The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete Fourth Season (2011)

The Sarah Jane Adventures:

The Complete Fourth Season (2011)

Dirs: Various | Episodes: 12 episodes, approx 27 mins each.

Sarah Jane's whiz-kid son Luke (Tommy Knight) features prominently on the cover, but the character is only in the fourth Season occasionally, and mostly it's from the other side of a webcam chat window.

His absence is used to highlight the kind of feelings that a parent experiences when a child leaves the nest, and the sense of abandonment and fear of further separation that a close-knit group can feel when one of their members is no longer present.

In one of the two-part stories, within a dream scenario (the subject's first, incidentally) lurks an Elm Street / Pennywise-esque creature that preys upon self-doubts and anxiety, which is something that the school-age youths have much of at that time. It has a creepy nursery rhyme jingle, too, which is often a plus in that kind of scenario.

Additionally, looking at the same situation from a different angle, it shows also how we can draw courage and strength from trusted friends.

Rani (Anjli Mohindra) and Clyde (Daniel Anthony) have always worked well together, both as characters and with regards the actors' onscreen chemistry, which is just as well because with Luke absent the duo are required to step up and fill multiple roles. One such situation has them running ragged while trying to save the entire Earth from destruction - so, no pressure, then.

A returning antagonist (from Season Three) features in a spin on the Men in Black encounters.

- Has someone been watching The Dark Crystal? - 

There's another welcome Doctor Who connection, which plays a role in the Season's best two-parter (Eps 5+6), a story dealing with the death of a loved one, with subsequent denial, and how such unfathomable change can make us appreciate those we still have; it contains a superbly written and admirably concise explanation of grief, one that a young person could understand. Also, it has lots of stuff from Who's past, for fans who enjoy both the old and the new.

Throughout the series there's commentary on how we are each influenced and inspired by friends, which is something that I was reminded of very recently. (If you're reading, TYVM.)

And finally, because I've things that I need to be watching right now, there's a time-travel episode that reminded me of the wonderful Sapphire and Steel (1979-82) TV series.

Note: for reasons that you'll understand if you watch the episodes referred to above, the R2 box-set contains the four-part Doctor Who adventure Pyramids of Mars as a bonus feature; it's the third serial of the thirteenth Season (1975), starring Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen.