Reset written by J.C. Wilsher and directed by Ashley Way

This story in a nutshell: Martha joins Torchwood!

Hunky Harkness: What has happened to Jack? Martha coming to Torchwood has an astonishing effect on the usually surly, violent and unpredictable head of the organisation – suddenly he is bursting with charm, cracking jokes and very personable. I like him much more this way. He is still struggling to conquer his shyness, it’s the jaw line; once seen, never forgotten. There’s a scene in this episode where Jack tells Professor Copley that Torchwood usually goes where it likes – typical Torchwood bullying tactics and Jack basically gets told to go and jump with the backing of Whitehall! Jack says he has had a bad experience with a politician of late and he doesn’t really listen to the law anymore but that doesn’t stop him retreating with his tail tucked between his legs.It's refreshing to see him this sheepish. He would rely on Martha if the world was ending and in fact he has. I did smirk when Jack suggested he was once intimate with Chris Isherwood especially given Matt Smith surprised all by embracing the role in every way a few years ago. It's great to see Jack with a conscience, considering the treatment the aliens are getting at the Pharm, which is tantamount to slavery. Although it does make him something of a hypocrite because those were exactly the sort of tactics he was using in the first series. 

Marvellous Martha: Freema Agyeman, never the worlds most accomlished actress but a performer with a great deal of charm and enthusiasm which counts for an awful lot in this business. I would certainly take her bouncy puppy act over Amy's stroppy mare. She really scores on making the leap to Torchwood by showing just how much Martha has grown up since leaving the Doctor. She’s now the chief medical officer for UNIT, a role that she walked into thanks to a recommendation for the role by an impeccable source. She is now a full-blown Doctor; specialised, professional and detached. Once the introductory scenes are out of the way you would think that Martha had been a part of the Torchwood team since the beginning she fits in so effortlessly. And that is a testament to how much more likeable the cast is this year too. Martha sometimes misses the Doctor but then she comes to her senses and remembers that she made the choice to leave him. She puts herself forward as a test subject for the Pharm reminding Jack that she has been in far worse places. As a human being who has travelled in time and space she now has a unique immune system and manages to stay alive longer than any of the other test subjects incubating the insect larvae.

Jack’s Gang: Gwen and Martha must be the only two ladies in the world who haven’t ridden the Harkness bike! It’s wonderful to watch Owen and Martha working together, they dance around the laboratory doing all the sciencey bits smiling and grooving to some great music (Owen cracking a smile and enjoying his work is something of a minor miracle so we'll have to put that down to the Martha effect). Owen is a huge fan of Professor Copley and his research helped him to pass his exams so it is ironic that he had should be the one to pull the trigger and end his life. Jack and Ianto dabble as the latter discreetly puts it (goodness knows why they are so discreet talking about it, we see them happily banging each other in the office in a few episodes time) and Mr Harkness is innovative and borders on the avant-garde in the bedroom department (hardly a surprise given the practice). Tosh is quietly jealous of how well Martha and Owen are getting on and shyly asks him out on a date to which he surprises us all by saying yes. Isn’t it astonishing how much more enjoyable these guys are to be around in their second year? Everybody seems to be showing the right amount of concern for one another and there seems to be some real effort going into their development. Bravo. 

The Good Stuff: Bringing Martha to Torchwood is a fantastic idea. You might think that playing this card so soon and anchoring this show to Doctor Who in such a bold way might be harmful to this shows unique identity but it had the reverse effect for me. Finally I had a reason to get involved. UNIT are described as the acceptable face of intelligence gathering on aliens. Owen scaring the shit out of Ianto with his surgical scalpel is really funny (Gareth David-Lloyd’s reaction is priceless). That is exactly the sort of character comedy that the first season was screaming out for. Reset cures diabetes and AIDS, an alien larvae incubating inside human bodies and creating the ultimate magic bullet and restoring the body to its factory settings. The bugs spewing from Marie’s corpse is a wonderful shock moment – who saw that coming? Alan Dale brings some gruffness and seriousness to what could have been quite a forgettable role as Copley. And frankly the man has turned up in every single cult TV show going and it would have been very remiss had the Doctor Who franchise (taking in SJA and Torchwood) had been forgotten). I really want some of those camera contact lenses with the texting capability. How awesome are they? Having the team typing to Martha as she is infiltrating is a great way to create tension. There are some very inventive camera shots in this episode - watch as we dash along the corridor towards Martha as the guards approach. The giant bug shows how sophisticated the CGI in this show can be when they give it the appropriate amount of time (I seem to remember this being held back slightly to make it as good as possible whereas series one was rushed out and we had effects as lame as the troll fairies in Small Worlds). Maybe the police should all use Weevils as an intimidation method during interrogations? I screamed out loud at the exploding gut. You see, gross scenes can be effective on this show! The final set piece has been set up very well, showing the dangers in the previous gut exploding scene (plus Owen’s inability to work the surgical scalpel) which leaves Owen desperately trying to get it right as Martha’s stomach bulges disturbingly a very tense climax. For once I was literally on the edge of my seat. You really feel for the captured Mayfly, forgetting that it is a special effect as Gwen presses her hand against the glass in sympathy for its torture. So often people are shot at in these programmes and we see negligible effects in the next scene so trust Torchwood to do it for real and really kill off Owen. They manage to have their cake and eat it – keeping him dead and letting him play a major role in the rest of the season. I was hungry to watch the next episode after the final shocking twist.

