BOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! The Sarah Jane Adventures imitates Scooby Doo, as Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde try to uncover the truth behind one of Britain's most haunted houses. But there's no such thing as ghosts.
Or is there?
The most noticeable aspect of The Eternity Trap (asides from Luke's complete absence) is the impressively spooky atmosphere, which is really pushing the boundaries for a CBBC programme. We're treated to some chilling scenes of chalkboards writing on themselves, children's toys that move of their own accord and a barely seen monster that haunts the grounds. I can understand some parents having reservations about letting their younger kids watch this story, but the actors play it quite well and their performances should provide a reasonably amount of reassurance for the younger viewers.
The direction, lighting and effects are top notch and asides from a few brief effects shots the majority of the eye candy comes from Alice Troughton's sublime direction.
As usual, Clyde provides most of the humour, which is particularly funny in the parts where he's trying to make fun of the ghosts. The guest characters of Professor Rivers and Toby work exceptionally well, particularly Toby. Although never explicitly stated Toby appears to have Asperger's Syndrome and there is a clever explanation why Toby, with a brilliant scientific mind, is intent on uncovering the truth about the paranormal.
The villain of this story is Erasmus Darkening, a marvelously creepy character who's true motives aren't known until nearly the climax. Which brings me to the next point - the plot. The plot is one of The Eternity Trap's biggest strengths and it's biggest weakness. There's a wonderful, layered mystery that slowly unfolds as the truth behind the ghosts is revealed. Although the climax is reasonably well explained, viewers need to be careful to listen closely otherwise they'll end up wondering what happened, as the explanations to key plot points are contained in a few lines of dialogue. The dénouement also gives a few vague explanations and leaves the viewers wondering about the final fate of all the people whom Erasmus Darkening kidnapped.
The Eternity Trap is a very strong story but a more coherent plot and just a tad more humour would've made a noticeable improvement.
4/5
P.S. This week's song is an unremarkable piece of dance-pop. The title is appropriate and I'm trying to stick to chart material for Sarah Jane stories, which are the only reasons I chose it.
