had been suppressed by the mother that were revealed when he received the message from his people?). He rather leisurely bestows alien knighthoods on Clyde and Rani, the robots transport Gavin back to their ship, and decide to have a laugh by watching Clyde and Rani shit their pants by waiting until the last second before returning everyone home.
Rani returns home with Clyde to find her father rather frantic to find out their whereabouts. Everyone jumped in time from 7 to 8:30 AM, but nobody seems to be freaking the shit out about it. Sarah Jane comes in, speaking with Luke on the phone (this is the first story we don't see him), and offers to take Clyde home after he tells her what happened. Eventually everyone gathers in Sarah's attic, where we learn that Mr. Smith has set up a cover story for Gavin, having falsified records that he moved to Australia (some guardians his aunt and uncle are turning out to be). Everyone has a chuckle over Clyde's and Rani's new found titles and another adventure comes to a conclusion.
It was inevitable that the series would have a letdown after all the geeky goodness provided by "Death of the Doctor", but this story does an adequate job of holding its own. My wife and I enjoyed the growing signs of attraction between Clyde and Rani. Clyde's joke about starting the human race over with Rani, and her reaction were priceless. Also, following up on Clyde's and Rani's grounding by the Judoon by using it as a major plot point here was very clever. The countdown didn't really make any sense, and was just a device to add a little suspense to the second half of the story. The motivations of the aliens could have been explained better, and the actions take by Gavin, his parents, and his guardian aunt and uncle don't really add up. Still, giving Clyde and Rani a chance to shine on their own, without the other kids and Sarah Jane was a good way to strengthen their characters, and we look forward to seeing how their relationship develops from here.
Clyde and Rani escape from their respective robots (Rani with a little help from Gavin) and gather together in the cafe they've turned into an HQ of sorts. They work out that they were spared from the mass kidnapping due to their being "grounded" by the Judoon in an earlier episode, although this still doesn't explain Gavin's presence. This disproves my alternate world theory, but it is a good tie-in with a previous adventure. This implies that whatever race is responsible for the event recognizes the authority represented by the Judoon (perhaps they recognize the Shadow Proclamation, as the Judoon have been shown to be working for them in the past).
The robots attack again, and the kids split up to better evade their would-be captors. The robots catch up with Clyde and Rani, and use the devices on their arms to scan them (aha! I knew it was a scanner!). Using a tabloid newspaper to help the robots assimilate English, the teens are able to communicate with the robots in order to make out their purpose. The screens translate into a countdown of about 25 minutes remaining (a lot of symbols for a simple countdown if you ask me) and the invaders require the air and the sun in order to complete their mission and return the rest of humanity, although if they don't accomplish this before the countdown the people will be trapped permanently. Why, exactly, the countdown exists, and why the force behind the robots would be willing to risk sending humanity to its permanent exile remain a mystery. Rani works out that they're searching for the "son and heir" and comes to the realization that they're searching for Gavin. Well, now they've figured out why Gavin wasn't taken, they just need to figure out where the guy ran off to before the countdown ends.
They find Gavin using clues from his apartment, and try to explain that he's really royalty from another planet. He's wearing a ring given to him by his mother preventing his being detected by the robots (maybe the motivations of those locating him are not as noble as they may seem. The mother must've been frightened for Gavin's safety to want him to remain hidden, either from his father or from his people.) Once he removes the ring and receives the transmission that was being blocked by it he rather quickly accepts who he is and is excited to be leaving this stinking planet that has been the only home he has ever known (maybe there was some memories that had been suppressed by the mother that were revealed when he received the message from his people?). He rather leisurely bestows alien knighthoods on Clyde and Rani, the robots transport Gavin back to their ship, and decide to have a laugh by watching Clyde and Rani shit their pants by waiting until the last second before returning everyone home.
Rani returns home with Clyde to find her father rather frantic to find out their whereabouts. Everyone jumped in time from 7 to 8:30 AM, but nobody seems to be freaking the shit out about it. Sarah Jane comes in, speaking with Luke on the phone (this is the first story we don't see him), and offers to take Clyde home after he tells her what happened. Eventually everyone gathers in Sarah's attic, where we learn that Mr. Smith has set up a cover story for Gavin, having falsified records that he moved to Australia (some guardians his aunt and uncle are turning out to be). Everyone has a chuckle over Clyde's and Rani's new found titles and another adventure comes to a conclusion.
It was inevitable that the series would have a letdown after all the geeky goodness provided by "Death of the Doctor", but this story does an adequate job of holding its own. My wife and I enjoyed the growing signs of attraction between Clyde and Rani. Clyde's joke about starting the human race over with Rani, and her reaction were priceless. Also, following up on Clyde's and Rani's grounding by the Judoon by using it as a major plot point here was very clever. The countdown didn't really make any sense, and was just a device to add a little suspense to the second half of the story. The motivations of the aliens could have been explained better, and the actions take by Gavin, his parents, and his guardian aunt and uncle don't really add up. Still, giving Clyde and Rani a chance to shine on their own, without the other kids and Sarah Jane was a good way to strengthen their characters, and we look forward to seeing how their relationship develops from here.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
21st January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures series 4 episode 7 "The Empty Planet" part one
Am I the only one who feels like they should have saved "Death of the Doctor" for the end of the season? Given the task of following that is this little story which reduces the cast to Clyde and Rani for most of the episode.
Sarah Jane takes on a motherly role in making Clyde and Rani go home to get some sleep and prepare for their studies on a school night. Perhaps she's feeling some need to take on this role, as she can no longer mother Luke as he's away in college. As it is, does this indicate that the other adventures happen conveniently on the weekend, or during a school holiday? More likely, it's meant to make alien energy patterns seem to be not much of a threat, although we know better by now, don't we? This leads to some nice scenes between Rani and her Dad, and Clyde and his Mom. I liked the touch the makeup artists used in having Rani look a bit more plain as she's going to bed, as if she wasn't wearing any makeup. A nice attention to detail that speaks well of the professionalism of the production.
Rani wakes up to find the neighborhood deserted. While there does seem to be electrical power, there are no radio, television, or cell phone services. Rani begins a frantic search for other humans when she runs into Clyde, who is experiencing the same phenomenon. As they explore the city, Elaine is reminded of other post apocalyptic programs we've been watching such as "Revolution". The difference, as explained by the "survivors", is that there is no evidence of accidents from the people's disappearances. While Clyde and Rani speculate that whoever is responsible for taking the others may have provided for the safe removal of any at motion vehicles, I'm wondering if Clyde and Rani might have been removed to another world, perhaps an imaginary one, which is modeled on the real one.
