By: Toby Whithouse
**Spoilers**
If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.
Poor Rose has competition, it would seem. And we’re not just
talkin’ the return of the fabulous Sarah Jane Smith!
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Miss Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen) was
first introduced in the 1973 Third Doctor story The Time Warrior where
she was infiltrating a top-secret research facility, posing as her aunt, Lavina
Smith, who was a famous virologist. She sneaks aboard the TARDIS and aids The
Doctor in a battle against a militaristic alien (a Sontaran).
Sarah Jane went on to further travels with
The Doctor as well as to work with The Brigadeer, leader of the United Nations Intelligence
Taskforce (UNIT). She faced off with Cybermen and Daleks, even meeting the
latter’s creator, Davros. She was there for The Doctor when he regenerated from
the Third to the Fourth.
Her last regular appearance was 1976’s The
Hand of Fear where The Doctor receives a summons to Gallifrey and leaves
Sarah Jane in Aberdeen (rather than the promised Hillview Road, South Croydon)
because humans are not allowed on the Time Lords’ planet. After that, Sarah
appeared in numerous specials including, but not limited to: The Five
Doctors, Dimensions in Time (a canonically debatable Doctor Who/EastEnders
crossover for Children in Need), and A Girl’s Best Friend (pilot to the
failed K-9 and Company where The Doctor fulfils his promise not to
forget her by sending her his beloved metal dog).
School Reunion is an episode that thrives on campy horror and acting. The plot is rather cheesily threadbare and, if the episode
depended on said plot, I rather think it would have gone the way of
The Long Game. Thankfully, this was not the case.
Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:
- Have you ever had the nightmare that you were back at school? Given the look of this high school, I don’t blame you. The opening scene to this episode takes place in one of many school hallways as the Headmaster returns to his office to find that the nurse has sent a girl who had a headache to him because she is an orphan from a children’s home. Naturally, he has great compassion on the poor young thing.“Poor, thin child. I see why the nurse sent you; please step inside, it's nearly time for lunch.”
Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:
- Have you ever had the nightmare that you were back at school? Given the look of this high school, I don’t blame you. The opening scene to this episode takes place in one of many school hallways as the Headmaster returns to his office to find that the nurse has sent a girl who had a headache to him because she is an orphan from a children’s home. Naturally, he has great compassion on the poor young thing.“Poor, thin child. I see why the nurse sent you; please step inside, it's nearly time for lunch.”
- Anthony Head does a wonderful job of playing the delightfully smarmy
Headmaster Finch; striking just the right vibe between class and creep that will have children everywhere diving behind the sofa cushions in revulsion. Hopefully, though, they will come out soon enough to get our first glimpse of the newest teacher: Doctor John Smith.
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- It is doubtlessly
the dream of many a youth (geek or not) to get a chance to be taught physics by
The Doctor...or any class at all, come to think of it. But these kids are less
than impressed by the pinstripes and the brainy specs; they look bored out of
their mind . Not even The Doctor's best efforts at interjecting some humor or excitement into a situation take hold in this class. You can just see the students thinking about what a dork this new substitute is and how they would rather be anywhere but in class. The complacent mood is soon
shot right out of the water, though, when a young boy named Milo demonstrates
an unusual aptitude for the subject, much to The Doctor’s joy at first…
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- It is doubtlessly
the dream of many a youth (geek or not) to get a chance to be taught physics by
The Doctor...or any class at all, come to think of it. But these kids are less
than impressed by the pinstripes and the brainy specs; they look bored out of
their mind . Not even The Doctor's best efforts at interjecting some humor or excitement into a situation take hold in this class. You can just see the students thinking about what a dork this new substitute is and how they would rather be anywhere but in class. The complacent mood is soon
shot right out of the water, though, when a young boy named Milo demonstrates
an unusual aptitude for the subject, much to The Doctor’s joy at first…
*
- But he quickly senses that something is
wrong when Milo recites off the equation and method for travelling faster than
the speed of light. Before he can interrogate the little genius further, however, the
camera cuts to the cafeteria where we get to see Rose serving platefuls of some
unidentified slop (I think it’s supposed to be mac n’ cheese) and large
quantities of chips.
