Is SJA worth a watch?

Sora2311Sora2311 Posts: 2,306
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I watched some episode when I was younger but found them a little too cheesy/childish for me. Now I'm a bit older and more into the Whoniverse I'm wondering if SJA is worth a watch

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  • TRT1968TRT1968 Posts: 2,164
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    Sora2311 wrote: »
    I watched some episode when I was younger but found them a little too cheesy/childish for me. Now I'm a bit older and more into the Whoniverse I'm wondering if SJA is worth a watch

    Given a lack of fresh Who during the summer, yes. Get it on catch-up or on the endless CBBC reruns. You need something to entertain yourself during the Whoatus.*

    Or why don't you just switch of the television set and go and do something less boring instead? (for those who remember that!)

    *Hey! I coined a new word. A portmanteau word from Doctor Who and Hiatus, meaning "The interminable gap between series of Doctor Who both loved and loathed by Whovians."

    EDIT

    Apparently not such a new word after all.
    http://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-who-6-things-to-do-during-the-who-atus.php
    :(
  • CoalHillJanitorCoalHillJanitor Posts: 15,634
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    Absolutely! I'm old and middle-aged and all that, and I love it!


    "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."


    - The Fourth Doctor
  • TheSilentFezTheSilentFez Posts: 11,103
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    Sora2311 wrote: »
    I watched some episode when I was younger but found them a little too cheesy/childish for me. Now I'm a bit older and more into the Whoniverse I'm wondering if SJA is worth a watch

    I always found them to be cheesy and childish a lot of the time, but there are definitely some good stories in there if you can look past the fact that it is aimed at pre-teens.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 179
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    there was a great one about a haunted castle which i liked but most were really aimed at their target audience.

    Some of the character like the trickster were really good.

    Out of interest did they deal with Elizabeth Sladen's passing?

    edit for grammer not good
  • tomwozheretomwozhere Posts: 1,081
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    Watch it purely for Lis and for the Trickster, they were great.
  • GDKGDK Posts: 9,467
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    I thought the stories were pretty good for the most part, especially the later series. Some of them dealt with quite deep/disturbing issues.

    Watch them, if only for the crossover stories...
  • garbage456garbage456 Posts: 8,225
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    i liked the episode 2 parter when she went back in time, thought that was good.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,129
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    SJA is superb...it is basically 'old' Who - and done by RTD, go figure.

    Where RTD went for a totally different feel with Nu Who (and has made them feel very rushed) SJA with it's shorter episodes and multi-episode stories feel freer and seem to have more room to breathe.
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!

    I loved SJA and even though its clearly aimed at a younger audience, the production values are still really high. There's loads in there for Who fans too. The Doctor himself even turns up a few times!

    Elisabeth Sladen's death is never addressed in the show. Russell T Davies wanted to leave Sarah Jane and the gang just as they were - fighting aliens from their attic in Ealing!
  • KapellmeisterKapellmeister Posts: 41,322
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    Sora2311 wrote: »
    I watched some episode when I was younger but found them a little too cheesy/childish for me. Now I'm a bit older and more into the Whoniverse I'm wondering if SJA is worth a watch

    Agreed. I much prefer the almost Shakespearian maturity of the Doctor chasing after farting aliens or squealing with glee as he rides on the back of a dinosaur...
  • Granny McSmithGranny McSmith Posts: 19,622
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    Agreed. I much prefer the almost Shakespearian maturity of the Doctor chasing after farting aliens or squealing with glee as he rides on the back of a dinosaur...

    Have you read much Shakespeare?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 179
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    cheers mulett.

    The episode i was thinking of was the eternity trap. Really creepy and solid show and luke light which is always a good thing.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 357
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    YES! Love it
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    Have you read much Shakespeare?

    I'm sure there's a least one fart in Shakespeare :)
  • TEDRTEDR Posts: 3,413
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    Agreed. I much prefer the almost Shakespearian maturity of the Doctor chasing after farting aliens or squealing with glee as he rides on the back of a dinosaur...

    I think the argument is more that Doctor Who is a family programme that is sometimes childish whereas the Sarah Jane Adventures is a children's programme that is often mature.

