Cool News
What Make The Critics Of SciFi’s DOCTOR WHO Spinoff SARAH JANE ADVENTURES??
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Here in the states, adding “Adventures” to any project’s title after 1938? Seldom a good omen. Almost always associate that word with troubled projects. “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.” “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.” “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.” “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.” Maybe things work differently in Britain.
“The Sarah Jane Adventures” deals with the sixtyish version of Sarah Jane Smith, who was Doctor Who’s hot twentysomething companion between 1973 and 1978 and now has her own young companions. Elisabeth Sladen, who played Smith then and (very briefly) on a “Who” episode a couple years ago, returns to the role.
Personally, I’m more keen to see what another old “Who” companion, Billie Piper, does as the star of Showtime’s “Secret Diary of A Call Girl” on Showtime this summer.
Entertainment Weekly says:
… The uneven Sarah Jane may be a lesser Who, but it's smarter than most kids' fare …
USA Today says:
… more family friendly than the amusingly adult Torchwood. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… The show offers a satisfying dose of alien-flavored escapism, especially for younger fans of genre fare (Sarah Jane has a few hip and appealing teen companions). “Sarah Jane’s” biggest flaw is that its energetically filmed plots feel recycled from many other sci-fi programs, including the venerable “Doctor Who” …
Variety says:
… may be modestly entertaining for the moppet crowd but will test the patience of adults in this dimension or any other. …
7:30 p.m. Friday. SciFi.
BLADE RUNNER,
DAWN OF THE DEAD
AND RESERVOIR DOGS!!
CHEAP AND IN HD!!
CHEAPEST TREK EVER!!!!
EVERY season of
The Original Series
The Next Generation
Deep Space Nine
Voyager and
Enterprise:
-
+ Expand All
-
I guess I am missing the quote there.
-
I really liked Sarah when she was on "Dr. Who back in the 70s. I hope the show is good. My son really loves Tennant's Dr.
-
But I really think kids will like it. If sci-fi placys it at night and expects an adult audience, they can forget it.
Diary of a call Girl was actually pretty entertaining. Everyone does know that these series' are old already, right? The BBC doesn't seem to have qualms about people watching their shows, I suggest checking them out if you're interested. Diary of a Call Girl is pretty easy to find out there. -
And SARAH JANE is specifically intended as a kids show. Don't be an asshole, Herc.
-
Both DC and Marvel have adopted the addition of "Adventures" to a title to designate somemthing as kid family fare. Comic books like Superman Adventures, Batman Adventures, X-Men Adventures, etc. usually are based on the animated television versions of the property. Sometimes these continue even after the adapted program is discontinued - as with The Teen Titan Adventures which carried on the ocntinuity and style from the anime-esque Cartoon network series.It would seem the success of the revived Dr. Who is leading to an entire franchise of shows set in the Dr. Who universe. And while some franchises just offer more of the same, as with the various All In Teh Family spin-offs or the different Star Trek series, the Dr. Who people seem to have actually decided to spread out and target different demographics. So if this show is targeted as a younger audience, it could serve as an entry level comic to draw new young fans into the decades old and continuously expanding Who universe.If HBO is rerunning the BBC "Callgirl" and not doing a new Americanized adaptation with Billie Piper, then I don't think it's really a SPOILER to mention that you can expect more nudity and girl-on-girl action than American broadcast television will allow.
-
All the SJA's got big ratings over here, and another series has ben comissioned already. The series consists of 4 x 2-parters, with some new and some DW enemies. They might be aimed at the kiddie end of the market, but they are intelligent, fast-paced and funny - and a little bit scary in places! Well worth checking out, if just for the evergreen Ms Smith...
-
Can't help but feel that Elisabeth Sladen has a portrait in an attic somewhere. Still most people's #1 companion ...
-
...Bring Sarah Jane back! If we're going to have a more 'mature' companion, I'd rather look at the lovely demure Ms. Sladen than that old hag Tate.
Better still...anyone know what Janet Fielding is up to these days?
Tegan...Grrrr! -
This is my first post EVER to AICN. While the "Sarah Jane Adventures" is definitely aimed at the tweens, it oddly feels a lot like the original series. With the half hour cliffhanger format and the tone which which echoes the original series in a way that the mothership doesn't, I found myself quite entertained. I felt almost as if I was back in 7th grade watching original Who on PBS. The "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" episode is particularly good in evoking the good old days. That and some of the others definitely have a little bit of the "made for kids but definitely for adults as well" vibe that the old show had (up until the late 80's anyway). So if you can get past the Nickelodeon-ishness of it, it's worth sitting through if you are a Who fan. OK. First post over. Now I can move on with my life. Till the next one...I am August Will. I am the Angriest Planet. And you are all just satellites in my motherfuckin' orbit.
