I watched Doctor Who and thought it wasn't too bad. Then I saw Torchwood and didn't think much of it. Maybe because I never liked the character of Captain Jack and couldn't bear watching a whole series dedicated to that flimsy character. <br /><br />So it was with caution that I sat down and watched The Sarah Jane Adventures. The pilot; Invasion of the Bane, was pretty poor and lacklustre; most of the last ten minutes spent laughing hard at the stereotypes of British youth and Samantha Bond's acting.<br /><br />The acting was substandard; especially from the stereotype single dad who will no doubt form a love interest for Sarah Jane; which is quite likely as her only other companion is in space somewhere. I think it was explained but I wasn't paying attention. Samantha Bond; well we all know why she didn't have a large part in Bond. She hams it up more than Goldfinger ever did. And the less said about Harley from Footballer's Wives the better.<br /><br />The local girl's acting was awful from start to end and it ranged from "I've got a hard attitude but I'm only 10" to "I'm going to turn on my mobile phone because I'm hard." yeah right OK. Whatever. <br /><br />Then the archetype; another candidate for banality along with all the others. Actually no I take it back. There was a good character and it was K9. He was the only one with depth. It looks the BBC are trying to infiltrate the entire country because it's the first success they've had on a Saturday night since Strictly Come Dancing (and no I'm not going to mention Robin Hood). We have Doctor Who for the families, Torchwood for the mature audience and this for the CBBC gang. <br /><br />Some other things as well before I forget: - Bubbleshock (SJA) = Slurm (Futurama) - Mrs Wormwood (yeah that was also Matilda's mum but no matter) - The map of the Milky Way; according to Wikipedia its from Star Trek: TNG. - In a vain attempt to look "contemporary" it referenced Jeremy Kyle and James Blunt. In two years when no one remembers who these two are it will just make the show look old. <br /><br />And finally; no one seems to mention that the SONIC LIPSTICK and/or SCREWDRIVER is just the 21st century version of the Batbelt. It can do everything just at that time when it looks like there is no chance for the heroes. Damn. And they say entertainment is evolving.<br /><br />Rating: F-