BBC Audio released Oct 5
Available on CD [RRP £5.87] & Download [RRP £6.60]
Anyway, after clunksville, we find Sarah Jane and the gang going off on a school trip – I mean, what could possibly go wrong, on a school trip….? Lots, thankfully. SJ’s parent show, Doctor Who, is evoked with the mere mention of sat~nav. Even more so when the flippin’ thing breaks down – one expected the Sontarans in droves. (They didn’t though, boo!) More things go wrong through imagined sightings and odd visions and the creepy factor (no, not Simon Cowell) gets pumped up with a good old sit about the campfire, telling ghost stories.
This facet of the story was highly entertaining and I wonder if the BEEB should look into doing a yearly special (like the Halloween episodes of The Simpsons) where the viewer is treated to one~off ghost stories from the past told by Sarah Jane, Luke, Rani and Clyde. Might have been slightly more interesting than what was to follow. Elisabeth Sladen does her very best, giving much warmth and playfulness to all the characters, but it’s all a bit, well, humdrum. Now, I want to hear more about the “extraterrestrial warlord disguised as a kitten”…