Result: Reset is a packed episode that handles all of its elements with poise and a whole lot of style. Martha slips effortlessly into the Torchwood team and they are all working together extremely well here – it’s a brand new style of amiability and co-operation amongst the regulars that is extremely welcome. Then you’ve got intriguing medical breakthroughs, industrial espionage, awesome giant bugs and even a gross out exploding stomach! Ashley Way’s handling of the episode is spectacular, it's one priceless moment after another and the pace is extraordinary. My one complaint is that the story could have done with 15 minutes more to explore its ideas more but that is not a luxury afforded to Torchwood so we get a rushed ending that still hits all the right notes. A stylish thriller a perfect demonstration of the shows growing confidence, this was exactly the sort of episode they were fudging in the first series: 9/10

Thankyou!

Thank you so much to all the blog readers who supported my charity Skydive - it was today and it was the most incredible experience! I want to go again! The weather was amazing and I literally had the ground beneath my feet as I fell. Incredible. Thank you again, the money is going to such a good cause. If anybody would still like to donate, the link is below and will be active for another week.

https://www.justgiving.com/AgeConcernSkydive/

Enemy of the Bane written by Phil Ford and directed by Graeme Harper

This story in a nutshell: A return to UNIT for Sarah Jane as two enemies return to bring her down…

Until We Meet Again…Miss Smith: Sarah is wonderfully stroppy about taking Rani into Mrs Wormwood’s company because she knows how dangerous she is. Whilst Mrs Wormwood considers Luke a failed experiment Sarah stands proud as his mother and is willing to protect him with her life. She’s not past her sell by date yet. UNIT have their uses but in Sarah’s experience guns never solved a situation they didn’t first make worse. Sarah laughs that her UNIT files have a higher security rating than she ever did! She is scared of UNIT taking an interest in Luke because they will consider him an alien threat but she is happy to share the knowledge with her good friend the Brigadier. Mrs Wormwoods suggests that Sarah should be indebted to her for enriching her sad, purposeless life with Luke. The one thing Sarah never expected to see was the universe being saved by a Sontaran.

Chap With Wings: Had the Brigadier not appeared in Doctor Who or its various spin off shows it would have been a terrible oversight and some small part of me is so glad it was this show that earned his appearance. Clearly an old man now, Nicholas Courtney has lost none of his gentlemanly manners and military charm. The hug between him and Sarah is one of the most eye watering moments of television for me given recent tragedies and it is so affirming to see them together one last time. The Brigadier might be enjoying his retirement with Doris but he remains UNITs special envoy which allows them to dust him down every once and a while and send him off on errands. In his day UNIT maintained the benefit of common sense not like this new PC bunch! Now that the cats out of the bag about aliens Sir Alistair wants to write his memoirs about the old days. In a final punch the air moment that makes you want to reach into the screen and kiss him the Brigadier reveals that his walking cane that he has kept so close throughout this story is a loaded gun and he blows the Bane away!

Sarah’s Gang: Luke has so many questions to ask Mrs Wormwood about his ‘birth.’ He was born running but Sarah Jane gave him and name and made him a person. He enjoys his life even if he finds the world a complicated place to live in. Luke gets to tell his creator that she had no part in his upbringing.

Wily Wormwood & Killer Kaarg: I remember when I first watched this is was one whoop for joy after another as each recurring character was introduced. I had been campaigning for the return of Mrs Wormwood ever since her departure because Samantha Bond gave such a deliciously arch performance that was right down my alley. She has this ability to make the material seem serious no matter how ridiculous it is and yet still capitalise on every gag. This isn’t just a return appearance for the sake of it but a well thought through continuation of her character after her failiure to invade the Earth at the end of Invasion of the Bane. She’s disgraced and seeking help to defeat them on Earth with the very people she tried to kill. While you never trust her for a moment Mrs Wormwood makes a very good case for herself. She finds Sarah’s attic comfortingly unsophisticated until she is placed in a containment force field. There is a gorgeous shot of Mrs Wormwood and Kaarg peering around the corner of Sarah Jane’s house that always makes me chuckle. Kaarg could never return to Sontar after being beaten by a female and was reduced to working as a mercenary for the Bane when he recognised Mrs Wormwood as somebody with a high price on her head. She encouraged him to see things differently and they joined forces. Mrs Wormwood offers Luke the chance to be her son and she will give him an entire galaxy – its so nice that she is much more than just a ranting villainess but she has real feelings too. When Luke runs back into Sarah Jane’s arms Mrs Wormwood can barely hold back the tears.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I do so loathe amateurs!’
‘3000 years ago there was nowhere as primitive as Earth. Little has changed.’
‘In my day we took on Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zygons and all manner of space thuggery and it doesn’t get more hostile than that.’ 
‘Saving human beings has become a bit of a habit for me Miss Smith. I do hope I can recover the Scroll before I am scarred for life’ – Mrs Wormwood gets all the best lines!
‘The battle of the costume jewellery counter. How very female.’

