User Reviews

IT, if you like clowns then this one is a treat for you. It is nice for the whole family. Will not have spoilers. It is not scary but if your like eight or nine then you might be a bit scared. But all in all just a great sci-fi family fun episode. Very good at jokes as well, some are horrible, but others are great jokes to listen to. It has a lot of entertainment in both parts and really pools Sarah Jane to the hart strings. Sarah Jane the main character is even scared of the clown. And Bradley Walsh is the clown in SJA. Very solid nice roleplays for everyone. It is a great remark to a story. I hope to see Chris Chibnall doing a clown episode in Doctor Who but by making it a bit more scary. But if your quite young you are in for a scary action- packed treat. And hopefully your Mum and Dad will like this kid episode to. It is a great way to start of solid and strong that is why this is probably either my first best episode or my second best episode. Sad for the new person who has just moved in the replacement of Maria, Yasmin Paige, at the beginning anyway but then she does fills like she is with the crew so all in all a good episode 8/10 no less no more, a well deserved 8/10 for me anyway.

Review of both parts:

It is true to say that this is somewhat derivative of Stephen King's 'IT' but I do not see that as a negative. Doctor Who classics have often derived ideas from classic scifi or horror - Brain of Morbius = Frankenstein, Dalek Invasion of Earth = War of the Worlds, The Ice Warriors & Seeds of Doom = The Thing from Another World, Mummy on the Orient Express = The Mummy etc etc. All films and TV tend to borrow aspects from others and this borrows aspects of IT but presents them in a clever, effective way that works for an under 18 audience but is properly scary and disturbing.

It is wonderfully surprising that Russell T Davies and the team were brave enough to make Sarah Jane Adventures scary and in fact I find when watching it with my children there are more Sarah Jane episodes that are 'hide behind the sofa' scary than Doctor Who! Interesting and thrilling to get material that is creepy and challenging. I love the horror aspects of Doctor Who and love when Sarah Jane ventures quite often into that territory. This is very successful in doing that.

We get future Doctor Who companion Bradley Walsh putting in a great turn as villainous clown/circus master/pied piper and the idea of it actually works better than it does in Stephen King's filmed versions of IT. Both IT films have great beginnings and creepiness but veer into unconvincing supernatural plots in my opinion. This plot is more convincing and clever and it is only held back by the need to be suitable for a family audience. The teenage aspects and humour distract from the horror for an adult seeking scares but are necessary for the target audience.

This is a very strong adventure.

My ratings: Both parts - 9/10.

Odd Bob launches a devilish plan to take all of the children from The School.

So, so good, definitely one of the show's best storylines, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course there's the creepy clown/Pied Piper story, but there's also the incredible background story of Sarah Jane.

This really does get dark, that scene at The School where the red balloons descend, that was cracking.

One of Clyde's best episodes so far, the point where being The Joker in The Pack came in handy.

Bradley Walsh was great here once again, he'd of course return to the franchise as Graham, something of a marmite character it seems, but one I liked. Loving Ace Bhatti and Mina Anwar, they're two of Britain's finest, adore them both.

We see The Faros Project once again, will that play a bigger part later on?

9/10.