We meet a third "survivor" as Clyde and Rani chase a younger boy through the streets to his apartment. His name is Gavin, and as observed by Clyde, his odd behavior and circumstance leads Elaine and I to believe that he is somehow involved with what is happening. Gavin mentions that he lives with his uncle and aunt, and complains about not having a father, in which Clyde can relate. Hmm, Clyde and his Mom discussed his father the night before and Rani had a heart to heart with her father. Coincidence? Gavin also mentions that his aunt was very specific about not believing in aliens. I'm starting to think that humanity has become split between those who acknowledge the multiple alien invasions which have occurred in recent years, and those who refuse to give up their notion that aliens don't exist. This could spark more debate among the public on this issue, which would explain why Gavin's Aunt made it a point to tell him of her disbelief.
We get some action at last, when the televisions and phones intercept some alien messages, and the gang hear noises of some sort of activity in the street. Investigating the noises, Clyde and Rani each confront a different robot, one red and one yellow, which corner them and start to raise their arms in a threatening manner. I think we're being lead to believe that the robots are threatening them with some sort of weapon, but I'm betting its some sort of scanning device. We'll find out tomorrow.
Am I the only one who feels like they should have saved "Death of the Doctor" for the end of the season? Given the task of following that is this little story which reduces the cast to Clyde and Rani for most of the episode.
Sarah Jane takes on a motherly role in making Clyde and Rani go home to get some sleep and prepare for their studies on a school night. Perhaps she's feeling some need to take on this role, as she can no longer mother Luke as he's away in college. As it is, does this indicate that the other adventures happen conveniently on the weekend, or during a school holiday? More likely, it's meant to make alien energy patterns seem to be not much of a threat, although we know better by now, don't we? This leads to some nice scenes between Rani and her Dad, and Clyde and his Mom. I liked the touch the makeup artists used in having Rani look a bit more plain as she's going to bed, as if she wasn't wearing any makeup. A nice attention to detail that speaks well of the professionalism of the production.
Rani wakes up to find the neighborhood deserted. While there does seem to be electrical power, there are no radio, television, or cell phone services. Rani begins a frantic search for other humans when she runs into Clyde, who is experiencing the same phenomenon. As they explore the city, Elaine is reminded of other post apocalyptic programs we've been watching such as "Revolution". The difference, as explained by the "survivors", is that there is no evidence of accidents from the people's disappearances. While Clyde and Rani speculate that whoever is responsible for taking the others may have provided for the safe removal of any at motion vehicles, I'm wondering if Clyde and Rani might have been removed to another world, perhaps an imaginary one, which is modeled on the real one.
We meet a third "survivor" as Clyde and Rani chase a younger boy through the streets to his apartment. His name is Gavin, and as observed by Clyde, his odd behavior and circumstance leads Elaine and I to believe that he is somehow involved with what is happening. Gavin mentions that he lives with his uncle and aunt, and complains about not having a father, in which Clyde can relate. Hmm, Clyde and his Mom discussed his father the night before and Rani had a heart to heart with her father. Coincidence? Gavin also mentions that his aunt was very specific about not believing in aliens. I'm starting to think that humanity has become split between those who acknowledge the multiple alien invasions which have occurred in recent years, and those who refuse to give up their notion that aliens don't exist. This could spark more debate among the public on this issue, which would explain why Gavin's Aunt made it a point to tell him of her disbelief.
We get some action at last, when the televisions and phones intercept some alien messages, and the gang hear noises of some sort of activity in the street. Investigating the noises, Clyde and Rani each confront a different robot, one red and one yellow, which corner them and start to raise their arms in a threatening manner. I think we're being lead to believe that the robots are threatening them with some sort of weapon, but I'm betting its some sort of scanning device. We'll find out tomorrow.
Monday, January 21, 2013
20th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 6 "Death of the Doctor" Part 2
The body hopping continues as the gang escapes from the Shansheeth after the cliffhanger resolution. Clyde and the Doctor change places several times during the chase, conveniently between cuts in the scenes after the first couple of swaps. The frantic chase ends with the Doctor taking Sarah Jane and Jo on his final planet swap, and leaving the kids to be "rescued" by the Groske. The conversation on the alien world between the Doctor and his former companions is just wonderful. The fondness for these women is very well expressed in the acting of Matt Smith. We learn that the 10th Doctor's regeneration involved him looking in on all of his former companions, not just the ones we saw on screen. Boy, and I thought it was long as presented!
The Doctor perfects his transportation machine so he can return to Earth without sending Clyde back to the penalty box. He helps the gang escape from the Groske's pizza party, allowing for an amusing scene between the 11th Doctor and Clyde where the Doctor claims he has 507 regenerations left. Before any classic series fans get there noses out of whack, he seems to be joking, and RTD has admitted that in interviews.
The former companions get captured and hooked up to some sort of memory extraction machine. We learn that the Shansheeth are trying to use the machine to build a copy of the key to the TARDIS, which they have captured. Why then were they trying to get the ladies to remember in the first episode when they weren't hooked up to the machine? The Shansheeth are trying to use the time machine to prevent any further deaths. They need to be shown "Miracle Day" to see how that is likely to turn out. Even if they don't get the message, watching "Miracle Day" will be punishment enough for their actions. We don't really learn much about the motivations of Colonel Karim, however. She's helping them in order to be able to travel space, since she feels that she has nothing else left for her on Earth. This implies that she's suffered some sort of tragedy recently, although none are specified.
The Doctor encourages Jo and Sarah to confuse the memory machine, since as we all know from watching Star Trek, when you confuse a computer, it explodes. The women survive the explosion by invading each other's personal space and squeezing into the Doctor's coffin, conveniently located in the same room as the TARDIS and the memory extracting machine. Everyone jumps into the TARDIS to return to Bannerman road where the Doctor says his goodbyes to the gang. Jo puts her foot in her mouth by telling the Doctor to say hello to the Time Lords, whom she doesn't know are dead. The Doctor has enough class to not point this out, but there is a well acted pause and wistful look given by Matt Smith in the scene.
Jo and her grandson grab a cab to the airport to meet the rest of the Jones' clan in Norway. After having whined this episode about living life as a greenpeace hobo, Santiago does the unexpected thing and not ask to stay here where he can have a real home and replace Luke in the cast. Sarah updates Jo about the whereabouts of other former companions since Jo has no access to Facebook, not having a home or a computer or other such modern convenience. All kidding aside, this scene does really touch all of my geek g-spots, and leaves me wanting to learn more about what's happened with these companions. On to the expanded universe!
