Sarah Jane Smith is one of the most beloved Companions ever featured on Doctor Who. Her heyday was in the mid-seventies as a transition Companion between John Pertwee's third Doctor and Tom Baker's iconic fourth Doctor. An intrepid "girl reporter," Sarah Jane was cast in the mold of a Lois Lane who knew Superman's secret. As is the case for all Companions, Sarah Jane eventually departed the Doctor's company one day when she left him for what she thought was a brief trip and he never came back for her. Actress Elisabeth Sladen occasionally rejoined the Who 'verse for episode "The Five Doctors" and aborted spinoff "K-9 and Company." During David Tennant's first year as the tenth Doctor, Sladen again reprised her role as Sarah Jane, giving Who fans a glimpse into a possible future for Ten's Companion, Rose Tyler. Nearly thirty years had passed since Sarah had last seen the Doctor, but she remembered him fondly and clearly. Still a reporter, she was investigating mysterious events at a local high school that involved sinister aliens led by Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). At the end, she and the Doctor parted as friends, and he left her a newly refurbished K-9.

Now Sladen, and Sarah, are back in a new series for the BBC, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Two or three years have passed since "School Reunion," and Sarah has embraced her role as journalist-cum-extraterrestrial investigator. Unlike the stars of sister series Torchwood, Sarah Jane lacks guns, government backing, gratuitous sex, and John Barrowman, but she has on her side three teenagers and an alien computer named Mister Smith, and they turn out to be exactly what she needs.

The plot begins with Maria (Yasmin Paige), a thirteen year old girl who has just moved in across the street from Sarah's house. Maria's parents are recently divorced, and she is beginning a new life with her father (Joseph Millson). The very first night, she stumbles upon mysterious happenings at the Smith house, but before she can investigate further, her new best friend Kelsey (Porsha Lawrence-Mavour) convinces her to join her in town, courtesy of the Bubble Shock tour bus. Bubble Shock is the new soda company taking the country by storm. Coincidentally, Sarah Jane is also interested in Bubble Shock, and follows the tour bus through the security gates (oddly reminiscent of Willy Wonka's pad from the Gene Wilder movie).

Nefarious doings are about at the Bubble Shock factory, and only Sarah Jane and her unwanted but ultimately useful young friends can prevent aliens from taking over the world yet again.

Genre fans can probably shout out the rest of the players from here: the deliciously evil CEO Mrs. Wormwood (played with perfect aplomb by former Miss Moneypenny Samantha Bond), the handsome tour guide (Jamie Davis) whose oily charm hides another side, the ingénue (Tommy Knight) caught in the middle. Of course, no Sarah Jane show would be complete without a mention of fan favorite K-9 and why he won't be around much. Old-school fans will also enjoy a few Easter eggs: a photograph of Harry, a mention of the Brigadier.

The plot is nothing special. An evil corporate giant is foiled by some meddling kids and their sonic lipstick (seriously). The alien chases aren't half as menacing as the polite verbal sparring between Sarah and Mrs. Wormwood in the latter's perky orange office. Fortunately, the real joy of this new series is not the plotting, but the casting. Sladen has been playing Sarah Jane Smith for over thirty years, and gives a believable performance of someone nostalgic for her extraordinary youth who's still learning how to cope with the so-called real world. Paige is the perfect lead for a new young-adult series, kind and curious and loyal and brave. Lawrence-Mavour plays her perfect foil and friend, the best-written "average teenaged girl" this viewer has ever seen. Knight radiates perfect innocence in his own role, something Brent Spiner's Data always aimed at but never hit so perfectly. Millson seems born to play the parental figure doomed to stay uninformed but very loving towards his daughter; the actor's youth gives the impression that Maria's parents simply married too young. The villains are satisfyingly evil without a single toothmark on the scenery; it's a pity that they will almost certainly not be seen again.

Overall, the pilot of The Sarah Jane Adventures is sweeter than it has any right to be, just exactly cute enough at points when most programs would hit "precious and annoying." It sets up the characters and the storylines solidly, leaves a few doors open for further incvestigation (where did Mister Smith come from?), but also stands alone as a story that is easily accessible to people who have never heard of Doctor Who. The cast is amazing, and the writing and directing echo the best of the new Doctor Who. Definitely worth watching, certainly worth a pickup in the States by a smart network looking for a strong youth-oriented SF series. Five out of five sonic devices of the reader's choice.