More alien-busting adventures with Sarah Jane and her young team

(2entertain, �19.99)

YEARS after concluding her travels in the TARDIS, investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) has not lost any of the curiosity or adventurous spirit which made her one of the Doctor’s greatest companions. Only now she is channelling those talents through an Earth-based alien defence network, fighting the good fight against extraterrestrial invasion on those occasions when the Doctor isn’t around.

Allied with her team of young assistants – her adopted son Luke, streetwise Clyde Langer, and would-be reporter Rani – Xylok supercomputer Mr Smith and robot dog K9, Sarah Jane tackles threats from beyond our imagination, including the militaristic Judoon and the re-animated Mona Lisa.

But her biggest challenge comes when Sarah Jane finds love, and none other than the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) is needed to save her from the machinations of an old foe. It’s just par for the course for the plucky reporter and her resourceful team…

Harking back to the children’s television programmes of the 1970s and 1980s, The Sarah Jane Adventures never patronises its audience, and maintains a level of sophistication and intelligence rarely found in young people’s broadcasting these days. There’s an inherent sense of wonder about the world in which she lives, and that is conveyed throughout the series, inspiring its viewers to imagine their own adventures beyond the confines of everyday society.