While the plot of this adventure is probably the weakest of the seasons' three so far, everyone knows that's really not why this is here. I find it interesting that a show that's aimed for children who weren't born when the classic series ended would do such a great job of mining nostalgia for that show. The references confirm some information provided by spin off novels, audios, etc. , but also contradicts some other info as well. Of course, this series is canon, so what's said here goes (except for the bit about Ian and Barbara not ageing. Sarah did say this was merely a rumor, after all). I only touched the surface in mentioning the classic series references in this recap, but each and every one were welcome and warmed this old-fogie's heart. The most enjoyable story of the season, perhaps of the entire series, even if the plot is laughable.
The body hopping continues as the gang escapes from the Shansheeth after the cliffhanger resolution. Clyde and the Doctor change places several times during the chase, conveniently between cuts in the scenes after the first couple of swaps. The frantic chase ends with the Doctor taking Sarah Jane and Jo on his final planet swap, and leaving the kids to be "rescued" by the Groske. The conversation on the alien world between the Doctor and his former companions is just wonderful. The fondness for these women is very well expressed in the acting of Matt Smith. We learn that the 10th Doctor's regeneration involved him looking in on all of his former companions, not just the ones we saw on screen. Boy, and I thought it was long as presented!
The Doctor perfects his transportation machine so he can return to Earth without sending Clyde back to the penalty box. He helps the gang escape from the Groske's pizza party, allowing for an amusing scene between the 11th Doctor and Clyde where the Doctor claims he has 507 regenerations left. Before any classic series fans get there noses out of whack, he seems to be joking, and RTD has admitted that in interviews.
The former companions get captured and hooked up to some sort of memory extraction machine. We learn that the Shansheeth are trying to use the machine to build a copy of the key to the TARDIS, which they have captured. Why then were they trying to get the ladies to remember in the first episode when they weren't hooked up to the machine? The Shansheeth are trying to use the time machine to prevent any further deaths. They need to be shown "Miracle Day" to see how that is likely to turn out. Even if they don't get the message, watching "Miracle Day" will be punishment enough for their actions. We don't really learn much about the motivations of Colonel Karim, however. She's helping them in order to be able to travel space, since she feels that she has nothing else left for her on Earth. This implies that she's suffered some sort of tragedy recently, although none are specified.
The Doctor encourages Jo and Sarah to confuse the memory machine, since as we all know from watching Star Trek, when you confuse a computer, it explodes. The women survive the explosion by invading each other's personal space and squeezing into the Doctor's coffin, conveniently located in the same room as the TARDIS and the memory extracting machine. Everyone jumps into the TARDIS to return to Bannerman road where the Doctor says his goodbyes to the gang. Jo puts her foot in her mouth by telling the Doctor to say hello to the Time Lords, whom she doesn't know are dead. The Doctor has enough class to not point this out, but there is a well acted pause and wistful look given by Matt Smith in the scene.
Jo and her grandson grab a cab to the airport to meet the rest of the Jones' clan in Norway. After having whined this episode about living life as a greenpeace hobo, Santiago does the unexpected thing and not ask to stay here where he can have a real home and replace Luke in the cast. Sarah updates Jo about the whereabouts of other former companions since Jo has no access to Facebook, not having a home or a computer or other such modern convenience. All kidding aside, this scene does really touch all of my geek g-spots, and leaves me wanting to learn more about what's happened with these companions. On to the expanded universe!
While the plot of this adventure is probably the weakest of the seasons' three so far, everyone knows that's really not why this is here. I find it interesting that a show that's aimed for children who weren't born when the classic series ended would do such a great job of mining nostalgia for that show. The references confirm some information provided by spin off novels, audios, etc. , but also contradicts some other info as well. Of course, this series is canon, so what's said here goes (except for the bit about Ian and Barbara not ageing. Sarah did say this was merely a rumor, after all). I only touched the surface in mentioning the classic series references in this recap, but each and every one were welcome and warmed this old-fogie's heart. The most enjoyable story of the season, perhaps of the entire series, even if the plot is laughable.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
19th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4 episode 5 "Death of the Doctor" Part 1
Bring on the fanwank!
We begin the episode with the obligatory Luke appearance via Skype. We get a better view of the top of his t-shirt that perplexed me a few episodes ago. Apparently it's not a college t-shirt, just a generic Austin, Texas shirt. This leads to a warning from Mr. Smith that a group of armed UNIT personnel is approaching the home. This turns into an oddly confrontational encounter. Did they really need to send an armed squad to inform Sarah of the Doctor's passing and invite her to his funeral? Did they intend to force her to attend if she declined?
Arriving at the base, we're treated to an obviously fake matte painting of Mount Snowdon. Adding this to the unconvincing Shansheeth, the production values appear to take a downturn for this episode. They also created a new alien race by repainting the Graske costume and making the Groske a sort of cousin race to the villainous originals. I guess they blew the budget on this episodes' guest stars.
Being sentimental saps, both Elaine and I enjoyed the meeting between Jo and Sarah Jane. The references to classic series episodes come fast and furious as they tell stories of their encounters with the Doctor. Not quite the game of one-upsmanship that we had when Rose met Sarah Jane, but you do get a similar vibe from this encounter. We learn it has been six years since Sarah Jane was reunited with the Doctor in "Class Reunion" which is roughly a year longer than has passed in real life. Also, we learn that there is a sinister motive behind this now-apparent ruse as the Shansheeth seem to want to feed off the energy of the memories of the former companions of the Doctor.
UNIT's involvement in the ruse reinforces my earlier speculation of the purpose of their armed squad, but if this is truly UNIT, why are they assisting the Shansheeth? I trust that this will be revealed in the next episode. Thanks to last episodes' preview of this one, we knew what the result of Clyde's artron energy exposure would be. Still, the appearance of Matt Smith's Doctor provided the pay-off we were waiting for. His humor always dominates any scene in which he appears, although Jo becomes a victim to his straight-forward honesty. The comment about Jo's appearance is completely child-like honest and without intended criticism. But it is obvious which of his companions' looks have held up better over the decades.
The body swap may have brought the Doctor around to help solve the dilemma, but it does leave Clyde on his own on a planet 10,000 light years away to deal with an unspecified danger. This is somewhat irresponsible of the Doctor, but may speak as to the level of danger being faced here on Earth. I hope this gives us a chance to see Clyde shine as he deals with whatever he faces on the alien world. The episode ends with the Shansheeth zapping the Doctor and Clyde's fate in question. We're enjoying it so far, more for the classic series references than for the story being presented here. We'll just have to wait and see if the plot can come together better in part two.
Bring on the fanwank!