The Good: Always great to see Gita getting in on the action and her abduction is treated very seriously. SJA never fails to surprise me with its sophisticated storytelling and the check being deciphered into a calling card is a lovely touch. The Bane were such a great looking monster because they were icky enough for the kids and dynamic enough for the adults and their rampage through Sarah Jane’s house was a destructively memorable set piece. Here they seem nastier than ever especially when they drag Sarah along the floor back into the warehouse to devour her alive. Can you imagine anything more awesome than a building called The Black Archive which just happens to be a UNIT vault of everything that shouldn’t be on Earth but is? Sod the kids – that gets me really excited! Not content with bringing the Brigadier back which is exciting enough he gets to be involved in some awesome industrial espionage, sneaking Sarah Jane and Rani inside the Black Archive and then later driving them away in a hail of bullets. There is a dazzling view inside the Archive that suggests it is a place you would love to have a good poke around in! If this was a Doctor Who episode people would be declaring it the best thing ever…UNIT soldiers surrounding the Brig and Sarah guns cocked and Bane squids attacking the house! The final nourishing twist to a great episode sees Kaarg return in a puff of smoke (or rather in the wake of an exploding Bane). This story couldn’t encapsulate more Pertwee elements if it tried! Horath winds up being a computer that can control the physical laws of the universe - that can destroy worlds and give birth to them in the blink of an eye. There is a gorgeously scored action sequence in episode two that sees Luke diving out of exploding oil barrels as Kaarg shoots at him. Sunny green location work gives the final breath of this adventure a stylish look. Brilliantly we don’t know where either villain winds up so they are ripe for a return visit.

Result: One last adventure with Sarah and the Brig, what a wonderful gift. The first episode is one of the best SJAs ever with one exciting surprise after another. Mrs Wormwood! The Bane! The Brigadier! The Black Archive! A Sontaran! Rather than the heroes and villains reunion that I suggest these revelations are perfectly paced to keep the piece exhilarating and tightly paced. The second episode is not quite as strong because all the plot elements have been introduced so there is some running on the spot but it is still packed full of great moments. The Brigadier gets to save humanity once again, Luke comes into his own, Kaarg achieves redemption and Sarah Jane rids herself of two enemies in one go! All in a days work. The fact that there is so much packed into this adventure and it isn’t even this show at its peak might give you and idea of the high quality it maintains: 8/10

Adam written by Catherine Treganna and directed by Andy Goddard

This story in a nutshell: Just who is this new member of the Torchwood team who seems to have been around forever?

Hunky Hero: After two episodes where Jack is more or less underwritten, John Barrowman struggles with the melodrama inherent in this episode. He doesn't look convincing rushing to Gwen's house to save her or leaping from the sewers after suffering a claustrophobic attack. Barrowman is such a large personality anyway that it is only when he is written delicately that his characters truly shines. Moments of frenzy see the actor going madly over the top and provokes laughter. Jack buried the memories of his brother being killed over 150 years ago. It's nice to probe a little deeper into this characters past. Never before have we had the opportunity to look further back than the point where the Time Agency stole a year of his life. His 'history' usually consists of his slow stroll through the 20th Century. In the 51st Century, the Boeshane Peninsula lived under the threat of invasion. We never learn what the screaming creatures are but they sound absolutely terrifying.

Welsh Babe: There is a clever use of before (Gwen and Rhys playing about on the bed) and after (Gwen thinking that Rhys is a stalker and coming at him with a knife and a gun) to highlight how dramatic the alterations in memory are. Rhys wondering whether Jack is trying to phase him out of Gwen's life is a fair comment, especially after he almost suffered a memory wipe in the previous episode. It does descend into a little too much hysteria for my tastes though. Rhys fears that if Gwen forgets him now what with everything else that is going on in her life that she wouldn't look twice at him. This is a chance for Gwen re-discover their relationship and it would be a great time to put to rest those wandering eyes of hers.

Dangerous Doctor: I love this geeked up version of Owen. It might be favourite interpretation of the character in his two years on the show (tying with his walking dead persona from A Day in the Death). Burn Gorman gets to play some sweet comedy for a change and drop all the attitude and it is remarkable how likeable Owen is under these conditions. The specs are the perfect shorthand for the changes in his personality. The old Owen wouldn't think twice about shagging his colleagues in the autopsy bay but the new one can barely contemplate the idea of having a beer whilst on duty. Bless him.

Brainiac: 'Just what I need, a small rodent looking at me while I work...' Within his fiction, Adam and Tosh have been enjoying a work romance on and off, sharing the odd kiss when nobody is looking. She's dressing up for him and is more confident for his presence. In this jiggled up format Toshiko is the insensitive one, not aware of Owen's feelings for her. That's a smart role reversal.

The Butler: 'My hands on her throat...and it felt so good.' Giving Ianto memories of murdering a woman is a vicious reaction on Adam's part to being exposed. It gives Gareth David-Lloyd the chance to play something really meaty that isn't associated with an ex-girlfriend turned Cyberwoman. This new nightmarish version of Ianto stalks women at night down rainy alleys and slaughters them. It doesn't measure up with Ianto's sense of self and the resulting confusion causes his brain to meltdown in the most disturbing of ways. Ianto screaming in the rain-soaked alley is one of the most disturbing things I have seen in the show to date, going for the psychological jugular.