-
If you're a fan of Doctor Who, this will probably be way beneath you. But if you're watching it with your kids, they will probably enjoy it. If they're under 8.
The plots are typical Russell Davies crap. Evil business men. Farting aliens. (Yes, the slitheen are in it).
The Billie Piper series was okay, but she only dressed in a few skanky lingerie outfits. You can find the pics online. -
Riiiiight. Because as the above article points out, she's now sixty-ish and she was in Dr Who thirty years ago. So she was... how old? Methinks Herc never learned math. Too busy ogling his hot teen math teacher?
-
And I've watched every (still existing) episode of classic Who, and all on nu Who and Torchwood, but this was just a spinoff too far. It should be a truly family friendly piece of fare, with storytelling that all ages can enjoy, but instead it's just incredibly childish and paint-by-numbers borefest that's no better than the ill advised K9 & Company from back in the day. Sarah Jane is too good for this thing in my opinion.
-
Not only did Herc get the "hot teen companion" bit wrong (when Sarah Jane was actually a mid twenties investigative reporter), but he got her name wrong as well, it's Sladen, not Slader.
-
Apr 11, 2008 3:20:15 AM CDT
'The Adventures of' - point taken. But what about 'Tales of'?
by newc0253
case in point, 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' = great show.
-
Doesn't mean you all have to dissect it saying things like 'adults will hate it kids will like it'. No shit! It's a KID'S SHOW! You don't sit there watching Duck Tales in your twenties and thirties do you, ffs?
-
the movie is F'ing awesome!!!
-
RTD raping Doctor Who further. SJA and Torchwood are horrible shows. Stick to Doctor Who folks and forget the lame spin-offs.
-
I'm doubting there'll be as much same-sex kissing, but you never know.
-
and i would still bang sarah jane...as long as k9 wasnt watching
-
Torchwood is carried by BBC America but since I don't have that channel anymore I couldn't tell you what if anything has been cut from the episodes when they air here. Best to download or wait for the DVD's.
-
I thought this was already on and like Who is aimed (mostly at the tween set, Torchwood at adults, SJA is aimed squarely at kids.
-
Elizabeth Sladen looks about 45, but is in fact, sixty. I'll have what she's having.
-
Um...Apart from the character of "Doctor Who" actually being known as The Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen being born in 1948, which made her 25 at the time she started on DOCTOR WHO, you're absolutely right.
What, was IMDB down while you wrote this?
-
You have to judge the program on its intended audience. Nonetheless, I found each episode of SJA was well written and well performed. The story writing is tight and, for adults in the audience, all the first season episodes are consistently enjoyable.
-
... not 100% sure about this but she quit acting and became (amongst other people) Paul McGann's agent. Had gone off Doctor Who somewhat since being on the show. So when an offer to Paul McGann to be the Doctor on audio came up, she didn't tell him. When he found out, he fired her. Not sure how much of that I remember correctly though ...
-
haha! SJA= kids, doctor who= kids/adults, torchwood= adults
-
... but not Who or Torchwood? A cheaper buy is my guess. I'm surprised they didn't just recast with soap stars and reshoot the entire series in someone's backyard in Vancouver over the course of 4 days... that's more Sci-Fi's style.
-
It's aimed at an even younger crowd than Doctor Who.
-
Shan - Didn't know this, but what a great bit of synchronicity!
TomBodet - I fuckin' love you, man! I'm going to start a fan club! -
Starting with the Christmas episode featuring the delectable Kylie Minogue.
-
...and I want to be her house-elf. That is all, good day.
-
DO NOT MESS WITH BUCKAROO BANZAI. That is all.
-
HDNet broadcasts uncensored Torchwood without commercial interruption... I think it runs about a week behind BBCA... Once I found that out, I decided I could wait a week for Glorious HD episodes.
-
Like the look of the Welsh bird with the big norks, but Captain Gay kind of puts me off the whole thing...
-
Tegan was a filthy slut.
-
So what channel is this Secret Diary of a Call Girl on?
-
That's not much of a secret.
