June 15: The Man Who Never Was Parts One & Two (SJA)

(Hooray!  It's my birthday once again today!  And I'm glad to once again get such a good story with which to celebrate...)

It wasn't supposed to end like this, of course; there were supposed to be at least three more stories, stories that would have seen Rani and Clyde finally become a couple, Jo Jones (née Grant) make another appearance (and possibly Ace too, depending on which version you read), and the Trickster showing up for the fourth time.  But, despite the fact that it wasn't intended to be the series finale, The Man Who Never Was is a surprisingly fitting sendoff.

This story is a lot more like a "typical" Sarah Jane Adventures tale than The Curse of Clyde Langer was, but Gareth Roberts has given us a story that absolutely sparkles with wit and intrigue.  It helps that they've got a great guest cast on this show: James Dreyfus is marvelously villainous as Mr. Harrison -- the evil businessman incarnate -- while Mark Aiken must be having an absolute blast as Joseph Serf, the artificial person being controlled by a bunch of aliens in the basement who occasionally get it wrong (which means Aiken has lots of strange dialogue and odd movements to deal with that he lands absolutely perfectly).  And Peter Bowles, one of those actors who it seemed inevitable would show up somewhere in a Doctor Who or related series, finally does so as Lionel Carson, Sarah Jane's old editor.  And, happily, this is an episode where Tommy Knight makes a prominent appearance as Luke -- here encountering his new adopted sister Sky in person for the first time.  There's some initial tension there, but fortunately they don't make a big deal of it.

No, instead they're having far too much fun trying to uncover Serf Systems' evil plot concerning their new computer, the SerfBoard (Luke and Sky becoming suspicious after they see Joseph Serf "glitch" during the rehearsal of his SerfBoard unveiling presentation).  Elisabeth Sladen is having a ball, trying to catch out Joseph Serf as some sort of hologram (much like Rimmer from Red Dwarf, or the character somewhat confusingly (in this context) referred to as "the Doctor" on Star Trek: Voyager), while Mr. Harrison (ostensibly Serf Systems' PR representative) keeps thwarting her efforts.  It's great fun watching the two of them spar, while Serf himself occasionally goes wrong (the "sexy smile" that he accidentally gives Sarah Jane being a particular highlight).

Sarah Jane, Adriana, and Plark spot the approaching Skullion
spaceship. (The Man Who Never Was Part Two) ©BBC

I also like how the evil scheme to take over the world with these fancy new SerfBoard computers turns out to be nothing but a plan to sell a lot of crummy computers ("It's more than a bit rubbish," Clyde comments about the SerfBoard.  "Bog standard.  What's so special about this?") by hypnotizing people into buying them.  However, Harrison proves himself to be villainous by having a bunch of alien slaves called Skullions in the basement, controlling Serf and doing what he says under pain of "punishment", which is being shocked at various intensities by collars around their necks.  The Skullions themselves are a great cyclopean design, and the way they're revealed to be oppressed, rather than oppressors, is a good move that exemplifies The Sarah Jane Adventures' approach to aliens -- they're not all bad, and frequently people are much worse.

All this and some great moments along the way -- Luke and Sky's operation of Joseph Serf at his big reveal is a lot of fun ("Remember, he's American!" Luke hisses at Sky.  "Yeeeeeeeeeeee-haw!" Sky has Serf say as a result.  "As I woke up, put my grits on the griddle, I thought, gee, what a cotton-pickin' day to launch a new computer."  "You've been watching Toy Story again!" Luke says accusingly), but the best moment might be the naughtiest joke in all of The Sarah Jane Adventures, as Mr. Smith decodes Luke's Morse code message: "Clani [Luke's name for Clyde and Rani], grab Harrison's... P... E... N...  Full stop," Mr. Smith states.  "Never been so glad to see a full stop," Clyde replies.

The end result for The Man Who Never Was is a fun, happy episode, with a positive resolution and some outstanding moments along the way.  Everyone is clearly having a good time and on top of their game, and this shines through the finished product.  If they had to go out, at least they did so on a high note.

The most impressive thing, not just about this final series but about the show as a whole, is just how consistently good it was.  Some exceptional casting for the regulars, anchored by the fabulously talented Lis Sladen, was matched with high quality stories and production values.  In some ways this show was more like Doctor Who than Doctor Who itself was at times, as The Sarah Jane Adventures frequently emphasized understanding and sympathy and compassion over fear and xenophobia -- aliens are often trapped here or misunderstood, and even the ones shown to be more or less villainous are painted with shades of grey, to give them more depth and nuance.  The Sarah Jane Adventures was an optimistic, high quality show, and it's genuinely sad to see it end.  But as the end of The Man Who Never Was reminds us,

And the story goes on...  ...forever.