We begin the episode with the obligatory Luke appearance via Skype. We get a better view of the top of his t-shirt that perplexed me a few episodes ago. Apparently it's not a college t-shirt, just a generic Austin, Texas shirt. This leads to a warning from Mr. Smith that a group of armed UNIT personnel is approaching the home. This turns into an oddly confrontational encounter. Did they really need to send an armed squad to inform Sarah of the Doctor's passing and invite her to his funeral? Did they intend to force her to attend if she declined?
Arriving at the base, we're treated to an obviously fake matte painting of Mount Snowdon. Adding this to the unconvincing Shansheeth, the production values appear to take a downturn for this episode. They also created a new alien race by repainting the Graske costume and making the Groske a sort of cousin race to the villainous originals. I guess they blew the budget on this episodes' guest stars.
Being sentimental saps, both Elaine and I enjoyed the meeting between Jo and Sarah Jane. The references to classic series episodes come fast and furious as they tell stories of their encounters with the Doctor. Not quite the game of one-upsmanship that we had when Rose met Sarah Jane, but you do get a similar vibe from this encounter. We learn it has been six years since Sarah Jane was reunited with the Doctor in "Class Reunion" which is roughly a year longer than has passed in real life. Also, we learn that there is a sinister motive behind this now-apparent ruse as the Shansheeth seem to want to feed off the energy of the memories of the former companions of the Doctor.
UNIT's involvement in the ruse reinforces my earlier speculation of the purpose of their armed squad, but if this is truly UNIT, why are they assisting the Shansheeth? I trust that this will be revealed in the next episode. Thanks to last episodes' preview of this one, we knew what the result of Clyde's artron energy exposure would be. Still, the appearance of Matt Smith's Doctor provided the pay-off we were waiting for. His humor always dominates any scene in which he appears, although Jo becomes a victim to his straight-forward honesty. The comment about Jo's appearance is completely child-like honest and without intended criticism. But it is obvious which of his companions' looks have held up better over the decades.
The body swap may have brought the Doctor around to help solve the dilemma, but it does leave Clyde on his own on a planet 10,000 light years away to deal with an unspecified danger. This is somewhat irresponsible of the Doctor, but may speak as to the level of danger being faced here on Earth. I hope this gives us a chance to see Clyde shine as he deals with whatever he faces on the alien world. The episode ends with the Shansheeth zapping the Doctor and Clyde's fate in question. We're enjoying it so far, more for the classic series references than for the story being presented here. We'll just have to wait and see if the plot can come together better in part two.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Do Humans Know Aliens Exist?
From time to time, deeper issues in Doctor Who are inevitably brought up while watching an episode. It is difficult to pontificate on these issues in the recaps and reviews that make up the majority of entries in this blog. Giving anything more than a glib comment will inevitably pull myself away from the primary objective of the entry, which is to give my impression of that particular episode. When I find myself wanting to give my deeper thoughts on these issues, I'll create a separate entry, such as this.
Traditionally in the classic series, whenever aliens have invaded or otherwise involved themselves in human affairs on contemporary Earth, this was done in secret. Even if the aliens failed to use discretion, U.N.I.T. was around to help cover up their existence through the use of misinformation and "treatment" of humans which came into alien contact. Not only does this give another layer to the drama, this was convenient in the producers' efforts to portray contemporary Earth as somewhat recognizable as our own. One could easily believe that the average person was still blissfully unaware of the dangers that exist in the DW universe.
This changed when Russell T. Davies brought the series back in 2005. Davies liked to show these invasions on a grander, more operatic stage, which often involved destroyed national monuments, attacks on the entire world's population, and worldwide ecological disasters, all punctuated by the frantic comments from local newscasters. While this did provide good drama for the stories, this did inevitably create an Earth which is very different from our own. The need for each invasion to "outdo" the last took the series further and further away from the subtle drama typical of the UNIT years. By the time RTD was getting ready to leave the series, the big episodes were becoming almost comical in their over-the-top portrayal of these invasions, with the characters oftentimes commenting on how common this had become. Needless to say, fans began to complain about this.
When Steven Moffat became the show runner, one of the first orders of business was how to clean up this mess of contemporary Earth history that had been left him. He preferred to fill his stories with creepy moments and plot twists rather than operatic worldwide invasions. I still believe that the motivation for the crack in time story arc came from a desire to change history to justify a more alien ignorant and recognizable Earth. However, since history was essentially rebooted at the end of Moffat's first season, we've pretty much been left to our own devices in determining exactly what has still occurred.
Add to that, RTD was still involved with the spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. These series contributed their own incredible and very public alien invasions. Hell, in the opening introduction of Torchwood, Captain Jack mentions that the 21st century is when Earth becomes aware of the existence of other life, as this is when "Everything Changes". This has pulled further apart the mother series from the continuity of its offspring. Even SJA tends to reset public alien knowledge on a story by story basis. It's convenient for the writers to have Rani's parents, for example, ignorant of the existence of aliens, so much so that they go out of their way to wipe Gita's memories of her encounters with the Judoon and Androvax (but not Rani's father, interestingly. Of course, he looks like he'd just as soon forget about it anyway). This seems a bit like lazy writing, if you ask me.
Now that we're just left with the main series for the foreseeable future, this probably won't be a priority to clarify for the current series' writers. Even though the current season dipped its toes into an RTD style invasion with "The Power of Three", the current world neither seems as aware of aliens, nor does the series spend as much time on contemporary Earth as it used to. It's now up to us more obsessive fans to try to figure all of this out. Reading the entries in Lance Parkin's AHistory concerning contemporary Earth can be a bit mind-numbing considering the effort to include almost all of DW fiction into one coherent timeline. But isn't that the fun of all of this for us, anyway?
Traditionally in the classic series, whenever aliens have invaded or otherwise involved themselves in human affairs on contemporary Earth, this was done in secret. Even if the aliens failed to use discretion, U.N.I.T. was around to help cover up their existence through the use of misinformation and "treatment" of humans which came into alien contact. Not only does this give another layer to the drama, this was convenient in the producers' efforts to portray contemporary Earth as somewhat recognizable as our own. One could easily believe that the average person was still blissfully unaware of the dangers that exist in the DW universe.
This changed when Russell T. Davies brought the series back in 2005. Davies liked to show these invasions on a grander, more operatic stage, which often involved destroyed national monuments, attacks on the entire world's population, and worldwide ecological disasters, all punctuated by the frantic comments from local newscasters. While this did provide good drama for the stories, this did inevitably create an Earth which is very different from our own. The need for each invasion to "outdo" the last took the series further and further away from the subtle drama typical of the UNIT years. By the time RTD was getting ready to leave the series, the big episodes were becoming almost comical in their over-the-top portrayal of these invasions, with the characters oftentimes commenting on how common this had become. Needless to say, fans began to complain about this.
