I found this loads more fun and more in the spirit of DOCTOR WHO than that other spinoff, TORCHWOOD, which seems to be all about sex. When was the last time a 60 year old woman played the lead role in a tv show? Elisabeth Sladen looks great for her age, to be sure, but she'd still never land a show in the youth-obsessed American tv market. I like the plucky young sidekick, Maria, too.

Did this do well in the UK? Are there more episodes coming?

There will be a second & third series of twelve episodes, six adventures, each. Probably.

Sarah Jane – The Return. UPDATED!

The rest of the episodes of the first season on SciFi will be half-hours, but they'll be transmitted back to back, so it'll be a little bit old Who (half hour eps with cliff hangers) and a little bit new Who (hour long adventures).

This first episode was also the pilot, so there are some tweaks introduced in the next, regularly produced, episode. Don't think there's any kind of season arc, though I imagine the Bane will pop up again sooner or later, if not this season then series two. I think an old UNIT friend is supposed to show up sometime this season.

All in all a solid start. I think it played better than the first ep of Torchwood, if that's not a apples and oranges comparison.

Well, considering TORCHWOOD is practically unwatchable, that Sarah Jane is better is almost a given!

I've only watched a few of the episodes from season 1 and generally quite liked them, they are well targeted to their age demographic (I don't know, 8-12?).

I thought the first episode of Season Four of Dr. Who was highly derivative of the Sarah Jane pilot: both have an alien woman out to do something nasty to humanity through something they can't resist: weight-loss pills, or soft drinks.

Despite the similarities, I do enjoy this sort of story because of how cleverly it releates to our modern world. (Along the same lines, the Cybermen taking control of humanity through Bluetooth devices in Season Two of Who was also very well considered).

-- Peter