The Sarah Jane Adventures

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''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

for

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

, created by

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...

, and starring

Elisabeth Sladen Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen (1 February 1946 – 19 April 2011) was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series ''Doctor Who'', appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside ...

. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

science fiction programme '' Doctor Who'' and is aimed at a younger audience than ''Doctor Who''. It focuses on the adventures of

Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction on television, science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of Doctor Who spin-offs, its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged in ...

, an investigative journalist who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space with the Doctor. Following Sladen's sudden death from cancer, the

...
confirmed that the show would not return for a sixth series. The series debuted on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

with a 60-minute special, "

Invasion of the Bane "Invasion of the Bane" is the first episode of the British science fiction television series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. It was written by series creator Russell T Davies with Gareth Roberts and was directed by Colin Teague. It was originally ...

", on 1 January 2007, and broadcast until Sladen’s death in 2011. It was nominated for a British Academy Children's Award in 2008 in the Drama category, and for a BAFTA Cymru in 2009 in the Children's Drama category. The programme won a Royal Television Society 2010 award for Best Children's Drama. As of 30 November 2022, all of the series are on BBC iPlayer.

Series

A full series of ten 25-minute episodes began on 24 September 2007. The first series consisted of five two-part stories, and a second series, comprising six two-part stories, began airing on 29 September 2008. A third series, once again comprising six two-part stories to make a total of twelve episodes, with Russell T Davies serving as executive producer, aired from 15 October 2009 to 20 November 2009. The fourth series was aired from 11 October 2010. An episode of another spin-off series, ''

Sarah Jane's Alien Files ''Sarah Jane's Alien Files'' is a BBC series based on ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. It features the characters Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra entering data on aliens they have encountered during their adventures in ...

'', was shown immediately after each of the first episodes of the stories. Filming for three of six two-part serials planned for the fifth series was completed prior to

's death on 19 April 2011. The BBC stated that no further episodes would be filmed. The fifth series was broadcast starting 3 October 2011 on Mondays and Tuesdays. It finished just two weeks later on 18 October 2011.

Background and development

In 2006, Children's BBC expressed an interest in producing a ''Doctor Who'' spin-off. Their initial idea was "a drama based on the idea of a young ''Doctor Who''", but Russell T Davies vetoed this. "Somehow, the idea of a fourteen year old

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, on

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in ...

inventing

sonic screwdriver 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-o ...

s, takes away from the mystery and intrigue of who he is and where he came from," said Davies. He suggested instead a series based on the Doctor's former companion Sarah Jane Smith. The character of Sarah Jane Smith, played by Sladen, appeared in ''Doctor Who'' from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee as the

Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fr ...

and

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...

as the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

. A pilot episode for another ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series, ''

K-9 and Company ''K-9 and Company'' is a one-episode television pilot, for a proposed 1981 television spin-off of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It features former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist ...

'', made in 1981, featured Sarah Jane and the robot dog K9; however, a full series was never commissioned. Sarah Jane and K9 returned to ''Doctor Who'' in various media many times over the years, most notably in the 20th anniversary special ''

The Five Doctors ''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

'' (1983), and in episodes " School Reunion" (2006), "

The Stolen Earth "The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One ...

" / "

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry c ...

" (2008) and " The End of Time" (2010). Sarah Jane is frequently voted the most popular ''Doctor Who'' companion by both ''Doctor Who'' fans and members of the general public. That a Sarah Jane series was being developed was first confirmed in the BBC's in-house newsletter, ''Ariel'', in early August 2006. These early rumours were associated with the working title ''Sarah Jane Investigates''. K9's only appearances in the show's first two series were a cameo in the special and an appearance in the last episode of the first series. This was due to the concurrent development of the independently produced children's series, '' K-9'', which features a remodelled version of K9 with only indirect nods to ''Doctor Who''. However, in 2009, K9 appeared with ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' cast in a sketch 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 K9 appeared in six episodes of the third series, followed by two more appearances in the fourth series. He did not appear at all in Series 5.

