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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by Will Wade

Sarah Jane Smith is anything but your average action show heroine. As the main character in THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, she (Elizabeth Sladen) must save the world from a seemingly endless supply of hostile alien races bent on world domination. But unlike most sci-fi shows, Sarah Jane emphasizes her brain over muscle -- and diplomacy over combat -- and is the first to admit that a complete lack of weapons makes her a poor choice to tangle with such dangerous creatures. Her alien-fighting associates are equally unusual for a sci-fi action show. Maria (Yasmin Paige) is a high school student who lives across the street, and Sarah Jane's adopted son Luke (Thomas Knight) was manufactured by an alien race. Together, they're a highly unlikely bunch of alien hunters.

Is It Any Good?

3

The group's "weaknesses" are strengths for the series, because they force Sarah Jane to come up with innovative strategies to defeat her foes, which ends up being much more fun for viewers. Storm into an alien stronghold with guns blazing? Most fans have seen that over and over again. But destroy a hideous beast with an intergalactic mobile phone? Now that's something new.

Sarah Jane has a complicated, well-loved backstory. THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES is a spin-off of the immensely popular Doctor Who series, and Sarah Jane (who's always been played by Sladen) spent several seasons in the mid-'70s traveling through time and space with the Doctor. Now, decades later, she's a middle-aged single mother who looks and acts her age (a refreshing rarity on TV in the age of Botox and cosmetic surgery). The series has the same defiantly low-budget feel that's always made Doctor Who so much fun, especially when it comes to oh-so-obvious alien costumes and massive monster puppets. But ignore the cheesy effects, and The Sarah Jane Adventures stands out for its unique characters, unusual plots, and, above all, its original thinking.

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