TV Club: School Reunion

Sarah Jane returns, and K9 is back too, as the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey investigate strange events at a high school.

Watch the episode on BBC iPlayer:

Or buy it on Bluray and DVD:

Give your rating out of 10 below:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
0 voters
7 Likes

I know that the bad guys are boring and I know that it is a strange competition between SJS and Rose. But I love this episode. To me, this was my first exposure to the greater Whoniverse. I know that The Daleks was an old villain but this feelt more like they tied the new show together with the old stuff and it made me interested in the classic stuff. I feel like this is the episode where they really showed that this is not a reboot it is a continuation.

13 Likes

What @Tian says above makes perfect sense :+1:

But it is time, once again, for: :wink:

Bill Filerā€™s negativity corner:

Summary
  • Rose is insufferable! By the Lemon Squeezer of Rassilon I canā€™t find a single positive thing to say about her in this series overall. This isnā€™t a dig at Billie Piper who I think acts exactly the way that the character is written
  • The Doctor treats Mickey like garbage. The Ninth Doctor calling him Ricky was never malicious, the Tenth Doctor is just a douche.
  • Sarah goes totally against everything we know about her personality from the Classic era to be super ageist. What?
  • And sorry, of all the companions from the classic era, Sarah is probably one of the last ones I would have thought to bring back. I just donā€™t find her particularly interesting compared to for example Ace or Jo. (It did work out in the end because The SJA is delightful, and my second favourite TV Whoniverse spinoff)
  • The story is super run-of-the-mill. There was a decent premise for an alien race, but they just became dull on the screen. It just gets a bit boring 5 minutes in, and never manages to fully capture my attention.
  • Anthony Stewart Head is playing his character like every other Anthony Stewart Head character. I just donā€™t think he has any range as an actor from what I have seen and heard of him.

Positive: K-9 is back baby! :k9: (only to get locked away in Sarahā€™s Black Hole Safe)

Itā€™s a 2,5/5 :star: from me, and I donā€™t like that because I see so much praise for it, so what am I missing out on?
:slightly_smiling_face:

Moffat up next :+1:

13 Likes

I know exactly what you mean. Iā€™m not quite so harsh on it as you are (the nostalgic kick of SJS and K9 counts for quite a bit here), but never really got the love for this story. Itā€™s OK, but there are much better examples of DW (and SJA for that matter) that also cash in the nostalgia card.

It weirdly didnā€™t feel like DW to me.

9 Likes

Sarah!!! <3

If I had to pick a fav s2 episode it probably would be this one, despite the issues I have with it. As @BillFiler says, Sarahā€™s characterisation is utterly bizarre, but I love her so dearly that Iā€™m just glad she came back. And we got SJA from this so I canā€™t be cross!!

I do think making companions into catty, jealous people is a bad look though. I get Sarah being cross about being left behind and never spoken to again, but I donā€™t like the way she and Rose fight. Itā€™s tiresome

12 Likes

Hot takes but Iā€™m not sure I disagree with much of what youā€™ve written.

9 Likes

ā€œHot Takes Filerā€ gets unleashed in Negativity Corner :sunglasses:

8 Likes

This episode has Elisabeth Sladen, Anthony Stewart Head, and K9 in it. Even if the storyline itself isnā€™t great, Iā€™m going to be happy with it. And David Tennant was so happy to see her!

Besides, Iā€™m definitely a Buffy fan.

12 Likes

One of my more unpopular opinions, I really dislike School Reunion.

Seeing Sarah Jane again is nice but there are four and half seasons of better TV to watch instead and the episode makes the annoying choice of having her bicker with Rose because both are shocked that the 900 year old man has had other friends in his lifetime.

Plus the scriptā€™s a mess, an utterly plot hole ridden monster fest where the characters constantly make stupid but incredibly convenient decisions.

As much as people praise the idea of the Krillitanes, I am yet to see somebody justify why they decide to use a single secondary school in England to unlock the base code of the universe, which has never been deciphered before in the history of time.

A series of missed opportunities with Rose at her most entitled and annoying. There are some things to love, when they have Sarah Jane not pointlessly bickering with the new cast sheā€™s a joy to have around and Liz Sladen utterly kills it in the role, but even Anthony Head canā€™t save the innate idiocy of the antagonists and the plot is a complete logical mess.

A 5/10 for me, not one I look forward to on rewatches.