- She does not look best pleased about her new vocation,
despite all of The Doctor’s grins, but I don’t really blame her for giving him
the evil eye. If I had to work with Frau Blucher and the minions of sourpuss,
not all of the chips in Britain would be enough compensation.
- Turns out that it’s not The Doctor Rose
should blame her new job on but her ‘boyfriend’ Mickey. Seems he gave them a
call when a local UFO sighting corresponded with unusual occurrences at the
school and asked that they investigate. Before Rose and The Doctor can really
have a proper conversation (although not before she swipes some of his chips)
the head dinner lady comes over and firmly shoos Rose back to her post.
While hiding out
in the kitchen with creepy dinner ladies and creepier looking oil, Rose calls up Mickey who is once again hacking into military
files. I guess The Doctor’s password must still be working even after all this
time. And there’s our arc word reference when ‘Torchwood’ locks Mickey out of
getting any photographs. Rose quickly cuts the phone call off, though, when one of the fellow workers gets hurt. T
- At last the school
day comes to an end and Headmaster Finch brings a special visitor into the
teacher’s lounge. She is a journalist who is writing a profile about him for a
local newspaper. Her name? Sarah Jane Smith. It is great fun to listen in on
her conversation with Finch (the man oilier than the chips in his menu plan) as
she relentlessly butters him up to dig for information and he falls for it
hook, line, and sinker. She ingeniously uses the man’s own ego against him and
says that she’s gotten a very clear view of the school.
- When we finally
get a glimpse of the ‘special classes’ that the teachers have been going on
about, they would have been rather anticlimactic were it not for the music and
sickly green lighting. All of the children are sitting mesmerized by their
computer screens, fingers typing madly as they try to solve what looks like a
virtual super Rubik’s Cube. Y’know, this episode is quite scary when one
watches it at a computer while wearing headphones, simply because that means
you are in the same position as the hypnotized kids. This is what Doctor Who is
about: somehow managing to make a typing class terrifying.
- At last the school
day comes to an end and Headmaster Finch brings a special visitor into the
teacher’s lounge. She is a journalist who is writing a profile about him for a
local newspaper. Her name? Sarah Jane Smith. It is great fun to listen in on
her conversation with Finch (the man oilier than the chips in his menu plan) as
she relentlessly butters him up to dig for information and he falls for it
hook, line, and sinker. She ingeniously uses the man’s own ego against him and
says that she’s gotten a very clear view of the school.- Then she meets the new Physics teacher, John Smith, who greets her with a wide, enthusiastic smile. Not all of The Doctor’s reaction is acting. Some of it is just pure David Tennant fanboying. I love how this shows that The Doctor does care about his companions even after they leave. He might move on, but he never forgets. The look he gives Sarah Jane when he notices her digging a bit deeper into the Finch case is so fondly proud that it put a smile on my face as I watched.
- In addition to
Sarah Jane, we are also introduced to a young man named Kenny who stumbles on
something odd in one of the empty classrooms. Now this is what
many kids would be dying to discover about a hated teacher, although I’m sure
Kenny was not so happy, considering the way he legged it out of there.
- That night, all is
dark and silent in the school save for in that very classroom where someone is
breaking in. Good old plucky Sarah Jane is coming in through a window to do a
bit more snooping around without having to deal with Finch’s ego. But
unbeknownst to her, a similar team of investigators are walking in through the
front doors.
- I actually like Rose in this episode. She is smart and helpful and doesn’t end up being captured so that The Doctor has to save her (nor is she just there to be there). Her teasing of Mickey seems less condescending and smug and more like a sort of fond banter between friends. I even enjoy the barbs she exchanges with Sarah Jane. Some of them are actually quite witty, despite being clichéd and jealously driven. Besides, Sarah Jane instigated it to begin with.
