Judgement Day

"The lie betrays life. The truth defies death."

Writer: Scott Gray

Format: Audio

Released: November 2011

Series: SJA Audio 10

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Clyde, Rani, Sky

Synopsis 

The Veritas are an ancient force for justice. For centuries they have pursued criminals across the universe, showing them no mercy. Now they have come to Earth, and found the worst law-breaker of all... Sarah Jane Smith.

Why are creatures made of living flame rampaging through a shopping mall? Who is the mysterious magician Clyde and Sky must overcome? And why does the entire crisis seem to revolve around Rani's mother Gita?

Sarah Jane's past has finally caught up with her. It's judgement day...

Verdict 

Judgement Day was an excellent story to conclude my run through the audios of The Sarah Jane Adventures! It’s a slightly somber ending given that it was released alongside the unfinished fifth series, and it just doesn’t quite feel the same knowing that Elisabeth Sladen was no longer around. She absolutely epitomised the show but credit must go to Anji Mohindra for stepping into the narrator role effortlessly. She really was tremendous and brought the adventure to life quite beautifully. I thought the sound effects that accompanied the story were also very impressive in helping the story feel authentic and more than just an actor reading some prose. The focus on Gita having a new stall at the White across mall was good and I liked the description of exotic particles being detected. A fancy way to say alien! The magic tricks on display by Zondo were interesting and I liked the contradiction of there actually being no alien presence detected despite Mr Smith’s detection. The booming voice that arrived with a force field in toe was great and really set the story going, especially with the description of what would later be dubbed Flameoids! They were a really fascinating concept and I loved the idea of them being composed of living flame. That was a sublime image. It wasn’t a surprise that the shoppers were scared whilst their counterparts were turning into flames! It was an interesting move to have those transforming not being scared though despite the spheres attacking. The emergence of the Veritas was brilliant and I really enjoyed that they were out to seek a deceiver. Their questioning of Sarah Jane because of her alien technology in the form of the sonic lipstick was nicely done and I loved how they questioned why Gita had a block on her mind regarding her encounter with aliens. That was a strong way to hark back to The Vault of Secrets and Sarah was trying to explain how she did this to protect Rani’s mother. The Veritas questioning this was excellent and I liked how we saw holographic projections of memories. I was impressed with everything happening here and how it utilised the audio format. The flashback to the events of Prisoner of the Judoon and Sarah and Rani feeling what Gita felt was superb. That was a completely new perspective and a great emotional tie in. Sarah’s journey through her own memories was brilliant and I loved that we got to her as a student getting educated about journalism! It was always a nice touch to see her back when she was at UNIT HQ and Rani seeing alongside her was lovely, especially when the TARDIS was spotted. The reference to Invasion of the Dinosaurs and how Sarah played a part in the coverup story was marvellous. The Veritas having a serious problem with Sarah admitting this deception was a fantastic concept. Clyde getting to name the Flameoids was fun and I liked how Sky was able to use her abilities amidst all of the magic. Sarah mentioning cover stories again was great and I loved that she mentioned having to cover up the Loch Ness monster in a wonderful Terror of the Zygons reference. Having the Veritas judge Sarah Jane as the planet’s greatest liar was terrific thanks to her cover ups with her deemed a perpetrator of deceit. I thought that was pretty brilliant. Sarah getting to shine in challenging the Veritas to adhere to their honour code and show them their past was good and we got some important background when it came to the burden they were carrying. They were just three left now thanks to a falsehood, something they had no concept of. Zando being behind the Flameoids was a fun twist and they were all a distraction for the Veritas. The fact they wanted him because they considered his illusions as deception was incredible. I thought that was so fun to take things literally. Sarah’s appeal to the Veritas regarding her deceptions and how humanity was not ready for the truth was terrific and her sentence was cancelled. Clyde also showing that Zando was just acting in fiction not deception was a nice way to finish. Overall, a brilliant audio!

Rating: 9/10