12 Likes

I imagine RTD thought it was hilarious to have Mickey partially save the day by unplugging the computers but it just comes across as lazy - and I rarely throw that word at Doctor Who.

9 Likes

After the even more delightful K9 you mean?

Anyway, this is the first episode of S2 I would consider good. It has problems, but I largely enjoy it. Here are a few points:

  • David Tennant is finally turning into the Doctor for me. Fanboying over Sarah Jane and K9, going undercover at a school and taking good charge of the situation does that.
  • Elisabeth Sladen is marvellous and easily gets back into SJA mode for this. I love every scene she shares with Tennant.
  • Mickey gets to be useful for once, even if he is still mistreated by the Doctor.
  • Anthony Stewart Head is perfectly one-note, creepy scary as an underdeveloped villain who isnā€™t given enough time to really feel like the Big Bad of the episode.
  • The plot is silly and makes very little sense. The entire ā€œcreating superchildren by manipulating school lunches and using them to power a supercomputerā€ thing is so stupid.
  • K9 is in it just so that it can be replaced by a fresh version for the SJA spin-off.
  • Rose continues to be unbearableā€”sheā€™s condescending towards SJ, pines for the Doctor, and disregards Mickey (heā€™s your boyfriend, Rose! Dump him or accept the fact!).
  • The Krillitanes are a cool concept but sort of undercooked. The CGI isnā€™t too bad, though.
  • The script puts so much focus on the Doctor/companion relationship that the alien plot is forgotten until the second half, and then itā€™s dealt with very hurriedly.

Despite its problems, I will give it a 7/10 ā†’ GOOD!

9 Likes

Iā€™ve always quite enjoyed School Reunion. Iā€™ve never been a big fan of Sarah Jane tbh, an unpopular opinion I know, but sheā€™s great here. The first encounter with the Doctor to her seeing the Tardis and realising itā€™s him is great. The Krillitane are a nice idea but underutilised, I know they appear in a couple of books in their bat form like here but I would like to see them used again. Though their plan of using a random secondary school is a bit silly but as a pilot of sorts for The Sarah Jane Adventures it actually makes enough sense and is fitting enough.

8 Likes

Does anyone remember playing this game?

(And if you have a Flash emulator you can still play it).

5 Likes

A wonderful episode, and while I already thought that the first time I watched it, this is an episode where my viewing experience was very different on rewatching since Iā€™ve now watched a good part of classic who. On my first watch, I emphasized more with Rose and Mickey, obviously seeing the joy the doctor shows at Sarah Jane but also a bit confused and almost left out. I enjoyed it anyway because the acting was great and there isnā€™t any story points youā€™re missing, just the emotions arenā€™t quite there. The plot itself is rather mediocre, not bad but certainly not great either.

Rewatching it now, and having seen all of Sarah Jane and Four very recently, the episode is enhanced substantially. Most of all, Elizabeth Sladenā€™s phenomenal acting, all those mixed emotions! Really all the acting is great, but she is outstanding. I think itā€™s amazing how itā€™s really Sarah Jane and the doctor in all scenes with them, and there isnā€™t a feeling of him not being ā€˜herā€™ doctor. I think itā€™s something really cool, how new who and also the expanded universe shows the ā€˜afterā€™ for the companions.
And K9!

8 Likes

I havenā€™t seen this in a while now but from what I remember while I love Liz Sladen as Sarah Jane, love K9, had a fun time with the plot and villains, and adore the farewell scene with 10 and SJ more than anything; none of that could make up for how much I hate the Rose and SJ bickering, and how 10 treats Mickey.

My heart wants to give this an 8 or 9 but the issues I have are too major and knock it all the way down to a 6.

9 Likes

Lovely to see the Lemon Squeezer of Rassilon still getting referenced! :heart_eyes:

8 Likes

Anthony Head may be a little wasted, the basic plot may be nothing special, but for how it makes me feel every time I see it, couldnā€™t give it less than an 8.

In all fairness, though, it seems fair to say I like Sarah Jane more than BIllFiler or Shayleen. Pretty sure sheā€™s the first companion I was ever smitten with, if thatā€™s even the right word given I was too young to have discovered girls at the time. Perhaps I should say sheā€™s the first companion I adored. Still do.

9 Likes

Or you could say that you were ā€¦ smithen with her!

Yeah, Iā€™ll see myself out now.

6 Likes