When we first started hearing about Series 2, amongst the delight of a Christmas special, the return of Harriet Jones, Cassandra and the casting of Anthony Head, all that news was topped with the return of Sarah Jane Smith and K9.
The initial excitement was given way to trepidation of whether they would get the episode right and if Sarah Jane and K9 would work in a much more modern series. Any fear that it might not work went quickly out on the first viewing of this episode and on subsequent viewings.
However, saying that School Reunion is perfect is understatement as the plot is one of the thinnest I’ve ever seen. We have no proper explanation for the rats, even though the Doctor guesses their purpose. When the Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Sarah have left the café, why does the Krillitane go to attack them and then goes away again and why do the Krillitanes eat the children when they need their imagination to crack the stasis paradigm?
You would also imagine that the Krillitanes would install better security for their computers than connecting all their wires up to a plug which can just be unplugged and, suddenly, the kids are not brainwashed.
This is all of little consequence as in this story, the plot is something to hang the emotion on this story and, for a story of this kind, maybe it was better to have an emotional story rather than a well plotted story.
We get to see the reaction to Sarah Jane Smith not being able to cope with being back on Earth after travelling with the Doctor. This is puts a whole new spin on the Doctor’s relationship with Rose and she worrying about what will happen at the end of their time together. We even get the emotion of the Doctor considering the Krillitanes plan being introduced so that she can spend the rest of his life with any companion of his choice.
We get two ultimate sacrifices in the script. The first is when Sarah persuades the Doctor that the Krillitanes plan is evil and that everything has it’s time and everything has it’s place. The second is that K9 has to be right beside the vat of oil when he blows up the school. It’s the saddest reaction to see the Doctor saying goodbye and Sarah’s trying to justify K9 being pathetic to make sure she doesn’t get overcome with emotion.
When there’s a script that is emotionally strong, you need good performers to bring it to life. Thankfully, David Tennant, Billie Piper, Noel Clarke, Liz Sladen and John Leeson give real life to the characters as they usually do and that brings all the emotion onto the screen.
What little plot there is has to be given real conviction, especially on the part of the Krillitanes. Thankfully, Anthony Head gives a truly chilling portrayal of Mr Finch which would have had several children running behind the sofa. The CG Krillitanes are strong with their small, bat-like appearance and also likely to terrify the children.
You wouldn’t get episodes like this in the classic series and if a few plot holes means that we’re going to get more episodes as good as this then so be it.
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