Product Details

• Actors: Elisabeth Sladen, Daniel Anthony, Tommy Knight, Yasmin Paige
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Video
• DVD Release Date: November 10, 2009
• Run Time: 338 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002N1AEX2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,138 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

• This is item 2 in The Sarah Jane Adventures Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The charming Sarah Jane Adventures continues to provide fun and entertaining children's television while remaining true to its roots in the venerable British science-fiction series Doctor Who. Elisabeth Sladen, who remains among the Doctor's best-loved companions (she accompanied Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker on their interstellar jaunts from 1973 to 1976), is again front and center for this program, which takes place entirely on Earth. That doesn't mean it's safe from alien invasions, as the 2008 second season illustrates: menaces from Sarah Jane's past (a warlike Sontaran, whom she first encountered in the 1973 Doctor Who serial "The Time Warrior," is on the loose in "The Last Sontaran") as well as newer foes (the Lovecraftian Bane return in "Enemy of the Bane," along with a nice supporting turn by Nicholas Courtney, who reprises his Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) present challenges to the intrepid journalist and her teenage companions. The six two-part episodes that comprise season 2 deliver both the breezy cheek and the imaginative sci-fi that producer Russell T. Davies has brought to the revamped Doctor and its more grownup spinoff, Torchwood, and if the plots and action here are somewhat milder than those of the Doctor or Captain Jack Harkness, fans of both should be pleased that they can get an equal level of enjoyment from a show that they can also watch with younger viewers.

The three-disc set has an agreeable amount of extras, though many, like episode synopses for both seasons and character profiles, are text-based and therefore a bit underwhelming. More interesting are interviews with the cast and behind-the-scenes footage, most taken from UK kids' series like Blue Peter. There's also an enjoyable quiz section that yields an amusing comic clip. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, one-time companion to hat strange wanderer in time and space known as the Doctor, is back for a second, expanded, series of alien-busting adventures. When Sarah's adopted son, Luke, first became part of Sarah Jane's life, he encountered a world of adventure - not just of dangerous aliens bent on invasion and destruction, but also an amazing world of wonder and excitement which showed him that the universe really is an amazing place. This is something that Sarah Jane is keen to keep from Bannerman Road, and Series Two's, newest addition, fourteen-year- old Rani Chandraand her parents Gita and Haresh. But sparky Rani is a wannabe journalistand, like Sarah Jane, is not the type to let a mystery go unsolved! Get ready for more danger, mystery and Get ready for more danger, mystery and wonder as incomparable Sarah Jane Smith returns for a second series of the spectacular, thrilling children's drama from the makers of Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Stories: The Last Sontaran, The Day of the Clown, Secret of the Stars, The Mark of the Berserker, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, Enemy of the Bane
- Interview with cast and crew
- Season synopses for all stories
- Investigating Tools: a gadget glossary
- Quiz with special footage prize
- Character and alien profiles
- Photo gallery
- Audio clips
- UK TV spots
- Trailers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty decent Dr. Who spin-off, Season Two, November 16, 2009

By	Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Yes, it's intended to be a lot more kid-friendly than Dr. Who or, especially, Torchwood. Putting aside the children-friendliness of the show, it's got some good science fiction action and the idea content is higher than television average. With a good price, I'd recommend this to anyone, though some familiarity with the Dr. Who shows might help with context.

The Last Sontaran: This is a direct continuation of the 10th Doctor's episodes Poison Sky & Sontaran Stratagem. It's loaded with science fiction movie references (Star Wars, Predator, etc.) and the 1st episode action is pretty good. There are some logical gaps that grate, but it's pretty well done.

The Day of the Clown: Good creepy show introducing some new characters. The Pied Piper features... Some filler, but mostly good.

Secrets of the Stars: Astrology, possession, Ancient Ones, and a Chosen One. But nowhere near as bad as that makes it sound! Still, my least favorite of the season.

The Mark of the Berserker: Sarah Jane doesn't feature prominently in this episode, rather it's like the Dr. Who & Torchwood episodes that focus instead on others having a singular experience with the unknown and alien. Rather well done tale of an alien pendant and family relationships.

The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith: Time Travel, the Trickster, and a Trap. A well-worn science fiction cliche of changing the past to horrible effect in the present, but nicely executed. More would be telling too much...

Enemy of the Bane: UNIT, the Brigadier, immortal aliens, Mrs. Wormwood ("Luke, I am your mother."), and the Bane attempt to take over the world again. Might be a bit too much packed in here, but, once again, pretty well done.

This isn't the greatest science fiction television of all times, but it's fun, smart, and very human.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sarah Jane is a true heroine., November 21, 2009

By	Dr. Fred "Dr. Fred" (Salem, VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

We were first introduced to Sarah Jane in the current four year run of Dr. Who. It encouraged us to buy old Dr. Who shows when Sarah was a young associate for two Doctors. Now this series is out and we waited eagerly after the first one. If anything, this season of The Sarah Jane Adventures is better than the first and is great. It has us on Amazon getting the BBC radio shows and books. We love her.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond all expectations, December 5, 2009

By	J. Rosenberg "pop culturalist" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was just so impressed with the 2nd season of The Sarah Jane Adventures. The producers were very clever in subtly developing definite character and story arcs throughout the series, ultimately concealing some extremely powerful explorations of the inner lives of children and the ways the parent-child bond can become frayed, behind a briskly-paced and often amusing adventure series. The willingness to paint the title heroine as a flawed human being, subject to pettiness, phobias, and monstrously bad judgment, was a brave step. The episode with Clyde and his father ranks with Doctor Who's timeless first series episode "Father's Day" as a powerful exploration of paternal abandonment issues. Rani and her family are great new characters, though it's sad to part with Maria and her dad (and mum!) as regulars. But the writing and acting on all levels has reached a level of smooth confidence in collaboration that's a wonder to behold in a half-hour kids' show. It's great to see the show developing its own internal mythology, a scrappy subset of the larger Doctor Who universe. Lis Sladen must thank her lucky stars and Russell Davies every day for the opportunity of this great later-career resurgence. It has given her a chance to demonstrate that she's a stronger, more deeply-felt actress than she was in the '70s; she takes what these talented writers and co-stars toss her and consistently hits it out of the park (if I can be allowed a baseball, rather than cricket, metaphor). Exactly the opposite of disappointing! That said, if you've already seen these episodes elsewhere, don't expect much in the way of special features from this package, they're a near-total wash.