March 31: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith Parts One & Two (SJA)

After a number of stories dealing with alien threats and/or other cast members, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith puts the focus squarely on Sarah Jane herself, as she's confronted with a time fissure that leads to the time and place where her parents died while she was just a baby.  The story that results is in some ways the sister to stories like "Father's Day", where one small change leads to a whole new future.

What's really great about this story is how the stakes seem low but keep getting higher and higher -- Sarah Jane initially just wants to see her parents, and then she just wants to talk to them, and by the end of part one she's decided to prevent them from going to their deaths.  The whole time Sarah Jane keeps giving in to the temptation a little at a time (with Luke warning her the whole way), until she's finally done what she knows she shouldn't have -- which sets the scene for the post-apocalyptic 21st-century stuff, with the planet almost completely lifeless and under the thrall of the Graske, who is nevertheless controlled by the Trickster.  These scenes are sort of nice, but they really feel disconnected from the main plot -- yes, the world is screwed if Sarah Jane condemns her parents to die, but it's hard to feel much of anything other than an abstract sense of wrongness from the alternate timeline.  Despite the script's efforts to make us care with the presence of Gita, who is very clearly not Rani's mother in this timeline, even though Rani refuses to see that at any point.

Barbara and Eddie Smith say goodbye to their daughter. (The
Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith Part Two) ©BBC

No, the best parts of The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith have to do with the events of August 18, 1951²⁰³, and Sarah Jane's decision on that day. It's really great how Sarah Jane, even after seeing the problems that her initial decision cost, tries so hard to find another way to solve the problem: she simply cannot condemn her parents to death.  Elisabeth Sladen gives a fantastic performance, as Sarah Jane is desperate to save her parents: she's emotional, brave, and defeated, all at the same time.  It's mesmerizing to watch, in the best way possible.  (Oh, and the moment in part two, where Sarah Jane thinks the Doctor has come, only to find that the "TARDIS" is actually a genuine police box, is a lot of fun.)

And it's fitting that the decision is in fact taken from her, as Barbara and Eddie realize that "Victoria Beckham" (another nice joke, by the way) is actually their daughter, and that they have to die in order for things to be put right.  (So this is really like "Father's Day" then.)  It gets around the issue of Sarah Jane being forced to choose while putting her parents in a good light; they didn't abandon her as a baby because of some unknown whim, they abandoned her because they knew they had to face their fate.  It's a great move, and one that the Trickster didn't count on.  (Although, if we're talking about the Trickster... what was it about the Abbot's Gateway that made it the place for the Trickster to manifest?  They sort of hint that it has something to do with the ruin's age, but it's actually never made clear.)

The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith is a story with heart, with great performances from the cast and a gorgeous ending (the closing shot, showing one of Barbara's notes to Eddie, is particularly sweet).  It feels like things really matter here, and we're never in doubt as to how important this is to Sarah Jane and therefore to the world.  Gareth Roberts has written a standout story that makes it clear just how good this show can be.

And what this?  The Brigadier is in the next episode?!  About time they got him into the modern franchise...







²⁰³ This is consistent with what we're told in Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?  But look, more confirmation for early '70s UNIT dates.