Did The Doctor do 'Sarah Jane' proud?

It's only natural for a Time Lord to have an excellent sense of timing. In his new guise as a wedding crasher, The Doctor shows up in the nick of time to prevent not only his former companion Sarah Jane-Smith from matrimony, but the story itself from flatlining under a weight of superfluous (if often amusing) padding material. From then on, it's an absorbing tale full of twists that's bolstered by the emotional poignancy of the brilliant final scenes.

After acquiring the services of David Tennant, The Sarah Jane Adventures could have fallen into the trap of establishing the central threat only for The Doctor to singlehandedly save the world while the regular cast look on as passive admirers. Quite wisely though, The Doctor was used more as a mentor to bring out the self-belief in the Bannerman Road youngsters, thus allowing Daniel Anthony to excel as the determined Clyde and trick the Trickster.

Prior to The Doctor's dash down the aisle, which led to the brilliant "stop the wedding now!" cliffhanger, the plot was meandering far too much. Nonetheless, the first episode did contain plenty of throwaway fun moments including the loveable little smartass K-9 indulging in some robotic handbags with Mr Smith. Come on K-9, just cock your leg (or wheel) on the computer next time to mark your territory!

Other little pleasures included Sarah Jane's misuse of her sonic lipstick and the reaction to suave Peter Dalton's (Nigel Havers) arrival in Bannerman Road. Contrastingly, the presence of the alien bought on eBay served little point other than to demonstrate what a shame it is that CGI has become overused at the expense of model work and animatronics.

The Trickster has definitely been one of the most effective and eerie villains since Russell T. Davies revived the televisual Whoniverse in 2005, and his return to Sarah Jane ramped up the tension. His chilling tones and creepy, eyeless visage would have sent children and adults alike scurrying behind the sofa, along with the cruel emotional trap he devised to put an end to Sarah Jane's worldsaving endeavours.

The twist that revealed Dalton was effectively a dead man walking allowed much-loved actor Havers to flex his thespian muscles, showing that the character was more of a victim than a villain. Move over Cheryl Cole, here’s a bona fide British national treasure! His final act of self-sacrifice to save the day should have given plenty of viewers a nice warm glow inside to offset the sadness of the bride and groom being separated forever.

'The Wedding Of Sarah Jane' was far from a narratively taut trip down the aisle, but ultimately emerged as a spirited, moving and rewarding adventure that used the services of a certain bequiffed guest star very well. Isn't it great that supposed 'kids TV' can deal with themes like love and mortality in such a mature and accessible way that appeals to all ages? Come on BBC - stick the show in a decent timeslot when families can sit round and watch together, not just schoolchildren legging it home in time.

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