The Sarah Jane adventures is one of the spin off shows from the very popular and much loved Doctor Who series, Sarah Jane being a companion from the 1970’s Doctor Who stories, with the Jon Pertwee, (the third doctor) and Tom Baker, (the fourth doctor).

The other spin off show from Doctor Who is called Torchwood, which is more for the older audience, whilst Sarah Jane is aimed at the younger ones, being aired on the BBC childrens channel.

As for the Sarah Jane adventures, well since leaving the TARDIS, and the space adventures with the Doctor, she has become a free lance journalist and a ‘part time’ Alien investigator, although the ‘part time’ bit is rapidly turning into full time with the vast array of aliens coming to earth.

Anyway, with the first series becoming almost as popular as the show it spun from the creators decided to release a second series, first airing in September 2008 until December the same year, continuing to follow the adventures of the ex-companion and her young team of helpers, although during this second series there is a slight change in the team itself.

** The show itself…

Writers: Phil Ford, Gareth Roberts and Joseph Lidster
Directors: Joss Agnew, Michael Kerrigan and Graeme Harper

** Main Cast…

• Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
• Yasmin Paige as Maria Jackson
• Tommy Knight as Luke Smith
• Daniel Anthony as Clyde Langer
• Alexandra Armstrong as the voice of Mister Smith.

And introducing…

• Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra
• Ace Bhatti as Heresh Chandra
• Mina Anwir as Gita Chandra

Series 2...

brief plot…

* The Last Sontaran , (two episodes)

Maria Jackson, is about to move to America as her Dad Alan, (Joseph Paige), is offered a job there, leaving her life hunting Aliens with Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde.
But before she leaves she has to help deal with Commander Kaagh, a rather strange looking Alien from the Sontaran, who is intent on destroying the earth to avenge the death of his entire race.

* The day of the Clown , (two episodes)

The Jackson family have moved to America and it is not long before the Chandra family, Rani, her father Heresh and her mother Gita, move into their old house on Bannerman road.
Things are becoming tricky for Clyde when he begins to make friends with Rani when she joins the school, only for her father to be watching over them a little too closely.
Meanwhile Sarah Jane is investigating the disappearance of several children around the area, soon realising that the disappearances may be a link to Elijah Spellman, (Bradley Walsh) a strange looking man dressed as a ring leader from a circus.
Could a frighteningly looking clown and an old story of the pied piper lead Sarah and her team to the whereabouts of the missing children

* Secrets of the Stars (two episodes)

When Martin Trueman, (Russ Abbott), a conman posing as an astrologer, is suddenly possessed by something evil from the skies he is soon able to actually read the stars, telling people their fortunes with ease.
So when Sarah Jane and the team attend one of Trueman’s live shows she is soon convinced that something alien is in control, but can she figure out what is in control of Trueman before the people of the world are taken over.

* The mark of the Berserker, (two episodes)

Clyde is very surprised when his father, Paul, (Joseph Millson), turns up to see him, Unfortunately, when Clyde tries to impress his father by telling him about the secrets of Sarah Jane and the alien investigation team things begin to go disastrously wrong for the father son relationship, especially when Paul gets his hands on a strange and very powerful pendent.
But when Paul fails to control the power within him, bringing danger to those around him, it is up to Sarah Jane and the team to stop him in the way they know best.

* The temptations of Sarah Jane Smith, (two episodes)

When Sarah Jane takes a child back in time to where he came from she soon realises that he has come from a place and time which is very close to her heart.
Unfortunately, when she meddles with time and space for her own benefits she inadvertently changes more than she wants to, causing much pain and horror.
But things get even worse for the team of alien investigators when Sarah realises that she has been used by a darkened figure who has one intension, to destroy the world.
Sarah Jane realises that she can save the world but only if she makes a massive sacrifice in her life, but can she do it in time.

* Enemy of the Bane, (two episodes)

It’s a blast from the past as Sarah Jane is visited by Mrs Wormwood, (Samantha Bond), a very unfriendly face who she thought had long since gone.
When Mrs Wormwood tries to convince Sarah Jane that she is not there to cause harm, more to help, Sarah has to try and trust her old enemy, much to Luke’s amazement.
But, with Sarah recruiting the help of Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon, (Nicholas Courtney), the truth surrounding Mrs Wormwoods reappearance begins to unravel, bringing another of Sarah’s old foes out of the woodwork.

** IN CONCLUSION…

After watching the first series with my kids, and to be honest enjoying it as much as they did, I decided to watch this second series without hesitation, and I am so glad I did as it turned out to be as good as, if not better than the first series.

This series opens with the same sort of excitement and entertainment as the last series left off, with an enemy that all Doctor Who fans would recognise straight away. And the rest of the series continues along the same entertaining route, never seeming to disappoint throughout the 12 episodes.
Again, each separate storyline comes in two episodes , each episode being about 25 minutes long, giving a rather entertaining 50 minutes of fun without getting boring at all, although, like the first series, with the freaky stuff going on in the show I doubt that they will get bored at all.

The look of the aliens is pretty scary, although not enough to frighten the younger audience members, although one certain enemy of Sarah Jane could be a little scary at times. This series re-introduces some old foes and also introduces one or two new ones as well, which opens the doors for many future episodes.
The all round acting is as good as ever, Sladen continuing to play her part as the calm, composed journalist, Knight as Luke, the strange alien bred human and Anthony playing the role of Clyde, the comic in the team, perfectly well indeed. And with the introduction of Mohindra, Heresh and Gita as the new faces in the show the story lines seem to twist and turn in all directions.

As I said, my kids love this show and watch it at every opportunity, be it on the BBC channel or on DVD, and it does keep them quite for long enough for me to get things done around the house, but I found myself sitting through each episode so I never actually managed to get things done around the house.

This second series is full of alien adventures in which Sarah Jane and her little band of alien investigators have to deal with, but each episode is as good as each other, bringing fun, thrills, entertainment and a little humour all wrapped into one neat bundle.

What more can you say about this children’s spin off from Doctor Who..? It is certainly aimed at kids between the ages of four and early teens, although it is entertaining for those ages. It is easy to watch and will not offend anyone at all, (unless you’re a six legged green squid from the planet clom).

In all, a fine series aimed at kids but easily enjoyed by all. It has thrills, suspense, action, drama and some strange alien creatures.
If you enjoyed the first series, or have seen the show on television and you enjoyed it then I do recommend grabbing a copy of the second series, which is available for just under £13.00 from amazon, and for this you get 4 discs with a stunning 337 minutes of child friendly alien adventure.

** Negatives about the show…

The only real downfall, as with the first series, is that the background music seems to be louder than the actual dialogue, making it difficult to hear what is being said, some of it being quite important to the storyline.