Three years ago, The Sarah Jane Adventures began, as the second spin-off from the BBC’s Doctor Who juggernaut. It featured Sarah Jane Smith, a Who companion from the seventies, fighting evil alongside a group of young sidekicks.

The series became one of the Beeb’s most successful children’s shows, renewed last year for a fourth and fifth series. But many of Doctor Who’s adult fans (which, let’s face it, is a lot of us on the dork-blogging scene) have not given Sarah Jane a chance. Well, I think you should, and here’s why…

It’s Better Than Torchwood (mostly)

A lot of us watched the first two series of Torchwood, right? Even though, at times, they were truly appalling. I know I did, and I didn’t even have the excuse of writing reviews for Dork Adore back then. Yes, Torchwood took a drastic leap in quality with the Children Of Earth mini-series, but still, Sarah Jane Adventures has a much better average and wins the spin-off wars easily.

After three series, the quality has rarely wavered below good, and some of it has been downright excellent. The emotional bits have a bit of resonance as the rest of it is such fun, and I care more about characters if they make me smile, rather than endlessly angsting and shagging.

It’s For Children (but in a good way!)

There’s no getting away from the fact that The Sarah Jane Adventures is aimed at kids, even more so than big daddy Doctor Who. There’s more silly fun bits, blatant moralising, focus on negotiation over extermination and, yes, lots of kids hanging around.

So if you have a mental hatred of child actors, this may not be the best thing for you. But most of the kids have been doing this for a few years now, and they’ve got pretty good.

It’s Just Good, Yeah?

In short, if you love Doctor Who, you probably possess the machinery to enjoy content aimed at the young. So why not give Sarah Jane a chance? I promise it’s at least enjoyable. If you need further incentive, David Tennant appeared in series three and the awesome new Doctor Matt Smith will be popping by in the upcoming fourth year.

The new series of Sarah Jane Adventures airs its first two-parter on the CBBC channel on Monday 11th (today) and Tuesday 12th October, with BBC1 repeats on Wednesdays and Thursdays. You can see a nice trailer on the BBC’s official Sarah Jane Adventures site. I’ll be there, will you?

Read all our Doctor Who reviews on Dork Adore

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The BBC’s Spooks has always been a cruel gig for its characters. Ever since then-famous Holby City actress Lisa Faulkner had her head stuffed in a deep fat fryer in episode two, the show has enjoyed a reputation for writing out cast members at a rate that would cause other series to be crippled by strike action.

Last year, in series eight, the MI5 Murder Machine went into overdrive, with the loss of Malcolm (at least they didn’t kill him), Jo (finally, I hated her) and Ros (I will never forgive them). So, we’re now one episode into series nine, who are the good bets for death this year? Surely there has to be at least one? Let’s take a scan through the cast.

Harry Pearce (aka Peter Firth)

The only one still here from the very start, and thus surely a prime candidate. But Harry is Spooks in many ways, the one constant, and I can’t help but feel that once he goes, Section D’s days may finally be numbered. On the other hand, they’ve been teasing Harry losing the faith or retiring for a while now, so maybe it’s time.

Chances Of Survival: The Weight Of History

Lucas North (aka Richard Armitage)

To us long-term viewers, it feels like Lucas has barely arrived, but this is his third year, making him a grizzled old veteran in Spooks terms. Like previous alpha male Adam Carter, they seem to enjoy putting Lucas through the most tortured emotional wringer possible, and it looks like this series will be no different. Maybe he’ll end up swinging from the rafters by the final week.

Chances Of Survival: Plummeting Off A Cliff, Weeping

Ruth Evershed (aka Nicola Walker)

Another long-serving character, albeit with a lengthy sabbatical in the middle. If they are planning on retiring Harry, killing off Ruth would be one way of doing it, thanks to their disturbing ongoing flirtation that I don’t like to talk about. And I wouldn’t mind awfully; I quite liked her back in the day, but since her comeback she does little but exchange meaningful glances with Sir Pearce.

Chances Of Survival: If Wishing Made It So

Tariq Masood (aka Shazad Latif)

The young trendy version of Malcolm, who spent Monday’s episode dressed as a schoolboy for no obvious reason. Is that what the kids do nowadays? Anyway, you’d think his status as team nerd gave him immunity, but poor geeky Colin had one of the most upsetting Spooks deaths a few years back. Still, Tariq’s quite new, so I imagine that won’t happen yet.

Chances Of Survival: Fully Backed Up

Beth & Dimitri (aka Sophia Myles & Max Brown)

Taking these two at once, as they are both new and also because this is getting a bit long. Generally the new characters get a year or two risk-free, although tell that to poor, dead Ben Kaplan. Of course, there are rumours that this ninth series could be the last, in which case either or both of them could be merrily slaughtered. But barring that, I imagine they’ll make the start of series ten.

Chances Of Survival: Beginner’s Luck

So, there you have it. Readers, do you agree with these predictions? Who do you expect to see killed? More to the point, who do you want to see killed?

More Spooks on Dork Adore | Spooks: Series 9, Episode 1 – Dork Review

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Before the brand new series of Merlin kicked off this weekend, Nick gave us his suggestions for what he’d like to see. Has series three delivered?

The third series of the BBC’s Merlin is underway, and you could cut the excitement with a massive jousting implement. The Arthurian version of Smallville has managed to join Doctor Who in the ranks of shows that the whole family and the internet nerds can enjoy together.

But what do we want to see in this third year? Is it time Arthur and Gwen stopped flirting and had at it? We’ve got a list here of five things the Merlin creators can do to ensure a brilliant series. And the fact they can’t possibly take them into account at this late stage is utterly immaterial.

Progression!

