Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (SPOILERS)

[Dirk Gently]

Maria wakes one morning to discover Sarah Jane has disappeared - and she is the only person in the world who remembers her.

Comments.

[Dirk Gently]

That was very good, much better than the last story. I was wondering when time would get dragged in to the series. This looks like it could be up there with EotG.
Can't wait to see what happens to Maria, will she be able to stop Andrea from 'killing' Sarah Jane Smith just by being in the past?

[Milky Tears]

Asher was looking good and Jessica Ashworth (Young Sarah Jane) is almost 20!

Next you'll be telling me Yasmin Paige is over 16 and Daniel Anthony turned 20 earlier this month.

[WhiteCrow]

Next you'll be telling me Yasmin Paige is over 16

I know! I thought thank God for that!

Anyway another impressive story so far. They really seem to have been delivered the goods with Sarah Jane. I wish Torchwood had been able to start as strong.

[Dave Tudor]

Does anyone else think they missed a trick by not casting Lis's daughter Sadie as the young Sarah?

I decided to watch an episode on the CBBC channel for the first time, and, wow, what an opener! I agree that it looks like it's going to be just as good as 'Eye Of The Gorgon', and certainly as scary, if not more so - that blank-faced hooded creature is surely one of the creepiest monsters to have appeared in this or 'Doctor Who'.

It was quite a clever - and brave - move not to feature Sarah Jane for the majority of the story, even though she is central to the plot, and the glimpse into her past is an intriguing one. Yasmin Paige carried the episode wonderfully, aided by Jospeh Milson who got a good slice of the action as Maria's father, and by an excellent guest turn from Jane Asher. Add to this mix an intelligent script, some fine direction by Sir Graeme Harper, and the bizarre but surprising return of the Graske (!), and 'Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane' is shaping up to be another brilliant adventure.

[Andrew Curnow]

I watched part 1 last night, and really enjoyed it - quite a different feel & pace to the rest of the series so far, and I think if I were a kid it would be the one episode that I would have found really scary. The idea that you can wake up and be the only one to remember somebody is just very disconcerting.

And I agree with Dave about the monster - very creepy indeed.

[Wayne]

I've been sitting here enjoying both eps. It's pretty damn good this one! Up there with 'Eye of the Gorgon' infact.

[Dirk Gently]

This is a really good episode. The emotional content is just as high as Doctor Who has been achieving & the story is quite brilliant, easily as good as EotG.

[Simon R]

It took me ages to work out was "EotG" was. I was thinking of Doctor Who stories.

I thought today's episode was very good stuff indeed. Seems way beyond most kids shows or what I'd expect from them. I remember Russell T saying in DWM that Joseph "Alan DWLF Jackson" Millson was a skateboarding champion of some kind so nice they gave him the chance to show that skill off and a good episode for Maria with her carrying the main role very well.

Was the hooded figure based on that old pubic safety film about the dangers of rivers and t'ing?

Jane Asher was brilliant. If Caroline John had a lot of good cosmetic surgery she'd look like that.

Is it wrong that I didn't really miss Sarah Jane or Luke?

The Graske seemed a little silly and out of place in a fairly heavy episode. Was it a cost saving device? Is it a joke Daisy K?

It's a great series! Can't believe there's only three episodes left.

[WhiteCrow]

Another good episode.

It's bugging me now, is Yasmin Page, the girl who was in the Harry Enfield movie Tooth?



Hard to tell, as this seems to be the movie time forgot, which no-one remembers seeing, and there seems little on the internet about.

[Dirk Gently]

It's bugging me now, is Yasmin Page, the girl who was in the Harry Enfield movie Tooth?

Yes, it is the same actress.

[Dino]

A really strong story. Seen both parts, boo to The Graske, boo hoo to the issue of childhood death. If it encourages kids to be more careful on school trips etc. I thought that was the last story, but we've got more! This series has really hit it's stride. And thanks to this forum, I now hum the Hancock's Half Hour theme over the signature "tune". Didn't even mind Maria's parents!

[WhiteCrow]

Yes, it is the same actress.

When I tried looking up the movie on Wikipedia, it instead took me to an arthouse movie called Teeth, which is about a girl with vaginal dentures ...

