2.6 Enemy of the Bane

[Si Hunt]

Spoilers follow, if you're following SJA on BBC1 and not CBBC (and are therefore spared that awful presenter woman) ...

If there was one SJA story that didn't need a sequel it was "Invasion of the Bane". To be fair, Oojama thingy was good as Mrs Wormwood so I guess they wanted to get her back, but the rest of it was classic 'finding your feet' crap-CGI Squid-a-rama with that awful vibe that bad kids TV often has - "a new cool drink", "a new cool computer game..." Also "The Bane" is just a really bad and crap-sounding name for a foe.

To counteract this, they seemed to have chucked random other elements at the episode as well - the Sontaran from the opening story, the Brig... all this seems a bit like chucking enough mud at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. The result was a reasonable enough runaround, the highlight of which was predictably seeing Nick Courtney and his honey-over-gravel voice appear finally in twenty first century Who (sort of).

So good entertainment, and they kept it moving (and the visit to the Black Archive was suitably mysterious and exciting). BUT it felt a bit like making up an episode from the bits and bobs they could use cheaply - the old Bane CGI, the Sontaran costume... there were few remarkable lines or moments, and exploring Luke's "parentage" is just a bit of a dull thing to do. So this is unlikely to be a classic.

Si.

[SiHart]

I always thought Mrs Wormwood was a great villainess and deserved a rematch with Sarah Jane, though I broadly agree about the Bane story being finished. Samanthan Bond was fantastic again last night and I'm glad to see her back.

I was pleased to see the Brig back in action though, even if he is very old now. It's good to learn Doris is still around too.

I thought the episode was fine, but I'll wait until next week before I pass judegment on it. It depends how Wormwood and Kurghh do!

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

A pretty underwealming climax, we thought. A bit of chasing, a bit of archness from Samantha Bond and not very much for the Brigadier to do at all.

Average for a normal episode, for a series finale, very lame.

Si.

[Dirk Gently]

Agreed. And if the Major being a Bane came as a surprise then you weren't watching properly. He definitely wasn't normal even for a Major.

[SiHart]

We felt a bit disappointed too. While samantha Bond was very, very watchable and great fun, the story didn't seem up to the usual high standards. The Brig was sadly underused too, which was a great shame considering. Nowhere near as exciting or tense as last year's finale.

Si xx

[stuartdg]

What was with the collapsing,everyone hits the floor and the Brig slumps into a chair and why was Sarah Jane waving her hands in the air at storys end?

[Dino]

Yeah, bit of a crap ending to what was otherwise a great little series.
If Doctor Who decides to use the Brigadier, let's hope they make more use of him.
And I was more distubed by Sarah Jane shaking her arse in the attic on her last line more than anything! (Watch out for it on BBC 1 next week, you couldn't miss it!)



"The Temptation Of Sarah Jane" would have been a better series ending.

[shada pavlova]

The Brig was sadly underused too, which was a great shame considering.

Yeah. I was really hoping he'd be the one to save the day!

It's good to learn Doris is still around too.

Mind you, she'll be dead by 2012. A boating accident, so they say.

[Andrew Curnow]

I've only watched part 1, but rather enjoyed it - particularly since I was a bit worried that the much-hyped Brigadier appearance might just be one scene where he says, "The Black Archives? No problem!" and then cut to Sarah already in there!!!

Nice to see him getting a bit of action, too, with his high speed car escape!

Not sure what to make of the story yet, as I've only seen the first half, but so far it's rather good.

[Pip Madeley]

Just got round to watching this story - rather disappointing as others have said. It was nice to see the Brig but he was largely wasted and it's clear Nick Courtney isn't very mobile these days. The story wasn't that interesting, I never felt the danger and it just felt a bit odd for a Sontaran to save the Earth. The guy playing the Major was rubbish, Thomas Knight was a bit wooden at times and the 'end of season' ending was rather naff.

[Si Hunt]

Thomas Knight was a bit wooden at times

You're not a regular viewer are you.

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

I watched part 2 this morning - like most people, I was a bit disappointed I think. And I agree with Si's feeling that "it felt a bit like making up an episode from the bits and bobs they could use cheaply" - added to his list, I'd say that the flower shop was actually a pretty obvious hiding place (being the workplace of SJS' neighbour) but was a set they'd already knocked up for part 1 and wanted to get their money's worth out of.

I think part of my problem with it was that there never seemed a very clear idea what sort of climax we were getting - at various points I expected them to zip off to some other part of the universe (where Horath was hidden) or for Horath to appear in the stone circle, or... something other than a bit of spurious CGI and a noble self-sacrifice from Kraaaagh (or whatever he's called). And although Samantha Bond was excellent, she seemed to be acting in an entirely different style & tempo to everybody else which made her come across as a bit, well, freaky.

BUT, nice to see the Brig, it's been in general a pretty good series (only Temptation and this finale have been in any way disappointing), and more next year can only be a good thing!!