Pursued by an unknown enemy, Sarah is on the run with few friends and even fewer clues as to her pursuers.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 7, 2016 at 9:08 PM
SARAH JANE SMITH: COMEBACK
With surprisingly-successful Doctor Who spinoff “The Sarah Jane Adventures” about to air its third season, and while currently behind on my main range collecting, I thought it would be interesting to go back and capsule-review Big Finish’s contribution to the myriad of SJS spinoffs: the imaginatively titled “Sarah Jane Smith” series. Elisabeth Sladen’s character is arguably the most popular of classic series companions, and certainly the most successful: the current spinoff is actually the second such TV series, following on from 1981’s godawful “K9 and Company” failed pilot. Natural, then, that Big Finish would try to employ the character, but with one of her TV Doctors dead and the other refusing to work with BF, a spinoff series was the only way to go. And to write the first story, “Comeback,” BF turned to the character’s original script editor: Terrance Dicks. Usually, in this situation, I’ll comment that you know exactly what you’re going to get from a Dicks script: nothing incredibly thought-provoking, but a well-structured piece of drama. However, “Comeback” is anything but well-structured: the first two-thirds of the play laboriously introduce the characters, after which a perfunctory threat is introduced and resolved before it can even take center stage. It’s disjointed and confusing. Furthermore, some of the performances are lacking: while Sladen is on top form from the start, and Jeremy James is instantly likeable as Josh, Sadie Miller’s Natalie is wooden and unconvincing. David Jackson engages in some fine scenery-chewing, while Juliet Warner sounds promising for later releases. While David Darlington’s sound design is impressive, Gary Russell’s direction is odd — at the start of the play, Sarah is supposed to be “running scared,” but (after the excellent funeral scene) there’s no desperation evident in anyone’s voice. It sounds rather nonchalant, which is the wrong impression to give. Overall, “Comeback” does a good enough job of introducing the regular characters, but as a piece of drama, it’s subpar.
SARAH JANE SMITH: COMEBACK
With surprisingly-successful Doctor Who spinoff “The Sarah Jane Adventures” about to air its third season, and while currently behind on my main range collecting, I thought it would be interesting to go back and capsule-review Big Finish’s contribution to the myriad of SJS spinoffs: the imaginatively titled “Sarah Jane Smith” series. Elisabeth Sladen’s character is arguably the most popular of classic series companions, and certainly the most successful: the current spinoff is actually the second such TV series, following on from 1981’s godawful “K9 and Company” failed pilot. Natural, then, that Big Finish would try to employ the character, but with one of her TV Doctors dead and the other refusing to work with BF, a spinoff series was the only way to go. And to write the first story, “Comeback,” BF turned to the character’s original script editor: Terrance Dicks. Usually, in this situation, I’ll comment that you know exactly what you’re going to get from a Dicks script: nothing incredibly thought-provoking, but a well-structured piece of drama. However, “Comeback” is anything but well-structured: the first two-thirds of the play laboriously introduce the characters, after which a perfunctory threat is introduced and resolved before it can even take center stage. It’s disjointed and confusing. Furthermore, some of the performances are lacking: while Sladen is on top form from the start, and Jeremy James is instantly likeable as Josh, Sadie Miller’s Natalie is wooden and unconvincing. David Jackson engages in some fine scenery-chewing, while Juliet Warner sounds promising for later releases. While David Darlington’s sound design is impressive, Gary Russell’s direction is odd — at the start of the play, Sarah is supposed to be “running scared,” but (after the excellent funeral scene) there’s no desperation evident in anyone’s voice. It sounds rather nonchalant, which is the wrong impression to give. Overall, “Comeback” does a good enough job of introducing the regular characters, but as a piece of drama, it’s subpar.
4/10