The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Second Season (2008/BBC DVD)

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: A     Episodes: A

The Sarah Jane Adventures continues BBC's amazing run of high-quality Doctor Who content.  For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is one of the longest running series in television history, a product of the BBC, and an excellent blend of science fiction character driven drama.  Along with Torchwood, Sarah Jane expands the Who universe, but unlike the former, the show does so in a manner designed for younger viewers.  Once again played by the incomparable Elisabeth Sladen, Sarah Jane was once one of the Doctor's companions, and she traveled the universe with the Third (John Pertwee) and Fourth (Tom Baker) Doctors during some of the show's greatest moments back in the 1970's.

Sladen looks simply amazing in the second season of her show, once again defying the years and passage of time seemingly as easily as her character's erstwhile Time Lord companion. Just as with season one, the format for this show includes Sarah and her adopted son, Luke (Tommy Knight) investigating alien threats and mysteries in and around England.  Episodes for this season include: The Last Sontaran, The Day of the Clown, Secret of the Stars, The Mark of the Berserker, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, and Enemy of the Bane.

All of these episodes are well done, and as this reviewer's favorite Doctor Who aliens, "The Last Sontaran" two-parter showcases all of the race's brutish, angry, and vengeful attributes.  However, standing above all of the stories is "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith".  In it, Sarah Jane wrestles with some of the key themes of the Doctor Who phenomenon--chief among them the desire to change the past to achieve some better outcome.  This touching, two-part story sheds more light on Sarah's early background, and still manages to give the other regular cast members a chance to shine.

This two-disc set's ample list of extras includes: interviews with cast and crew, season synopses for all stories, "Investigating Tools: a Gadget Glossary", quiz with special footage prize, character and alien profiles, a photo gallery, audio clips, UK TV spots, and a selection of trailers. This package is essential viewing for any Who enthusiast, especially those looking to introduce the Who-verse to younger viewers.

 

You can read about the first season at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8173/The+Sarah+Jane+Adventures:+The+C

-   Scott Pyle