This is a catch-up post. I watched this episode on the 23rd, and then got distracted by - you know - Christmas. So it'll be a short one.

The Vault of Secrets - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

This is the first post-Luke story, and features the return of Androvax (he was the titular Prisoner of the Judoon last season). It also provides an in-Whoniverse explanation for the mythical Men in Black. Basically, the last survivors of Androvax' planet are in cryogenic suspension and hidden in a trans-dimensional vault concealed in an old asylum in London. Also: Androvax has been poisoned and is dying. The vault is defended by a trio of androids with Auton-like gun hands, who all wear the standard MiB getup.

Losing Luke and focusing primarily on Clyde and Rani already weakens the storytelling, and that is only made worse by the prominent role given to Rani's mom Gita. She is designed from the ground up to be an annoying character, and in that sense she does not disappoint here.

The big dramatic catch at the ending is that if Androvax' people are freed, the act of them powering up their hyper drive will destroy the Earth (because of course it will). Ultimately, after two of the MiBs are destroyed the third gives up its own existence in order to power a transmat to send the Androvax ship out into space and thus not destroying the planet. Also, the remaining MiB does the flashy-thing on Gita to make her forget everything so that she is back to status quo. Which really means she could have just been left out of the story entirely with the same results. That would have been preferable.

So there's another one in the books. Only seven more left and I will be done with SJA. Looks like I will be ringing in the new year with K9.

STATS:

Featuring: Sarah Jane Smith, Clyde Langer, Rani Chandra
Episode(s): The Vault of Secrets - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,398 today, 4,172,032 total
Distance Walked: 3.83 miles today, 2,184.43 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 0 today, 9,200 total
Sit-ups Completed: 187 today, 2,250 total
Weight: 263.02 lbs (five day moving average), net change -44.28 lbs