1: Revenge of the Slitheen (two-part story)
“One of the discussions we had at a very early stage was whether we wanted to start in a school. In the end we decided to go with a school for episodes one and two because it was a very familiar and natural environment for kids to recognise and empathise with.”
2: Eye of the Gorgon (two-part story)
“It features a slightly bizarre group of women who go around dressed as nuns but it’s much camper and more overblown - it’s less rooted in everyday life. It’s probably the most effects-heavy of all the episodes, because it’s quite out there.”
3: Warriors of the Kudlax (two-part story)
“That is more of a classic Sci-Fi story, in the sense that there’s laser gunfire and running around and being pursued by dark suited guards and things. It’s more in the mould of “Star Wars”.”
4: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (two-part story)
“It does touch upon Sarah’s childhood and one childhood friend in particular and a tragedy that has taken place in her past that comes up from the meddling of a particular evil alien character called The Trickster. He sort of exists to create chaos. We hope it has a flavour of “Back to the Future”, the idea that you can have alternative realities where you see how characters could have developed with different influences.”
5: The Lost Boy (two-part story)
“That is a fitting and surprising climax to the series where various twists happen.”
“We’re very happy with it. We set out to make a show that had at its heart a very simple proposition, which was just great adventure stories - they were ripping yarns. And that’s a phrase that’s been used by several people who’ve seen it. I think we achieved what we set out to do.”
“It seemed to me there was an opportunity to make something that, even if it’s a spin-off show from “Doctor Who”, felt quite fresh and original and exciting. To be honest I didn’t know the Sarah Jane character particularly; I’d obviously seen her in “School Reunion”, but her era is not a period of “Doctor Who” I was aware of - I came in a bit later. It was an opportunity to get to know the character.”
“I felt, as Russell did, that those stories that hark back to classic fantasy had kind of disappeared from children’s TV and we wanted to get that back.”
“We’ve removed the character of Kelsey (from “Invasion of the Bane”) and have brought in a new character called Clyde. We wanted to slightly change the gender balance. It felt like a rather feminine programme... so we decided to take Kelsey out and put Clyde in, and that’s paid real dividends over the course of the series because we’ve been able to explore masculine friendship and boys growing up.”
“The Slitheen had actually been leant out to an exhibition, and one of the things you learn as a producer on this show is that latex degrades very quickly. We had to get new Slitheen suits constructed at fairly significant costs, but the fantastic Millennium FX still had the original moulds. We used the same performers who had played them in “Doctor Who”, so the cost to us was somewhat less than it could have been!”
“There is one villainous character that does come back in episode seven. “Doctor Who” fans will recognise this character, but it is not a particularly big feature.”
“We’re talking about a second series now, although, as with anything in this day and age, it depends on how it performs with the audience - and rightly so. There are many other stories out there that we want to tell…”
Quotes by SJA producer Matthew Bouch © Starburst Magazine Issue 354
“One of the discussions we had at a very early stage was whether we wanted to start in a school. In the end we decided to go with a school for episodes one and two because it was a very familiar and natural environment for kids to recognise and empathise with.”
2: Eye of the Gorgon (two-part story)
“It features a slightly bizarre group of women who go around dressed as nuns but it’s much camper and more overblown - it’s less rooted in everyday life. It’s probably the most effects-heavy of all the episodes, because it’s quite out there.”
3: Warriors of the Kudlax (two-part story)
“That is more of a classic Sci-Fi story, in the sense that there’s laser gunfire and running around and being pursued by dark suited guards and things. It’s more in the mould of “Star Wars”.”
4: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (two-part story)
“It does touch upon Sarah’s childhood and one childhood friend in particular and a tragedy that has taken place in her past that comes up from the meddling of a particular evil alien character called The Trickster. He sort of exists to create chaos. We hope it has a flavour of “Back to the Future”, the idea that you can have alternative realities where you see how characters could have developed with different influences.”
5: The Lost Boy (two-part story)
“That is a fitting and surprising climax to the series where various twists happen.”
“We’re very happy with it. We set out to make a show that had at its heart a very simple proposition, which was just great adventure stories - they were ripping yarns. And that’s a phrase that’s been used by several people who’ve seen it. I think we achieved what we set out to do.”
“It seemed to me there was an opportunity to make something that, even if it’s a spin-off show from “Doctor Who”, felt quite fresh and original and exciting. To be honest I didn’t know the Sarah Jane character particularly; I’d obviously seen her in “School Reunion”, but her era is not a period of “Doctor Who” I was aware of - I came in a bit later. It was an opportunity to get to know the character.”
“I felt, as Russell did, that those stories that hark back to classic fantasy had kind of disappeared from children’s TV and we wanted to get that back.”
“We’ve removed the character of Kelsey (from “Invasion of the Bane”) and have brought in a new character called Clyde. We wanted to slightly change the gender balance. It felt like a rather feminine programme... so we decided to take Kelsey out and put Clyde in, and that’s paid real dividends over the course of the series because we’ve been able to explore masculine friendship and boys growing up.”
“The Slitheen had actually been leant out to an exhibition, and one of the things you learn as a producer on this show is that latex degrades very quickly. We had to get new Slitheen suits constructed at fairly significant costs, but the fantastic Millennium FX still had the original moulds. We used the same performers who had played them in “Doctor Who”, so the cost to us was somewhat less than it could have been!”
“There is one villainous character that does come back in episode seven. “Doctor Who” fans will recognise this character, but it is not a particularly big feature.”
“We’re talking about a second series now, although, as with anything in this day and age, it depends on how it performs with the audience - and rightly so. There are many other stories out there that we want to tell…”
Quotes by SJA producer Matthew Bouch © Starburst Magazine Issue 354
6 comments:
I don't see myself as going out of my way to watch this. I wasn't overly impressed with the pilot. It was just another kids programme more than it was a Dr Who spin off. Maybe when I was 12 I would have watched it.
Hi Karen. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I think a lot of "Doctor Who" fans will watch "The Sarah Jane Adventures" to see Lis Sladen again though, as it's on at five in the afternoon, I shall have to set the VCR's timer!
Oh, I will definitely be watching. They've replaced the one annoying character, so that's a mark in its favour already. Also, I felt the pilot had a more Classic Who feel to it. Something I miss in the new version :-)
I'll be watching too, Paul, partly for the reasons already mentioned.
Have you noticed that the annoying character you mention from "Invasion of the Bane", Kelsey, is missing from the sleeve of the DVD release? I wonder how the actress in question feels about this. Maybe she and Freema should get together for a little chat!
I only watched the first adventure a few weeks back, thought it was way better than Torchwood so I'll probably make an effort and watch this when it starts !
Should be worth a look, Andrew, as long as they don't focus too much on the dietary problems of the Slitheen!
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