Over its
five seasons, The Sarah Jane Adventures
really had a surprisingly small number of writers. Even taking into consideration the fact that
all but one of their stories are two-part serials, meaning there’s never more
than six stories in a given season, they had their core of Phil Ford and Gareth
Roberts augmented by just a few writers coming in on the odd story here and
there. Still, though there’s not many to
pick from, their talent definitely deserves recognition!
Phil Ford – Just such a solid writer. Ford had a hand in over a third of the show’s
serials, writing eleven different stories.
There really isn’t a bad one in the bunch. I think his character work is topnotch for
everyone, he gave us some memorable baddies like Kaagh and Androvax, and there
are some terrific plots here. Great
all-rounder, in my opinion.
Best
story: “Enemy of the Bane”
Gareth Roberts – Another whose
presence is felt throughout the series. Roberts took part in nine stories on the show,
starting in series 1. I think he does
just a bang-up job with plots – he’s the mind behind the Trickster stories, all
three of which are wonderfully compelling and interesting, and his work in the
stripped-down “Empty Planet” (my pick for his best story) is brilliant. I wish they’d use him more on Who.
Best
story: “The Empty Planet”
Joseph Lidster – Okay, so Lidster
only wrote three stories for the series, but it probably took me the longest to
pick a favorite from his works. While
Ford and Roberts do great work throughout but have a few clear standouts to
pick from, all of Lidster’s are equally terrific in different ways. “The Mark of the Berserker” gives us a strong
personal story with Clyde and his dad, “The Madwoman in the Attic” is
wonderfully inventive and offers up some great one-shot characters, and “The
Nightmare Man” uses a really memorable villain to explore the characters’ inner
lives.
Best
story: “The Madwoman in the Attic”
Rupert Laight – Only two stories
here, but Laight’s “Lost in Time” is one of my favorites in the entire series
(I promise I will not rehash how
awesome it is when Clyde stands up to a frickin’ Nazi.) Such deft work,
balancing three separate stories with their own interesting characters/plots
and giving each of the main cast some really excellent material to work
with. His other story, “The Gift,” is no
slouch, either.
Best
story: “Lost in Time”
Philip Gladwin – Gladwin’s one
story, “Warriors of Kudlak,” is a great entry in the show. Even though it’s mainly a Luke and Clyde
story, he handles all of the characters really well and does a nice job showing
the progression of our major relationships, as well as creating an interesting
story with some great saves on the parts of our heroes.
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