Prisoner of the Judoon

"You destroyed them because you were jealous?"

Writer: Phil Ford
Format: TV
Broadcast: 15th-16th October 2009
Series: SJA 3.01

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani

Synopsis

Sarah and the gang face the most dangerous day of their lives as the Judoon return. When prisoner Androvax the Annihalator crash-lands on Earth, the Veil is set free to turn Earth's technology against itself. His next intended victim is Sarah. As the Judoon fleet approaches Earth, it's a race against time to stop Androvax. With Genetec Systems' technology on the rampage and Rani's parents taken prisoner, can anything stop the Army of the Infinitesmal?

Verdict

Prisoner of the Judoon was a brilliant story and a great way to kick off the third series of the Sarah Jane Adventures! We're well into the spinoff by this point in the show's history but unlike my blogging of the first two series, I will not be posting entries back to back for the adventures in this third series. That's partly down to the latest spinoff of Class being ongoing but also due to travel arrangements and university deadlines so the timing just wouldn't be right to do six SJA serials in a row. With that being said though, I just couldn't resist the urge to start the series which I had actually been putting off for a few weeks since purchasing the DVD for a steal of a price at just over £3. That's ludicrously low to be honest but I am not going to complain! Today, I managed another absolute steal on eBay but I'm not sure when that will be getting the blog treatment. Anyway, on to the story itself and I liked how another familiar monster from Doctor Who got another televised appearance in the spinoff series here. We've seen the Slitheen, Sontarans and now the Judoon were back on our screens! They're slowly becoming quite a familiar monster for me now and that's absolutely fine as I do like the concept behind them of being intergalactic police. Ironically though, they're quite dum and I was intrigued by how much Sarah Jane knew about them. She's obviously had a conversation with the Doctor about them at some point. Captain Tybo had crash landed on Earth and in the process had allowed his prisoner to escape into the planet's civilisation. Androvax wasn't just any prisoner though. He was known as Androvax the Annihilator and was top of the Judoon's most wanted list. Considering the area of space that the Judoon must cover, that says quite a lot about what kind of criminal he was. He'd destroyed worlds but the reason behind it wasn't revealed until late in the story and it was quite harrowing to hear that he destroyed all those planets because he was jealous. His own planet had been destroyed and now he was trying to put others in his position, or even worse kill them.  I found it interesting that in the opening story of a series, Sarah Jane spent the majority under the influence of Androvax. Now, I thought Elisabeth Sladen was absolutely terrific in her changed role and the fact that she was embodied by the Veil alien put all the focus on saving the day on Luke, Clyde and Rani. That trio really is terrific and the time they spent with Tybo was hilarious. The fact that the Judoon adhered to the laws of the land they walked on was fantastic and the scene in the police car next to the man playing loud music was terrific. Tybo managed to threaten people with execution but in a polite way if that's possible. It really was quite the trait to have. The cliffhanger was absolutely superb and I thought the resolution was pretty good too with Luke talking Mr Smith out of self destructing. The references to The Hand of Fear, Invasion of the Bane and Enemy of the Bane were excellent and I thought the nanoform element of the story was a real highlight. The connection with Dreamland was unexpected but welcomed and I liked the way that Androvax was finally back in Judoon hands. Rani's parents seeing more than they bargained for was also a great part of the story. Overall, a fantastic story and a terrific way to kick off the series!

Rating: 9/10