When Steven Moffat became the show runner, one of the first orders of business was how to clean up this mess of contemporary Earth history that had been left him. He preferred to fill his stories with creepy moments and plot twists rather than operatic worldwide invasions. I still believe that the motivation for the crack in time story arc came from a desire to change history to justify a more alien ignorant and recognizable Earth. However, since history was essentially rebooted at the end of Moffat's first season, we've pretty much been left to our own devices in determining exactly what has still occurred.
Add to that, RTD was still involved with the spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. These series contributed their own incredible and very public alien invasions. Hell, in the opening introduction of Torchwood, Captain Jack mentions that the 21st century is when Earth becomes aware of the existence of other life, as this is when "Everything Changes". This has pulled further apart the mother series from the continuity of its offspring. Even SJA tends to reset public alien knowledge on a story by story basis. It's convenient for the writers to have Rani's parents, for example, ignorant of the existence of aliens, so much so that they go out of their way to wipe Gita's memories of her encounters with the Judoon and Androvax (but not Rani's father, interestingly. Of course, he looks like he'd just as soon forget about it anyway). This seems a bit like lazy writing, if you ask me.
Now that we're just left with the main series for the foreseeable future, this probably won't be a priority to clarify for the current series' writers. Even though the current season dipped its toes into an RTD style invasion with "The Power of Three", the current world neither seems as aware of aliens, nor does the series spend as much time on contemporary Earth as it used to. It's now up to us more obsessive fans to try to figure all of this out. Reading the entries in Lance Parkin's AHistory concerning contemporary Earth can be a bit mind-numbing considering the effort to include almost all of DW fiction into one coherent timeline. But isn't that the fun of all of this for us, anyway?
18th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures series 4 episode 4 "The Vault of Secrets" part 2
Well, Ocean and Minty really had nothing to fear because in an effort to make this not too frightening for younger viewers, they don't kill characters off, even one-off ones. The cliffhanger resolution leads to a "car chase" of sorts with Sarah Jane and gang trying to beat the man in black "Dread" in catching up with Androvax who is now in Rani's Mom's body. I love the black Humber being driven by Dread (thanks Elaine for checking Wikipedia on that car) and kind of experienced a twinge when Sarah Jane uses the sonic lipstick to blow up the car's engine. This does give Dread his "Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator" moment when he tears the door off of some poor sap's truck in order to obtain a new set of wheels.
Back at the asylum we learn some important things. Releasing the trapped Veil from the vault will destroy the Earth, so the men in black are actually trying to protect humanity. I knew I liked that Dread guy! The inevitable deus ex machina is revealed when Sarah points out a t-mat. Is every matter transmitter in the Doctor Who universe automatically called a "t-mat"? That would be the equivalent of all races across all times calling any viewing screen a "tv".
Dread ends up being the hero of the story by sacrificing 450 years of his "life" in order to beam the Veil into space and to keep the Earth safe. Before he leaves, he manages to make Gita forget that aliens exist, which will actually make her more of a weirdo in a world where everyone is aware that aliens have invaded the Earth several times over the past several years. Well, at least Donna Noble will have some company. Elaine points out that Dread's ability to erase memories is similar to the neurolizer device used in the Men In Black films. I wonder if this is a common element of men in black legends? I might want to research this.
The Vault of Secrets is another fun adventure in this series. The use of characters and elements from the "Dreamland" animated story is a good way to tie in that story to the main canon. The writers did a good job of avoiding cliches in portraying the guest characters. The classic series references were fun for older fans, but understanding these references wasn't necessary in order to follow the plot. The series does have difficulty in portraying the villains as threatening. Some of this difficulty is created by the show's policy of not having any characters die, though a bit more creativity in creating suspense could be a good thing. Still, I didn't feel like I was wasting my time watching a kids show, and this series ability to balance this while still making a show appropriate for pre-teens is perhaps this show's greatest accomplishment.
Next episode we get the much publicized appearance of Katy Manning and Matt Smith. Plenty of classic series references is known to occur in this story. My wife and I are looking forward to this next one.
Well, Ocean and Minty really had nothing to fear because in an effort to make this not too frightening for younger viewers, they don't kill characters off, even one-off ones. The cliffhanger resolution leads to a "car chase" of sorts with Sarah Jane and gang trying to beat the man in black "Dread" in catching up with Androvax who is now in Rani's Mom's body. I love the black Humber being driven by Dread (thanks Elaine for checking Wikipedia on that car) and kind of experienced a twinge when Sarah Jane uses the sonic lipstick to blow up the car's engine. This does give Dread his "Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator" moment when he tears the door off of some poor sap's truck in order to obtain a new set of wheels.
Back at the asylum we learn some important things. Releasing the trapped Veil from the vault will destroy the Earth, so the men in black are actually trying to protect humanity. I knew I liked that Dread guy! The inevitable deus ex machina is revealed when Sarah points out a t-mat. Is every matter transmitter in the Doctor Who universe automatically called a "t-mat"? That would be the equivalent of all races across all times calling any viewing screen a "tv".
Dread ends up being the hero of the story by sacrificing 450 years of his "life" in order to beam the Veil into space and to keep the Earth safe. Before he leaves, he manages to make Gita forget that aliens exist, which will actually make her more of a weirdo in a world where everyone is aware that aliens have invaded the Earth several times over the past several years. Well, at least Donna Noble will have some company. Elaine points out that Dread's ability to erase memories is similar to the neurolizer device used in the Men In Black films. I wonder if this is a common element of men in black legends? I might want to research this.
The Vault of Secrets is another fun adventure in this series. The use of characters and elements from the "Dreamland" animated story is a good way to tie in that story to the main canon. The writers did a good job of avoiding cliches in portraying the guest characters. The classic series references were fun for older fans, but understanding these references wasn't necessary in order to follow the plot. The series does have difficulty in portraying the villains as threatening. Some of this difficulty is created by the show's policy of not having any characters die, though a bit more creativity in creating suspense could be a good thing. Still, I didn't feel like I was wasting my time watching a kids show, and this series ability to balance this while still making a show appropriate for pre-teens is perhaps this show's greatest accomplishment.
Next episode we get the much publicized appearance of Katy Manning and Matt Smith. Plenty of classic series references is known to occur in this story. My wife and I are looking forward to this next one.