-
"The Adventures of Sarah Jane"? was Doctor Who's hot teen companion? Elisabeth Slader?
-
Hell, we've got culture coming out our ears over here! There's Somalian culture, Pakistani culture, Nigerian culture, Polish culture, Albanian culture...pick a letter, son!
-
Starring Michelle Gelling as Buffy and Brendan Nichols as her boyfriend Zander. (Now the Who fans are even.)
-
SciFi is showing "Fairytale" really late at night, 2nite, if I read my TiVo listings properly. See the once and future Doctor in a different property. Good flick, even if the events were a hoax. That kinda reminds me, there was a Torchwood episode regarding fairy-like (no pun intended) aliens. Coincidence?
-
someone seriously has to introduce britain to modern special effects, the effects in the commercials look just like that crapfest doctor who....even TRON has better effects and thats just sad.
-
a project can be an artistic achievement ands till be considered a "troubled" property. Buckaroo Banzai has a cult fan base, but was not a huge block office boxbuster. I believe Munchhausen may have had production and budget dificulties. Excellent viewing experiences, but it's still valid to call them troubled.
-
Running around nude on all fours with a dog collar around your neck whimpering, "Yes, Mistress!" as Sara Jane barks out commands to you while wearing a strap-on dildo in a Yul Brynner stance from the "King and I.""Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!"
-
HDNet which is available from my cable company, RCN, offers Torchwood in high def AND commercial free.
It's awesome.But they don't offer Sci Fi channel in HD. Bastards!
-
screw all the other mistakes, what's with the possessive apostrophe?
It's the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff, Scifi are just airing it in the US. Such sloppy reporting AICN has these days -
Jack's put the moves on Rose, Martha, Gwen, and whatever that alien chick in "Utopia" was. Chances are he had a crack at Suzie too before she offed herself. So he boffs Ianto at the moment. He fucks anything and everything. That's the character. Get over it. Skipping a show because of the character's/actor's/creator's sexuality = fucking lame.
-
He's got my vote!
-
I am afraid I've got to stand up for Ford Fairlane a little bit. Almost 20 years later it stands up pretty well for what it was at the time. It was never going to be "Citizen Cane." But it's early, and still decent Reny Harland. And has some very memorable lines. I still watch it, it's on this weekend on like Stars or one of those Action channels or something.
-
It's not a Whedon project, so he can't be arsed to get things like, say, facts correct.
-
The Poseidon Adventure? The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert? Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Looks like your "hook" is as accurate as the rest of your reporting.
-
human men, humaan women, and all forms and sexes of alien life.
-
boyfriend is other than a lucky bastard.
-
Think it was starz, but not sure, coulda been HBO.
-
...oh, and Secret Diary of a Call Girl is absolute bollocks.
-
Sarah Jane Adentures is by far the closest to the Dr. Who of the Tom Baker era. It makes Torchwood look like the crap it was (OK, well season 2 wasn't nearly as crap as season 1). The only real fault with it is that the fact that every story is a two-parter makes the pacing kind of predictable for every episode.
-
While I can't help the homophobes who refuse to watch any show in which two men snog, I have to say that if you thought season one was a bit weak, you'll be pleased with the improvements in season two of Torchwood. There were a lot of good episodes this season!
Doctor Who is looking good too. I kind of like the idea of Donna, as she's clearly not interested in The Doctor, but IS interested in seeing the universe. That should ensure a lot less of the goo-goo eyes that the previous two companions made and a little more interaction like the old days.
Considering Donna's bombastic nature, it's almost like this is the Tom Baker/Nicola Bryant era, but with a reversal of roles. Now the companion's the one who will be shouting and acting rude, and the Doctor's the younger-looking sex symbol with brains (Oh, come on. He IS a good looking guy. Admit it.)
What we REALLY need is for the next Doctor to be an older guy. At least in his mid-40s and looking a little less hunky. In fact, he should look kind of asexual next time around, and perhaps he could be a bit less "hip" -- I'd be all for an Ian McKellan Doctor, or even a John Cleese or Rowan Atkinson version.
They've hinted that a Timelord can change genders in a regeneration - - What if we get a female Doctor some time? Just think of all the excellent actresses in England!
How about a woman who was once a companion? The explanation for the Doctor's regeneration looking just like an older Peri or Ace? He was very fond of them, and the regeneration is reflecting that somehow. -
1) I don't know where I got the idea Sarah Jane was a teen in the '70s Who. I have adjusted the story.
