Relationship Spotlight: Maria Jackson & Sarah Jane Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

 

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first sat down to watch The Sarah Jane Adventures from the start, having only seen the stories in which the Doctor guest stars. I knew the show skewed younger and was prepared to find it pleasant but inconsequential while I enjoyed Sarah Jane herself and satisfied my completist nature. But even if the first few episodes of the show are fairly uneven, its potential is still immediately evident, and much of that is down to the relationship between Sarah Jane and Maria (a few spoilers for the pilot, as well as new Who’s “School Reunion.”)

After her travels with the Doctor end, Sarah Jane spends a long time feeling unfulfilled. Although she continues to investigate the inexplicable, she does it with a longing eye on the past, dwelling on the TARDIS life she no longer has. While running into the Tenth Doctor in “School Reunion” helps her realize she can honor/appreciate her past but still live for the present, she doesn’t quite get all the contentment she needs after that encounter. Why? Because, even if she’s found a way to scratch her itch for adventure, investigation, and heroics, she’s doing it mostly alone. Not that the friendship she had with the Doctor can be replicated, but she carries on largely in solitude, without many friends to share the wonder of the universe with.

When Maria Jackson moves in across the road, all that changes. Oh, Sarah Jane tries to keep to herself, convinced that it would be irresponsible to let anyone else in on her alien-chasing extracurricular activities, but Maria isn’t having it. The moment she spies an alien in Sarah Jane’s garden, Maria can’t go back to pretending life is normal, and one way or another, it’s inevitable that she’ll become the first human to join what will eventually be Sarah Jane’s team.

Sarah Jane resists at first, “frosty” as she is, but Maria ably demonstrates the value of having a friend and teammate. Despite Maria’s youth and inexperience, she’s brave, clever, and determined, and Sarah Jane works better when someone has her back. What’s more, Maria shows Sarah Jane that it’s all right to let others in and share the secrets of her incredible life with them. Maria opens the door to Luke, and then Clyde, which eventually paves the way for Rani and Sky. None of that would be possible without Maria making the first stubborn overtures.

Once Sarah Jane does manage to let her guard down a little, she and Maria quickly develop a close relationship. Sarah Jane is a mentor to Maria (along the lines of Giles and Buffy,) but they’re also just friends. Sarah Jane delights in showing the wonders of the universe to the awed Maria, and the two of them have a blast rigging up DIY sci-fi gizmos together. When Maria is dealing with issues at home, Sarah Jane instantly sees that something’s up, and when Maria lashes out at Sarah Jane under a moment of extreme duress, Sarah Jane doesn’t take it personally, welcoming Maria back with open arms when she cools down. In “Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?”, Sarah Jane confides that Maria is the person she trusts the most, and (given that the Doctor is rarely around in Sarah Jane’s life anymore,) I believe her absolutely. Maria is Team Sarah Jane all the way and won’t let her friend down for anything.

Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Maria Jackson (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

No matter the configuration, I’ll always love the Sarah Jane crew.  Brave, devoted Maria, asker of Excellent Questions, won me over the moment she saw that Arcateenian in Sarah Jane’s garden.  For my money, here are her best moments.

Protecting Luke (“Invasion of the Bane” – Series 1, Episode 0)

When Maria meets Luke, he’s dressed in an odd white shift, majorly not with the program, and clearly repeating everything she says back to her as the first living being he’s encountered, but she doesn’t think twice about immediately helping him.  The image of them running through the Bubble Shock factory together is so iconic for both characters, and I get such a kick out of Maria’s idea to hide in the women’s bathroom because the men chasing them would never go in there.

Learning Bea’s Secret (“Eye of the Gorgon:  Part 2” – Series 1, Episode 4)

Maria’s under a huge amount of pressure here (her dad’s life is on the line,) and she has a herculean task before her (getting Bea to tell her how to save him.)  Because Sarah Jane and the boys are tied up elsewhere, she’s all alone, struggling to figure out how to reach this woman with severe dementia and get through to her.  It’s a massive job with huge stakes, and even though she’s freaked and desperate, Maria does incredibly well under pressure.

Stopping the Gorgon (“Eye of the Gorgon:  Part 2” – Series 1, Episode 4)

Yep, this is a big story for Maria.  It could be argued that this one is a bit of a freebie, since Bea is the one who tells her how to defeat the Gorgon and arms her with what she needs, but you’ve gotta love Maria’s last-second cavalry entrance, using a mirror to save Sarah Jane and destroying the Gorgon by turning her own power against her.

Taking Out Mr. Grantham (“Warriors of Kudlak:  Part 2” – Series 1, Episode 6)

I’m always a fan of “quick thinking in a dangerous pinch” scenarios, and Maria is great here.  As Mr. Grantham menaces Sarah Jane, Maria recalls what Sarah Jane told her in the previous episode about the alien metal in her attic (when touching both pieces simultaneously with one’s bare skin, it completes an electrical circuit that knocks them out for an hour) and uses them to temporarily incapacitate the baddie.  Clear!

Searching for Sarah Jane (“Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?:  Part 1” – Series 1, Episode 7)

If getting info from Bea was a tough situation, this one is all but impossible.  The Trickster has pulled Sarah Jane out of the world, and Maria’s the only one who can remember her.  Despite the evidence of her own eyes and everyone she knows telling her she’s wrong, lying, or crazy, Maria doesn’t give up, fighting to find out the truth behind what made everyone else forget.

Favorite Characters: Maria Jackson (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

It’s high time that I mentioned the second spin-off from the Who mother ship.  Although not as prominent as Torchwood, I really love The Sarah Jane Adventures.  It was a delightful series that frequently delivered smart and imaginative writing without condescending to its younger target audience, and the wonderfully likable characters played a big part of that.  More will follow in due time, but we’ll start with our initial eyes into the series, those of Maria Jackson.

As far as characterization is concerned, Maria isn’t as well-drawn as Luke, Clyde, or Rani, but that’s largely due to the Everygirl factor.  We don’t learn as much about Maria’s interests or ambitions outside of alien-fighting.  Instead, she remains a less-defined presence, which better allows the viewers at large to identify with her.  However, this really doesn’t detract from her appeal.  She’s hardly the first intentionally-generalized protagonist out there, and when done well, the device can be effective. 

And it’s certainly effective here.  What Maria’s characterization lacks in specificity, it makes up in overall rootability.  Her parents’ recent divorce adds some familiar color to her home life, and many can relate to being new in town and starting a new school year with trepidation.  While these normal adolescent concerns are present, she approaches both well.  Though she misses having her mom as a constant in her life, she recognizes that the divorce is a better alternative than endless fighting, and she has a lovely, warm relationship with her dad.  And she may be nervous about going to a new school, but she begins her first day with a clear, optimistic head and looks out for Luke, who’s much more out of place than she is.

But of course, that’s the boring regular-life stuff – nice, but not what we’re in it for.  No, the real draw comes when Maria wakes in the middle of the night and discovers the curt woman from next door entertaining an alien in her backyard.  This is where we see the bulk of Maria’s qualities start to shine through.  Like a companion in training, she comes alive at the sight of real alien life.  She’s bewildered, naturally, in some denial about what she’s seen, but she can’t shake the image or the wonder and excitement that came with it.  The next day, she tries her hand at more mundane activities – making a friend who likes watching TV, going into town, and admiring good-looking boys – but it’s clear that her heart’s not really in it until everything starts going all impossible and unhuman.

She takes to the mystery with relish, and we immediately learn that she’s smart (hiding in the ladies’ restroom because she knows the male guards won’t look for her there,) compassionate (taking the obviously-abnormal Luke under her wing,) and determined (resisting Sarah Jane’s initial attempts to keep her out of the whole alien-hunting lifestyle.)  She’s brave and curious, she can think on her feet, and she absolutely adores seeing everything the universe has to offer.  And while there’s no way she can just go back to ordinary life after saving the world with Sarah Jane and co., she also doesn’t let the extraordinary blind her to the trappings of home; she loves her parents to bits and fights aliens in part to protect them, both from blatant extraterrestrial hostility and the enormity of facing up to the truth about alien life.  She’s a devoted friend who proves herself time and again, even keeping up the good fight on her own when time goes screwy and all of her friends, including Sarah Jane, are out of commission.  Not bad at all for a 14-year-old.