The Mad Women in the Attic

"You wanted to meet the mad old women at Bannermen Road..."

Writer: Joseph Lidster
Format: TV
Broadcast: 22nd-23rd October 2009
Series: SJA 3.02

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani, K9

Synopsis

The year is 2059. In the derelict attic of 13 Bannermen Road, an elderly Rani Chandra tells the story of the day she met the alien Eve and her life went wrong...

Verdict

The Mad Women in the Attic was a very good story and a great little continuation of the third series of the Sarah Jane Adventures. As I've previously mentioned, I will not be blogging this series daily as I have done with the first two series and after watching this today, I didn't find any problem with not having watched the previous story the day before I was watching this. This is the first time I'm watching this series since it was first broadcast seven years ago but I was quite surprised with how much of this story I remembered. I kind of hope that isn't the case for the rest of my unblogged stories for this spinoff as I have purposely waited until now to start watching them again. The story started off very interestingly and one could be forgiven for not expecting the attic mentioned in the title to be referring to the familiar setting of Sarah Jane's house. Perhaps also unexpectedly, when we could see just exactly where the attic was situated, Sarah Jane was not the mad women that the story's name referred to. It actually turned out to be Rani as we were taken ahead in time to 2059, a very rare feat in this spinoff show. Rani being questioned by Adam, seemingly a lad from just across the road, was good as we got an immediate insight into what kind of life Rani had as she entered adulthood. It was quite sad that she was alone, mad and didn't even know what year it was. She claimed that it was all because of one wish that she had made out of anger back in the present day and we would soon see those events unfold. I was quite surprised to learn that Rani had told her old friend Sam about everything that she does with her newfound gang and Sarah Jane wasn't best pleased either, which certainly didn't surprise me. I did like how she acknowledged that she might have been in the wrong when she just shunned Rani's finding aside as simple lightning. This was quite an insightful episode for Rani and we learned quite a lot about her. Not only was the story predominantly set in her hometown but her thoughts on Sarah Jane and the gang were fully explored. All the talk of Maria was obviously making her uncomfortable but I did like how she wasn't being forgotten following her departure in The Last Sontaran. The references in the story were also great with excellent mentions of Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith. I also liked the sheer volume of flashbacks that came in this story and we even saw scenes from the Classic era of Doctor Who and Sarah Jane's time with the Third and Fourth Doctors which was just marvellous. The conversation between Clyde and Sarah Jane about her being old now was a lovely little moment and I liked how it highlighted the humorous understand that the pair shared. Eve was a brilliant character and the care Harry had for her was good but also a little strange I must say. The deserted fairground acted as a good setting and I liked how Ship was able to show people their past and future. Sarah Jane seeing a glimpse of the Doctor was a sign of things to come and I liked how Rani was horrified by the prospect of living alone. She would rectify that though thanks to Adam who turned out to be Eve and Sam's child. Ship granted Rani a New wish and she would be the mad women in the attic no more. There was no real villain and I liked how everybody got away pretty much unharmed. That doesn't often happen in a Doctor Who universe story. Overall, a very good story! 

Rating: 8/10