2) For the record, I'm a fan of most of the "troubled" projects mentioned.
3) "Adventure" has a MUCH better track record than "Adventures." I wasn't talking about "Adventure."
-
Because I might just watch that.
-
Why not just come out and call it what you want BBC? -
A 20+ year history is hardly weak. Perhaps you'd prefer the strong characterizations on Stargate: Atlantis?
-
First aired the day Kennedy was shot. I'm sure that was a coincidence though.
-
Well, my kid doesn't really like this. I will give it a chance, but it isn't starting too well.
-
Entertaining, not great, but entertaining. Has potential. But one question does come to mind...GILF? lol
-
Jack may flirt with women but he only ever seems to send his time banging guys in bathhouses. I gave Torchwood a shot but it's far too silly and takes itself far too seriously to be any good.
-
The first two episodes aren't that good but as it goes on it gets better and better, resulting in a few of the best episodes in all of the Who revival. In particular the 'Trickster' episodes where this guy resembling the Mouth of Sauron with a death hood erases Sarah Jane from time. She is replaced by a woman who Sarah Jane watched die when she was a kid. That's fairly dark for an out-and-out kids show (which is what this is, Doctor Who is only half a kids show)
-
Since it was cancelled in 1989 and didn't resume until recently, we can't really count the 90s. I honestly don't count some of the early episodes, either, as they were a wholly different thing. The Doctor had a daughter, and the whole premise of the show was just different.
There were also periods where the show wasn't around for a year or two at a time, IIRC.
-
He had a granddaughter not a daughter. The Daleks were introduced in the second story so those early episodes were certainly at least a little influential and connected to the rest of the series.
-
I'm probably what one would call homophobic but I still watch captain Gay. especially the episode when Gwen gets preggers with an alien. What a riot!
-
This was not bad. The first 2 Doctors from the 1960's did travel with "tweens", children between 9 and 13. It wasn't until Katy Manning was cast as Jo Grant that the companions became older.----later-----m
-
Paragon Complex, you win. There are NO greater Adventures than that! Nope, not even Buckaroo Banzai.
Bruce Campbell is God, and we are unworthy in His presence. As good as Doctor Who is... it ain't Bruce Campbell. -
Touche, Zero - still laughing at that one :D
-
Mathematically, it makes sense. If, as rumor has it, they're going to take a break from Doctor Who in the near future, she'll have aged enough to get thrown into that show. Boy, am I a nerd.
-
What ever happened to that Brisco County Jr tv movie? It's funny I remember FOX ran comercials up the wazoo for that show but hardly any for the XFILEs and guess what show got renewed.
-
Whenever I see that word in reviews. I know it's crap. But not a bad start. Looks like the kid Luke will be the smart one of the group. Hopefully K-9 comes out of that black hole thing soon. Too bad it's not more aged. A 90210 Who would have been better looking. Sarah reminds me of Roslin on BSG.
-
K-9 only shows up one more time. Apparently the person that owns the rights to K-9 is trying to start a k-9 cartoon.Luke=Data or any other character who doesn't know anything about humanity. So it is kind of cliched but ignore it and the stories are pretty entertaining.
-
Will it be in continuity?
A Dr Who type animi would be great if they give it good production and not kiddie crap. -
SHIT SANDWICH.
we lose shows like the Dresden Files and we get this pile of complete shito take its place I swear that as soon as BSG is done I'm done with the Play-Doh shit factory that is the Sci-Fi Channel -
the best friend was annoying at first, but she worked for the show. The archtype has some potential. Love the Suburban Batcave, with talking computer. Definitely think this has potential.
BTW Torchwood was brilliant this season, much better than last, which was already damned good. CAn't wait to see the finale. And can't wait to see what they do next year. -
With his sort of exassperated with humans voice. Loved the blackhole scene. Never figured why was never more love for the old dog. I thought he was a riot of semisarcasm.
-
And that was totally like this episode. I think this wil be good, it's got Liz Sladen and she's still got the acting chops.
-
DOCTOR WHO - THE INFINITY QUEST was a nifty little animated adventure with Martha in it that aired last year, I think. Check it out - it's worth a watch, if only to see how the DR WHO console game is going to look later this year.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 273 total posts 271 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 92 total posts 92 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 69 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 151 total posts 63 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 67 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 60 total posts 57 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 484 total posts 49 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 69 total posts 42 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 120 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 183 total posts 24 posts