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Sarah Jane: 'Mark Of The Berserker' Part Two

Published Monday, Nov 10 2008, 17:40 GMT | By Ben Rawson-Jones | 5 comments
Sarah Jane: 'Mark Of The Berserker' Part Two
A rousing finale to the latest Sarah Jane again highlighted the show's brilliance at blending emotionally complex human relationships with an outlandish alien plot.

Perhaps the possession of Paul Langer, a self-confessed failure, was too similar to Martin Trueman's experience in the previous adventure, but this was redeemed by a confident performance by Gary Beedle and the fascinating father-son dynamic that emerged. Paul's increasing bond with his estranged son was packed full of heartwarming moments, while also being undercut by the impending sense of doom caused by the Beserker medallion's malevolent influence.

When the duo finally parted ways at the climax of the story, which featured some touching flashbacks to Paul's past, there was a real sense of character development in the young Clyde, as if the cheeky boy had become a mature adult through his experiences.

It was great to see Maria and Alan Jackson back - anything that takes away screen time from the Rani should be applauded. Sadly their involvement in the plot was minimal, but welcome all the same.

After some dodgy moments in recent weeks, Sarah Jane has hit its stride once again by probing the psyche of its characters and prioritising emotion over action.

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4 Stars
5 Stars
john HULL, on February 1st, 2009
Abssolutly love Sarah Jane Adventures cant wait 4 Season 3
5 Stars
Simon, London, on November 16th, 2008
Best. Episode. Ever. Daniel Anthony as Clyde was stand-out brilliant, and deserves a BAFTA for the performance he turned out. The sense of forboding was all the more heightened for Sarah Janes' curious absence, and it was a joy watching Luke & Rani turn to Maria & Alan in desperation. Excellent continuity and great to see them again too. The show has matured well beyond it's kids-show brief. Truly a stand-out episode.
5 Stars
Mark, Bracknell, on November 12th, 2008
Mark Of The Berserker pt 2 is the best episode od The Sarah Jane Adventures yet. The whole story (part 1 included) was a good one but the last five minutes of part 2 had this grown, forty year old bloke (who should know better) misty eyed. Thebrilliant performance from everybody, a great script and good direction made blew some episodes of Doctor Who and Torchwood out of the water.
4 Stars
Dave from Reading, on November 11th, 2008
It was an amazing conclusion to the story, but when exactly did Maria's dad become some uber-hacker? I'm completely up to date on SJA and still can't recall when that happened - great to see them both back though. Maria's much less annoying in a background role and the less we see of her mum the better.
5 Stars
Phil, Sheffield, on November 10th, 2008
Again, you only give it 4 stars. Easily a five star production, I believe this to be the finest instalment to join the Whoniverse for at least a year, completely obliterating all Torchwood and most of Season 4 of Doctor Who. Well above average performances from the whole cast, and with a finer script than we've seen so far in 2008, directed beautifully. That this isn't in a prime time slot is now one of the biggest missed opportunities in the BBC, because material of this quality deserves to be seen by millions upon millions.

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