[Pip Madeley]

When I tried looking up the movie on Wikipedia, it instead took me to an arthouse movie called Teeth, which is about a girl with vaginal dentures ...

[Dirk Gently]

When I tried looking up the movie on Wikipedia, it instead took me to an arthouse movie called Teeth, which is about a girl with vaginal dentures ...

Internet Movie Database is the site for TV & film questions.

[SiHart]

The first part was really good. Very odd and enjoyable. Jane Asher is just fab, isn't she?

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

Jane Asher was actually quite superb. Shame her character is now lost.

[Dave Tudor]

I got round to watching the second part earlier, and it really was fantastic. It maintained the momentum of the first episode, unlike the other stories this season (as brilliant as they've all been, mind), and featured some wonderful set-pieces (notably The Trickster's confrontation with Sarah in the void, and the creature's first meeting with the young Andrea), some truly scary (and adult) images, and more great acting, particularly from Lis Sladen and, best of all, Jane Asher, who was exceptionally good in this.

Once again, it was good to see Maria's mum and dad in the spotlight more, with Juliet Cowan especially making a wonderful character of Chrissie (I loved her deadpan reaction to seeing Alan being chased down the stairs by the Graske!), and it's testament to the appeal and believabilty of the main cast that an episode can work this well even without its lead actor for much of the action.

I did have a few minor gripes - I'm now not so sure about Sarah Jane being a substitute Doctor, like him, a near-mythical figure and the only one who can prevent the world being destroyed; the asteroid subplot seemed a little shoe-horned in at times, and not entirely convincing; some of the scenes with the Graske were a little silly - but these complaints are largely trivial. 'Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane?' was a wonderful piece of television, and, for me, surpasses even 'Eye Of The Gorgon' as the best story of the season.

What's more, it's not over yet, and the final two-parter looks really good, too - is it too early yet to say that 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' is one of the best children's TV series EVER?

[Jonno]

I thought this was magnificent. I've always loved parallel Earth type storylines and "What If?" type stories and this is right up there with the best of them as far as I'm concerned. Jane Asher was great, and even spookily looked a little like Sarah in certain shots - perhaps it was the hair? The Trickster was excellent - scary looking and acting and now that he knows of the Doctor I'd love to see him reappear in that show.

Maria was great, and well capable of pretty much carrying the show, and her Dad was excellent here too - nice nugget of info from Simon there about him being a champion skateboarder, which made sense of all that - I was thinking it must have been a stuntman in the early scenes!

The only slight downside - The Graske. Good idea to reuse a costume that had barely been seen before, but seeing it run after people made it look silly really. Perhaps it was felt to need a slightly lighter side to an otherwise rather dark story? Overall though, this narrowly beats Gorgon as my favourite story - to date...

[Alex]

I agree with all the praise about this episode, it was easily my favourite yet and played around with a lot of fun ideas. It's the first time I've had that "Eeek, the whole Earth is going to be destroyed" feeling about the show, and the main villain was really well done. SJS and Luke were especially strong in the acting stakes this episode too, and I enjoyed it so much I watched the next episode on CBBC straight afterwards.

[Perry Vale]

Like everyone else, I really enjoyed this one. I think it's my favourite of the series so far, and from first impressions, probably the one that'll be most re-watchable.

Loved "The Trickster", if that was what he was really called, pleased (but surprised no-one has mentioned) that he was quite obviously meant to be the Devil, imo, revelling in chaos, and people making "pacts" with him. And I think it's almost a certainty now that he'll turn up in DW sooner or later.

Loved the Graske too, forgot he was going to be in it!

Maria/Yasmin Paige has the most annoying voice on television though.

[Si Hunt]

This was superb. I wish this had been on when I was a child because it had everything - it was scary (the image of the Reaper lurking in a surburban street chilled me, even as an adult), haunting, funny and touching. Jane Asher was magnificent - her bitterness at never having lived her life, was world class. Above all, the central concept of Sarah having been wiped from existence, and the helpness feeling of Maria suddenly realising no-one else knew who she was, sent chills up my spine. Even the Graske, a bad idea for a return if ever there was one, managed to be sinister, scuttling around like some demented demon.

The whole thing was just wonderful.

Si.