Category: Sarah Jane Adventures

Just when escape seems impossible, salvation comes from an unlikely source – the sound of Rani’s cell phone ringing somehow disrupts Spellman’s telekinetic power, allowing Sarah and the others to escape. With Mr. Smith’s help, Sarah discovers that Spellman – as well as the legendary Pied Piper and the clown known as Odd Bob, both of whom Spellman also claims to be – is most likely an alien, a creature that can only maintaining its existence by feeding on strong emotions. Spellman’s preferred diet is fear, and he promises to provide himself with a feast by causing more children to disappear. Even if she can stop Spellman’s diabolical plan, Sarah and Luke may not escape his clutches.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Bradley Walsh (Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gila Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith), Floella Benjamin (Professor Rivers), Jessica Mogridge (young Sarah Jane)

Notes: Again, Sarah visits the Pharos Institute, last seen in the season one two-parter The Lost Boy and possibly (but possibly not) related to the Pharos Project in the 1981 Doctor Who story Logopolis. In a Doctor Who in-joke that only longtime fans would spot, one of the clown images Sarah views on her laptop is a cropped portion of a well-known publicity photo from the 1966 story The Celestial Toymaker, starring William Hartnell; clearly the production team was clowning around. Mr. Smith’s ability to manipulate the British telephone network en masse was first demonstrated in the Doctor Who episode The Stolen Earth.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A small-time London psychic is suddenly drawing national attention, and Sarah is curious about his sudden popularity. While his stage show contains the usual expected parlor tricks, Martin Trueman is able to pull off feats that both astound and alarm Sarah: he exhibits very real mind control over members of the audience, and he even puts Sarah in the spotlight and nails down the details of her travels with the Doctor. But despite these worrying powers, Sarah can detect nothing alien about the man. She decides to pay him an unexpected visit, only to find that her every move is being anticipated. Convinced that there’s an alien presence at work, Sarah continues to use every resource at her disposal to investigate Trueman – but it’s too late: he’s used his gradually increasing influence over others to gain global media exposure, and during his broadcast he begins to take over entire segments of the human race, one star sign at a time. He also uses that influence to send Clyde on a mission to prevent Sarah from interfering further by any means necessary.

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Russ Abbott (Martin Trueman), Carryl Thomas (Cheryl Farley), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ed Hughes (Stuart Farley), Nicky Ladanowski (Lisa Trotter), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

Notes: Draconia gets its first mention in either the revived Doctor Who or any of its spinoffs; apparently the practice of astrology is alive and well among those noble aliens whose only on-screen appearance in Doctor Who was in the 1973 story Frontier In Space. The Draconians have proven popular enough to appear in novels and fan films as well; however, they have yet to put in any face time in new Who. The opening teaser’s cliffhanging line, “You’re going on a journey – a very long journey,” is an in-joke on the very same line of dialogue as spoken by the Rani (no relation to this series’ character of the same name) in the much-maligned 1993 charity sketch Dimensions In Time.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Martin Trueman’s takeover of the human race has begun, and Sarah has to find a way to stop Clyde – who is under Trueman’s mind control – from killing her without doing him any harm. No one realizes it in the moment, but Luke seems to provide the solution, perhaps because his lack of a real birthdate under Earth’s star signs renders him immune to Trueman’s power. The alien force that Sarah has suspected all along finally appears, using Trueman as its bridge into our universe. As Trueman extends his mind control to each sign of the Zodiac, Rani and her mother fall under his power. Even shutting down his worldwide broadcast doesn’t seem to be slowing the invasion of Earth by an ancient power. Is Luke the key to saving Earth – and if he is, what will it cost him?

