May 19: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith Parts One & Two (SJA) / "The Eclipse of the Korven" (K-9)

It's rather heartbreaking, watching the first episode of this story -- we're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding both Ruby White and Sarah Jane's condition, but while we do so we have to endure the sight of Sarah Jane losing her memory and her mental acuity.  In many ways this is the heart of the episode -- once Ruby reveals her true colors, this is largely business as usual, but the scenes leading up to that cliffhanger are really well done.  Elisabeth Sladen does a beautiful job of portraying Sarah Jane slowly losing her grip as she becomes more and more absent-minded -- putting Clyde and Rani in danger because she's forgotten her sonic lipstick is one thing, but forgetting the name of the Doctor?  That cuts right to the heart of the matter, and it really is tough to watch at times.

It's also interesting to see essentially another Sarah Jane Smith running around, in the form of Ruby.  While we know that something's up (I suspected the Trickster, but alas, he's nowhere to be found in series 4), we don't know what, and it's still interesting to see the dynamic between Ruby and Sarah Jane, both when they're suspicious of each other and when they're on friendlier terms.  "They're great kids, but they're a different generation," Sarah Jane tells Ruby.  "I could do with a grown-up friend."  It's a lovely moment, even when you know it's going to go wrong.

Ruby drains Sarah Jane's life essence. (Goodbye, Sarah Jane
Smith Part One) ©BBC

Of course, it's really an alien plot, and as I said, this part of the story is on much firmer ground.  Sarah Jane trapped in a cellar, being digested by an alien stomach that feeds off "life essence" triggered by excitement, isn't exactly the sort of thing that the show has done before, but it does feel like the sort of thing the show could have done before.  I also like how Clyde immediately susses that something's wrong with the idea of Sarah Jane leaving without saying goodbye to even Luke and is trapped in an airless prison cell above the planet for his troubles.  (Although doesn't that violate the Judoon's "don't leave Earth" order?  You'd expect them to come in and arrest Ruby as an accessory...)  It shows that he's clever and loyal, and that it doesn't really matter -- a surprisingly bleak moment for the series.  The farewell message he leaves on his phone is also quite tragic (and he never finishes what he was going to say to Rani -- clearly the writers are playing with this Rani/Clyde thing).

But it's ultimately Rani and Luke who save the day (and hooray!  Tommy Knight's briefly back for more than just a computer screen cameo!), thwarting Ruby's plan to drain Sarah Jane and overloading her with all the excitement of 6 billion people at once.  It's a clever resolution, and we get a suitably sequel-hunting ending, as Ruby vows to get her revenge on the planet.  And the "splurge" on Clyde is a cute moment.

This is an entertaining story, to be sure, but it also has a surprising amount of vulnerability in it as well -- Elisabeth Sladen's performance is really fabulous, and she greatly helps sell the concept.  And while the other bits might feel a bit typical, they're at least done with great style and confidence.  As another story in the series this does really well; as an ending to series 4, Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith is a great choice to close out the run.

Series 4 has been another strong run for the show -- despite the reduced role of Tommy Knight this year, the stories they've been telling haven't suffered at all, and we've in fact gotten a chance to see Anjli Mohindra and Daniel Anthony get more of a focus as Rani and Clyde.  All this, anchored by the ever-reliable and highly watchable Lis Sladen, means that series 4 has maintained (and in some cases even improved) the high level of quality we've come to expect from The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Jorjie, Darius, Professor Gryffen, Starkey, and K-9 observe the
STM. ("The Eclipse of the Korven") ©Screen Australia, Pacific
Film and Television Commission Pty Limited, Park Entertainment
Limited, Cutting Edge Post Pty Limited, and Metal Mutt
Productions Pty Limited

But it's not the only thing that's ending today.  We've now reached the finale of K-9, with an episode that's genuinely good.  This is the moment they really have (sort of) been building up to, as we get a number of disparate threads tied together in this finale.  So we learn more about K-9's regeneration unit, the STM, his connection to the Korven, and the mysterious Lomax who runs the Department.  It's almost like they know this is the last episode -- how else do you explain the awkward story-stopping moment of Jorjie telling Starkey that she has feelings for him, other than to wrap up a plot thread left dangling from "Aeolian"?

But they mix in some genuinely compelling moments.  The best one is Professor Gryffen resolving to save the world even though it means confronting his agoraphobia and heading outside to shut down the STM at the source, as it really is a "punch the air" moment, but there are also things like Thorne being revealed as a Korven agent, helping them to invade (so that's why he's been such a git all the time), or the way K-9 saves the day by making the weird alien beast fight its own natures, which is a clever move.  Or the way Thorne receives his just desserts.

And then the ending goes straight for the feels, with K-9 seemingly dead and there being nothing anyone can do to save him.  All the actors appear to be actually crying during this extended scene, as they all say their farewells to K-9, seemingly forever.  Of course it works out in the end (as the regeneration unit just, er, appears in Starkey's hand), but it's still a really touching scene.

So the series definitely ends strong: "The Eclipse of the Korven" is a compelling episode with an engaging plot and some good performances from everyone involved.  This episode feels like it has a storyline that matters, and so it goes out on a high note.

And so ends this oddest of spin-offs, the one with only the most fragile of ties to technically its parent show, and the only one to date not made by the BBC.  (Or at least the only one that made it to broadcast, as opposed to the BBV stuff.)  The basic premise of the show isn't bad, but all too often, K-9 seemed to have few ambitions beyond standard children's TV fare.  It was rarely outright terrible, but because its sights were lowered, the times it hit the mark weren't as often as they should have been.  This is a shame; some talented people were in front of the camera, and probably could have done more if they'd be given the material.  Robert Moloney was easily the standout as Professor Gryffen, providing a solid anchor for the show and doing some really lovely acting, but we also had fine acting from people like Keegan Joyce as Starkey (once he had a couple episodes under his belt) and Philippa Coulthard and Daniel Webber, who showed that, when given the right stuff, they could easily rise to the occasion.  And as always, John Leeson was on hand to provide his ever-reliable performance as the voice of K-9.

Alas, the ambitions of the show just weren't high enough, and while they finally did start to spread their wings near the end it was too little too late.  The direction the show was going was a positive one, but they only got the one series, and the talk has moved on from "we're going to do a second series" to "we're going to do a reboot", which is a bit of a shame (even if it's understandable).  It was hardly a standout show, but in its own way it could be quite charming.

(All that said, the theme tune of the show might have been the best part -- it's a genuinely catchy piece of music.)