'Revenge of the Slitheen' - Part One

Analysing the merits of the Sarah Jane Adventures is a tricky proposition, bearing in mind that it's intended for a predominantly child audience. After all, the BBC don't want loads of angry parents bombarding their swithboards with complaints that this new Doctor Who spin-off was unsuitable for a 5pm broadcast.

Where the first part of 'Revenge of the Slitheen' excelled was in its fast-paced action that packed a lot into its 25 minutes without ever feeling overloaded. The introduction of Clyde to the cast was particularly seamless, with his character gaining pathos by coming from a broken home like Maria. It's an interesting issue that the show is tackling, for Luke effectively has no 'home' background at all, while Sarah Jane cuts a lonely figure. Only with each other can they achieve a sense of belonging.

The farting and pantomime-like Slitheen baddies may grate for older viewers, but could well work for the target demographic. Nonetheless, the performance of the Headmaster contained too much silly facial gurning and lessened his impact as a credible villain with malevolent intentions of destroying the world. It should be important to believe that the threat is real, and this can be done without any overtly evil acts that may not be suitable for the show's CBBC timeslot.

The Slitheen chase scenes at the end are well-realised and edited together to build tension for a superb cliffhanger. The unveiling of the baby Slitheen from beneath science swot Carl's skin is also unexpected and we're left wondering how our appealing protagonists can escape from their respective situations of entrapment.