Time to reveal another gap in my knowledge: I thought the Men in Black, as in guys who investigated aliens and confiscated anything alien left behind on Earth and then wiped the memories of witnesses, was created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg for Malibu comics, then sold to Sony and made into a movie, where the term became popular. Boy, do I feel foolish.
(Even more foolish than the time I actually met Mr. Rosenberg at a convention. I was setting up my booth, and he wandered by and we talked for a bit. In conversation he mentioned how Sony was going to make a big-budget movie based on his "Men in Black" comic. I just nodded politely and thought to myself, "Yeah, that's gonna happen." But I digress.)
In this case, these particular Men in Black are the androids we saw in the Doctor Who "Dreamland" animated special. Originally from Area 51 where they were known as the Alliance of Shades, they've made themselves the guardians of everything that Area 51 packed away... which also includes a lost spaceship with the last of Androvax's people, the Vale. (Androvax, in case you're like me and have a lousy memory for these things, is the alien bad guy from last season's "Prisoner of the Judoon" story, who was on the run from the Judoon and could hide inside other people's bodies.) It's a tale of potential redemption, rebirth and burps. Or rather burp humor, for the British UFO Research and Paranormal Studies Society, or BURPSS. Which made me wonder aloud, since UFO is already an acronym, should it be BUFORPSS? While you wouldn't get to do the obvious burping jokes, I find BUFORPSS a much funnier word on its own. But according to the Chicago Manual of Style, it's okay to put an acronym inside another acronym, so hey, that's just me. Am I digressing again?
At any rate, BURPSS comes into the story because Rani's mum has joined the group to try to get some support for her previous encounter with Androvax last season. And in doing so, I find myself very relieved that Matt Smith's first season as the Doctor has explained away why no one believes in aliens in Sarah Jane Adventures, yet in Doctor Who's "The Stolen Earth," Sarah Jane & Luke were right in the thick of the Daleks invading the entire world. Now personally I'd rather have the world remember these changes, but hey, not every show can be The 4400. So at least the Cosmic Crack gives us a reason why they don't stick.
More romance blooming between Clyde and Rani. Aww, how sweet. And Luke gets to stay in the opening montage and talk with everyone online. Wonder how long that will last.
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