March 30: The Mark of the Berserker Parts One & Two (SJA)

And so the moral of the story is, clearly don't let Sarah Jane go deal with monsters in Tarminster and leave the others by themselves...

In some respects The Mark of the Berserker wants to be about strained family relations, about what happens when the father who left comes back, and when he's not emotionally ready to have a serious relationship with his now-older son.  Clyde's father Paul comes back, but he seems really awkward around Clyde, as if he doesn't know how to behave or react -- but the fact that he came to see him still says something.  The only problem is that Paul seems to be too selfish to handle this well, and throwing in an alien artifact into the mix only makes things worse.  This is The Sarah Jane Adventures, after all, and it wouldn't be the same without something alien causing problems.

Clyde and his dad laugh as Rani's dad is compelled to do
push-ups. (The Mark of the Berserker Part One) ©BBC

Now while there are some additional consequences of this (such as Haresh Chandra being compelled to do push-ups forever, more or less), the primary focus is on Paul and his relationship with Clyde.  Paul doesn't seem to be a bad person so much as a weak one, and the Berserker pendant gives him the opportunity to have what he wants: cars, clothes, and his son by his side (even if Clyde has had to be compelled to forget his friends and mum).  It does provide an interesting twist, though; Paul doesn't want to rule the world or anything like that -- he just wants to escape his responsibilities.

The nice surprise in The Mark of the Berserker is the guest appearance from Maria and Alan Jackson, who are enlisted to help Luke and Rani while Sarah Jane is off tracking down an alien slug.  It's a lovely little appearance, and it's nice to see them helping out -- "And you thought we'd left it all behind," Maria tells her dad.  (They must be racking up one hell of a phone bill on that international call, though.)

If there's a problem with The Mark of the Berserker, it's that there doesn't seem to be a real connection between Paul Langer and the Berserker pendant -- it's used to extend Paul's wish-fulfillment, but as he's not actually a bad person, turning him into a Berserker soldier doesn't carry quite the impact that the script is hoping for.  It's interesting to get a look into Clyde's family dynamics, and it's fun to see Maria and Alan again, but this story ultimately ends up being an average tale.