The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Vault of Secrets

This story is perhaps more what you might expect from a show like The Sarah Jane Adventures. Delivered at a frenetic pace, high on adventure but low on scares, it is intelligent sci-fi for kids. And any show where a group is called B.U.R.P.S.S. is clearly trying to make kids laugh. Yet, there is much more to this story than might first appear.

Firstly, the story is true to the characters within it - even the villains. Androvax, a returning villain, is given a chance to redeem himself - but rather than this being a saccharine reversal of a character's previously essential evil, he still has an edge to him (especially given what he is prepared to sacrifice in order to get his race back). Likewise, the Alliance of Shade's androids are neither good nor bad - they are trying to do what they are programmed to do, and whether that involves helping or hindering Sarah Jane and her buddies depends on where the adventure is at. The very fact that this story is able to end happily for just about everyone without copping out is a sign of the thought and care that went into the writing.

Furthermore, the body-hopping - that staple of kids entertainment - was given an edge owing to the empathy it created in the main characters towards the villain. They could feel the pain of a dying creature - something that made them both more caring and more careless. The story managed to dodge easy get-outs and cheap laughs and therefore deliver something really rather satisfying.

And for the nerds like me, there were numerous subtle yet clever reference to pick on. In the Doctor Who universe, this is not the first time we've seen these particular androids - and the brief recap featuring the Judoon was also very welcome. But perhaps most satisfying - and most subtly done - was the hints at the similarities between the sole survivors of their species - Androvax and the Doctor. But it wasn't just Doctor Who stuff that got referenced - the androids referenced a number of different movies. The replacement of hands reminded me quite a lot of Robocop, and the similarities between these men in black and the, well, Men in Black was also clear. But it was the links with The Terminator that were most blatant - particularly the taking of a van by Mister Dread and his glowing eyes beneath his shades were clear nods to another type of robot. The latter two references working well in part because the similarities were commented on - thus creating a link with those in the know about the references, but not doing so in such a way as to ruin it for those yet to see the films in question.

When it comes down to it, the reality is that this was an entertaining installment of a great series. But it was nothing more than that. When I look back on this series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, this story won't be one of the ones that springs to mind - despite all of the positive attributes listed above. Which in many ways is a shame, but what can you expect for a typical (for the show) story that is destined to sit between The Nightmare Man and a little story broadcast this week called The Death of the Doctor? I mean, the latter has got... Jo Grant in it. And an appearance from some little-known actor called Matt Smith...