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Michael Kerrigan
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Russ Abbott (Martin Trueman), Carryl Thomas (Cheryl Farley), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ed Hughes (Stuart Farley), Nicky Ladanowski (Lisa Trotter), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

Notes: Recurring Whoniverse bit player Lachele Carl returns in the role of an American newscaster, but becomes a little more involved in the story than usual…

LogBook entry by Earl Green

While Sarah heads out of town on assignment, Luke goes to stay with Clyde and his mother, but this sleepover is anything but routine. Clyde’s estranged father shows up, apparently ready to mend fences, and Clyde doesn’t exactly seem receptive to his overtures. Rani, in the meantime, sneaks into Sarah’s house to ask Mr. Smith about an unusual pendant she found at school – something which, momentarily at least, gives her total control over her father’s actions. She leaves it there for Mr. Smith to analyze. Later, when trying to explain to his father what he and his friends do, Clyde shows off Mr. Smith – and his father finds the pendant, quickly discovering what its unique ability is…and using it.

written by Joseph Lidster
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jocelyn Jee Esien (Carla Langer), Gary Beadle (Paul Langer), Perry Millward (Jacob), Huw Higginson (Mr. Cunningham), Elijah Baker (Steve Wallace), Jessica Lewis (Detention Girl), Andrew Phillips (Detention Boy)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Clyde’s father uses the pendant, and its mind control ability, to get a flashy new car, take his son on a shopping spree, and more – all by using his newfound power of persuasion to convince people to give them away. But Clyde is still troubled by what’s happening, and even when his father repeatedly tries to tell him to forget his mother and his friends, he’s still worried. Unable to reach Sarah, Luke and Rani call on Maria, whose dad is able to find out about the origins of the pendant from UNIT’s database. The pendant is indeed an alien artifact giving its wearer power over the minds of others…but with repeated use, it begins to mutate the wearer into something not unlike the alien race that made it, and eventually the change is irreversible. Can Clyde and his friends keep this from happening – or is he about to lose his father again for good?

written by Joseph Lidster
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson), Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jocelyn Jee Esien (Carla Langer), Gary Beadle (Paul Langer), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Car Salesman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Sarah and her friends chase down a little schoolboy in a 1950s school uniform who has emerged through a random fissure in time. Too scared to go back on his own, the boy will only return if Sarah escorts him – and to her horror, she discovers that the fissure leads to her birthplace, just days before she’s discovered, left on the side of the road, with her parents never to be seen again. Try as she does to rationalize not going back and possibly changing history, Sarah feels she’s got enough time travel experience under her belt to deal with any problems. But moments after she steps through the fissure into 1951, Luke leaps in behind her to warn her that the present-day end of the fissure is unstable. Too late, Sarah discovers that she’s fallen for an irresistible trap constructed just for her…and that she has delivered Earth’s fate into the hands of the Trickster and his minion, the Graske.

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Rosanna Lavelle (Barbara Smith), Christopher Pizzey (Eddie Smith), Paul Marc Davis (The Trickster), Jimmy Vee (The Graske), Georgie Glen (Mrs. King), Robert Madge (Oscar), Philip Hurd-Wood (voice of the Graske)

Notes: None of the background information on Sarah contradicts any facts established in Doctor Who, since this sort of in-depth characterization wasn’t common for 1970s Doctor Who companions. The Trickster was last seen in the season one two-parter Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane?, which also featured the Graske, though the Graske was seen more recently in the Doctor Who short Music Of The Spheres at the 2008 Proms. The Trickster, though he hasn’t shown his face in Doctor Who, was apparently behind the attempt to change Donna’s – and therefore the Doctor’s – history in Turn Left.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Trickster eagerly declares himself victorious, but underestimates Sarah’s resolve. But even she’s having a hard time setting this situation right, when even Luke is suggesting that her parents must die to restore the timeline. Clyde and Rani, after discovering the alien artifact that kept Maria and then her father safe during the Trickster’s last incursion, find themselves in an alternate timeline where humanity is enslaved by the Graske – and the Graske is enslaved by the Trickster. Rani strikes a bargain to help the Graske in exchange for sending her back to 1951 with a piece of information that changes everything…but even with that information, Sarah is horrified to discover that the world still ultimately depends upon her parents to willingly lay down their lives.

written by Gareth Roberts
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Rosanna Lavelle (Barbara Smith), Christopher Pizzey (Eddie Smith), Paul Marc Davis (The Trickster), Jimmy Vee (The Graske), Georgie Glen (Mrs. King), Robert Madge (Oscar), Andrew Bullivant (PC Ferguson), Philip Hurd-Wood (voice of the Graske)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Under the control of Androvax the Annihilator, Sarah has returned to a genetic engineering lab that she’s been investigating, and sets the lab’s wealth of nanoforms to the task of rebuilding Androvax’s ship… and then to the destruction of Earth. Judoon Captain Tybo and the kids arrive at the same lab, pursuing Androvax – and the rest of his Judoon platoon will arrive on Earth at any moment. If they can’t come up with a way to get Androvax out of Sarah’s body, the race is on to see who will destroy Earth first: Androvax or the Judoon, who will let nothing and no one keep them from their quarry.

