Sarah Jane Adventures: Season 3 (second half)

[kerravonsen]

Continuing with Season 3 of the Sarah Jane Adventures (yes, I am so behind).
3x07-8 The Eternity Trap
This one was nicely creepy. I'm a bit surprised that Sarah-Jane's scientist friend was going ghost-busting. The assistant's character arc was rather predictable: "Don't believe in ghosts, believe in aliens!"

I think the Alchemist was a Time Lord with a broken TARDIS. It would explain how Time went wonky when it got a sword thrust in its guts.
I like how they tricked the Alchemist with a pretend circle and a real circle which had been on the floor all the time (yes, even from the very first act).

3x09-10 Mona Lisa's Revenge
It's rather amusing, the character of Mona Lisa. And of course all the picture swapping is creepy. And of course very important that we never saw the Abomination.

Unfortunately, no matter how I try, I cannot make this version of the Mona Lisa fit with the one in the 4th Doctor episode "City of Death".

3x11-12 The Gift
I knew that gift would be trouble for several reasons:
* "The Gift" was the title of the episode.
* The Blathereen took it out of a highly protected cryogenic container; that implied that it wasn't safe to carry it around in an ordinary box; either it wasn't safe for the plant (it was delicate) or it wasn't safe for others (it was dangerous).
* It's called Rackweed; that isn't the name of a highly esteemed plant, it's the name of a nuisance.
* When they explained that Rackweed would grow anywhere, I knew we'd be hip-deep in Rackweed before the day was out. Even if it hadn't been a malicious plant, it would have been a disaster of global proportions for such a thing to get out; just consider the ecological disasters that occurred because someone transplanted a species somewhere where it had no competition and no predators: big, big trouble. Cane toad, anyone?

Still, it wasn't bad; the plants were nicely creepy with their wailing. Though it's a bit handwavy that the exact frequency of the school bell was their nemesis. Though perhaps it wasn't just that exact frequency, it was just that that was the frequency they discovered.

It was good that Rani and Clyde came up with the solution for this one this time.
Though Clyde was an utter berk for trying to cheat on his test. Bad Clyde.


I wish that we could meet some Raxicoricofalipatorians who were actually good for once. Or even some nice aliens. When was the last time we had a nice alien on SJA? There have been a couple that I can recall, who gave Sarah-Jane gifts which turned out to be useful just in the nick of time.

I'm also getting a bit tired of recycling villains that's happening in SJA.
1-2: Judoon
3-4: someone new
5-6: The Trickster
7-8: someone new
9-10: someone new
11-12: Slitheen

Okay, that's 50%. Still too many.


So who do you think was the best "villain" in Season 3? I put "villain" in quotes because not all of the villains were actual villains.

Comments

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

When they explained that Rackweed would grow anywhere, I knew we'd be hip-deep in Rackweed before the day was out. Even if it hadn't been a malicious plant, it would have been a disaster of global proportions for such a thing to get out; just consider the ecological disasters that occurred because someone transplanted a species somewhere where it had no competition and no predators: big, big trouble. Cane toad, anyone?

What I don't understand is why the Blathereen needed such an elaborate plot to get the rackweed out there. All they needed to do was drop it in a few isolated areas, and then sit back and wait for the money to roll in.

As for "Mona Lisa's Revenge", the best thing about it was that it inspired this icon. Mona Lisa herself seemed oddly Donna-esque.

[kerravonsen]

What I don't understand is why the Blathereen needed such an elaborate plot to get the rackweed out there. All they needed to do was drop it in a few isolated areas, and then sit back and wait for the money to roll in.

The Slitheen and Slitheen-Blathereen seem to be fond of over-elaborate and rather stupid plots. I mean, compressing the Earth wouldn't produce a big diamond, for one thing.

As for "Mona Lisa's Revenge", the best thing about it was that it inspired this icon.
I like that icon. Are you saying that that Mona Lisa is a fake and the real episode was the Doctor Who one? Or just "this is a fake" in general? I like multiple meanings in things.

Mona Lisa herself seemed oddly Donna-esque.
Very oddly.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I didn't see all the stories, but from those I saw the best villain IMO was Mona Lisa.

