The return of Sarah Jane Smith and K9 to the world of Doctor Who! Finally this new series is developing the courage to acknowledge it's past and what better way to do it that to bring back one of the Doctor's old companions.
When I first watched this when it was first broadcast in 2006 I had no real knowledge of who Sarah Jane was beyond that I knew she had been in the series before. It's a shame that that sense of delight at seeing her again that old time fans must have had was robbed from me somewhat. I've more than made up for this since but it would have been nice to have that nostalgic feeling that I'm afraid to say was missing for me.
Lets get the plot out of the way because its a pretty crap one. Aliens are using children's imagination and accelerating their learning in order that they can crack some sort of paradigm which will allow them to become God like creatures, shaping the universe around them. Seeing the children all sat at computers in a hypnotic state is all a bit too "Demon Headmaster" to me. Despite my reservations regarding the story, Anthony Head puts in a brilliantly creepy performance as the headmaster of the school, especially in the scenes he shares with the Doctor has they confront each other around the school swimming pool.
The really heart of this episode though is down to the return if Sarah Jane. Not only is this a brilliant nod to the past but it explores areas of the Doctor's life which had been untouched until now. Just what does happen to all those people he travels with and then just dumps back home? Poor Sarah Jane seems to have spent her life waiting for the Doctor to return and as such is a little angry at him. Also it's a bit of a shock for Rose when she discovers that she is no pt the first of the Doctor's companions. Micky is along for the ride in this story, taking great delight in Rose's plight when she realises there have been other women before her!
The inclusion of K9 makes the attempted spin off "K9 and Company" officially canon. It's in this spin off that Sarah Jane and K9 meet and as they are together now then this must have really happened. This is why K9 and Company had to feature in my quest at the end of the fourth Doctor era. You see there is a plan for all of this!
I've never been a big fan of K9 as I just think the idea of a robot dog is a little too daft, even for Doctor Who! But nevertheless it's still great to see things from the Doctor's older adventures cropping up in the new series.
This episode has quite the emotional ending when Sarah Jane finally gets to say her proper goodbye to the Doctor. I'm sure I'll be seeing her very soon anyway!
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