Production

Production on the full series began in April 2007. Two of the five two-part stories were scripted by the special's co-writer Gareth Roberts. '' Bad Girls'' and ''

New Captain Scarlet ''Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet'' (more commonly ''New Captain Scarlet'' or ''NCS'') is a British computer generated action-adventure reboot of the 1967 Supermarionation series, ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons''. Both series were ...

'' writer Phil Ford wrote two stories and

Phil Gladwin Phil Gladwin is a television writer and script editor. He created the screenwriting website and platform ''Screenwriting Goldmine'', designed to help train young screenwriters and provide them with key resources relating to craft and business. He ...

wrote one. Creator and executive producer

was going to write one story but was forced to drop out due to other work commitments.

Tenth anniversary

For the tenth anniversary of the show, an event was held 29 July 2017 at Cardiff University Students' Union, with proceeds going to Ty Hafan Hospice for Children. A total of £6643.35 was raised by the sale of tickets to the event and merchandise. Members of the cast and crew that took part in the event were

Tommy Knight Thomas Lawrence Knight (born 22 January 1993) is an English actor best known for playing Luke Smith in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who'', Kevin Chalk in '' Waterloo Road'', murder victim Caleb "Cal" Bray in ''Glue'' and Brodie i ...

Anjli Mohindra Anjli Mohindra (born 20 February 1990) is a British stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for playing aspiring journalist Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) ...

Yasmin Paige Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (given name), a feminine given name, and sometimes surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French ac ...

, Sinead Michael,

Mina Anwar Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British actress and singer. Early life Anwar was born in Church, Lancashire in 1969. She was educated at Accrington Moorhead High School, and gained an A level in Theatre in Performance at the Acc ...

Katy Manning Catherine Ann "Katy" Manning (born 14 October 1946) is an English- Australian actress, television presenter, voice artist and former model. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as t ...

, Paul Marc Davis, Phil Ford,

Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an a ...

, Joe Lidster, Sam Watts,

Richard Wisker Richard Wisker (born 1 February 1995) is a BAFTA Award-nominated British actor and presenter from Dagenham, England, known for his role as Liam O'Donovan in ''Tracy Beaker Returns''. From 2013 to 2015 he portrayed Rich in the CBBC series ''Dani ...

, Cheryl Rowlands,

Scott Handcock Scott Handcock (born 8 November 1984) is an English writer, director and producer who has been involved in a number of audio plays for Big Finish Productions, the audio production company perhaps best associated with the Doctor Who franchise. ...

, Brian Miller,

John Leeson John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor, voice artist and freelance wine educator. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in ''Doctor Who'' and s ...

, Mat Irvine and Chris Johnson. The event was recorded and was released onto DVD and Blu-ray and could be bought exclusively through the event's website.

Cast and crew

In addition to Sladen, the first series of the programme stars

Maria Jackson Maria Jackson is a fictional character played by Yasmin Paige in the British children's science fiction television programme ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', a spin-off from the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. She is a 13-year-old girl who di ...

, Sarah Jane's 13-year-old neighbour in Ealing, west London, and

as a boy named Luke, who is adopted by Sarah Jane at the conclusion of the introductory story. The third member of Sarah Jane's young entourage is 14-year-old called

Clyde Langer ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British television science fiction, British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC (TV channel), CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. T ...

, played by Daniel Anthony, who is introduced in the first episode of the proper series. Actress Porsha Lawrence Mavour briefly played Maria's friend, Kelsey Hooper, in the 2007 New Year's Day special ''

'' which was created before the start of the series. Maria and her family are written out of the series in the first story of the second series, '' The Last Sontaran'', but Maria and her father return briefly in the second part of ''

The Mark of the Berserker ''The Mark of the Berserker'' is the fourth serial of the second series of the British science fiction television series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. It was first broadcast in two weekly parts on CBBC on 3 and 10 November 2008. Due to Elisab ...

''. In the second story of that series, '' The Day of the Clown'', several new regular cast members are introduced:

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'' ...

and her parents, Haresh, and

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' ( ...

(played by

Ace Bhatti Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti (born 13 September 1969) is a British actor who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has appeared in numerous television series, including ''Cardiac Arrest'', '' Holding On'', '' NCS: Manhunt'', '' ...