[kerravonsen]

Perhaps you would change your mind if you had seen all the stories; which ones had you seen?

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Probably about two-thirds of Season 3, but very little of the two previous seasons.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

The aliens in 3.3-4, The Mad Woman in the Attic, turned out to be OK; they caused damage accidentally, or through misunderstanding, and eventually put things right.

[kerravonsen]

Thus "villain". I liked those ones.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Yes, but my point was that Eve eventually turned out to be a nice alien. Presumably there was a technical reason for her taking so long to sort out the mistake...

I'm with you on the basic principle. I want good Ice Warriors again!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I agree that they keep using the same villains over and over--but at least there were no Daleks or Cybermen. I bet there are in the DW special, which I haven't watched yet, knowing how bad the Christmas specials almost always are.

I don't know anything about the other Mona Lisa, but this one had nothing to do with the sitter; she was created by da Vinci using the meteorite mineral paints as far as I can gather. Was the other one the sitter, or an animated painting too?

I didn't like Clyde cheating (in the other ep, sorry, but he saved the planet by doing so) either, but I did like his painting, how the spud gun was taken from it, and the assistant at the gallery turning down her boss. Go her! And Clyde's expression are such a joy.

[kerravonsen]

I don't know anything about the other Mona Lisa, but this one had nothing to do with the sitter; she was created by da Vinci using the meteorite mineral paints as far as I can gather. Was the other one the sitter, or an animated painting too?

No, in the 4th Doctor episode, "City of Death", (set in 1979) the Mona Lisa (painting) was stolen by an alien who was fragmented across time. One of his fragments was in the time of Leonardo da Vinci, and he'd commissioned Leonardo to make duplicates of the Mona Lisa (yes, impossible, I know). The duplicates were stored in the cellar of the house the current-day alien was living in; his plan was to sell each duplicate to a collector as the original.

In order to mess up the alien's plans, the Doctor went back in time and wrote on each canvas in felt-tip pen "this is a fake", and left a note to Leonardo to paint over the canvasses, "there's a good chap". Thus, the fakes would be detectable by x-ray, since the felt-tip pen would show up.

But then, in the present day, there was a fire in the cellar, and the only Mona Lisa recovered was one of the "fakes", rather than the original.

All these shenanigans mean that, if we try to add in the events of the SJA episode, we have the following problems:
1. Were all of the "fake" paintings painted with the mineral paint? Or just one?
2. A living painting which has been in a cellar for centuries, and only exposed to the world from 1979 onwards. This isn't consistent with the SJA Mona-Lisa-person's assertion that she'd been admired for many years.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

So they only had the copy rather than the original? Surely the original was safe elsewhere, or did he get hold of that too?

I can see how that doesn't fit in at all. Wasn't there a contradiction between series with Rome burning down, once due to the Doctor, and the last time not?

I was puzzled that the alien Mona Lisa had a northern accent. She was admired by a lot of different nationalities, so why did she pick that particular accent? I'd have liked an explanation, perhaps her liking the sound, or liking a person who spoke like that.

[kerravonsen]

So they only had the copy rather than the original? Surely the original was safe elsewhere, or did he get hold of that too?

He stole the original, and after the fire, the only one left was one of the copies.

I was puzzled that the alien Mona Lisa had a northern accent. She was admired by a lot of different nationalities, so why did she pick that particular accent?
Not just accent, but the fact that she spoke English with a northern accent. Surely she would have spoken French?
Internally it didn't make much sense; thematically I guess they wanted to convey that she was not only vain, but a trollop, so they laid it on with a trowel.
It might have been quite interesting if they'd given her a refined French accent and made her more subtle in her manipulation. But TPTB would probably have considered that to be too sophisticated for a children's audience.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

But all they had to do was point out that she's been in the Louvre in Paris; children who watch SJA could handle that. As it is, I bet they just confused them and had them asking much the same questions as me.

[kerravonsen]

I bet there are in the DW special, which I haven't watched yet, knowing how bad the Christmas specials almost always are.

Oh good, I'm not alone! Though I haven't watched it simply because I'm behind.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Also, Greg wants to have both of them before he watches. I don't mind because I'm not exactly chomping at the bit.