PREVIOUS                                                                                  NEXT

12TH NOVEMBER 2009 - 13TH NOVEMBER 2009

(2 EPISODES)

Let’s start with a cliché: I might know sod all about art, but I know what I like,

and I like this. Mona Lisa’s Revenge is an unexpected cracker; a riotous romp that revels

in the sheer fun of the show’s remit.

Phil Ford’s premise is so delightfully absurd that it’s delectable: the Mona Lisa steps down from her frame, steals a Sontaran blaster from a prize-winning painting that Clyde made,

and then runs amok in the International Gallery (Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead) trying to release her bestial “brother in living paint” from his canvas prison.

But as enchanting as the script is, it’s in the performance that Mona Lisa’s Revenge really comes alive. Suranne Jones’ Mona Lisa is a marvellously entertaining creation, the former Coronation Street actress clearly having had an absolute ball wallowing in the farce of it all. Ford’s script gifts her with some downright hilarious dialogue – “Enigmatic smile? Wind.” – which she delivers in the most flighty, Mancunian tones imaginable. If ever you were asked

to imagine what La Gioconda sounded like, this is the voice that would be farthest from your thoughts. Never mind Corrie, Mona Lisa sounds like she’s just stepped out of an episode of Shameless!

The humour stemming from this amusing concurrence would probably have been enough

to hold my interest across the two episodes in any case, but happily there is much more

to Mona Lisa’s Revenge than its delicious hook. With Sarah Jane herself sidelined for the preponderance of the second episode, the younger members of the cast are really allowed to come to the fore and dominate the proceedings. Luke in particular shines, demonstrating remarkable self-assurance and determination en route to saving the day. It certainly looks like he picked up a thing or two from the Doctor…

“When I try to act like a normal teenager you want me perfect again, just like the way the Bane made me!”

And aside from the action, Mona Lisa’s Revenge also takes a few moments to dwell on Luke’s home life and the unique personal challenges that he faces, coming as he does from an alien test tube. His frustration is only lightly touched upon though as Ford’s script focuses more on Sarah Jane’s thoughts and feelings about her son ‘growing up’, which I can only hope aren’t foreshadowing a parting of the ways in the near future. All the same, Tommy Knight is brilliant throughout, handling both the action and the heart of this story with equal aplomb.

It’s also nice to see Daniel Anthony’s Clyde a little more vulnerable, his winning of the art competition forcing him into revealing his passion for drawing to his classmates. At the start of the story, Clyde is almost ashamed of his talent, concerned that sharing it with his friends would make him appear less cool to them, yet by its end his friends actually consider him a little ‘cooler’ because of his remarkable gift. There’s a lesson there, somewhere.

The story features some other memorable characters too. “Art tart” Lionel Harding (Jeff Rawle) is a splendid creation, as is his lovelorn subordinate, frumpy Phyllis Trupp (Liza Sadovy), who spends most of the adventure trapped in Da Vinci’s painting in Mona Lisa’s place! The resolution of this pair’s plot thread in many ways encapsulates the feisty, fun

spirit of the story, and certainly made me smile.

All told then, though not my favourite Sarah Jane Adventures story to date, Mona Lisa’s Revenge is undoubtedly the most amusing. Those familiar with the classic Doctor Who serial City of Death will also be able to derive a little bit more amusement out of it than

most viewers, as when they sit watching it they can wear a smug grin, comfortable in the knowledge that Mona Lisa has “THIS IS A FAKE” tattooed across her chest. 

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2009

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Mona Lisa’s Revenge has to be my favourite Sarah Jane Adventures story so far, which probably means it’ll be my favourite overall (there’s one more to go this year, but it’s

a Slitheen story, so it’s unlikely to be all that). It’s pretty clear why; writer Phil Ford takes an irresistibly odd concept – that of the Mona Lisa coming to life and wreaking havoc – and plays it, quite rightly, for laughs. It also helps that there are some cracking performances in there.

Another thing that works in the episodes’ favour is the focus on the three younger members of the cast. Not that I don’t love Lis Sladen, but she can, understandably, dominate the show. She actually has very little to do here, deliberately sidelined by Luke in an entirely believable moment of teenaged anger, and later trapped in a painting for much of the second episode. Tommy Knight, Anjli Mohindra and Daniel Anthony all get to put in great turns and carry the adventure between them. Luke is particularly good here. He’s really developed over the last couple of years, from the gauche computer-brained geek of his first appearance into an angrily intelligent adventurer, hugely confident in his own abilities.

There are other great turns in here too. Ace Bhatti doesn’t get too much screen time, but he is always fun to watch as the frustrated father and headmaster, particularly here when events rapidly spiral out of his control. Liza Sadowy is great as the lonely Phyllis Trupp (although some fans are reading too much into her membership of the Peapod dating site – at least,

I hope they are). Jeff Rawle as curator Lionel Harding, is, of course, brilliant. Never mind Leonardo da Vinci – this man is “a bit of a ledge”. Even Lizo Mzimba, of Newsround and Doctor Who Forum fame, gets a fun cameo.

The show is stolen by Suranne Jones as the Mona Lisa herself. If you can suspend your disbelief and accept that a 16th century painting has come to life, then there’s no reason

 the character can’t be portrayed any number of ways, but it’s still fabulously daft to make

her a flirty, gutsy Mancunian lass, wielding a Sontaran blaster. She’s hilarious, and gets some of the best lines, simply because of her sardonic delivery. And who wouldn’t laugh at hearing about the real Mona Lisa (Lisa here is the painting, see, not the model), who farted like a donkey? Still, the best line goes to Harding, when, in a touching moment, Lisa asks what the outside world is like. “Well, it’s roomier than in here, and some of it has grass on”. Genius.

The set-up is pretty hard to swallow, but, as we all know that Clyde can draw, it’s not too

hard to accept that he could win an art competition. Still, when you see the picture – three dirty space babes with guns – you have to wonder quite why the staff all enjoyed it so much, and were happy to have it on the wall of the International Gallery. Said Gallery, of course, featured in Planet of the Dead a few months back. After the theft of a priceless artefact, you have to wonder why the Louvre allowed the IG to display it, especially as they seem to have stepped down the security since.

Of course, all this pales into insignificance against the idea that a painting could come to life. There is a vague, pseudoscientific explanation given, but it doesn’t really matter. Accept the daft idea, and it’s fabulous. Lisa goes on the rampage, imprisoning people in paintings and releasing paintings to physical life (including an alarming manifestation of the Highwayman), while trying to track down her lost ‘brother’. Her brother, an Abomination painted by a Heir-onymous Bosch styled lunatic in the same alien pigments as Mona Lisa, is so horrific that

he will drive any who see him insane. Good thing we never get to see more than his clawed hands then, although a Bosch-style monster stomping around would have been awesome.

Naturally, events are contained by our heroes, when Luke confidently manipulates events so that Lisa charges up Clyde’s sketchbook with her life-giving essence, bringing a sketch of

K-9 to life. This K-9 blasts the Abomination into submission, defeating him and, in turn, Lisa herself. The plot does kind of grind to a halt here, but it’s done with style, as Lisa returns to her frame and the imprisoned people are released. The episode skirts around the potential horror of Lisa’s fate – left motionless but aware for centuries – but does give a hint of it in the final moments. Of course, she’s still in there, waiting for her next chance.

So, a great story, leaving me with only two small niggles. One is very unimportant, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who worries how this can be reconciled with the story of the Mona Lisa’s creation in the classic City of Death. Irrelevant, I know, but I am a fan. The second is my personal opinion. Leonardo da Vinci, was, of course, one of history’s greatest geniuses. But I agree with Luke – the Mona Lisa is just, sort of, well, brown. 

Copyright © Daniel Tessier 2009

Daniel Tessier has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Unless otherwise stated, all images on this site are copyrighted to the BBC and are used solely for promotional purposes.

‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ is copyright © by the BBC. No copyright infringement is intended.