, and

, respectively).

Joseph Millson Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Eng ...

appears throughout the first series as Maria's recently separated father, Alan, with

Chrissie Jackson This is a list of minor characters from the television series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. A Androvax Androvax, also known as Androvax the Veil, was an alien criminal first appearing in "Prisoner of the Judoon" who was wanted for twelv ...

, Maria's mother, played by

Juliet Cowan Juliet Cowan (born 21 May 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a British television, film and stage actress. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as ''EastEnders'', ''Silent Witness'' and '' Casualty''. Cowan has ...

. One other regular is

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show '' Pointless'', as well as the morning show on Classic FM. He is ...

of comedy duo

Armstrong and Miller Armstrong and Miller are an English comedy double act consisting of the actor-comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. They have performed in two eponymous television sketch shows, the satirical ''Timeghost'' podcast, and many individual ...

, who provides the voice of Mr Smith, an extraterrestrial computer in Sarah Jane's attic. The 2007 special featured

Samantha Bond Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamu ...

as the scheming villain Mrs Wormwood and Jamie Davis as her PR agent Davey. The first series included among its guest cast

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

as Sarah Jane's childhood friend

Andrea Yates Andrea Pia Yates ( Kennedy; born July 2, 1964) is an American woman from Houston, Texas, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001. She had severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, and schizophreni ...

Floella Benjamin Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, (born 23 September 1949GRO Register of Marriages: SEP 1980 14 0207 LAMBETH – Keith D. Taylor=Floella K.Y. Benjamin) is a Trinidadian-British actress, singer, presenter, author, businesswoman, ...

as Professor Rivers, who returned in Series 2, Series 3 and Series 5, and

Phyllida Law Phyllida Ann Law (born 8 May 1932) is a British actress, known for her numerous roles in film and television. Early life Law was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Meg "Mego" and William Law, a journalist. Prior to the Second World War, her fath ...

as Bea Nelson-Stanley. The second series guest starred

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), a ...

as an evil alien clown in the story '' The Day of the Clown'' and

Russ Abbot Russ Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, comedian and actor. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, la ...

as a sinister astrologer in '' Secrets of the Stars''. Also appearing in the second series were

Gary Beadle Gary Beadle (born 8 July 1965) is a British actor, best known for playing Paul Trueman in '' EastEnders'' and Gary Barwick in ''Operation Good Guys''. Life and career Beadle was raised as one of five children in Bermondsey, South London, wh ...

and

Jocelyn Jee Esien Jocelyn Jee Esien (born 2 March 1979) is a British comedian, actress and writer of Nigerian origin. She stars in the hidden-camera show ''3 Non-Blondes'', and her own comedy sketch show, '' Little Miss Jocelyn''.Laura Barnett"Jocelyn Jee Esien ...

, who portrayed Clyde's parents

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...

in ''

''; Esien reprised her role briefly in Series 4 and more prominently in series 5.

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ea ...

guest starred in ''

Enemy of the Bane ''Enemy of the Bane'' is the sixth and final serial of the second series of the British science fiction television series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. It first aired in two weekly parts on the CBBC channel on 1 and 8 December 2008. This stor ...

'' as classic ''Doctor Who'' character Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, and Samantha Bond also returned as Wormwood for the episode. The original executive producers for ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' were

Phil Collinson Philip Collinson (born 26 August 1970) is a British television producer. He was initially an actor, before switching to working behind the cameras in the industry as a script editor and writer on programmes such as ''Springhill'' and ''Emmerdal ...

, Russell T Davies and

Julie Gardner Julie Ann Gardner (born 4 June 1969) is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off shows ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. ...

