N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
The Sarah Jane Adventures kicks off Series Two with big news: Maria’s Dad Alan has been offered a job in the United States.
Alan, like any fully paid-up member of 21st century middle class parenthood, is of course keen to get his daughter’s opinion on the move, so Maria’s agonising over whether or not she wants to go forms a significant sub-plot throughout these two episodes.
Elsewhere, in the main storyline Sontaran Commander Kaagh, the last survivor of the failed Atmos strategem, has gone all Predator in the woods – albeit without the graphic violence, adult jokes and cigar aficionados.
“Defeated by a female and half-forms. I will go, Sarah Jane Smith, but I will not forget you.”
Kaagh, The Last Sontaran, Part Two
I thought his cloaking device was pretty cool (as it was in Predator!) but, while like his fellow Sontarans, Kaagh talks big, he proves ultimately to be as hapless as all the other Sontarans Sarah Jane has encountered. Here he’s taken down by a stiletto heel!’
Still, I was a little surprised Sarah Jane allowed him to leave Earth so easily. Given her reaction when she realises it’s a Sontaran they’re dealing with, I’d have thought a quick call to UNIT might be in order, although given the events of Torchwood episode Fragments, I’m not sure I like the idea of Kaagh ending up in UNIT’s equivalent of Guantanomo. Perhaps they’re setting him up as a returning villain?
The Last Sontaran is a solid enough start to Series Two. I’m glad that Maria gets to have a final story. Rather than simply being written out between series with a hand-waving ‘her Dad got a new job and she had to move away’-type excuse, we get to see why she’s not going to be in the rest of The Sarah Jane Adventures, even if that reason is ‘her Dad gets a new job and she has to move away’.
I’ll miss the Jacksons (even Chrissie!), although this being Doctor Who, we can be reasonably confident that whoever moves into Bannermen Road will get sucked into all the excitement, drama and adventure that surrounds Sarah Jane Smith.
