This story is written by the show's creator Russell T. Davies and allows him to write material for the 11th Doctor who was the Doctor in Davies' successor Steven Moffatt's era of the main show. The plot is great as it provides the drama of Sarah Jane being informed of the Doctor's apparent death taking her through denial, anger and grief before she realises there is definitely alien interference and the Doctor is, in fact, alive.
The best thing, as usual, is the wonderful Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane who acts beautifully as always. We get a lovely bonus here too as another old companion Jo Grant (Katy manning) also attends the funeral and teams up with Sarah Jane. Now Jo Jones having got married. Jo is as ditzy and clumsy as ever but also as charming and endearing as ever. As the previous companion to Sarah Jane way back in the early 70s Jo had a father/daughter type relationship with the 3rd Doctor. Now she is a grandmother and meets a young looking 11th Doctor. There is a brutal bit of dialogue about her having aged in the scene as they meet and it feels a bit off. I think Matt Smith delivers it a bit coldly and it seems he has no real affection for Jo but this is a setup for the 2nd part where Jo feels he does not care for her before he reveals he has kept watch on her and felt she had successfully moved on from him. He finally shows his huge care for her and it is a beautiful scene.
There are also fantastic scenes where Sarah Jane and Jo remember their time with the Doctor. It is great for older fans but also a really nice, interesting link for young fans to spark interest in the classic show.
The alien funeral directors are not as convincing as other alien costumes but are fun. There is strong acting from guest roles such as Jo's grandson played by Finn Jones (the young actor who would later go on to fame in Game of Thrones and Marvel's Iron Fist) and the UNIT Colonel as well as Sarah's young friends.
Of course we also get Matt Smith who is as energetic and zany as usual but also has some wonderful scenes of more depth written for him in Part 2.
Russell T. Davies does a great job on this and although it has imperfections there is a magic to it. The emotional scenes are all great and the scene where Sarah Jane reports on the progress of many classic companions is great for fans.
A very enjoyable adventure.
My ratings: Part 1 - 8.5/10, Part 2 - 9/10. Overall - 8.75/10.
The best thing, as usual, is the wonderful Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane who acts beautifully as always. We get a lovely bonus here too as another old companion Jo Grant (Katy manning) also attends the funeral and teams up with Sarah Jane. Now Jo Jones having got married. Jo is as ditzy and clumsy as ever but also as charming and endearing as ever. As the previous companion to Sarah Jane way back in the early 70s Jo had a father/daughter type relationship with the 3rd Doctor. Now she is a grandmother and meets a young looking 11th Doctor. There is a brutal bit of dialogue about her having aged in the scene as they meet and it feels a bit off. I think Matt Smith delivers it a bit coldly and it seems he has no real affection for Jo but this is a setup for the 2nd part where Jo feels he does not care for her before he reveals he has kept watch on her and felt she had successfully moved on from him. He finally shows his huge care for her and it is a beautiful scene.
There are also fantastic scenes where Sarah Jane and Jo remember their time with the Doctor. It is great for older fans but also a really nice, interesting link for young fans to spark interest in the classic show.
The alien funeral directors are not as convincing as other alien costumes but are fun. There is strong acting from guest roles such as Jo's grandson played by Finn Jones (the young actor who would later go on to fame in Game of Thrones and Marvel's Iron Fist) and the UNIT Colonel as well as Sarah's young friends.
Of course we also get Matt Smith who is as energetic and zany as usual but also has some wonderful scenes of more depth written for him in Part 2.
Russell T. Davies does a great job on this and although it has imperfections there is a magic to it. The emotional scenes are all great and the scene where Sarah Jane reports on the progress of many classic companions is great for fans.
A very enjoyable adventure.
My ratings: Part 1 - 8.5/10, Part 2 - 9/10. Overall - 8.75/10.