- I actually like Rose in this episode. She is smart and helpful and doesn’t end up being captured so that The Doctor has to save her (nor is she just there to be there). Her teasing of Mickey seems less condescending and smug and more like a sort of fond banter between friends. I even enjoy the barbs she exchanges with Sarah Jane. Some of them are actually quite witty, despite being clichéd and jealously driven. Besides, Sarah Jane instigated it to begin with.
- But within this
episode, Rose feels like an actual person. She is rather snappish upon first
meeting Sarah Jane, but that is a legitimate reaction given the situation. And
she doesn’t keep on being antagonistic to the older woman. They actually
establish a wonderful rapport throughout the episode. Many of the problems Rose
had in the past was that she was too focused on how the world revolved around
her and never really stopped to consider others unless it was convenient for
her to do so. It was so refreshing to watch School Reunion and find
myself enjoying Rose, rather than wishing I could get my hands on the scripts to fix her.
- The reunion
between The Doctor and Sarah Jane is beautifully done, with her finding the
TARDIS and then meeting the Time Lord face to face again. Tennant and Sladen
are excellent here and you really get the feeling that their characters were
friends for years before this (which they were, but you really need the
chemistry to be convinced). Sladen especially amazes as she allows all of Sarah
Jane’s conflicting emotions to flit across her face: wonder, joy, bitterness,
sorrow, and (at Mickey’s scream) excitement.
- Sarah
Jane has something to show The Doctor, something that she says will help him
analyse the oil from the kitchen which Rose collected since Mickey doesn’t want
to go back into the gigantic bat infested school. She drags the Time Lord over
to her car and opens the boot to reveal none other than K-9 Mark III. The
Doctor’s affection for his metal pooch is heart-warming to see and the looks
Rose and Mickey shoot him as he pets K9 are simply hilarious.
- I should very much
like to know why all Who monsters seem to have the illogical and strategically erroneous
habit of announcing their presence with an ear-splitting screech or ominous growl.
I mean – it’s creepy as all get out when a giant bat swoops down from where it
was hovering in front of the ridiculously bloated full moon, but it just seems
like they’re asking for their prey to get away. If anyone can explain the
thought-process behind that decision, I would be all ears. Well, not all
ears – although, according to The Doctor, there are species that fit that
description perfectly.
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- I really
appreciate what this episode does for Mickey (and not just concerning his
relationship with The Doctor) His realization that: “Oh my God, I’m the tin dog”
is, I think, the first step he takes in the right direction (i.e. away from
Rose’s shadow). For so long Mickey has been there as the lost puppy who was
supposed to provide comic relief. He’s been walked over by The Doctor, Rose,
and even Jackie; not to mention the writers who have him crashing theatrically
into a wall or stepping over-dramatically in a bucket every time he shows up.
Here his character is consistent in that he is still a bumbler, but Mickey
Smith also officially becomes a character, not a caricature. People often credit his
trip to the alternate reality in RotC/TAoS as being the defining moment
in his life where he grew up, but I would suggest that it really began here in
a parking lot with Sarah Jane Smith and a tin dog.
- Sarah Jane and The
Doctor get a further chance to have a cosy reconnecting session as he works on
repairing K-9. The cute and nostalgic vibe doesn’t last long, though, as she
takes him to task for dumping her back on Earth the way he did. And I’m glad it addressed the fact that he
basically dumped her and never came back. He needed someone to call him out for
that (especially the Aberdeen bit) and she needed the closure that the
discussion brought. The range of emotions both of them show (just as poignant
as earlier) this is Tennant at his best and I really wish that he had had more
scripts to work with on the calibre of this one.
- While K-9 was
speaking, what happened to the lady behind the counter? Y’know – the one who
sold Rose the chips? Hopefully she was on coffee break. If not, I’ll bet she
thought that they all were nutters – particularly when The Doctor starts
rambling on about the Killitanes taking on the forms of every race they invade.
Speaking of the Killitanes…
- I should very much
like to know why all Who monsters seem to have the illogical and strategically erroneous
habit of announcing their presence with an ear-splitting screech or ominous growl.
