The Sarah Jane Adventures: Series 3, Episodes 1-3 – “Prisoner of the Judoon” (2009)

The series 3 premiere offers up a great story, equal parts action-packed, funny, and creative. The Judoon work best as antagonists when they strike a very particular balance, and this story hits that sweet spot just right!

When a small Judoon craft crashes on Earth, Capt. Tybo’s prisoner escapes. He’s now bound and determined to recapture his charge by any means possible. Sarah Jane and co. are forced to help him to minimize damage to humans as much as possible, especially when they realize that Tybo’s prisoner can jump inside human bodies.

Part of the Judoon’s whole thing is that they’re law enforcement officers who are so single-minded in their job—usually catching fugitives—that there’s no level of collateral damage they won’t allow in order to achieve it. In this story, Team Sarah Jane offers to help Tybo because they want to keep him from killing any innocent bystanders as he tries to recapture his prisoner  Androvax. However, that quickly becomes a matter of also stalling/distracting Tybo once it becomes clear that Androvax is hiding out in human bodies; if Tybo finds his quarry while he’s inside a human, the laser-focused rhino cop won’t think twice about tossing them both in his ship and taking them to justice.

But there’s another aspect of the Judoon that I really like, which is their occasional habit of being inflexible sticklers for rules, even when it’s clearly at odds with their mission. As much as Tybo stomps around Earth like, well, a rhino in a china shop, forcibly commandeering a car when he needs to cover more ground, he’s also helpless in the face of an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign. This story really plays up that side of him, and Rani and Clyde learn that they can use that to their advantage.

Our heroes are in an interesting position here, running interference with an alien cop while also trying to reason with an alien fugitive, with a little body possession thrown in. As usual, they take to their ridiculous situation with gusto. Unsurprisingly, someone gets taken over by Androvax but works to keep fighting nonetheless, and there are some great instances of quick thinking in a tight spot. It all leads to an exciting climax in a secret government facility, complete with spaceships, nano robots, and a very angry rhino.