The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith

They may have just remade Father's Day but when it's this well done I honestly don't actually care. Liz Sladen is absolutely stellar, putting in one of the best Doctor Who performances of all time; and everyone else also does amazingly of course. The Trickster rules as always, and I am begging RTD to bring him into the main show.

Shame it's written by Gareth Roberts, who is scum of the Earth.

timey wimey!

also, holy shit is Ruby Sunday definitely somehow related to the Trickster. watching this has confirmed it for me. the parallels between her storyline and Sarah Jane's here are incredible.

fantastic episode! I haven't seen many SJA stories, but this one is certainly worthy of being on the main show - it's really well-developed and not a line is wasted. the police box fakeout scene is great and unexpected, especially hearing the Doctor's haunting theme get abruptly cut off. maybe the only element that reveals this as being unmistakeably not Doctor Who is the obnoxious Oscar/Graske, but even his presence redeems itself by the end.

obligatory 'f**k Gareth Roberts' disclaimer.

In many ways this is a blow for blow remake of Father’s Day. Despite Elizabeth Sladen’s outstanding central performance, it fails to pack the same emotional potency as the story which heavily inspired it. It gets particularly hokey and ploddy in part two. It is good fun though. The Trickster is a brilliant and memorable recurring baddie. This story also gives you a deeper, more emotionally developed view of the Graske!