I mean – it’s creepy as all get out when a giant bat swoops down from where it
was hovering in front of the ridiculously bloated full moon, but it just seems
like they’re asking for their prey to get away. If anyone can explain the
thought-process behind that decision, I would be all ears. Well, not all
ears – although, according to The Doctor, there are species that fit that
description perfectly.
- While The Doctor and his companions are hanging out inside the
café, we the
audience are treated to the incredible and slightly disturbing sight of Mr.
Finch practicing his pliés on a nearby rooftop alongside one of his bat-like brethren.
Huh...I never knew aliens were into interpretive dance. Guess you learn
something new every day. I guess when The Doctor poked his head into the Headmaster's office earlier and disturbed their slumber they decided they'd better follow incognito and do a bit of eavesdropping. Too bad it's ruined when the batty one (no joke - the literal bat) swoops down with one of those fog-horn-decibel shrieks.
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- I really
appreciate what this episode does for Mickey (and not just concerning his
relationship with The Doctor) His realization that: “Oh my God, I’m the tin dog”
is, I think, the first step he takes in the right direction (i.e. away from
Rose’s shadow). For so long Mickey has been there as the lost puppy who was
supposed to provide comic relief. He’s been walked over by The Doctor, Rose,
and even Jackie; not to mention the writers who have him crashing theatrically
into a wall or stepping over-dramatically in a bucket every time he shows up.
Here his character is consistent in that he is still a bumbler, but Mickey
Smith also officially becomes a character, not a caricature. People often credit his
trip to the alternate reality in RotC/TAoS as being the defining moment
in his life where he grew up, but I would suggest that it really began here in
a parking lot with Sarah Jane Smith and a tin dog.
- I know I’ve talked a lot about this
portion of the episode, but I just have to mention the whole “I don’t age, I
regenerate” speech. We’ve needed this for a long time. Not only is it a
much-needed wakeup call for Rose (both that she’s not the only companion to
ever travel with The Doctor but that she really can’t promise him forever) but
it allows the happy-go-lucky façade that Time Lord wears to fall away and
reveal the weary heart underneath. The emotions from both The Doctor and Rose in
this scene are just amazing: believable and poignant.
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- We are then
treated to an extraordinarily lovely view of Finch’s tonsils as he calls for
his brethren. The other bat-people
come running (flying?) and there is a fine chase sequence as the Krillitanes
chase The Doctor, Sarah Jane, Rose, Mickey, and Kenny through the school. They
are momentarily trapped in a closet, giving the characters and the audience a
bit of a breather before Kenny (once again demonstrating his quick thinking)
sets off the fire alarm, allowing them to slip past the bat-creatures with
relative ease. That is, until Finch punches through the wall and rips the cords
apart. But it was still a darn good plan!
- Anthony Head makes
chewing the scenery into a kind of art form. He’s such a delightful villain as he
simpers and smirks about how the Time Lords were such a pompous, stuffy race.
- What makes him so effective is a combination of Head’s smarmy acting and the fact that Mr. Finch is not a brainless psychopath bent on conquering the Earth. True he may just be after all of creation, but we can at least give him points for thinking big. In this conversation he toys with The Doctor like a cat with a mouse, dropping hints and goading the other alien with every word from his mouth. Here we are introduced to the ‘one warning’ rule that Ten will live by as he tries to get answers from the annoyingly enigmatic Krillitane.
- What makes him so effective is a combination of Head’s smarmy acting and the fact that Mr. Finch is not a brainless psychopath bent on conquering the Earth. True he may just be after all of creation, but we can at least give him points for thinking big. In this conversation he toys with The Doctor like a cat with a mouse, dropping hints and goading the other alien with every word from his mouth. Here we are introduced to the ‘one warning’ rule that Ten will live by as he tries to get answers from the annoyingly enigmatic Krillitane.
- While The Doctor
faces off with ‘Giles’, Sarah Jane and Rose are exchanging more sarcasm and
finally descend into a shouting match where they each list the impressive
adventures they’ve gone on with The Doctor. Rose puts the shouting match to an
end when she is completely nonplussed over Sarah Jane getting to meet the Loch
Ness Monster. This whole conversation leads to the two women forming a
tentative truce and friendship. The way they bond over some of The Doctor’s
stranger habits is hilarious (especially when he walks in and is completely
befuddled as to why they are laughing at him).