The Good: Dropping Adam into the team almost invisibly is hard act to pull off but Catherine Treganna manages to pull it off by having the rest of Torchwood simply behave as though he has always been there. Including clips of him in the credits is inspired. For somebody switching onto this show for the first time they would be completely fooled into thinking this is the status quo...at least until the episode starts pointing out otherwise. Frankly Adam fits in better with the gang at the beginning of this episode than half of the actual team did for the majority of the first year. Quick edits show how Adama infiltrates peoples memories when they don't recognise him, slipping himself into their timelines as though he has always been there. Bryan Dick approaches the part of Adam quite cunningly, almost inconspicuous in his portrayal until the script chooses to point him out. If the character had been written and played as the most vital, wonderful member of the team his infiltration might have been too extreme but instead he exists as an amiable, functioning member of Torchwood. Not drawing too much attention to himself. I'm not sure if Dick is the strongest actor the show has ever featured (when he has to play an out and out baddie he doesn't convince) but he does very well within this insidious but cautious role. Kudos to the effects team for the memorable image of the Boeshane Peninsula, a cuboid habitation just off the coast. If you can't trust your memory then Treganna needs proof of Adam's penetration into Torchwood and Ianto's diary is a smart way of pointing out his recent arrival. He's a vampire, feeding himself on peoples memories to make space for himself. As long as people believe that he exists, it is so. The group therapy session should be the height of embarrassment but Treganna uses it as an opportunity to drop in lots of nuggets of information about the regulars (Owen's mum loved him but didn't like him, Tosh finds maths so reliable when so little in the world is, Ianto remembers falling in love and losing Lisa, Gwen admitting her feelings for Jack) and the director shoots it in a genuinely hypnotic manner. It is a chance for them to get close to each other just as we get close to them. For once there is plenty of physical closeness on this show but it is all affection.  I've never been entirely convinced by the ret-con as a plot device but Treganna has finally found a decent use for it, using it delete the last 48 hours and wiping Adam from their minds. I love Adam's last ditch attempt to plant himself in Jack's childhood. It was always going to happen but Jack can't resist one last peek at his family regardless. Who could blame him? Having all the characters aware of the loss of the last 48 hours at the end of the episode but not being able to figure out why is a great reversal of the Red Dwarf episode Thanks for the Memory that plays the same trick in reverse. This time the memory loss is part of the solution, in Red Dwarf it was the mystery that kick started the episode.

The Bad: Everybody is waving guns around and screaming in the Hub again. Hysterical lot. Tosh's meltdown isn't remotely convincing, I don't think Naoko Mori is up to the task.

Foreshadowing: Jack has a flash of an image of Grey, his brother, which could be excused as being part and parcel of the Adam experience but is actually an important moment in his past that is about to effect his near future. At first I wondered if it was supposed to be a younger Adam incorporated into his timeline. Inserting in these images of Gray in an episode where everybody's memories are altered is a great way of slipping them in under the radar.

Result: Clever, imaginative and probing, if a little too hysterical for my tastes at times. What I really like about Adam is how it manages to tell a smart standalone story whilst also being a fine ensemble piece, giving all of the regulars a reasonable share of the action and a journey of their own to go on. It is a great chance to mix things up and show different shades of the same characters. Ianto is psychologically unstable rather than the stalwart butler of old, Owen has embraced his inner geek and is far more personable as a result and Toshiko has had some confidence injected into her thanks to a long term relationship with Adam. In all of these cases the characters are more exaggerated and yet intriguingly more enjoyable as a result (although it is surprisingly how unlikable Tosh is with a little assurance). By giving the characters a fiction to live and allowing them to re-discover themselves it gives us a chance to get to know them all a little better and for them to get closer to each other too. The memory vampire is an inspired notion and one that is done full justice in Adam. The titular character is fascinating and it might have been interesting to have seen his inclusion in several episodes before highlighting and dealing with his infiltration. I thought Burn Gorman, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd really brought their A-game this week but the work of John Barrowman, Naoko Mori and Bryan Dick was mixed, stumbling when the script pushed too hard. A strong story that is confidently brought to life by Andy Goddard, Adam only suffers when it strays into the Torchwood extremes of feverishness. It is those moments that keep it from being a classic but it is courageous and ingenious storytelling regardless. None of the last three episodes has been perfect but it has been a string of very good instalments nonetheless, marking a level of consistent storytelling the show hasn't yet experienced: 8/10

The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith written by Gareth Roberts and directed by Graeme Harper

This story in a nutshell: A time fissure leads Sarah Jane to make a terrible mistake with terrible consequences for the planet…

Lovely Lis: There was some lovely foreshadowing for this story in The Day of the Clown (where she tells Luke that her parents died when she was very young) and The Mark of the Berserker (she doesn’t chastise Clyde for exposing his dad to their secret because that’s exactly what she would like to have done given half the chance) and when Sarah Jane realises where the time portal has led her – to a point when her mum and dad were still alive – she has to physically stop herself from trotting off and seeing them no matter how irresistible the urge. Luke is right, Sarah Jane is not good at hiding how she feels but that is one of things I love about Lis Sladen’s performance, there is no pretence and what you see is what you get. Isn’t it great that rather than just making up new adventures for my favourite companion the writers are taking the opportunity to deepen her character and give her some background. This character that we all thought we knew so well is still full of surprises. Sarah Jane was born in the village of Foxgrove and one afternoon in August 1951 her parents got into their car and drove off leaving their baby behind. There was an accident with a tractor and they both died…and now we are going to find out why. As a result her Aunt Lavinia brought her up (The Time Warrior) who was her dads sister and the family genius but she was never one place long enough to lick a stamp (K.9 and Company). Lavinia always said that they were the best parents in the world but Sarah Jane couldn’t help wondering if she was covering up for them because that day they just upped and left their baby alone. Brought up by her aunt you can see how Sarah grew up so smart and determined to be a career woman, this all dovetails beautifully with the portrayal in her early Doctor Who stories. She has never told anybody about her childhood before, not even the Doctor. Sarah Jane knows that stepping back into your past is so dangerous (thank you, exactly the sort of common sense that was missing in Father’s Day – ‘Oh I know we’ll go back and see your dads death. Oh I know lets go back and do it again so you can save him!’) and that this is all too convenient – oh she’s a clever lass alright. She has to give herself a good rational reason to go but the lure of meeting her parents is strong enough. We learn how her parents met – Barbara was working in a tea shop and Eddie used to come in every day for milky tea and a teacake and leave her love notes. Lis Sladen will break your heart as she watches her parents enthusing over her daughter, the emotion is so overwhelming that she has to part company with them. She knows she has saved the lives of so many people (citing miners on Peladon and all those people that drank Bubbleshock) and doesn’t understand why life is so cruel that the two people she wants to save more than anything are destined to die. Sarah wonders if this is her reward for doing so much good, the something for her at the end of all the struggles. To Elisabeth’s credit Sarah sounds completely justified in sabotaging the car that should kill her mum and dad despite the fact that we know this is all going to go horribly wrong. I loved her comment that if she thinks about this properly (as Luke suggests) she will change her mind. She gets to tell her mum that she is more than she ever hoped she would be. She admits that she could never have sent them off to die but the one they nobody counted on was how brilliant they would be by choosing to forfeit their lives. That’s another great thing about this story – it doesn’t have to have Sarah Jane change her mind about asking her parents to sacrifice themselves, she vehemently refuses to make that choice for them right until the end.

