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"You two, with me. Spit spot!"
- David Tennant's final words as The Doctor.
It's the story everyone's been waiting for! After being mentioned for the past three years The Doctor finally makes an appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures. But more on that later. WARNING: Minor spoilers. Read at your own risk...
Sarah Jane has been taking off on some secret errands and Luke, Clyde and Rani are determined to find out what she's up to. Has Sarah Jane been secretly saving the world? Working with U.N.I.T.? Or even something as simple as having tea with The Brigadier? No, it turns out there's a man in her life. But in a world of time travel and alien invasions, is all that it seems? And can Sarah's Prince Charming really be trusted?
This story opens with a pleasant mix of mystery and humour as Luke, Clyde and Rani use Mr. Smith and K9 to find out what Sarah has been up to. Considering Mr. Smith essentially performed K9's function while the metal mutt was unavailable the attic now feels a bit crowded with two supercomputers competing for attention, which results in some hilarious banter between K9 and a very jealous Mr. Smith! The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith features humour which would've been at home in Prisoner of the Judoon seamlessly mixed with the dramatic intensity of Mad Woman in the Attic and stands as both one of the funnier and more serious Sarah Jane stories.
Despite a being a different spin on the basic plot of The Temptation of Sarah Jane the plot is quite engaging and interesting to watch unfold. The pacing is noticeably slower than average as there's relatively little action, or indeed any clear threat until nearly the end of Episode One. This isn't a flaw however, as Episode One has a genuinely unsettling feel to it because it's clear that only half of what's going on is being portrayed onscreen, leaving the viewer with this constant feeling of unease about the unfolding events. Although this wouldn't work for every story it's an interesting change and in Episode Two the pace picks up and the story rockets towards the conclusion.
The inclusion of The Doctor in this story works quite well, and in many ways this feels like a Dr.Who episode featuring Sarah Jane and the gang, as The Doctor has been trying to thwart The Trickster's plan for some time before he actually appears on screen. David Tennant is brilliant as usual and lights up the screen in every scene, and works wonderfully with Luke, Clyde and Rani. The only criticism I have of this is the teaming up of the Doctor with Clyde for much of Episode Two. Having two of the biggest mouths in the universe competing on screen doesn't quite work and I can't help but feel giving The Doctor and Luke more screen time together would've enriched the story somewhat. There are also some nice references to classic Dr.Who stories, in particular the Key to Time, and some foreboding hints about the impending regeneration.
Anyone familiar with the previous Trickster stories is likely to see the plot resolution coming a mile away, but this is a fitting but heartbreaking resolution in which Sarah Jane loses everything she was hoping for at the start of the story.
The dénouement in the attic is played beautifully, and the scene where Luke, Clyde and Rani are allowed a look inside the TARDIS is a pure magic.
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith isn't the masterpiece, best ever Sarah Jane Adventures story that many people hoped for. But it's nevertheless a thoroughly delightful, yet heartbreaking story.
5/5
P.S. I've gone retro with this week's song, an 80's power ballad by old-school German metal/hard rock band The Scorpions. The film clip is pretty laughable now and has dated considerably due to the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe (and the tight leather pants), but it's The Scorpions so the song still rocks!
