"From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love" is a special one-off episode from ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...

''. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' spin-off to produce a special for

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

and was broadcast on 13 March 2009 as part of

Red Nose Day 2009 Red Nose Day 2009 was a fund-raising event organised by Comic Relief, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of 13 March 2009 to early the following morning. It was part of the "Do Something Funny For Money" campaign. It was held ...

Plot

Sarah Jane, Luke,

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

and

Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

are talking to Mr Smith when suddenly there is a breach in the attic. Mr Smith identifies the disturbance as a teleport and a diplomat named Ranius (played by comedian

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

) appears. He states that he represents the Galactic Alliance and gives them all gifts for defending the Earth so valiantly. He then pulls up a chair to talk to them and experiences apparent

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed enviro ...

. Sarah Jane, Clyde, Rani and Luke all notice the similarity of the constant flatulence with that of a

Slitheen The Slitheen are a fictional family of massive, bipedal extraterrestrials from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and are adversaries of the Ninth Doctor and later Sarah Jane Smith. The Slitheen are of the egg-laying ...

wearing a skin suit, which Ranius denies quite strongly. K9 materialises and confirms Mr Smith's identification, but Ranius states all dogs should be put on a lead and clamps K9. After further interrogation, Ranius immobilises Sarah Jane's, Luke's, Clyde's and Rani's feet using the gifts he had given them and reveals himself to be a Slitheen after all, unzipping his forehead to reveal a diminutive Raxacoricofallapatorian and stating his plan to steal K9 and the information it contains. Thinking swiftly, Sarah Jane manages to use her

sonic lipstick The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multifunctional tool in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by the Doctor. Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme, and spin-of ...

to release their feet clamps and clamp Ranius' feet. Clyde then throws Ranius'

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

at a switch on Mr Smith, teleporting Ranius away and releasing the clamp on K9.

Outside references

The script includes several references to ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, ser ...

''. Corbett's character name, Rani, is a pun on Ronnie, highlighted when he claims that he and Sarah's human friend

Rani Chandra Rani Chandra (1949 – 1976), born in Kochi, Kerala, was a Malayalam film actress and winner of the Miss Kerala Title. She died in a plane crash in 1976. She acted in several landmark films such as '' Nellu'' (Malayalam, 1974), ''Bhadrakali'' ...

could be classed as "The Two Ranis". The story Ambassador Rani tells is also a reference to ''The Two Ronnies'' – both the visual of Corbett sitting in the chair and his mention of "Fork Handles" (or Four Candles). Finally, at the end of the scene, Sarah Jane utters Ronnie Barker's catchphrase "...and it's goodnight from him". The scene also makes two references to Red Nose Day. The gifts bestowed on Sarah and her friends are Comic Relief deely boppers, and the final shot of the scene is K-9 sporting a Red Nose.

References

External links

* {{navboxes, list1= {{K9 stories, selected=Television {{Slitheen stories {{Comic Relief The Sarah Jane Adventures episodes Films with screenplays by Gareth Roberts (writer) 2009 British television episodes Doctor Who charity episodes Slitheen television stories