Boy Genius: As though she needs any more temptation to see her parents Luke is constantly whispering in her ear to do it because she may never get another chance.

Graphic Artist: Clyde makes me howl with laughter as he references other shows/movies and his sudden cry of ‘Jumanji!’ when they are trying to open the time fissure is brilliant. He has always felt like saving the world were all in a days work but seeing the Earth a blasted heath really affect him and drives home the consequences of their adventures. When he gets a kiss from Rani he makes a note to be heroic more often.

Journalist in Training: Rani really wants to step back in time just to see what it was like but Sarah insists that it is too dangerous. Rani comments that she used to travel in time all the time but her mentor stresses that was with the Doctor who knew what he was doing…most of the time. When Clyde says they should make a list of all of Sarah Jane’s enemies Rani suggests it shouldn’t take them any more than fifteen years!

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘That’s time travel. Jet lag you wouldn’t believe.’
‘The Trickster walked through the Abbots Gateway and sucked the life out of the world.’ 
‘Yes, hi, ethnic person in the fifties – hello!’
‘That was my mum and dad saving the world. Something we Smith’s can’t help doing.’

The Good: Its nice to see that this is a completely new kind of threat with a time fissure opening in a London railway station and a little boy dashing into our world from the 50s in the breathlessly frantic opening. Sarah Jane says it has happened before with missing people lost in time and she would experience it herself in the knockout season four episode Lost in Time (appropriately enough). Graeme Harper is the perfect director for the Sarah Jane Adventures because he has a way with the lens that makes the show look as though it has a hundred times the budget it really has and his location work in the first episode is warm, colourful and gorgeous to look at. Like they had really stepped back into a perfect 50s summer, his crane shots as Sarah Jane and Luke enter the village and the tracking shot along the river to the fete are truly impressive. The return of the Trickster is something that we had all been anticipating because he was such a marvellous, chilling villain the first time round and his raison d’etre to manipulate the timelines led to some very emotive storytelling. Fortunately Gareth Roberts has cottoned on to an even more tragic concept this time round and fully justifies his return. Sarah’s parents are perfectly cast and Rosanna Lavelle and Christopher Pizzey give incredibly naturalistic, heart-warming performances. You believe that these are real people with a life outside of this story (or not as the case may be) and they have the right mixture of kindness, scepticism and London swagger to be the ill fated parents of one of TVs finest. Also impressive is Georgie Glen who screams 1950s as the prim and proper (but surprisingly chipper) Mrs King. I cannot believe this is a show going out on CBBC commenting on rationing, sexual politics, racism and the Cold War. You realise with a sinking feeling that this is the day that they die and Sarah Jane is present – who wouldn’t want to save their mum and dad if they had the chance? This show always chooses to spend its money in the right places and the first episode ends with the jaw dropping sight of London as a blasted wilderness with Big Ben a shattered ruin jutting out of the ground and dwarfing Sarah Jane and Luke. Sarah Jane saving her parents was only a tiny thing and it would have been ridiculous to suggest that their survival would cause the devastation of the whole world and that is addressed – Foxgrove is on one of the universal fault lines and Sarah’s interference gave the Trickster a path from the limbo dimensions to the Earth where he could ravage the planet. Roberts even puts in a little line about when time going wrong it puts people in the same place as much as possible – I love how well thought through these sci-fi clichés are explained and its about time Meena Anwar had a juicier role than usual. Even the Graske who is the most comical character on this show is re-invented as a tragic victim of the Trickster, saved from death at the last minute and trapped in a life of slavery. Turns out that religious sites or hallowed ground is where the Web of Time is at its weakest and as the Trickster materialises in the Gateway it feels genuinely as though the end of the world is nigh. Brilliantly the show gives its guest characters some real astuteness and Barbara figures out that there isn’t something wrong with the world, there is something wrong with them as everything they touch turns rotten. Rather than take the easy route of having Sarah Jane fix the problem herself her parents realise from the snippets that they have gathered that they are the reason things have turned apocalyptic and they choose to sacrifice themselves to ensure that their daughter gets a proper chance in life. The heartbreaking truth is that they didn’t abandon her, they saved her. As her parents say goodbye to Sarah Jane as a child and as an adult it is one of the powerhouse moments of this series, head spinning and tear jerking. The final shot of the writing on the back of the photo of her parents is absolutely perfect; Mr Smith, I need you. A staple of the series given real complexity and emotional weight. Bravo.

