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.