The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Fifth Series Blu-Ray Review (4/5)

Elisabeth Sladen's final adventures hit DVD and Blu-Ray.
I've said it before, I'll say it again- the passing of Elisabeth Sladen last year was a terribly premature and tragic event that shook the Whoniverse and its worldwide fanbase when it occured last April, and many of us fans are still reeling from the death of Lis even to this day. It's strangely bittersweet, then, that this month has seen the release of her final recorded three stories of The Sarah Jane Adventures, finally bringing to a close to a wonderful spin-off that met its unprecedented conclusion far before its time.
THE EPISODES:
SKY (6/10)- Sinaed Michael debuts as Sarah-Jane's new adopted alien daughter Sky here, and manages to impress amongst a weak sci-fi cast of stereotypical robot baddies caught in a dull civil war that really seems to pose little threat to the Earth. A sadly average season opener compared to when the show's writers brought in classic Who villains for the premiere.
THE CURSE OF CLYDE LANGER (9/10)- Easily the best story on the set in its brevity, and in fact one of the best examples of SJA since its inception, Curse follows Clyde as he finds an evil totem pole's magic turning his friends and family against him, forcing him onto the streets where he finds romance with a homeless teenage girl. Moving and heartbreaking stuff, this was daring territory for the show despite the rubbish antagonist.
THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS (5/10)- Another fairly weak story, this time centreing on themes of illusion and slave labour, once again bolstered by the wonderful performances of the leads, especially Sladen, who gets a fitting tribute at this sudden finale's denounement.
THE EXTRAS
As per usual for SJA box sets, there's just one extra on offer here, a nice twenty-minute documentary called Goodbye, Bannerman Road where Daniel Anthony (Clyde), Anji Mohandra (Rani) and Matt Smith look back at the life of Lis. Not unlike the terribly brief timespan of her time with us, you can't help but wish there might have been even more interviews conducted around the topic, but to be fair you only need look on online as the cast do as the moving reactions of kids and fans to Lis' passing to see how much she meant to them and how her death brought the oft-quabbling fanbase together to mourn and to celebrate her achievements.
THE VERDICT
At a tenner, The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Fifth Series is a bargain, worth catching for its neat documentary alone, even if two-thirds of its actual episode content aren't as strong as previous seasons.