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Baw ha ha ha!!! Well that was a hoot.
Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures hits the ground running with this rollicking adventure as Sarah Jane, Luke, Rani and Clyde try to stop an alien criminal who escaped from The Judoon,from destroying the world with microscopic robots. On top of that, the team has to stop the Judoon from killing anyone who gets in their way as they try to apprehend their escaped prisoner, Androvax.
Without a doubt, the strongest aspect of this story is the comedy. Writer Phil Ford treats the audience to hilarious scenes of a Judoon commandeering a police car, accosting a motorist for having his stereo up too loud and then a madcap chase where Rani has to avoid her parents who are inadvertently brought into the action. Although Haresh and Gita are only included to break the story up and provide a bit of light comedy they're a welcome addition to the story. Prisoner of the Judoon is the most comedic story yet, which makes up for the fact that it’s lighter-than-average on the drama.
Another highlight is Elizabeth Sladen playing the villain for much of the story, as Sarah Jane’s body is taken over by Androvax. Sladen is clearly having fun playing a villain and at times she can be quite creepy.
Visually, Prisoner of the Judoon is up to the high standards we’ve come to expect and I was particularly impressed by some really effective camera work. However, anyone with a little knowledge of television production will spot the budget cuts. For example, scenes shot on the streets have no extras, The Androvax is rarely seen except when possessing someone and the number of effects shots have been reduced slightly, despite the fact that computer generated effects continue to become more cost effective due to cheaper and faster processors and improved software.
Characterisation in this episode is a bit thin, as Luke is reduced to being “the nice kid”, Clyde “the wisecracker” and Rani becomes a generic teenage heroine, although she's finally starting to feell like a member of the team. Nevertheless it’s clear this story is meant to be little more than a fun romp and at this it succeeds admirably.
The only other criticism I have is they're over egging the pudding with all the "the Universe is an amazing place, you just never know" etc etc. I know this is a kid's show but it's getting corny and repetitive.
In my opinion, Prisoner of the Judoon ties with The Last Sontaran as the strongest series opener, although Judoon is definitely the most fun.
4/5
P.S. Next week’s story, The Mad Woman in the Attic is a character piece focusing on Rani, and it looks kinda spooky!
P.P.S. This week’s song is by The Hilltop Hoods, an Australian hip-hop group. I can’t stand rap and hip-hop so I don’t like this song at all but the title is fitting, because The Sarah Jane Adventures is doing well to still be going, despite the fact that it’s CBBC’s highest rating programme. Unfortunately the budget at CBBC is quite sick and The Sarah Jane Adventures suffered a significant budget cut. Russell T Davies and company decided that it would be better to not make Series Three at all than turn The Sarah Jane Adventures into a cheap travesty. But thanks to some clever wheeing-and-dealing much of the budget was able to be sourced from other departments and we’ve got 12 more episodes of Sarah Jane this year. Preproduction has started on Series Four but whether or not it actually gets made is dependent on funding.
Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures hits the ground running with this rollicking adventure as Sarah Jane, Luke, Rani and Clyde try to stop an alien criminal who escaped from The Judoon,from destroying the world with microscopic robots. On top of that, the team has to stop the Judoon from killing anyone who gets in their way as they try to apprehend their escaped prisoner, Androvax.
Without a doubt, the strongest aspect of this story is the comedy. Writer Phil Ford treats the audience to hilarious scenes of a Judoon commandeering a police car, accosting a motorist for having his stereo up too loud and then a madcap chase where Rani has to avoid her parents who are inadvertently brought into the action. Although Haresh and Gita are only included to break the story up and provide a bit of light comedy they're a welcome addition to the story. Prisoner of the Judoon is the most comedic story yet, which makes up for the fact that it’s lighter-than-average on the drama.
Another highlight is Elizabeth Sladen playing the villain for much of the story, as Sarah Jane’s body is taken over by Androvax. Sladen is clearly having fun playing a villain and at times she can be quite creepy.
Visually, Prisoner of the Judoon is up to the high standards we’ve come to expect and I was particularly impressed by some really effective camera work. However, anyone with a little knowledge of television production will spot the budget cuts. For example, scenes shot on the streets have no extras, The Androvax is rarely seen except when possessing someone and the number of effects shots have been reduced slightly, despite the fact that computer generated effects continue to become more cost effective due to cheaper and faster processors and improved software.
Characterisation in this episode is a bit thin, as Luke is reduced to being “the nice kid”, Clyde “the wisecracker” and Rani becomes a generic teenage heroine, although she's finally starting to feell like a member of the team. Nevertheless it’s clear this story is meant to be little more than a fun romp and at this it succeeds admirably.
The only other criticism I have is they're over egging the pudding with all the "the Universe is an amazing place, you just never know" etc etc. I know this is a kid's show but it's getting corny and repetitive.
In my opinion, Prisoner of the Judoon ties with The Last Sontaran as the strongest series opener, although Judoon is definitely the most fun.
4/5
P.S. Next week’s story, The Mad Woman in the Attic is a character piece focusing on Rani, and it looks kinda spooky!
P.P.S. This week’s song is by The Hilltop Hoods, an Australian hip-hop group. I can’t stand rap and hip-hop so I don’t like this song at all but the title is fitting, because The Sarah Jane Adventures is doing well to still be going, despite the fact that it’s CBBC’s highest rating programme. Unfortunately the budget at CBBC is quite sick and The Sarah Jane Adventures suffered a significant budget cut. Russell T Davies and company decided that it would be better to not make Series Three at all than turn The Sarah Jane Adventures into a cheap travesty. But thanks to some clever wheeing-and-dealing much of the budget was able to be sourced from other departments and we’ve got 12 more episodes of Sarah Jane this year. Preproduction has started on Series Four but whether or not it actually gets made is dependent on funding.