Friday, January 18, 2013
17th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4, episode 3 "The Vault of Secrets" Part 1
The episode begins with a teenage girl entering an abandoned asylum. I immediately think "a-ha! This girl's replacing Luke!" but events soon lay that theory to rest. The girl seems to be on a mission, and her demeanor makes me think that I was mistaken about her age. She encounters a trio of android "men in black" that makes me think of Autons. The girl is shown to be under the control of one of the Veil, disproving just about everything I was thinking about this girl.
I love that in the following scene in Sarah Jane's attic, we see a brief glimpse of a pyramid shaped structure on Mars. I think we all know what that is! I wonder if NASA is getting frustrated with their efforts to send robots to Mars since Sarah Jane has apparently foiled previous attempts to explore the surface. Also, we see how they'll include Luke in these episodes while he's away at college. They did the same thing with Maria, before relegating her to the occasional mention. Luke's too important for them to forget about him in the same way, surely?
LINDA flashbacks, anyone? While I'm glad they're acknowledging Rani's parents having knowledge of the existence of aliens, surely pretty much everyone in the DW universe should know about them by now? You know, 26 planets in the sky, Daleks subjugating humanity just to name one example? Anyway, the group comes across as a bunch of crackpots. I'm relieved that at least one of the group is later shown to have a bit more depth than that. I won't mention the name of the group, as I think that joke falls flat, clearly aimed at the sense of humor of a typical 8 year old. While I know that is the show's intended demographic, it usually doesn't stoop to that level of patronizing.
The androids are later explained to, indeed, be the "men in black" from alien conspiracy lore. I like this wrinkle, although I can't help to be a little bit disappointed that they're not Autons. I guess we've already filled our quota of original Doctor Who references for this episode. Also, the speaking android is reminding me of Agent Smith from the Matrix. Well, if this were him, and if Clyde got his wish to see Will Smith, with Sarah Jane and Mr. Smith, we'd just have too many Smiths in the episode, wouldn't we?
So the character Ocean encountered the androids in '72 and has the other disc? This matches the last date of a men in black sighting, so did they become inactive after this encounter? I'm glad she's not just another UFO whack-o. Minty and Ocean actually are a little more interesting than they originally seemed at the meeting. They seem to be living together, so they are probably a couple, although this is never specified in the dialogue. I'm actually starting to like them.
We end the episode with Androvax in Clyde's body, both discs having been obtained, and the men in black threatening to incinerate everybody. I'm confident the regulars will be safe, but what about Ocean and Minty? Don't kill them when they just became interesting!
The episode begins with a teenage girl entering an abandoned asylum. I immediately think "a-ha! This girl's replacing Luke!" but events soon lay that theory to rest. The girl seems to be on a mission, and her demeanor makes me think that I was mistaken about her age. She encounters a trio of android "men in black" that makes me think of Autons. The girl is shown to be under the control of one of the Veil, disproving just about everything I was thinking about this girl.
I love that in the following scene in Sarah Jane's attic, we see a brief glimpse of a pyramid shaped structure on Mars. I think we all know what that is! I wonder if NASA is getting frustrated with their efforts to send robots to Mars since Sarah Jane has apparently foiled previous attempts to explore the surface. Also, we see how they'll include Luke in these episodes while he's away at college. They did the same thing with Maria, before relegating her to the occasional mention. Luke's too important for them to forget about him in the same way, surely?
LINDA flashbacks, anyone? While I'm glad they're acknowledging Rani's parents having knowledge of the existence of aliens, surely pretty much everyone in the DW universe should know about them by now? You know, 26 planets in the sky, Daleks subjugating humanity just to name one example? Anyway, the group comes across as a bunch of crackpots. I'm relieved that at least one of the group is later shown to have a bit more depth than that. I won't mention the name of the group, as I think that joke falls flat, clearly aimed at the sense of humor of a typical 8 year old. While I know that is the show's intended demographic, it usually doesn't stoop to that level of patronizing.
The androids are later explained to, indeed, be the "men in black" from alien conspiracy lore. I like this wrinkle, although I can't help to be a little bit disappointed that they're not Autons. I guess we've already filled our quota of original Doctor Who references for this episode. Also, the speaking android is reminding me of Agent Smith from the Matrix. Well, if this were him, and if Clyde got his wish to see Will Smith, with Sarah Jane and Mr. Smith, we'd just have too many Smiths in the episode, wouldn't we?
So the character Ocean encountered the androids in '72 and has the other disc? This matches the last date of a men in black sighting, so did they become inactive after this encounter? I'm glad she's not just another UFO whack-o. Minty and Ocean actually are a little more interesting than they originally seemed at the meeting. They seem to be living together, so they are probably a couple, although this is never specified in the dialogue. I'm actually starting to like them.
We end the episode with Androvax in Clyde's body, both discs having been obtained, and the men in black threatening to incinerate everybody. I'm confident the regulars will be safe, but what about Ocean and Minty? Don't kill them when they just became interesting!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
16th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 4, episode 2: "The Nightmare Man" part 2
Well, the Joker is now free from the nightmare dimension and free to bring about the end of the real world apparently. Luke has taken the Nightmare Man's place and is trapped in his nightmare, mirroring plot points from "The Mind Robber" and "The Three Doctors". Does an eastern European accent equate to villainy in British culture? In much the same way that a British accent can be an easy way to communicate a cultured villain in American films that appears to be the case here. Or maybe I'm just too used to the PC craziness in the US, and the British are a bit more relaxed in that area.
The scenes showing Rani's and Clyde's dreams give us an opportunity to get a look into their subconscious. Clyde's afraid that his goal to pursue his art will lead him to a future of menial low-wage jobs to pay the bills, while Rani is apparently afraid that her pursuit of a career in journalism will require her to sell out her friends. My wife was struck by the appearance of an older Sarah Jane in Clyde's dream, reminding her that Liz will never have the opportunity to reach that age. I believe that Liz would never have appeared old and gray, now matter how long of a life she would have had.
Now K-9 is involved in the plot at last! But really, a sentient rock (with some weird wires hanging out of it) will somehow allow him to enter Luke's dream? At least this gave us an excuse to have K-9 and Mr. Smith have their long due intimate moment. Mr. Smith's deadpan request for a USB cable was the funniest moment of the story.
The plot was resolved with quite a bit of time left, allowing us to have several satisfying goodbyes, between Luke and the gang, and humorously between K-9 and Mr. Smith. Why is Luke wearing some college t-shirt from Texas? (I can't make out the top of the shirt, but it is purple so it's not the University of Texas.) All that aside, I'm glad they stuck with Luke leaving for university. I guess having K-9 travel with him keeps the show from having to explain why he's not in each episode. I'm just curious how they'll include Luke in the hijinks the rest of the season.
