One of the impressive things about
The Curse of Clyde Langer is how much unlike a typical
Sarah Jane tale it is. In some ways this is the closest
The Sarah Jane Adventures have come to a straightforward, SF/fantasy-free story -- other than the totem pole's curse being bestowed upon Clyde and causing everyone to turn against him, this might be a story from any number of more mundane dramas.
Even more so than the last story, this is a game of two halves. The first half taps into a deep-seated fear among everyone, but especially children: what if everyone you knew suddenly rejected you? What would you do? Where would you go? This is the "curse" that Clyde receives: anyone who hears or sees his name is suddenly filled with anger and hatred towards Clyde, even going so far as to call the police on him. It's a pretty primal dread, but Daniel Anthony absolutely delivers as Clyde in portraying the confusion and hurt that Clyde is feeling. It's a genuinely astonishing performance from someone who's already been one of the best things about the show, demonstrating just how good Anthony can be. Whether it's being verbally abused by Rani ("I hate you!" she yells at him with undiluted venom, which seems to really shake Clyde to his core) or being rejected by his mother Carla, Anthony is absolutely riveting. It's a fantastic job.
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Ellie and Clyde seek shelter from a storm. (The Curse of Clyde
Langer Part Two) ©BBC |
But if the first episode is about the fear of being rejected, the second episode shifts the focus to those who've been rejected by society, as Clyde, forced to live on the streets, is befriended by a young homeless girl named Ellie. We're given a first-hand account of what it's like to be homeless -- obviously sanitized somewhat for television, but still leagues away from the sort of thing the show normally covers. Watching Ellie point out everyone in the soup kitchen, briefly telling Clyde who they used to be, is well done, and the chemistry between her and Clyde is handled well. The most interesting part is how readily Clyde is willing to spend time with Ellie as he adjusts to his new life. "You know," he tells her, "I was thinking I could do [sketches of people], like a street artist. We could go up to Covent Garden or somewhere and people will pay to have their portraits drawn. ... I'm telling you, Ellie, we can do this. We can get off the streets together." Clyde's starting to get his new life together, so that's when his old life intervenes, Sky having eventually convinced Sarah Jane and Rani that there's something going on with Clyde and the totem pole that he got the curse from. (She seemed to be immune to the curse -- probably because she's not actually human, although this isn't explicitly stated.) There's some stuff about stopping an alien who was posing as a Mojave god from manifesting itself using Clyde, but this is really just a way to split up Clyde and Ellie; Clyde had to leave so quickly to save the world from Hetocumtek, he didn't get a chance to tell Ellie where he was going. That means the end of the episode involves Clyde trying really hard to find her again, but to no avail: it turns out she'd been using an assumed name, just like Clyde had been, and now she's gone away, believing Clyde abandoned her.
It's a sad ending to this very atypical story, but it makes perfect sense in context.
The Curse of Clyde Langer might not be your standard
Sarah Jane Adventures story, but it's done so well that it's an easy thing to look past. Daniel Anthony had already been one of the best things about the show, and this just cements that. In its examination of abandonment, both personal and societal,
The Curse of Clyde Langer might be one of the best stories
The Sarah Jane Adventures has ever turned out.