The Bad: The TARDIS gag feels completely out of place in the fatalistic second episode and probably should have been cut.

The Shallow Bit: When Sarah says she must be out of her mind Im not sure if she is talking about travelling backwards in time or the outrageous pink outfit she has chosen to wear. Fortunately she has the gumption to pull it off but it was touch and go for a second. ‘You used to wear that?’ says Luke, ‘Seriously?’ The nom de plume of Victoria and David Beckham…that made me choke the first time I heard it! Doesn’t the human guise of the Graske look like a young Harry Potter?

Result: Every year the Sarah Jane Adventures knocks stories out of the park which connects with me emotionally (its usually written by Gareth Roberts but all the Joe Lidster scripts qualify too) and The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith achieves that beautifully whilst also playing about with some weighty science fiction concepts, creating a convincing period environment and breaking your heart with its characterisation of Sarah Jane. Considering this is supposed to be a kids show the approach to the material is extremely mature and as a result these stories are tremendously re-watchable, full of integrity and extremely enjoyable. The plot keeps twisting and evolving; it builds Sarah’s dilemma in the first episode and suddenly becomes a race against time to stop the consequences of her actions in the second. Elisabeth Sladen deserves real kudos for continuing to show new sides to her character and it looks like she is really enjoying the chance to take Sarah Jane to new depths. This is smart, emotional storytelling that really packs a punch and SJA at its absolute best: 10/10

Meat written by Catherine Treganna and directed by Colin Teague

This story in a nutshell: It's time for Rhys to discover why his wife was behaving so strangely last year...

Hunky Hero: Cue the gratuitous 'have you ever eaten alien meat?' gag and Jack's predictable answer. Rhys has a real distrust of Jack which is borne out a natural reaction to his mistreatment of his wife. I can't wait to see how this develops. There aren't many people that would stand up to Jack but Rhys is such a convincing bruiser that I could see him damaging that pretty face of his. How nice to see Jack showing some real pity and helping out just because it is the right thing to do. Perhaps his sojourn with the Doctor and Martha has done him some good.

Jack's Crew: I couldn't help but chuckle at Owen's insensitivity when Tosh suggests that the only people that Torchwood employees could date are other Torchwood employees and he suggests disparaging that she looks around herself. Nice one. Isn't it a bit soon for her to mooning over Owen after having just lost Tommy? Mind you, the moment where she reaches out and almost touches his back is very nice. Tosh reeks of victim and I my sympathies automatically stack up with her. Even if he isn't the centre of attention in season two Ianto gets a moment of humour in every episode to shine. Here he gets to be extremely polite with his stun gun. It's small moments that all add up to a far more likeable portrayal of the character. He was so bland in the first year in comparison.

Welsh Babe & The Boyfriend: Of all the characters on Torchwood, Rhys is one of my favourites. This was a organisation that was so far up its own arse that it desperately needed a critic and this no-nonsense, bull of a man was exactly what the Doctor ordered. He was treated abominably by Gwen in the first season, leaving him to pretty much get on with his life whilst she was seduced by both her work and Owen and drugging him to forget once she finally had the guts to tell him what she had been up to. He's the underdog, the man back home completely in dark of his girlfriends work in 'special forces'. He's easy to sympathise with and he is played with some bullish charisma by Kai Owen. To have him let in on the secret of Torchwood was one of the best creative decisions made in the second series and he would go on to become a firm favourite and vital to subsequent seasons. Not only for keeping Gwen grounded but the show too. Interestingly Gwen seems to think that partners o Torchwood employees should be exempt from suspicion in investigations. Tosh soon puts her right by dispassionately asking for Rhys' direct number. Gwen's trip back home to make sure Rhys is alright reveals the strengths and the weaknesses in this relationship; she genuinely does care about him but she is lying to his face all the time. Now the cat is out of the bag, something has got to give. We know all along that Rhys isn't in on the meat scandal but for a moment it is glorious to witness Gwen's shock when it appears that he has been lying to her. Now she knows what it feels like and she doesn't like it. Rhys is absolutely rubbish under cover trying to infiltrate the meat operation which strikes me as a realistic approach, he's just an everyman that has been caught up in an impossibly dangerous situation. Vomiting in the face of the butchered creature strikes me as a very natural response. The description that Rhys' heart is in the right place but his brain is a million miles away strikes a chord. He's a reactionary character but that is why he is so much fun to watch. If I were Rhys I would have laughed until my head rolled off had I been shown the Hub as Torchwood's base of operations. Rhys is touched by his experience with Torchwood, he is now looking at the world with a genuine sense of awe and wonder. I was convinced that he was going to be ret-conned by the end of Meat and it remains one the most pleasing developments of the show that they didn't go down this obvious route.

Sparkling Dialogue: 'What is this - Scooby Doo?' - You've been a part of Torchwood for over a year now, Gwen. That's exactly what this is. Scooby Doo with oral sex.

'Tell us how we are going to use it to arm ourselves against the future?' 'We could always hide behind it.'

'I used to look up and think - looks like rain, man. But now I'll look up and think of all the other worlds and planets...'