It’s not just me, is it? It’s finally time for the story of Merlin’s secret to take a flying leap forward. How many near misses can he have before the selective amnesia becomes unconvincing? At the very least, time to share the secret with Arthur. The legendary future King of Camelot is starting to look a bit thick for failing to notice something might be amiss.

Less Panto!

This is a tricky complaint, because this is a family show. They have to play to all audiences and children are a big part of that. But the troll two-parter last series nearly put me off the series permanently with its cesspool of fart jokes and paper-thin plot. On the other hand, maybe the kids loved that one. It’s a hard tightrope to walk.

Strict Acting Direction!

There are some odd swings in thespian quality in Merlin. Bradley James as Arthur, though excellent most of the time, is sometimes struck by some magical malady, becoming freakishly wooden. It’s unsettling to watch. Katie McGrath, aka Morgana, has shaky moments as well. Keep them in line, someone.

Restrain The Mythology!

Although I’m sure it’s tempting to write intricately woven episodes which delve into the mythos and push us closer to the inevitable climax (Arthur becoming King and Merlin, um, somehow becoming much older than him and growing a beard), I think the stand-alone episodes with celebrity guest stars are a big part of Merlin’s appeal. And yes, I’m aware this could contradict my desire for progression.

More Of The Same!

I don’t want to just reel off a list of complaints. With a few exceptions (afore-mentioned troll episode, mainly), the quality threshold on Merlin has been really high. As long as they give us more stories by the same people, featuring the same cast in a good balance, I’ll probably be happy. And resist the temptation to go “dark” and feature extensive whining, that’d ruin it.

In short, I’m excited. There should be a review of the first episode up here on Dork Adore, so stay tuned to find out whether it lived up to my expectations. In the meantime, let everyone know your series three wish list below.

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Cinemas have been offering three dimensional viewing for some time now, so it was inevitable that our living rooms would follow suit. After all, with more and more movies filmed for 3D, eventually the DVD buyer starts to feel they’re missing something.

I imagine I’ll own a 3D set one day. So when offered the chance to see a range of demonstrations, it seemed foolish to say no, lest I be left behind in our manic dash for the future.

3D viewing shrinks into your living room

The basics, obviously, are the same. There is a screen, it shows a blurry picture, and you watch it through the darkening filter of 3D glasses to see fish swimming towards you. And let’s not forget, when it’s well-done, the effect can be amazing.

However, whereas the spectacles in cinemas are cheap plastic that you can throw away afterwards, or keep for beach season, the at-home versions include some of the technology for making the magic happen inside their very bodies.

What do these 3D glasses mean to me?

Firstly, they have to be recharged every so often, like your mobile. Secondly, they are bulkier. If you want to pretend you’re in a sci-fi movie from decades ago, this is the closest thing yet to VR visors; they even extend over your eyes to block out ambient light.

Lastly, the glasses being more than spindly Happy Meal toys means they cost a bit. The price I was quoted was £60 a pair, although this should drop as technology advances and Tesco Value alternatives rush to market.

But for now, having all your friends over for a 3D party will be an expensive exercise. Feel free to link to this post if you’re planning such a bash and want them to know how much you spent.

Do I want to throw a 3D party?

Much of the above is practical inevitability. One genuine annoyance is that 3D glasses often don’t work between different brands of set right now. So if your friend has a Phillips TV and you have a Samsung, getting him to bring his own glasses to your 3D party will not save you £60. You have to assume standardisation is coming, as that’s irritating.

But this shouldn’t become a moan about the need for glasses. Since we’re talking about the glowing technology of the future, I thought I’d finish on a shiny note. Apparently some 3D sets don’t just play movies already in 3D, they can also make existing 2D pictures pop out. Live football games, old movies and even Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles cartoons might be springing to life. Isn’t that exciting?

No, the quality won’t be as good as full professional 3D conversions, but again, this should improve as technology advances. I think we’re still in an embryonic stage with this, personally. Not for me, the teething, vomiting and expense of early adoption. But in a year or three, I genuinely believe this could be quite cool.

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You want to know, don’t you? You want to know which way to jump. Should you join the ‘OMG the iPad is RUBBISH! And it sounds like a SANITARY TOWEL!’ group, or go for the ‘OMG Apple have done it AGAIN! They have created something so excellent I wasn’t even aware I needed one UNTIL NOW!’ folks? Truth is, I’m not sure.

I’ve had a good think about which camp I sit in. In fact, I was most pre-occupied by it at about 5am this morning, but I just don’t seem to be able to come to a conclusion (I would understand at this point if you’d be wondering why you or I would bother with the rest of this article, but stay with me).

I’m not sure I get it.

So it’s an internet tablet, Steve says can be sitting in the kitchen waiting for you to buy your movie tickets. But it’s also a work tool that warrants its own copy of iWork? And it’s ‘the best internet browsing experience you’ve ever had’. But it doesn’t play Flash video. And typing with the on-screen keyboard is so freakin’ easy. But there’s a physical keyboard accessory you can buy. I’m not sure even Steve really understands this product.

In a presentation even more packed with superlatives than your average Apple love-in, he gave the impression that he was struggling to talk up something that was actually only quite good. In fact, after three minutes of watching him browse various web pages (‘and I can just put my finger on any of these pictures of animals, and look at any animal I like’… dude, seriously?) I was beginning to wonder if he had some kind of time slot he was struggling to fill.

There’s no help as to who this product is aimed at when it comes to pricing – taking the US conversions (UK pricing has yet to be announced) you could pay £310 for a 16GB WiFi version, or up to £514 for a 64GB WiFi and 3G enabled version. So prices start at a costly treat price, and go up to a considered investment price. They’re two quite different things.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens now – Apple don’t really do failure (not recently, anyway), but then up until now the world hasn’t really done tablet PCs.

It’s Steve vs the World. And I have no idea who my money is on.

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