THE CURSE OF CLYDE LANGER PART 1 REVIEW

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Cultbox.co.uk have reviewed part one of “The Curse of Clyde Langer”, see below:

The second of the three two-part tales that make up the final series of The Sarah Jane Adventures opens with a jinxed Native American totem pole and an unusual rainstorm over London: a downpour of trout. Yet despite these suitably bizarre and potentially extraterrestrial trappings, this is a story more concerned with alienation than aliens.

‘This looks dead fishy,’ Clyde remarks at the beginning, opening a barrage of puns and ‘It was this big!’ size gags which, allied with the introduction of Sky – a much younger character than Sarah Jane’s other assistants – indicate an intention to bring the show back into line with CBBC’s youthful audience demographic.

But although spooky totem poles and ancient curses are very much the staples of adventure stories for all ages, the mature underlying themes of Series 5 which began in last week's ‘Sky’ – loneliness and abandonment – remain very much to the fore, and it’s these concepts which dominate as Clyde finds his friends mysteriously turning against him.

Daniel Anthony’s performance is excellent. Clyde’s miserable bafflement at the sudden, inexplicable antipathy towards him is the highlight of the episode; and when even the ATMs and the weather turn against him, leaving him tearful and desolate, it’s one of the strongest scenes yet in The Sarah Jane Adventures. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal else of substance to bolster it.

the overall story is sound and – based on the evidence of the teaser, at least – the second half is brighter, livelier and more exciting than the first, with everyone resolutely back on the money and even Sky appearing more animated than she has done previously. It’s a relief after an opening instalment which has much to recommend it but ultimately – fish pun klaxon – flounders.

Read more here. The Curse of Clyde Langer starts Monday at 5.15pm on CBBC.