'Sarah Jane': 'The Day Of The Clown' - Part Two

Every clown has his day. It's sad that the sinister Spellman wasn't given the send off that he deserved, as this concluding part to the story fizzled out despite some nice ideas and atmospheric flashbacks to Sarah Jane's past.

A great deal of the plotting is impressive, giving a sci-fi spin on the Pied Piper tale by incorporating a mysterious meteor into the equation. Repelling Spellman via laughter, as opposed to the fear he thrives on, is also very clever on paper but not realised to its full effect. Despite the best efforts of the cast, the jokefest finale fell flat and failed to capitalise on the lengthy build-up. Wouldn't it have been more fitting and epic to have hordes of schoolchildren laughing in the clown's face rather than just a couple?

A child-snatching clown is certainly a more dignified vocation than hosting The Wheel Of Fortune, and Bradley Walsh tackles this role with aplomb - and importantly not being too creepy for a CBBC show. His good performance, able to transcend the required garish outfits, isn't given much assistance by some serious morphing overkill though, which proves to be a needless distraction at times.

On the subject of special effects, is there someone standing just out of shot with a remote control in charge of Rani's infuriatingly exaggerated facial expressions? It appears that every flicker of a thought within her brain conjures up some differing countenance contortion every second. Anjli Mohindra's acting is simply too forced and visually 'loud' to be bearable. Let's hope it settles down immediately or the remainder of this season could be agonising. Forget the clowns, here come the frowns...

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