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Series 1 Boxset:
Series 2 Part 2:

Director:

James Hawes (The Bill, Holby City, Sea Of Souls)

Screenplay:

Toby Whitmore (Hotel Babylon, No Angels)

Cast:

The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mickey Smith: Noel Clarke
Sarah Jane Smith: Elisabeth Sladen
Mr Finch: Anthony Stewart Head
K-9's Voice: John Leeson

Synopsis: Shape-shifting aliens called Krillitanes have infiltrated a High School, and it's up to The Doctor and Rose to save the day, with the help of two familiar friends...

The third episode of the new season begins in a strange fashion, with Anthony Stewart Head (stuffy Giles from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, right) stalking the corridors of a school before apparently devouring a child. This scene immediately sets the tone for School Reunion – it's Goosebumps does The Faculty, everyone!

The Doctor and Rose are undercover at an inner-city High School, where a group of replacement teachers under the leadership of Head's Mr Finch, are actually bat-like shape-shifters called Krillitanes. Writer Toby Whitmore's debut on the series is very uninspiring, with a frivolous plot that was probably developed with an eye on the show's young demographic. While I'm sure the episode provoked plenty of Monday morning chatter for school children everywhere, it was a missed opportunity to not have the kids take center stage in the episode itself.

This is very much another adventure for The Doctor and Rose, with Mickey making another unwanted return -- although this is by far his most palatable appearance. So, while Whitmore's alien teachers plot is very derivative, the real emphasis in for the episode is the titular reunion of The Doctor and his ex-companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). One of the joys of Doctor Who's return has been its ability to answer some of the questions that have plagued the series, or tap into ideas that the show has bizarrely never touched. Here, we finally discover what happens to The Doctors' companions once they part company with the Time Lord, and why The Doctor chooses to circulate his fellow travelers anyway.

Elisabeth Sladen (right, with Billie Piper) reprises her role as if she's never been away. She may be 30 years older, but she's lost none of the spark and vitality her character had with Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker in the TARDIS. Her character's initially frosty relationship with Rose is also very well played by both actresses. Also returning to the series is K-9, the robot dog created by Tom Baker's Doctor in the 70's, who gets a few enjoyable scenes and is instrumental in the climactic sequence with rampaging Krillitanes and Anthony Stewart Head gurning maniacally.

School Reunion is undoubtedly a mediocre episode elevated by some great character moments (Mickey's realization he's the current "tin dog" is excellent), but this has very little meat to its bones. Anthony Stewart Head actually disappoints as Mr Finch, for while he's perfected villainous elocution and body language, he can't improve on what is basically a terribly clichéd role that eventually spirals into grimaces to camera.

David Tennant has yet to prove his worth as the new Doctor, still stuck in a rut since New Earth and unable to move beyond genial and overly excitable geek. There are moments here that again scratch at a darker surface, but Tennant too often deflates the drama with misplaced cockney glee. But, it took Christopher Eccleston awhile to settle into the role, so Tennant has time yet to strike the right balance.

The Krillitane CGI effects throughout the episode veer wildly in quality. Shots with a Krillitane perched on the school roof with Anthony Stewart Head are laughably bad and a real low-point for the new series. The Krillitane creatures themselves tend to look fake close-up, but are quite effectively rendered and animated during the climactic school chase sequence.

Overall, School Reunion is undemanding fun for pre-teens, but holds special significance to those who remember the days of Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. But the premise is clichéd tosh and ultimately offers nothing particularly memorable outside of its special guest stars. The fact an episode featuring children (the target audience for the show) forgets to include kids in the adventure is also a travesty. There is a final throwaway moment when a boy is exalted for "blowing up the school" by his friends, but why wasn't his character more integral to the plot?

Thankfully, the episode's saving grace is the excellent character interaction and intriguing old-meets-new conceit between Rose and Sarah Jane. Whether this is enough to rescue a generally weak episode is up to you.

NEW WEEK: The Doctor and Rose investigate spooky masked aliens in Georgian England.

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

2008			Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008			Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

And the Audio CDs :

2000			04: The Land of the Dead
2000			06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000			10: Winter for the Adept
2000			12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000			14: The Holy Terror
2000			15: The Mutant Phase
2001			16: Storm Warning
2001			18: The Stones of Venice
2002			28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002			30: Seasons of Fear
2002			31: Embrace the Darkness
2002			35: ...Ish
2002			39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

PC games reviewed by the editor are on: