Well, actually, that’s not quite true. Returning for a third time to the teatime Who spin-off is darling-of-a-certain-generation, Floella “The Guv’noress” Benjamin. She’s back as Professor Rivers of the Pharos Institute and has invited Sarah Jane and the gang (sans Luke) to a ‘haunted’ mansion (Hogwarts Tim Burton style, according to Clyde) in need of some ghost-busting. Problem is, ole SJ don’t believe in spooks… However, it does make you wonder why the Beeb have decided to broadcast the story this week. The Eternity Trap would have been so much more suited to last week as it is absolutely packed full of eerie imagery such as the ‘dead’ kids and Erasmus Darkening (the villain of the piece, pictured above) popping up every now and again to scare the bejesus out of all and sundry. It would have been quintessential Halloween entertainment. Writer Phil Ford has delivered quite a different tale to this year’s opener, Prisoner Of The Judoon, displaying his versatility with some style and, coupled with another fabulous bout of direction from Alice Troughton, The Sarah Jane Adventures has trumped up another delight that betrays its children-friendly transmission time.
