Tag: Elisabeth Sladen

Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora

Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora

by Louis Marks; dir. Rodney Bennett (BBC, 1976)

DVD cover: “Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora” by Louis Marks; dir. Rodney Bennett (BBC, 1976)

Tom Baker is in fine fettle as the Doctor swashbuckles around a rather small-looking historical adventure, countering an alien threat that he himself has enabled. Elisabeth Sladen brings matchless nuance to her performance. Giuliano narrowly survives a foreshadowing of Blackadder’s Lord Percy.

The Sarah Jane Adventures, Series 1

The Sarah Jane Adventures, Series 1

(CBBH, 2007)

Sarah Jane Adventures 1

A cleverly conceived Doctor Who spinoff, aimed at a younger audience but with sufficiently well-executed SF (both serious and Slitheen-level over-the-top) to keep adults interested. While Elisabeth Sladen is top-billed, her teen co-stars prove equally capable. The half-hour two-parters format works nicely.

 

 

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Deadly Download

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Deadly Download

by Jason Arnopp; audiobook read by Elisabeth Sladen (AudioGO, 2010)

Arnopp_Deadly Download

Cyber safety gets the alien treatment as the internet paves the way for mind control (through curiously unnecessary hardware reassembly). Elisabeth Sladen again reads with distinction but this audio adventure still comes across as a rather lightweight observance of the show’s formula.

 

 

Doctor Who…at the BBC: a Legend Reborn

Doctor Who…at the BBC: a Legend Reborn

presented by Elisabeth Sladen (BBC, 2010)

Sladen_Legend Reborn

A somewhat artificial look back at the successful revival of Doctor Who under Russell T Davies, featuring previously aired interviews and radio appearances (many with an exuberant David Tennant). Elisabeth Sladen’s contribution is sadly limited to reading linking material from a script.

 

 

Sarah Jane Adventures: Wraith World

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Wraith World

by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright; audiobook read by Elisabeth Sladen (AudioGO, 2010)

Scott_Wright_Wraith World

Elisabeth Sladen does her best, and the premise of ‘fiction writing reality’ is one young adults will enjoy, but it’s difficult to take seriously a worm-horde-wielding villain who considerately puts his attacks on hold whenever the protagonists want to talk things through.

 

 

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Glittering Storm

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Glittering Storm

by Stephen Cole (BBC, 2007); audiobook read by Elisabeth Sladen

Cole_Glittering Storm

Elisabeth Sladen doesn’t so much read as act, her performance as Sarah Jane elevating this otherwise somewhat middling story of alien imperilment. Whatever the gold is being used for this time, however squidgy and one-dimensional the adversary, Sladen remains the consummate companion-turned-lead.

 

 

Derelict Space Sheep