Season 1 was broadcast on the SciFi channel in the US. Haven't gotten S2 yet.
sad It's definitely targeted at children, but not ONLY children, and that's what makes it work so well. They get to see more of Sarah Jane after the events of
School Reunion, and her 'companions' are easy for them to relate with and like.
Older fans get to see more of Sarah Jane, but with knowing more of her past and adventures with the Doctor, and we relate more to her storyline.
She's got some pretty neat things that the Doctor has given her over the years, too. Her house is full of really cool stuff. My dad noticed some things in her house that she probably got over the course of her companionship to Four. And of course, K-9, who shows up a little bit in S1 and S2, but will be a full-fledged companion in S3. (The one Ten gave her, that is. The Mark I version will get his own
spinoff. But it looks annoying.
And Mr. Smith (ha ha) as the talking computer built into the wall that can be a deus-ex machina, but somehow mostly isn't.
smile I enjoyed the few references to
2001: A Space Odyssey during an episode, which goes to show that the writers are definitely keeping the adults in mind too.
Yeah, SJA brought back the Slitheen for an episode or two, but they're more of a kid-friendly monster to begin with. I almost preferred them in some ways to the version that showed up in S1 of DW (barring
Boom Town which had a lot of character-driven plot with Margaret).
It can get cheesy, I suppose, but there's quite a few good plotlines running through that are as good as something you'd find on Doctor Who, but more toned-down as they're keeping a younger audience in mind.
There's an episode 2-parter similar to
Turn Left from S4 of DW, with a recurring baddie who likes to mess with time.
A minor continuity point to note is that it's his scarab/beetle minion thing on Donna's back that made her change her mind in that same episode.
There's some nice Doctor references for a while, although nowhere near as annoying as the ones in Torchwood.
xd The kids are a nice bunch too; they aren't as helpless/annoying as you might think. There's three of them, I think, and each character gets more fleshed out as the season continues, so it's nice.
Season 2, from what I hear, is even better, bringing a longtime DW villain into an episode, a past SJA villain, and a certain gigantic surprise for the finale.
razz This is definitely not something the kiddies would pick up on, so I can't wait to see it.
Season 3 is currently in the works, so it must be doing pretty well.
smile [/essay] .... I type/elaborate way too much/often.
xd