February 26: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? Parts One & Two (SJA)

Following on the heels of Warriors of Kudlak, we get another good story.  Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? is the sort of story you'd think Doctor Who would have done by now (changing a timeline and seeing the results), but, while it's been threatened a lot as the motivation behind other stories, we've never really seen the effects of such a change (other than that moment in Pyramids of Mars with the barren, ruined Earth).  Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, on the other hand, decides to play with this idea -- admittedly in a minor way (as the Trickster arranges things such that the only meaningful difference that results from Sarah Jane's removal from established history is the impending meteor crash that Sarah Jane was going to prevent), but still in an interesting one.

One of the nice consequences of this (in real world terms) is that it gives a chance for Yasmin Paige to take center stage as Maria, as she's the only one who remembers Sarah Jane after the Trickster changes history (thanks to an alien cube that Sarah Jane gave her).  After being totally confused by the presence of a woman named Andrea Yates in Sarah Jane's house, and combined with the fact that no one besides her remembers Sarah Jane or Luke, Maria figures out that this is because Sarah Jane and Andrea traded places during an accident when they were both 13 -- Andrea was supposed to have died, but Sarah Jane seems to have taken her place.  Maria shines in this roll, railing against everyone, trying to figure out what happened, and being incredibly angry that no one else remembers Sarah Jane.  It's a great showcase of her talents.  And Maria's dad (as played by Joseph Millson) also gets the opportunity to stand out -- first by trying to humor Maria but being totally bewildered (and a little concerned) by her behavior, and then by being placed in the same position as Maria was in, once the Trickster takes her away.  And he gets to outwit a Graske, which is a lot of fun too.

Alan and Maria look as Andrea decides to defy the Trickster.
(Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? Part Two) ©BBC

Another nice thing about this story is Jane Asher as Andrea.  Asher (who's probably still best known as Paul McCartney's one-time fiancée, but as far as Who fans go played Susan Foreman in the 1994 BBC Radio 4 play Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? (which can be found on the Dalek Invasion of Earth DVD if you're interested)) does a great job of playing a character who starts to remember that she made a desperate bargain with the Trickster, and tries to keep it going until she realizes that the world needs Sarah Jane more than it needs her.  Andrea is shown to be not so much evil as simply human, desperate to cling to her life but ultimately willing to make the greater sacrifice, and Asher does a great job of getting this across.  It's also interesting how Andrea had forgotten about Sarah Jane's death (albeit probably because of the deal she struck), but Sarah Jane had never forgotten about Andrea's death -- and in fact cited it as one of the defining moments of her life.  This seems to be the moment that finally clinches it for Andrea, and it's played very well.

It's a good, solid story, and writer Gareth Roberts does a great job of taking what could have been a clichéd and tedious idea and turns it into something more interesting.  He's aided by Graeme Harper's direction, which gives a lot of impetus to these proceedings.  The Trickster is a great creation -- and it's a simple but creepy mask -- and it's hardly surprising that he would go on to be one of the Sarah Jane Adventures' recurring foes.  This is a story that works on almost every level -- even Maria's mom Chrissie isn't that annoying.

Plus we get a great cliffhanger -- Alan now knows about aliens and supercomputers, and demands an explanation from Sarah Jane and the gang...