Sarah Jane Adventures!
( 3x01 - Prisoner of the Judoon, Part One. I wish the titles wouldn't be so obvious, I would have liked to have been surprised. Oh well. )And because this doesn't need spoiler cutting unless you are hopelessly behind on your Whoniverse viewing:
* At one point in "Children of Earth," the question of why the Doctor hasn't come to chase off the 456 is raised (and dealt with stupidly, but whatever, I'm trying to keep it vague here). I know RTD probably felt like that question was the elephant in the room and had to at least be touched on or people would bitch. I am sure he was right, because Whoniverse fandom. My question is, why?
Look at the universe created by these three shows. The 456 were flashier than a lot of the things that threaten the Earth, but it's still nonetheless threatened
constantly, and statistically, when you take into account the Whoniverse from 2005 and on, the Doctor doesn't even show up for most of it. People may as well ask where the Doctor was during "Sleeper" when scary
terrorist fighter alien cells were being activated, or "The Lost Boy" when the fucking MOON almost crashed INTO THE EARTH. I know
Torchwood and SJA are very different-feeling shows - the threats on TW tend to be more intimate and localized
because their incompetence would kill us all, where SJA's are more exaggerated
because Sarah Jane can do anything as befits a kids' show, and comparing them seems a bit of a stretch. But:
Doctor Who does both. It has "42," where the only thing at risk is a ship with a small crew, and it has "Journey's End," where the
entire multiverse is almost destroyed. So, in-universe, why should anyone expect the Doctor to show up for the 456, when so much already happens on Earth that he's not there for?
Which is a weird tangent to go on in an SJA ep review, but watching the show and being reminded of how much happens in the Whoniverse all the time just made the idea that the Doctor "should have been" around for the 456 even more laughable than I thought it already was.
( Aaaand back to the cut for a future SJA casting spoiler that you probably already know. )And they're airing two eps a week this season, so tomorrow shall be the conclusion! I am so happy this show is back. (Things airing Friday starting next week, for at least the next few weeks: SJA,
Dollhouse, and
The Thick of It. That's not going to be disorienting at all.)