Watching Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures - which in terms of being a smart, scary kid's programme is often closer to vintage Who than new) I was struck by the Lovecraftian resonances of the two-part serial 'Secrets Of Stars'. Russ Abbot plays a luckless sort reduced to peddling fraudulent horoscopes who realises his true destiny as the human host of the Ancient Lights, entities which predate The Big Bang and whose universe is subject to the movement of the constellations. They possess Abbot and use him as a gateway through which they might invade and take control of our reality. For 'Ancient Lights' I think we can safely read 'Great Old Ones', while Abbot is clearly a variation of the mad, mutated cultist figure common in Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The astrological angle is a nice original twist, but whatever - it's just fun to be reminded yet again of the extent of Lovecraft's enduring influence on popular culture.You can watch Episode One HERE and Episode Two HERE
