Sarah Jane Smith is offered the chance of a lifetime – a place on the world’s first tourist flight into space.
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Styre
on May 8, 2016 at 2:11 AM
SARAH JANE SMITH: DREAMLAND
And so we come to the final episode of the Sarah Jane Smith series, “Dreamland.” It’s hard to say what would have happened to this series had the title character not returned to television and given her own spinoff program, but circumstances mean that the story ends here. After the explosive drama of “Fatal Consequences,” David Bishop dials back the intensity: “Dreamland” is a quieter, character-oriented piece with a painful sense of inevitability about it. The opening scenes show the effectiveness of the series as a whole: it’s genuinely gut-wrenching to hear the “team” falling apart at the seams, despite only eight episodes spent in their company. The private space mission foreshadowed throughout the season finally comes to the fore — and as above, Sarah’s participation seems inevitable, even if, examined logically, there’s no good reason for her to go up there. Stephen Grief gives a believable, sympathetic performance as Sir Donald, but the real stars of the final scenes are the regulars — Jeremy James in his final moments, a helpless Sadie Miller pleading through the communications system, and a resigned Elisabeth Sladen facing reality. And then, the ending — just what is that glow? The returning Mandragora Helix, and the prophecy coming true? The Doctor, arriving in the TARDIS to save his old friend? Or, based on Bishop’s other work, is it merely a tragic, final hallucination induced by oxygen starvation? We’ll never know, and rightfully not — it’s a beautiful, fascinating final image, and an effective way for the series to end. Compliments should also be paid to sound designer Steve Foxon, who has been excellent throughout the second season but whose design for “Dreamland” is the best of all. I recently watched HBO’s excellent “From the Earth to the Moon,” and Foxon’s sound design still convinced me I was on a shuttle heading into space. Lastly, credit to John Ainsworth, whose direction has given the second season a confident, capable feel throughout all four stories.
SARAH JANE SMITH: DREAMLAND
And so we come to the final episode of the Sarah Jane Smith series, “Dreamland.” It’s hard to say what would have happened to this series had the title character not returned to television and given her own spinoff program, but circumstances mean that the story ends here. After the explosive drama of “Fatal Consequences,” David Bishop dials back the intensity: “Dreamland” is a quieter, character-oriented piece with a painful sense of inevitability about it. The opening scenes show the effectiveness of the series as a whole: it’s genuinely gut-wrenching to hear the “team” falling apart at the seams, despite only eight episodes spent in their company. The private space mission foreshadowed throughout the season finally comes to the fore — and as above, Sarah’s participation seems inevitable, even if, examined logically, there’s no good reason for her to go up there. Stephen Grief gives a believable, sympathetic performance as Sir Donald, but the real stars of the final scenes are the regulars — Jeremy James in his final moments, a helpless Sadie Miller pleading through the communications system, and a resigned Elisabeth Sladen facing reality. And then, the ending — just what is that glow? The returning Mandragora Helix, and the prophecy coming true? The Doctor, arriving in the TARDIS to save his old friend? Or, based on Bishop’s other work, is it merely a tragic, final hallucination induced by oxygen starvation? We’ll never know, and rightfully not — it’s a beautiful, fascinating final image, and an effective way for the series to end. Compliments should also be paid to sound designer Steve Foxon, who has been excellent throughout the second season but whose design for “Dreamland” is the best of all. I recently watched HBO’s excellent “From the Earth to the Moon,” and Foxon’s sound design still convinced me I was on a shuttle heading into space. Lastly, credit to John Ainsworth, whose direction has given the second season a confident, capable feel throughout all four stories.
Highly recommended, as is season 2 as a whole.
8/10
Season 2 average: 8.0/10
Total series average: 6.7/10