The Sarah Jane Adventures: Children of Steel - Review

Following the release of The Sarah Jane Adventures series 5 on DVD and Blu-ray this week, we thought it would be fitting to review Sarah Janes final off screen adventures, experienced in the form of audio.

"Children of Steel" starts out with Sarah Jane and the gang bidding for what seems to be an old Victorian brass head at an auction, but actually turns out to be a research probe from the future with an active brain, created to act as a servant.

Unlike previous audios in the Sarah Jane range, this is the first one not read by Elisabeth Sladen, sadly. However Daniel Anthony brings the adventure to life thanks to the descriptive writing of Martin Day which creates vivid images for the listener. The audiobook is produced to the finest detail with some great sound effects through-out which add to the atmosphere.

One problem I found was how Sky Smith acted nothing like how her character does on television. She is full of knowledge and wit in this adventure, despite not knowing what the word 'girl' or 'pizza' meant in the series. It should be noted that the audiobook was written before Sky was even introduced to the series, so this can be forgiven.

Doctor Who fans will enjoy a reference to the Doctor, and the story seems to pay tribute to the classic story 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane story "Robot" as both see Sarah Jane feeling emotionally attached to robots!

With a running length of 1 hour and 5 minutes, this audiobook provides a feast of entertainment leaving fans with the final adventures of the heroic Sarah Jane Smith.

You can download "Children of Steel" or buy it on CD from BBC Audio Go here.