I think this story was a solid beginning to the series. The spooky vibe was more easily maintained in the first episode due to the rather brief shots of the Nightmare Man. Once we got a good look at him, he does come across as more silly than threatening, but that is true of most of the monsters in SJA. Showing each of the characters nightmares gave each of the regulars a moment to shine, as well as giving us plenty of character development. The humor between K-9 and Mr. Smith was well done, providing for some break in the tension. I'm not sure how much Luke will factor in to the rest of the season, but sending him off to college I felt was a positive development for the series. I just hope they don't stretch credibility in future episodes trying to get him into each story. A little break from Luke saving the day every time might be just what this series needs.
Well, the Joker is now free from the nightmare dimension and free to bring about the end of the real world apparently. Luke has taken the Nightmare Man's place and is trapped in his nightmare, mirroring plot points from "The Mind Robber" and "The Three Doctors". Does an eastern European accent equate to villainy in British culture? In much the same way that a British accent can be an easy way to communicate a cultured villain in American films that appears to be the case here. Or maybe I'm just too used to the PC craziness in the US, and the British are a bit more relaxed in that area.
The scenes showing Rani's and Clyde's dreams give us an opportunity to get a look into their subconscious. Clyde's afraid that his goal to pursue his art will lead him to a future of menial low-wage jobs to pay the bills, while Rani is apparently afraid that her pursuit of a career in journalism will require her to sell out her friends. My wife was struck by the appearance of an older Sarah Jane in Clyde's dream, reminding her that Liz will never have the opportunity to reach that age. I believe that Liz would never have appeared old and gray, now matter how long of a life she would have had.
Now K-9 is involved in the plot at last! But really, a sentient rock (with some weird wires hanging out of it) will somehow allow him to enter Luke's dream? At least this gave us an excuse to have K-9 and Mr. Smith have their long due intimate moment. Mr. Smith's deadpan request for a USB cable was the funniest moment of the story.
The plot was resolved with quite a bit of time left, allowing us to have several satisfying goodbyes, between Luke and the gang, and humorously between K-9 and Mr. Smith. Why is Luke wearing some college t-shirt from Texas? (I can't make out the top of the shirt, but it is purple so it's not the University of Texas.) All that aside, I'm glad they stuck with Luke leaving for university. I guess having K-9 travel with him keeps the show from having to explain why he's not in each episode. I'm just curious how they'll include Luke in the hijinks the rest of the season.
I think this story was a solid beginning to the series. The spooky vibe was more easily maintained in the first episode due to the rather brief shots of the Nightmare Man. Once we got a good look at him, he does come across as more silly than threatening, but that is true of most of the monsters in SJA. Showing each of the characters nightmares gave each of the regulars a moment to shine, as well as giving us plenty of character development. The humor between K-9 and Mr. Smith was well done, providing for some break in the tension. I'm not sure how much Luke will factor in to the rest of the season, but sending him off to college I felt was a positive development for the series. I just hope they don't stretch credibility in future episodes trying to get him into each story. A little break from Luke saving the day every time might be just what this series needs.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
15th January, 2013
The Sarah Jane Adventures series 4, episode 1 "The Nightmare Man" part 1.
It is with both delight and melancholy that my wife and I begin the final two seasons of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Having enjoyed the first three seasons, and knowing that one of the stories from this season reveals much of the fate of several of the Doctor's companions, I'm not sure why it took me this long to purchase the fourth season DVD box set. Perhaps the recent gift of the latest edition of Mad Norwegian's "AHistory" has renewed my interest in the obsessive details of the DW narrative. Or maybe we were afraid to begin these final chapters of Sarah Jane's story, knowing that there would be no more new adventures to look forward to once we finished these episodes. Whatever the true motivation, while this feels overdue, we now own the last two season box sets and we're both ready to dive in feet first.
There is a brief "in memory of" for Liz opening the episode, (obviously for the DVD release, since she was still with us when the season aired) which elicits an "awww" from my wife, Elaine, and reminding us (as if we could ever forget) of the ongoing sting of losing a favorite companion way too soon. The opening is practically unchanged, and corny as ever, but still fills me with a child-like anticipation for the coming adventure. Ironically, I felt confident telling my 3 year old that the show wouldn't be scary, knowing that the scares are extremely mild, but this story is opening with a very spooky vibe. The quick cutaways, and the creepy laughing of the title villain are making a liar out of me. Whatever damage we may be doing to our toddler's psyche, however, I'm actually quite digging this vibe. I'm anxious to find out exactly what Luke has done to bring about "the end of the world".
Cutting back to a year previously kicks in my continuity obsessiveness. Is this flashback set in the "present" of the series, or is the scene with him recording his message current? I rather like the idea that Luke skips a year of high school and starts college early, as it would show some character development, even if it breaks up the gang at the school. I just have a sneaky suspicion that after part two, the show might hit the reset button, either by having Luke somehow change his mind about going to Oxford, or by making the year since the "flashback" scene some sort of aborted timeline. I hope I'm wrong.
Elaine and I try to distract our little one with the appearance of K-9. Since his appearance doesn't seem to be required for the plot, his appearance would seem to imply that hes part of the regular cast now. Can we expect to see him in every story this season? I never quite understood why he was used so sparingly in previous seasons. Do they have to pay Bob Baker and the estate of Dave Martin every time he appears?
The scene in which Luke confesses his fear of not being missed in the VW with Sarah Jane really resonates with us, which is mostly from knowing what we now know. Is it just us projecting our expectations in seeing some extra emotional context in this goodbye scene, or did Liz suspect what was to come? According to reports, she was not yet diagnosed at this time, but my wife at least, believes that she knew on some level.
My wife and I come to the same conclusion: This story has the same plot of "A Nightmare on Elm Street"! There's even a scene where Luke is trying to stay awake, afraid that by falling asleep he'll enter the nightmare and somehow endanger the world. It's not clear how and if the Nightmare Man can bring about the "end of the world" that Luke is afraid of. It could just be part of the hallucinations the nightmares are inflicting on Luke. Whatever the level of danger, the Nightmare Man does seem to enter the "real" world in the cliffhanger, and undoubtedly we'll learn more tomorrow...
It is with both delight and melancholy that my wife and I begin the final two seasons of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Having enjoyed the first three seasons, and knowing that one of the stories from this season reveals much of the fate of several of the Doctor's companions, I'm not sure why it took me this long to purchase the fourth season DVD box set. Perhaps the recent gift of the latest edition of Mad Norwegian's "AHistory" has renewed my interest in the obsessive details of the DW narrative. Or maybe we were afraid to begin these final chapters of Sarah Jane's story, knowing that there would be no more new adventures to look forward to once we finished these episodes. Whatever the true motivation, while this feels overdue, we now own the last two season box sets and we're both ready to dive in feet first.
