S02E03: 'The Day Of The Clown' - Part One

A partially successful excursion for Sarah Jane blends the entrance of a new family in Bannerman Road with the advent of a particularly nasty clown and his Magical Museum of the Circus. Events are nicely set up for the concluding part, although too long was spent teasing the audience with fleeting clown glimpses that soon lost their impact.

These two story threads are nicely interwoven, but ultimately it's hard to decide what is scarier – the child abducting clowns or Anjli Mohindra's acting as Rani. The jury is out (and probably trying to find Maria Jackson to beg for her swift return).

It was always going to be a tough task for Mohindra, replacing a popular character and settling in to an established team. However, trying too hard is not the answer, lending itself to a performance deprived of any natural ease and credence. Her dialogue is delivered without any mishaps, but there appears to be a wildly contrasting facial expression every second she's in shot. It's painful to watch, and comes across as if her facial muscles have been instructed to melodramatically overreact to every tiny sound or action performed around her.

The rest of the Chandra family fare much better, with Mina Anwar's Gita enjoying some wonderful banter with new neighbour Sarah – now minus the Jane, much to her disapproval. As stern new headmaster Haresh, Ace Bhatti delivers a commanding performance that effortlessly highlights the different 'masks' that need to be worn in different areas of life – in this case the professional and parental environments.

Bradley Walsh is fun to watch as the sinister Spellman, fortunately being more creepy than hammy. Tying in the Pied Piper mythology into the story is a clever move, although the actions of the thought-controlled clowns are less impressive. Have they been watching too many Auton Workout DVDs?


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