    I'm probably setting myself up for abuse by picking specific examples but you'd never have seen a Father's Day or a Human Nature in SJA.
    Mulett wrote: »
    I'm sure there's a least one fart in Shakespeare :)
    "There are more things in heaven and earth than... oh, hahaha, was that you, Laertes?"
  • madj40madj40 Posts: 1,045
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    Yes! There were some great stories;
    What ever happened to Sarah Jane
    The Eternity Trap
    The mark of the Berserker
    The temptation of Sarah Jane
    The mad woman in the attic, to name a few.
    Like others have said, It doesnt really matter how old you are, Im late 40's and I still enjoyed it and found some stories were better than some Who stories. It's Just a terrible shame that there will be no more..
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,066
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    It's a more simplistic method of storytelling (to appeal the the younger audience) but make no mistake, SJA had heart & depth in spades.
    The Wedding of Sarah-Jane was incredibly moving & so well written. The Mark of The Berserka was also quite a brutal watch.
    I was also quite reluctant to watch it at first, but I'm so glad I did. Gutted when it ended.
  • November_RainNovember_Rain Posts: 9,145
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    I must admit I never bothered with SJA. I'm thinking about getting the box set for catching up with it.
  • DavetheScotDavetheScot Posts: 16,623
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    I really liked SJA - and to be honest, I don't think it's that childish. There are a few poor stories - for me, Revenge of the Slitheen and Mona Lisa's Revenge would be no loss if they hadn't been made - but not many. And the best ones are very good indeed.
  • codename_47codename_47 Posts: 9,682
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    Mulett wrote: »
    I'm sure there's a least one fart in Shakespeare :)
    Have you read much Shakespeare?

    Shut your fat mouths! :D

    For a spinoff, Sarah Jane did just the right amount of setting its own scenes and standing on its own two feet while still referencing and following on from the parent series and the whoniverse as a whole.

    Some Doctor Who episodes are followed up on SJA so it's worth watching just for that, as if you're getting extra chapters from a book you love!

    Plus certain notable and much loved Who characters turn up for a bit of a nostalgia-fest with Sarah-Jane occasionally!
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    Some Doctor Who episodes are followed up on SJA so it's worth watching just for that, as if you're getting extra chapters from a book you love!

    There's a great story in season 1 called Eye of the Gorgan, where Sarah Jane meets an old lady in a retirement home called Bea Nelson-Stanley. When they were younger, Bea and her late husband Edgar (an archaeologist) clearly had a lot of adventures and even met the Sontarans at some point. She said they were the "silliest-looking race in the galaxy" and looked like "a baked potato with a ray gun".

    I always hoped Doctor Who would follow this story up, with the Doctor materializing in (for instance) 1940s/50s Egypt and meeting a young Bea and Edgar and having the Sontarans adventure with them.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,670
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    You have to watch them. There are some episodes that can be difficult to watch and some people are wooden (including some main stars, I won't say whom) but most episodes are fun and often really deep and meaningful. Even if it is a kids show with farting aliens! It's also a great place for letting Doctor Who breath some more. For example, one episode with the Slitheen blew my mind when they said, "And getting continually chased by the Judoon", this was before the End of Time and the idea that space criminals would be chased by space police never occured to me. :rolleyes: How naive of me!

    Still, it happens to have great episodes and I am still adamant that the Death of the Doctor is the best Eleventh Doctor story out there. I just can't understand why it is so underrated. :confused:. It's a great homage to the new Doctor and the classic series while combining them brilliantly with the Sarah Jane team. What's not to like? (I know some will say the bad guys but I loved them! :D )

    I felt the individual stories got better as time went on but the story arcs lost quality. Series 2 was really good with the story arc where series 4 missed something, although themes and ideas still continued across. I'm sure someone will say that it's the other way around though. Personal taste really.

    But yes, I would say it's a great series. :)
  • MulettMulett Posts: 9,055
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    Still, it happens to have great episodes and I am still adamant that the Death of the Doctor is the best Eleventh Doctor story out there. I just can't understand why it is so underrated. :confused:. It's a great homage to the new Doctor and the classic series while combining them brilliantly with the Sarah Jane team. What's not to like? (I know some will say the bad guys but I loved them! :D )

    Oh, that wonderful bit when Sarah Jane and Jo are laughing their socks off in the coffin! A wonderful couple of episodes. It really gave you an idea of how great it was for two former companions to meet up and be able to share their experiences with one another - its not as if anyone else could really understand what life with the Doctor is like.
  • JAS84JAS84 Posts: 7,430
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    Mulett wrote: »
    There's a great story in season 1 called Eye of the Gorgan, where Sarah Jane meets an old lady in a retirement home called Bea Nelson-Stanley. When they were younger, Bea and her late husband Edgar (an archaeologist) clearly had a lot of adventures and even met the Sontarans at some point. She said they were the "silliest-looking race in the galaxy" and looked like "a baked potato with a ray gun".

    I always hoped Doctor Who would follow this story up, with the Doctor materializing in (for instance) 1940s/50s Egypt and meeting a young Bea and Edgar and having the Sontarans adventure with them.
    That would've been a good idea for a 2009 novel - when the Doctor didn't have a regular companion.
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