Tag: Sarah Jane Smith

After experiencing an eerie sensation while hanging out with Luke, Maria, Clyde and Maria’s dad at the park, Sarah is reminded of an odd alien puzzle box that came into her possession. When she received it, she was told to give it to the person she trusts the most – and so she now gives it to Maria. She also lets Maria and Clyde in on a little secret: a large meteor is headed for Earth, and a collision would meant the end of all life on the planet…but Mr. Smith will harmlessly deflect it, without drawing any attention from the authorities. The next day, when Maria drops by Sarah’s house, Sarah isn’t there, there’s no sign of Luke, and suddenly Clyde has no idea who she is. Even Maria’s dad doesn’t remember Sarah. Sarah’s house is occupied by a woman named Andrea Yates, and there’s no evidence of any of their adventures together. When Maria tries to prove to her dad that Sarah Jane existed, she finds nothing but an obituary dated 1964 – involving a girl who died after falling off a pier during a school trip, witnessed only by a fellow schoolgirl named Andrea Yates. Something has happened to change history – and now Sarah and Mr. Smith aren’t there to save the world.

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

Guest Cast: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jane Asher (Andrea), Paul Marc Davis (The Trickster), Jimmy Vee (The Graske), Jessica Ashworth (young Sarah Jane), Francesca Miller (young Andrea), Jason Mohammad (Newsreader), Philip Hurd-Wood (voice of the Graske)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Maria, escaping an abduction by a Graske, is thrown back in time to 1964, where she meets young Andrea and Sarah on the very day in 1964 that one of them is destined to die. She tries to convince both girls to stay away from the pier, but the Graske returns and snatches Maria away again, depositing her in a limbo space with the adult Sarah. Maria’s dad finds the alien artifact that Sarah gave to Maria, and it preserves his memory of her when she’s removed from time – though he can’t seem to find anyone else who remembers Maria. He tracks down Andrea Yates to ask her about the incident in which, according to this timeline, Sarah died – and discovers that Andrea has made a deal with a very different kind of devil. When news reports reveal that a meteor is hurtling toward a collision with Earth, it seems that Sarah and Maria’s absence from history may spell doom for the entire world.

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

Guest Cast: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith), Jane Asher (Andrea), Paul Marc Davis (The Trickster), Jimmy Vee (The Graske), Jessica Ashworth (young Sarah Jane), Francesca Miller (young Andrea), Jason Mohammad (Newsreader), Philip Hurd-Wood (voice of the Graske)

Notes: The Graske first appeared in the Doctor Who interactive game Attack Of The Graske, also written by Gareth Roberts, which appeared on the BBC’s red button channel on Christmas 2005. As it’s not part of the series proper, this may be the first time that a character originating from a medium other than TV has crossed over into the Doctor Who universe proper.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Luke still hasn’t quite adjusted to Maria and her father moving away when a new family has moved into their home. Clyde is quite taken with the new neighbors’ daughter, Rani, but he soon fnids that he’s drawn the wrong kind of attention from Rani’s father…who happens to be the school’s new headmaster. Mr. Chandra takes a tough, no-nonsense approach, but perhaps with good reason: three children have disappeared without a trace. Rani and Clyde, each in possession of tickets good for a visit to Spellman’s Museum of the Circus, begin to see fleeting visions of clowns that no one else seems to be able to see. Sarah and Clyde go to visit Spellman’s museum, and Luke and Rani wind up there as well, only to discover that Spellman himself is some sort of shapeshifter, capable of taking the form of the clown that Rani and Clyde have seen, as well as the Pied Piper. It’s no long possible to keep Rani from discovering that Sarah, Luke and Clyde fend off alien invasions…but will she live long enough to join them in fighting this one?

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

Guest Cast: Jem Brownlee (Dave Finn), Aaron Shosanya (Tony Warner), Bradley Walsh (Odd Bob / Elijah Spellman / The Pied Piper), Yasmin Paige (voice of Maria Jackson), Huw Higginson (Mr. Cunningham), Elijah Baker (Steve Wallace), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Mina Anwar (Gila Chandra), Alan Ruscoe (Clown), Sean Palmer (Clown)

Notes: Director Michael Kerrigan returns to the Doctor Who universe after 19 years; he directed the four-part Doctor Who episode Battlefield in 1989, kicking off the original series’ final season on the air.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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