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- Both Elisabeth and Billie had a chance
to display their excellent acting skills
and they both deliver. It’s a shame that Billie doesn’t have more scripts like
this to work with. Rose could have been a likable character, but apparently
only Toby Whithouse is able to actually make her into one.
- So the children
are ordered back to class early (a fact they are suspiciously ecstatic about), all
staff are ordered to the teacher’s lounge and…oh my, they ate the
teachers! This act of violence happens off camera, but is nastily emphasized by
Finch employing the use of a toothpick later. I’m surprised he had any
appetite, given the amount of scenery he had eaten by this point, but it makes
for a shocking and campily horrific happening.
- Kenny had the
right idea when he hung back from the chip-possessed student hoard and didn’t
go into the computer class (he wasn’t allowed to eat the chips so he didn’t get
the intellect-influencing effects of the Krillitane Oil). As soon as he saw
what was going on, he turned around and tore for the nearest exit, enlisting
the help of Mickey when he couldn’t get the doors to open. Mickey then promptly
turned around and elected to pick K-9’s mechanical brain for a solution.
- K-9’s
answer is a bit of a surprise and the poor dog has to repeat it several times
before Mickey finally catches on. “We are in a car.” Is that a hint of
exasperation in the robotic voice?
- On the bright side, Mickey is actually adorkable here (like he was intended to be) rather than just pathetically annoying as so often has happened in the past.
- The tension builds beautifully throughout this sequence, rather like the turbine scene from The End of the World, culminating in The Doctor realizing that what that equation the children are working on is the Skasis Paradigm which controls the building blocks of matter. It actually makes a twisted kind of sense that the Krillitanes would need the Children’s relatively uncluttered minds and vibrant imaginations to crack the equation and I have to say that it is so nice to have a villainous scheme which actually makes sense.
- On the bright side, Mickey is actually adorkable here (like he was intended to be) rather than just pathetically annoying as so often has happened in the past.
- The tension builds beautifully throughout this sequence, rather like the turbine scene from The End of the World, culminating in The Doctor realizing that what that equation the children are working on is the Skasis Paradigm which controls the building blocks of matter. It actually makes a twisted kind of sense that the Krillitanes would need the Children’s relatively uncluttered minds and vibrant imaginations to crack the equation and I have to say that it is so nice to have a villainous scheme which actually makes sense.
- Of course right about then Captain
Krillitane the Smarmy shows up and tells The Doctor that he has no intention of
using the Skasis Paradigm to rebuild an empire under his name – but he would
follow The Doctor’s lead. I love the way The Doctor actually considers Finch’s
offer. It just highlights that he’s human (in a manner of speaking: he makes
mistakes) too and how much guilt he still feels over the Time War, how lonely
he is. It takes the hard-earned wisdom of Sarah Jane to pull the Time Lord back
to reality. As soon as he recovers his wits, he grabs a chair and dramatically smashes the main computer screen before sending Finch packing with a firm refusal.
- We are then
treated to an extraordinarily lovely view of Finch’s tonsils as he calls for
his brethren. The other bat-people
come running (flying?) and there is a fine chase sequence as the Krillitanes
chase The Doctor, Sarah Jane, Rose, Mickey, and Kenny through the school. They
are momentarily trapped in a closet, giving the characters and the audience a
bit of a breather before Kenny (once again demonstrating his quick thinking)
sets off the fire alarm, allowing them to slip past the bat-creatures with
relative ease. That is, until Finch punches through the wall and rips the cords
apart. But it was still a darn good plan!
- At
last our heroes are trapped in the cafeteria with the Krillitanes advancing,
intent on a feast. Although how they could still be hungry after devouring all
of the other teachers is beyond me. Probably all that screeching works up a
healthy appetite. I’ve also noticed that The Doctor must have been taking
fighting lessons from Mickey (he employs a chair to fend off the batboys).
