This guide page was last updated in 2008 and does not include the range of novelisations, nine additional CDs, and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Seasons One, Two, Three, Four and Five. We hope to update this page in future.
The Glittering Storm
Written by Stephen Cole
When patients at a London clinic begin to act strangely, Sarah Jane’s suspicions are aroused. While Maria falls prey to the clinic’s sinister agenda, Luke and Clyde go undercover to discover more, and Sarah discovers a plot to harvest all the gold from Earth – at a terrible cost to the planet!
To be released 5th November
Reviews
Sarah Jane has decided to volunteer at Luke’s school as a helper during a day trip, which leads the group to an afternoon at the Stone Whispers. An old stone circle seems the perfect setting for a story, spooky and mysterious. Even putting them inside a newly constructed dome doesn’t detract from the sinister feeling omnipresent as the story builds. And build it does as Sarah Jane and her friends are on hand as some ancient evil is trying to escape.
A single CD may seem a bit short when compared to other audio adventures available these days, but The Thirteenth Stone packs a lot of wallop into its 70 minutes. These new audio plays benefit from being mostly told first person from Sarah Jane’s point of view, although sometimes she does seem to be reading from a book rather than the reminisces that work much better. Lis Sladen’s perfectly articulated voice lends itself ideally to these audiobooks as she’s very easy to understand, and always adds her own flare to bring Sarah Jane to life. In fact, it’s Sladen’s performance that is possible the best thing about these CDs. She doesn’t simply read the script but brings it to life with different voices and quick changes in inflection all the while reminding us why she is one of the best remembered actresses from Doctor Who‘s long history.
The rest of the Sarah Jane Adventures regulars (her “gang”) are all admirably depicted, including new boy Clyde who shows the same inquisitive enthusiasm that he does in the series. However, here he seems to absorb facts, which if it were true, should make him a lot better at his school work. Maria probably fares the worst of the bunch as the second half of the story focuses on Luke and makes interesting use of his origins to carry the story.
This leads to my only real complaint of the whole story… that it seems to hang on a couple of coincidences. What if the computer program hadn’t been running that day, what if a boy with Luke’s certain “qualities” hadn’t been there? Also, some music mixed throughout would have helpped to liven it up a bit, especially for the younger audience these are intended for. But these are minor fleeting thoughts when you’ve got someone like Sarah Jane Smith herself reciting one of her thrilling adventures.
–Robert Franks
When Sarah is the latest to suffer an attempted burglary, she finds a trail that leads to Dr Aurga – an elderly scientist using a revolutionary gold-dependent technique to treat muscle fatigue. But what lurks behind the increasingly sinister Aurga, and will Maria survive the treatments?
A bold and enjoyable story, The Glittering Storm takes its inspiration from many of the Earthbound Doctor Who stories: Aliens approach mad scientist with a “too good to be true” offer, scientist sees the terrible truth behind the offer, scientist tries to double-cross the aliens for his or her own benefit, aliens ultimately overthrow the scientist only to be defeated by our heroes. Scientists are evil, kids, as are ugly aliens.
Whilst Storm treads where many have trodden before, the presentation is stylish and energetic enough that not only will new fans relish the plot, older fans won’t necessarily mind its tendency towards predictability. In fact, its familiarity with the Pertwee era especially raises an almost nostalgic glow, especially as the true mastermind reveals itself and its wicked plans. There is even a minimal amount of plot twisting, as we try and work out whether or not Aurga is voluntarily helping his masters, or under the same mind control Maria and the others are.
It would be easy to compare these audiobooks to the launch of the new Doctor Who range in 2005, with the limited amount of source material for Cole and Richards to use. However where the 2005 authors were forced to work from scripts and some rough sequences, here they can reap the benefit of the Bane pilot from the New Year, and its clear Cole has used this potential to great effect. All the characters (with the possible exception of Clyde, who is written out for a large proportion of the story, most likely due to Cole’s unfamiliarity with the character) are consistent with their TV counterparts, and its quickly easy to visualize them saying the lines Sladen delivers (with due credit to Sladen herself for some wonderful vocal work to echo the mannerisms without descending to potentially comedic impersonations). The relationships also ring very true, although Cole twice highlights an inconsistency which the TV series brushes over: Sarah cares deeply for Maria, and yet repeatedly places her in danger. This isn’t so much a problem as something that could have avoided mention, as it does onscreen. Its wonderful, however, to finally hear Sarah describe in the first person her feelings towards Maria – Sladen’s very genuine delivery again forcing a comforting glow in the listener.
The Glittering Storm is a solid start to the Sarah Jane Adventures audio range, and provides much hope for the future. If other authors can follow Cole’s lead, and also build on Clyde’s characterisation (far easier with a wealth of visual material to now pull from), and if Sladen can be convinced back for more of her wonderful narration, the series could easily gain a solid fanbase of its own.
–Matt Dale
The Thirteenth Stone
Written by Justin Richards
Whilst helping out on a school trip, Sarah Jane discovers the truth behind the legend of an ancient stone circle. Something is trying to escape from one of the stones – and it’s chosen Luke as the way out! Can Sarah, Clyde and Maria save him?
To be released 5th November
Invasion of the Bane
Sarah Jane Smith is a truly remarkable woman. She inhabits a world of mystery, danger and wonder. A world where aliens are commonplace and the Earth is constantly under threat. A world that Maria Jackson – a seemingly ordinary girl – can only dream of until she moves in next door. Nothing will ever be ordinary again. In the first adventure, there’s a new drink taking the world by storm – Bubbleshock! Everyone’s drinking it. When Maria’s dragged along to the factory tour by her new friend, Kelsey – a girl with an opinion on everything – she’s plunged into the sinister world of Bubbleshock and the mysterious Mrs Wormwood. There’s something terrible behind the hype – something Sarah Jane’s interested in too…
To be released 29th October