The Good: What a great opening this episode has with Rhys spotting his wife in the midst of Torchwood activities. You just know the shit is about to hit the fan. I have often complained about the hilariously over dramatic image that Torchwood has when it turns up at the scene of a crime - outrageously camp car, slow motion swagger and decked from head to toe in leather. Talk about making a statement. With one bold blow you know that Rhys is going to puncture that image when he catches up with Gwen. Chunks of bloody meat are enough to make you run to the nearest sink dry retching. The camera has to get right up close to these sloppy, textured slabs of meat to drive the point of the episode home. Fake vet stamps makes this episode pretty topical to watch all these years later given the not so distant horse meat scandal. Alien meat going in to pies, pasties and burgers...that's both stomach churning and fascinating. Exactly the sort of nauseating and quirky nonsense that this show excels in. I have seen the 'meat loaded food arrives when talking about killing animals' gag done before (DS9's Chimera) but this is much funnier. Learning from Doctor Who's mistakes (Erato especially), director Colin Teague uses a number of clever techniques to suggest the scale and weirdness of the creature that is being hacked to pieces. The shot of Rhys reflected in it's enormous sad eye justifies this episodes existence alone. In fact in long shot it does resemble Erato but with some convincing CGI features (such as breathing, writhing skin) that make all the difference. It is the addition of the tortured cries that sell the pain of this creature, it is desperately sad to hear its mournful wailing as it is ripped open and farmed out. The entrance into Torchwood is so deliriously over the top but I have to admit the effects work are triumphant. For some reason a genuine domestic across the conference table (between Gwen and Owen naturally) works much better than the conflicting relationships of the Torchwood crew.  'Imprisoned, chained and drugged...welcome to planet Earth' - Torchwood really does like lifting up the this planet and exposing its dark underbelly. For once it is justified. Euthanasia is the kindest act that Owen can perform given the pain it is suffering and for once a death at the end of a Torchwood episode isn't gratuitous but rather moving. I can't believe that I am genuinely feeling sorrow for a great CGI jelly but that is how convincingly this episode presents its credentials.

The Bad: Even when Gwen is trying to save her boyfriend she cannot help but look as if she is going to lean in and kiss Jack as he throws her against a wall. The woman has no sexual morals whatsoever. I feel like I'm watching Amy Pond again. After what she has done Gwen has the nerve to say to Rhys: 'All I ever asked is that you trust me!' I wonder if she was peddling that on out whilst she was deep-throating Owen in the autopsy bay. Unbelievably after she tells Rhys that she is the only man for him she can be seen looking at Jack whilst lip locking with her fiancé. As you can tell this aspect of her personality really grinds my gears. Thank God it is dropped after season two. Isn't it bizarre how Sarah Jane simply trusts her friends to keep their big secret about the existence of aliens but the Torchwood team feel the need to poison and violate those who discover their purpose?

Result: 'It's just meat, that's all!' I turned vegetarian almost a year ago and this episode re-enforces my decision. Not because I think that for the first 33 years of my life that I was eating chunks of bloody alien hide but because I made a moral and health driven decision that was absolutely right for me to make. Meat certainly makes its case for vegetarianism better than The Two Doctors did, presenting a poignant scenario and examining it in some depth. This is the third episode in a row that sees Torchwood working together as a team to foil a wrongdoing without falling apart at the seams, fucking each other senseless or all threatening to leave. It really feels as though the series is moving in the right direction. The discussion about why to save the creature represents the major difference between Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (beyond the adult content). On SJA, Sarah is motivated by a need to help people/aliens whereas Torchwood only gets involved if they benefit from the effort and it will better their chances of survival in the coming interactions with hostile aliens. This sees the tide turning, Jack choosing to come to the aid of the creature simply because it is in pain. Another fine creative decision. For once this is an episode that needs to be gratuitous to drive its point home the scenes of the alien creature being hacked up as it lets out mournful howls are genuinely discomforting. You might rethink that steak for dinner tonight. And isn't it great that the creature seems to have been modelled on Erato from Creature from the Pit? The biggest strength of Meat though is Rhys being let in on the secret of Gwen's covert activities at last. He's been kept in the dark for far too long and his exposure to the dangers of Torchwood plays out with some drama and not a little humour too. Kai Owen steals the show and despite him still being in the dark about his wife's wandering eyes, Rhys is a much stronger character for the developments in this episode. An enormous heart has been dropped in the middle of Torchwood and it seems to be affecting Jack, Tosh, Owen...everyone. About damn time: 8/10

Encore of the Scorchies written by James Goss and directed by Lisa Bowerman

What's it about: A special musical episode with stunning music and lyrics by Howard Carter! There’s a new act at the New Regency Theatre, and Jago and Litefoot are about to face their grand finale.

Theatrical Fellow: Is it any great surprise that Jago is absolutely enamoured with the Scorchies and their all singing, all dancing act? The very suggestion that Jago has forgotten his friends is appalling and Litefoot refuses to believe it is the case. With these insanely entertaining puppets bringing in the crowds, Jago is the King of his own Empire again, the Maharaja of the New Regency Theatre. A well cured ham? He recognises that he has done many terrible things under the Scorchies thrall but one thing they would never force him to do is to harm his best friend, an admission which delights Litefoot no end.

Posh Professor: So much of this range puts the focus on Jago with Litefoot as his able support that it is always refreshing when they reverse those roles and allow Litefoot to take centre stage. As Litefoot points out it is not the first time they have tangled with evil dolls but he starts to wonder if he is seeing menace in these automatons because he is missing his friend so much and is looking for a way to separate him from the Scorchies. He's squared up to more impressive alien aggressors than he Scorchies and upon learning of their scheme to enslave humanity he facetiously comments that he wishes all these extraterrestrial invaders would form an orderly queue.