written by Phil Ford
directed by Joss Agnew
music by Sam Watts and Dan Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Terence Maynard (Madison Yorke), Robert Curtis (Security Man), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Paul Kasey (Captain Tybo), Nicholas Briggs (voice of Captain Tybo), Mark Goldthorp (Androvax)

Notes: This episode offers the Doctor Who universe explanation of the 1947 Roswell incident, and mentions the “Dreamland base,” tying into a CG-animated Doctor Who adventure, Dreamland, broadcast toward the end of the third season of The Sarah Jane Adventures. The new Doctor Who series had previously mentioned Roswell, with the ninth Doctor encountering the “mileometer from the Roswell spacecraft” in Henry Van Statten’s underground museum in the 2005 episode Dalek. Being taken over is practically a hobby for Sarah Jane: she fell under the thrall of the giant spiders of Metebelis 3 (a.k.a. Planet Of The Spiders), and by Eldrad of Kastria in her final story as a Doctor Who regular, The Hand Of Fear. And speaking of the Pertwee years, the Judoon sentence Luke, Rani and Clyde (and possible Sarah) to exile on Earth; the good news is that they seldom leave it anyway, so they probably won’t be sitting around in a lab trying to fix a dematerialization circuit for years on end…

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A boy wanders into a vacant house on Bannerman Road in 2059, finding an old woman living a hermit-like existence. She says her name is Rani Chandra, and begins to tell the boy of the adventures she had 50 years ago with her friends Luke, Clyde and Sarah Jane Smith. She also recounts the tale of how she came to be the hermit she is now – the tale of a demon living in an abandoned amusement park, the one monster from whom her friends couldn’t save her.

written by Joseph Lidster
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Souad Faress (Old Rani), Gregg Sulkin (Adam), Brian Miller (Harry), Toby Parkes (Sam), Eleanor Tomlinson (Eve), Kate Fleetwood (Ship)

Notes: Brian Miller, appearing as the somewhat suspicious amusement park proprietor, is the husband of Elisabeth Sladen; this is far from his first appearance in the Doctor Who universe, as he provided Dalek voices in Resurrection Of The Daleks (1984) and Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988), and appeared “in the flesh” in 1982’s Snakedance. Souad Faress previously appeared in the 1979 Blake’s 7 episode Horizon – in which Brian Miller also appeared.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A face in the mirror – the artificial intelligence at the heart of Eve’s stranded spacecraft – peers into the minds of Sarah, Luke and Rani, picking out their past and predicting their futures. In Sarah’s future, she sees the return of the TARDIS, but for Rani’s future, she sees nothing except the life of a hermit in what was once Sarah’s attic – a future that seems inescapable. Sarah and Clyde find Rani and meet Eve, and Rani tries to convince her friends that Eve isn’t a force of evil, but simply needs their help. Even if she convinces everyone that this is true, is she right?

written by Joseph Lidster
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Guest Cast: Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Souad Faress (Old Rani), Gregg Sulkin (Adam), Brian Miller (Harry), Toby Parkes (Sam), Eleanor Tomlinson (Eve), Kate Fleetwood (Ship), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Jai Rajani (Shuresh)

Appearing in footage from Planet Of The Spiders: Jon Pertwee (The Doctor)

Appearing in footage from The Hand Of Fear: Tom Baker (The Doctor)

Notes: For the first time in The Sarah Jane Adventures, footage from Sarah’s travels in the classic Doctor Who series is shown, namely her introduction to the third Doctor in The Time Warrior, the possessed Sarah attacking the third Doctor in Planet Of The Spiders (his final story), and Sarah’s farewell to the fourth Doctor in The Hand Of Fear. This is only the second time that classic Doctor Who footage has been incorporated into a modern episode from the Doctor Who universe (the first being a brief sequence in the Doctor Who Christmas special The Next Doctor).

LogBook entry by Earl Green