Uncomfortable inklings of pedophilia. Sarah Jane Smith gets in a bitch-fest with the Doctor's new dye-job companion and doesn't come out the clear winner. That's what's wrong with this episode. The rest of it is generally Anthony Stewart Head either playing an Evil Guy with understated malice, or chewing a bunch of scenery. Also K9 shows up and manages not to be annoying. But most of it - and they say so on the commentary - is just Doctor Who meets Sex and the City, as the missus and the ex duke it out.
Now, the pedophilia charge. Yeah, that might seem a bit much, but once you see it from that perspective, you can't unsee it. We're talking about a bunch of aliens who harvest genetic material - it is their m.o. - using children's souls to re-make the Universe. So, um, yeah. Also, what British child in their right mind would ever trust their teachers again?
Then there's the other other problem; you see, if behind-the-scenes sources are to be believed, Elizabeth Sladen was offered at least one chance to return to the show right around the time Tom Baker decided to leave (yeah, Sarah and Adric - I can't picture it either). So when Sarah Jane complains about being left behind, I can't quite separate the fictional events from what went on behind the scenes. The only thing that kept the Doctor from swinging back to pick up Sarah again after The Deadly Assassin was an expired contract in a BBC cabinet somewhere. I'm not blaming Sladen for leaving - everyone's got to at some point - although I will confess that I'm questioning her logic in returning to the show here. Really, it's her and Head that save it.
6 out of 10.
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