Thank goodness K-9 was there to save the day with his maximum defense mode
laser otherwise they would all have been lunch. Quite literally.
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- “Forget the shooty dog…thing.”
- Well, wasting time on K-9 will prove to be the downfall of the Krillitane’s brilliant scheme because while they were chasing the others, Mickey Smith has made his way into the computer lab and sought to break the students free. Despite complaints from various fans, there is actually a scant possibility that all of those computers were plugged into a common surge protector so while it is a bit annoying that the problem is resolved with one yank, the next scene more than makes up for it.
- Well, wasting time on K-9 will prove to be the downfall of the Krillitane’s brilliant scheme because while they were chasing the others, Mickey Smith has made his way into the computer lab and sought to break the students free. Despite complaints from various fans, there is actually a scant possibility that all of those computers were plugged into a common surge protector so while it is a bit annoying that the problem is resolved with one yank, the next scene more than makes up for it.
- The Doctor figured
out that the Krillitanes have changed their biological makeup so many times
that even their own oil is toxic to them (hence the dinner lady’s earlier
anguish). He sends the others outside and sets up all of the barrels so that
when the Krillitanes come into the kitchen, his faithful dog will be able to
blow the barrels up. K-9 is more than happy to help, but informs The Doctor
gravely that his batteries are failing and that for maximum impact he must be
stationed directly in front of the barrels. The Doctor, knowing that this means
K-9 will also be drenched in the oil which will surely react badly to his gears
and possibly even explode tells the little robot that he simply cannot allow
such an act. K-9 replies that there is no other alternative and bids his
beloved master farewell.
*sniff *
- Dear little K-9! I never thought that I would get so attached to a
metal dog, or be so upset at its heroic sacrifice. But between his parting
words to The Doctor and Sarah Jane’s distress at his being left behind, the
loss of K-9 Mark III hit me hard. Did I mention that, along with being epically
heroic, he also gets the best snark in the entire episode? Behold:
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- Somehow the oil also managed to blow up the
school, but I’m not complaining because it means that those insufferable
Krillitanes are gone for good (and poor K-9 who was more that just a daft metal
dog).
- After the students celebrate the explosion (and The Doctor shares a comforting hug with Sarah Jane) the scene cuts to Sarah Jane’s garden where The Doctor is inviting her into the TARDIS for a cup of tea. There are so many things to love about this scene from Sarah Jane’s reaction to the new desktop theme to the friendly, teasing exchange between Rose and herself. But the real scene-stealer is the touching goodbye between The Doctor and his Sarah Jane (all the more sob-inducing now that Elisabeth Sladen has tragically passed away). As always, the acting of Tennant and Sladen was wonderful and the dialogue in this scene is so perfectly written that you forget you are watching television. It is sheer magic and the scene where The Doctor says "Goodbye, my Sarah Jane" sure to leave the most cynical of souls with a lump in his or her throat.
- After the students celebrate the explosion (and The Doctor shares a comforting hug with Sarah Jane) the scene cuts to Sarah Jane’s garden where The Doctor is inviting her into the TARDIS for a cup of tea. There are so many things to love about this scene from Sarah Jane’s reaction to the new desktop theme to the friendly, teasing exchange between Rose and herself. But the real scene-stealer is the touching goodbye between The Doctor and his Sarah Jane (all the more sob-inducing now that Elisabeth Sladen has tragically passed away). As always, the acting of Tennant and Sladen was wonderful and the dialogue in this scene is so perfectly written that you forget you are watching television. It is sheer magic and the scene where The Doctor says "Goodbye, my Sarah Jane" sure to leave the most cynical of souls with a lump in his or her throat.
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So School Reunion is not just good; it is a great episode. It is funny and scary and touching and sad all
at once. It also serves as an unofficial promotional for the excellent children’s
series The Sarah Jane Adventures. With a decent plot and excellent
character and relationship growth, nothing about this episode is tedious to
watch. It started out great and built to an amazing climax and a bitter-sweet ending. I give it a 5/5 and hope that future episodes will take inspiration
from the story of a Time Lord and his best friend, reunited at last.
What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?
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