Sarah Jane Smith's third adventure really sees the series hitting its stride. After the distinctly pantomime Revenge of the Slitheen and the inspired lunacy of alien worshipping nuns in Eye of the Gorgon, Warriors of Kudlak is the first story where every character has a moment to shine, and where the series as a whole really seems to shift up a gear.

The story opens with Sarah investigating the disappearance of Lance, a boy who Luke, Clyde and Maria went to school with. Soon, it becomes clear that Lance's disappearance is part of something much larger, that the strange weather in the area is connected to it and that at the centre of it all is Combat 3000, a laser tage style game with a very unusual prize...

What really makes this story work is the huge amount of plot crammed into two episodes. As well as the mystery surrounding Combat 3000, we also get development in the friendships between Sarah and Maria as well as Luke and Clyde, Luke becoming more comfortable in himself and stepping up to the plate in a quietly rather heroic manner and a pair of remarkably nuanced and oddly sympathetic villains. Phil Gladwin's script gives everyone a moment in the spotlight, neatly balances the series' twin tentpoles of teenage adventure and science fiction and even manages to drop some good jokes and surprisingly subtle genre nods in there as well. From the passing references to Sarah's UNIT training and Transmat devices to a nod to the classic Kate Bush video Cloudbusters, there's something going all the time and the end result is a story which feels fast paced, light on it's feet and still very plot and action heavy.

The cast are all clearly finding their feet now too, with Sladen's Sarah Jane now almost cheerful in the face of certain danger, and Tommy Knight's Luke both an innocent abroad and an increasingly convincing hero. Daniel Anthony's Clyde is also coming into his own and it's interesting to see the character develop from the comedy sidekick he was originally written as into someone more cautious and reticent than he first appears to be. Only Yasmin Paige's Maria gets short shrift this time, although the next story, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, looks set to remedy that.

However, the real credit here has to go to the guest cast. Paul Casey and Silas Carson, providing the body and voice of Kudlak respectively, do a great job of turning a character who on the surface is distinctly unthreatening into a surprisingly well rounded and sympathetic figure. Kudlak and his people are in a very interesting situation and the way that's resolved leads me to believe that we may well be seeing them again, perhaps even in the core series. The real honours though must go to Sook Chibtain as Mr Grantham, Kudlak's partner at Combat 3000. A cheerfully amoral, completely self-centred figure he's Han Solo without the moral qualms and cool trousers, a man out for himself and happy to switch sides at the drop of a hat. His scenes with Sladen are electric as, for the first time, Sarah Jane has someone on her level to spar with. These scenes are some of the best moments of the series so far and again, I expect we'll be seeing Mr Grantham again very soon..

Combining big SF concepts with a strong central message and some great character beats, Warriors of Kudlak really sees The Sarah Jane Adventures hit it's stride. Smart, funny and surprisingly ambitious it's the best story so far, and bodes very well for the future of the series. Just remember NOT to go for the high score...