. Susie Liggat produced the pilot, but Matthew Bouch worked as producer of the series. Co-writer Gareth Roberts, writing in ''Doctor Who Magazine'', said, "We're all determined that this will be a big, full-blooded drama; that nobody should ever think of it as 'just' a children's programme." Sue Nott was the executive producer of the second series for

. In December 2007, the BBC released a statement that

would be replaced by

Piers Wenger Piers Wenger is a British television executive who serves as controller of BBC drama commissioning. Early life Wenger was born Piers John Wenger in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England on 29 June 1972. Career Wenger was appointed as contro ...

as executive producer for ''Doctor Who'' in January 2009, but that she would continue to executive-produce ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' through 2008. The fourth series in 2010 was executive produced by Russell T Davies and Nikki Wilson, and the producers were Brian Minchin and frequent writer Phil Ford. During this series, Cyril Nri was introduced as a new recurring character called The Shopkeeper. The production team remained in place for the completed episodes of Series 5, which were shot concurrently with Series 4. The show's abbreviated fifth and final series introduced a new main character named Sky, played by Sinead Michael. The episode that introduced Sky also featured a return appearance by the Shopkeeper, but the fact that the second half of the series was never produced left his story arc, as well as other ongoing plot points, unresolved. A special edition of '' Doctor Who Magazine'', ''The Sarah Jane Companion Volume 3'', published in August 2012, detailed the plotlines of the three unfilmed stories.

Cast

''Doctor Who'' characters

Including K9 and Sarah Jane, some characters from the past or current run of ''Doctor Who'' have appeared in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Numerous others have been referenced in dialogue. Several former companions of the Doctor are referenced in the story ''Death of the Doctor'', and the episode also includes brief on-screen flashbacks showing the Third, Fourth and Tenth Doctors. Companion Harry Sullivan is referenced separately in dialogue on several occasions and a photograph of the character is visible in one episode. In an issue of ''Doctor Who Magazine'', Sophie Aldred was read an email from Russell T. Davies, in which he declared his plans to bring Ace into a story had the show continued, and she was alluded to at the end of ''The Death of the Doctor'' when the fates of Harry Sullivan,

Ian Chesterton Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's first r ...

, Barbara Wright, Ben Jackson,

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Paula (g ...

Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fift ...

, and

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

are revealed. The episode ''Sky'' was originally to have featured the Eleventh Doctor, but Matt Smith was not available.

Episodes

''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' was first seen by its original British audience in the form of a 60-minute New Year's Day special in 2007, titled "

", which was co-written by

and Gareth Roberts. "Invasion of the Bane" was not a pilot, although the story does contains many conventional introductory elements common to pilots. Creator Russell T Davies has commented upon the exceptional broadcast situation, saying "''Sarah Jane Adventures'' is slightly unusual in that it was commissioned before we'd written the script. If we'd written a load of rubbish, they'd still have had to make it." He refers to "Invasion of the Bane" simply as the "first episode". The story focused on Sarah Jane's investigation of a popular and addictive soft drink called ''Bubble Shock!''. Series one of the show aired in September of that year, consisting of five two-part half-hour stories. Individual half-hour episodes aired once a week on

, with episodes airing a week ahead on children's digital channel

. The final part aired in November 2007. The second series started in September 2008 using the same format, with six stories instead of five, ending the series in December. The third series started 15 October 2009, twice weekly (Thursdays and Fridays) on BBC One from 15 October to 20 November. The fourth series aired from 11 October 2010. The first of each story pair was accompanied by an episode of ''

'', a set of 25-minute episodes in which a member of the cast updates Mr. Smith's database about certain aliens. It accompanied series 4 of the programme. Due to the illness of Elisabeth Sladen, and her death on 19 April 2011, filming for the second half of the fifth series, which was due to air in the autumn of 2011, was postponed and later cancelled. Filming for three stories of the fifth series had been finished, and thus post-production on these stories was completed. The final series was aired from 3 to 18 October 2011 on CBBC and ended with a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen in the form of a video montage of scenes from the series and a couple of episodes of ''Doctor Who'' and the ending text "And the story goes on... forever." The script of the unfilmed ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' episode "The Thirteenth Floor" was rewritten and broadcast as an episode of ''

Wizards vs Aliens ''Wizards vs Aliens'' is a British science fantasy television programme produced by BBC Cymru Wales and FremantleMedia Enterprises for CBBC and created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford. The series focuses on the exploits of 16-year-old wiz ...

''.

