Invasion of the Bane

"Life on Earth can be an adventure too."

Writers: Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 1st January 2007

Series: SJA 1.01

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Maria

Synopsis 

Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith teams up with her new, thirteen-year-old neighbour, Maria Jackson, to face the scheming Mrs Wormwood, the head of a company producing a popular and addictive soft drink called Bubble Shock!

Verdict 

Invasion of the Bane was an excellent story and a great start to the Sarah Jane Adventures spinoff series. The infamous companion getting her own television spinoff after the failure of A Girl's Best Friend to get K9 & Compay commissioned further into a series is just wonderful and she's so deserving of it. Sarah Jane is a brilliant character and by allowing her to have a spinoff series, we get to see what life after the Doctor is really like for the companions. We met her once again in School Reunion which was just magnificent and that episode was heavily referenced here as one might expect. But based on that, Sarah realised that she could do things alone, or rather without the Doctor. Aiming the series at a younger audience was a good idea and I think Elisabeth Sladen became that loveable elderly lady that all children are bound to love. The series doesn't though just appeal to children of course! Now, it's taken me over 840 blog entries to start rewatching the Sarah Jane Adventures, but it's better late than never! Sarah Jane features and that's more than reason enough for me to be watching. The introduction of Maria as her companion if you like was wonderful and I really do enjoy her character. She's faced with family trouble whilst dealing with a divorce and a house move and that emotional trauma I think makes her perfect to be fighting aliens alongside Sarah Jane. We of course also have Luke but his introduction is a little more unconventional as he serves a purpose in the plot of the story. He's known as the Archetype to the Bane and he was simply grown and made as an amalgamation of over 10,000 different children to try and find why 2% of the population did not like the Bubble Shock! drink. Sarah Jane's thoughts on it were most interesting and I liked how she had already been investigating. Mrs Wormwood was a decent villain and I loved how Sarah immediately caught onto her biblical meaning. Not such a subtle choice of name after all. I wasn't too keen on Kelsey I must admit and I'm very glad that she didn't stick around for long as part of Sarah's gang. Chrissie was also a character I didn't like much at all although I think that's the intention. Alan is a likeable enough character. I very much enjoyed the reference to The Hand of Fear and seeing photos of Harry, the Brigadier and a young Sarah Jane was a real treat I must say. Sarah's sonic lipstick was a terrific little device and I also liked the communicator she was granted from the Star Poet. The story was maybe a little too long at an hour's duration but it ticked all the boxes of what a first episode of a new series should establish. We know what it's about and we know our characters. The Bane were a pretty good monster and although I liked their image translator, their true form seemed a bit big and silly. The way Sarah, Maria and crucially Luke defeated and destroyed the Mother Bane was very good and I loved how thrilled Sarah was to have won. The cameo appearance of K9 was a real treat and I also liked the introduction of Mr Smith. Overall, a very good first episode and a great start to the spinoff series!

Rating: 8/10