There is a brief "in memory of" for Liz opening the episode, (obviously for the DVD release, since she was still with us when the season aired) which elicits an "awww" from my wife, Elaine, and reminding us (as if we could ever forget) of the ongoing sting of losing a favorite companion way too soon. The opening is practically unchanged, and corny as ever, but still fills me with a child-like anticipation for the coming adventure. Ironically, I felt confident telling my 3 year old that the show wouldn't be scary, knowing that the scares are extremely mild, but this story is opening with a very spooky vibe. The quick cutaways, and the creepy laughing of the title villain are making a liar out of me. Whatever damage we may be doing to our toddler's psyche, however, I'm actually quite digging this vibe. I'm anxious to find out exactly what Luke has done to bring about "the end of the world".
Cutting back to a year previously kicks in my continuity obsessiveness. Is this flashback set in the "present" of the series, or is the scene with him recording his message current? I rather like the idea that Luke skips a year of high school and starts college early, as it would show some character development, even if it breaks up the gang at the school. I just have a sneaky suspicion that after part two, the show might hit the reset button, either by having Luke somehow change his mind about going to Oxford, or by making the year since the "flashback" scene some sort of aborted timeline. I hope I'm wrong.
Elaine and I try to distract our little one with the appearance of K-9. Since his appearance doesn't seem to be required for the plot, his appearance would seem to imply that hes part of the regular cast now. Can we expect to see him in every story this season? I never quite understood why he was used so sparingly in previous seasons. Do they have to pay Bob Baker and the estate of Dave Martin every time he appears?
The scene in which Luke confesses his fear of not being missed in the VW with Sarah Jane really resonates with us, which is mostly from knowing what we now know. Is it just us projecting our expectations in seeing some extra emotional context in this goodbye scene, or did Liz suspect what was to come? According to reports, she was not yet diagnosed at this time, but my wife at least, believes that she knew on some level.
My wife and I come to the same conclusion: This story has the same plot of "A Nightmare on Elm Street"! There's even a scene where Luke is trying to stay awake, afraid that by falling asleep he'll enter the nightmare and somehow endanger the world. It's not clear how and if the Nightmare Man can bring about the "end of the world" that Luke is afraid of. It could just be part of the hallucinations the nightmares are inflicting on Luke. Whatever the level of danger, the Nightmare Man does seem to enter the "real" world in the cliffhanger, and undoubtedly we'll learn more tomorrow...
Introduction
As one could surmise from the title, I'm a fan of Doctor Who. With the original series consisting primarily of half hour long episodes, I've often enjoyed watching the show in small-daily doses. This format appeals to my compulsive-obsessive mentality, and keeps me from getting burnt out on of the show by interfering with my other interests and responsibilities. Starting this blog allows me to document my impression of the episodes while they are fresh on my mind as I watch them on a daily basis.
I started my current project of watching the series from the beginning last October, but of course at this pace, it will be a couple of years before I get to the modern series. I want this blog to contain my thoughts on the newer episodes a lot sooner, so with that in mind, I'm setting the following rules. To most it may seem silly to limit myself this way, but setting these rules makes it a bit of a game, and, at least to me, adds a bit of fun.
Every day I will make a reasonable attempt to watch at least one episode of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, or even the K-9 pilot from 1980. I missed SyFy's Christmas day broadcast of the recent K-9 series, and am somewhat skeptical about how canonical that series is. I will make an effort to at least watch a few episodes of that series if and when it is broadcast again in order to judge whether it is worthy of inclusion in this project. I will include audio versions of missing episodes released by BBC licensing when and where they come up in the current project. I am excluding the 60's Dalek films, fan produced videos, and documentary films as I am hoping to use this blog to examine the canon of the Doctor Who universe, and these items are clearly not canon, and/or examine the show from a real-world perspective.
Priority for the daily episodes will be as follows: Any new episodes will, of course, be viewed the day of release. Also, any rerun episodes broadcast on a channel available on my cable provider at a time compatible with my work and family schedule will be watched as broadcast. On the days in which there are no episodes meeting the above criteria, I will watch an episode from my collection, prioritizing any newly obtained episodes and falling back to the default of my current watch-through project when caught up with everything else. The one exception to the newly obtained episode priority will be when I purchase a story which is coming up shortly in the view-through project, as I will watch these in the proper order of the series.
I have set these rules with the idea of keeping a balance between the old and new series, and to allow multiple viewings of current episodes as it often takes multiple viewings to catch many details and truly examine them from a canon perspective. Of course, I reserve the right to change the rules as I see fit, but I will refrain from doing so without a good and specific reason.
I started my current project of watching the series from the beginning last October, but of course at this pace, it will be a couple of years before I get to the modern series. I want this blog to contain my thoughts on the newer episodes a lot sooner, so with that in mind, I'm setting the following rules. To most it may seem silly to limit myself this way, but setting these rules makes it a bit of a game, and, at least to me, adds a bit of fun.
Every day I will make a reasonable attempt to watch at least one episode of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, or even the K-9 pilot from 1980. I missed SyFy's Christmas day broadcast of the recent K-9 series, and am somewhat skeptical about how canonical that series is. I will make an effort to at least watch a few episodes of that series if and when it is broadcast again in order to judge whether it is worthy of inclusion in this project. I will include audio versions of missing episodes released by BBC licensing when and where they come up in the current project. I am excluding the 60's Dalek films, fan produced videos, and documentary films as I am hoping to use this blog to examine the canon of the Doctor Who universe, and these items are clearly not canon, and/or examine the show from a real-world perspective.
Priority for the daily episodes will be as follows: Any new episodes will, of course, be viewed the day of release. Also, any rerun episodes broadcast on a channel available on my cable provider at a time compatible with my work and family schedule will be watched as broadcast. On the days in which there are no episodes meeting the above criteria, I will watch an episode from my collection, prioritizing any newly obtained episodes and falling back to the default of my current watch-through project when caught up with everything else. The one exception to the newly obtained episode priority will be when I purchase a story which is coming up shortly in the view-through project, as I will watch these in the proper order of the series.
I have set these rules with the idea of keeping a balance between the old and new series, and to allow multiple viewings of current episodes as it often takes multiple viewings to catch many details and truly examine them from a canon perspective. Of course, I reserve the right to change the rules as I see fit, but I will refrain from doing so without a good and specific reason.
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