Standout Performance: Lisa Bowerman has an exceptional singing voice, which shouldn't come as a surprise after her skilful rendition of 'Butterflies and Cake' in the Bernice Summerfield range. Where that was Benny singing tentatively and outrageously, Encore features Ellie singing a couple of sweet and gentle songs that show off Bowerman's musical talent in a whole new light. Mind you, Christopher Benjamin is no slouch in the singing department either, delivering a handful of diverse and delightful numbers.

Sparkling Dialogue: 'They're mean and malign and they mangle my mind with malevolent musical loads, their incessant rhyming has slowly been climbing through my head til it explodes!'

'You're enslaving hundreds of people just so that a handful of you can be happy?' 'Yes, I believe it's called...' '...an Empire.'

'The adventure's nearly finished and I've hardly said a line!'

Great Ideas: Squeezing the Scorchies into the world of Jago & Litefoot seems like a perfect fit given one half of this duo is a theatrical impresario who books quirky acts for the theatre as effortlessly as breathing. If there was ever a place where this brand of intergalactic puppets belonged, it is on the stage with Mr Henry Gordon Jago stage managing. It means that the series can experiment with a musical episode (a brand of audio adventure that Big Finish indulges in scarcely, and it is all the more special when they do as a result) and bring the vocal talents of its crew to light. Whereas the original Scorchies story (still one of the most sublime pieces of madness Big Finish has ever released) opted for a dark and sugary kids entertainment show vibe, this is much more in line with the Victorian theatre of it's setting with bigger, brasher, more exaggerated numbers. 'We are the Scorchies' is a high energy number to kick start proceedings and an easy warning to the audience - if this isn't your kind of thing abandon hope all ye who enter here. One thing that both Scorchies stories manage to pull off with great aplomb is that uncomfortable feeling when something that should be playful and childish turns sinister and homicidal, these giggling puppets are both great fun and terrifyingly psychotic. Aliens from outer space, crossing the void of space and time to enslave all of mankind. Rhyming is how they bring humanity under their spell, the weapon their wield, spreading their hypnotic field. Once you sing along you'll bring along death. The Scorchies act as a Greek chorus at certain points, commenting on the action and pointing out the narrative tropes that Goss is wielding to make the audience gasp and shudder ('I must say I'm disappointed by the minions, if they were a serious challenge they would have disposed of him by now'). In a season that would really allow Quick to come into his own, it's wonderful that the opening story should feature such a deliriously insulting song about our favourite resident policeman. This is the song that comes closest to treading the boards for real and capturing the feel of those glorious old numbers that encourage full audience participation.

Audio Landscape: Pub atmosphere, giggling Scorchies, tap dancing puppets, applause, horse and carriage, church bells, fireworks.

Musical Cues: I found the musical number that propelled us into the story and absolute delight, the ever reliable and impressive Howard Carter going to town with his soundtrack of this special episode. It features the best ever rendition of the theme tune of the series (with the piano crescendo a particular delight).

Isn't it Odd: We learnt the backstory of the Scorchies in their first appearance but that isn't repeated here and there is a good chance that there is a very different crowd buying this series than there is buying the companion chronicles. And so if you are coming to the malevolent toys anew in Encore there is a good chance that you might be completely baffled by their appearance and how precisely they came to be. It's a big leap to simply ask your audience to except walking, talking, murdering playthings (The Scorchies understood that and justified their existence accordingly) just because, which is what Encore is handing you. Maybe the creative minds behind this story were hoping you would seek out their other appearance to validate their existence.

Standout Scene: Ellie's song at the climax where she gets to berate the range for not giving her a fair share of the action. Mind you, let's be fair, it isn't called Ellie, Jago & Litefoot. A wonderful climactic number that provides the piece with a stunning vocal finish. I also found the affirmation of the friendship between Jago, Litefoot & Ellie at the climax one of the most heart-warming moments the range has ever delivered. Three friends, huddling close in the cold, watching fireworks and recognising how much they care about one another.

Result: Very different from their debut story and all the smarter for it, Encore of the Scorchies sees Jago & Litefoot striking out with something very different from the norm (but in a series that is willing to experiment as much as this one I have lost track of what the norm is) which is very refreshing as we kick start the eighth series. It's apparent that a great deal of love and care has gone into this story; expressed in the buoyant dialogue, imaginative songs, engaging characterisation and dazzling production values. My only real complaint is that I loved The Scorchies so much that comparisons were inevitable and where that one went for infectious fun (and was effortlessly enjoyable for it), Encore is a much darker, more substantial affair and as a result was a little harder to warm to. The Scorchies were clearly defined in their debut story but here the psychotic puppets were a little harder to identify, perhaps because there was an attempt to turn them into actual characters rather than barmy caricatures. Whilst Christopher Benjamin shows off his considerable singing talent, Trevor Baxter gets to take the limelight as Litefoot tries to unmask the sinister operation at the New Regency Theatre and there is insubstantial participation from Ellie with Lisa Bowerman providing the best musical number because of it. I really enjoyed the meta commentary on the range and the story, Goss daring to have his characters criticise his efforts in the same way that Joss Whedon would at his best.  Will Jago be turned into sawdust? Will the Scorchies manifest themselves in new bodies? The show wont be over until the cockney bargirl sings! The all-singing, all-dancing, all-self referencing Encore of the Scorchies provides all the answers: 8/10