''Farewell, Sarah Jane''

On 19 April 2020 a special 13-minute webcast mini episode entitled ''Farewell, Sarah Jane'' aired on ''Doctor Who'' social media channels as a tribute to

. During this story, it was implied that Sarah Jane had been killed while preventing an alien invasion. As such, a memorial service was held, attended by Luke, Clyde, Rani, Sky and Maria, accompanied by their friends and families (among them several of the Doctor's former companions). Apart from an interruption from, and final confrontation with, the Trickster, the memorial went smoothly, and the group prepare to leave 13 Bannerman Road once more. Rani, however, stays behind, and, in her final conversation with Mr. Smith, expresses her hopes that Sarah Jane is travelling with the Doctor (who was absent, since her death would have broken both his (or her) hearts, according to Jo Grant) once again. It was written by Russell T Davies. The story acted as an epilogue to the series narrated by Jacob Dudman and featured

, Daniel Anthony,

all in their respective roles from the series and also included

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...

, who portrayed Ace, a companion to the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. ...

. The episode's credits thanked

Sacha Dhawan Sacha Dhawan (; born 1 May 1984) is a British actor from Greater Manchester. He is best known for playing Akthar in the play '' The History Boys'' (2004–2006) and its film adaptation (2006), Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy drama series '' Las ...

and Stuart Humphryes.

Spin-offs

''Beyond Bannerman Road: Rani Takes on the World''

On 19 July 2022, it was announced that Big Finish Productions would produce an audio spin-off of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' to release in April 2023 which will feature Rani Chandra (

) in ''Beyond Bannerman Road: Rani Takes on the World'' which is set 15 years after the events of the series and will also feature Clyde Langer ( Daniel Anthony) and Gita Chandra (

), Rani's mother.

Critical response

''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' has been generally well received by critics and the viewing public. At the end of the first series, Abi Grant of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' wrote: "With the debate about the future of children's TV still rumbling on, this is what the

...
does best, and despite lacking the production values of '' Doctor Who'', it's still top tea-time programming." Daniel Martin of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the show as looking very promising and more convincing than another ''Doctor Who'' spinoff ''

''. Review website ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' called the series "wonderful", "thoughtful" and "imaginative children's entertainment" that was highly recommended. The series also received praise for its willingness to tackle "darker themes

uch as Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexand ...

Alzheimer's, homelessness and loss." At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the first series received a generally favourable score of 66 out of 100 based on five critics. As the series progressed reviews became slightly more positive with ''

'' reviewer David Cornelius saying that the "second series is even better than the first." However Eric Profancik from ''DVD Verdict'' stated that the second series suffered from "poor scripts and horrible acting", criticising it for having "simple plots, too many conveniences and having corny humour." Series three is described by Guy Clapperton of review site ''ScreenJabber.com'' as being slightly braver than its predecessors, while ''Bullz-eye.com'' described it as "a sweet, fun little show, with some neat ideas" with "its heart very much in the right place." Reviews for the final series were sympathetic for the series' end and the unavoidably incomplete nature of the series (following the death of Elisabeth Sladen) and its story arcs. Stephen Kelly from ''

'' said that it was "a fitting tribute to Elisabeth Sladen" and has occupied a "unique place in the

Whoniverse The Whoniverse is the non-narrative name given to the fictional setting of the television series ''Doctor Who'', ''Torchwood'', '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Class'' as well as other related media.Lofficier (1992Foreword/ref> The word, a ...

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

BBC Worldwide's children's channel in Canada, BBC Kids, began broadcasting ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' with "

" on 13 January 2008, airing the rest of the series back-to-back on Sundays thereafter. The South African channel

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African family public television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). SABC 2 broadcasts programming in English, Sepedi, Afrikaans, Venda, and Tsonga. As of August 2018, the channel started broad ...

started airing the series beginning on 9 February 2008. The Hong Kong channel

ATV World ATV World, was one of two free-to-air English language television channels in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival TVB Pearl. Its sister station, ATV Home, broadcast in Cantonese language. It is owned and operated by Asia Television, a ...

, which has also aired '' Doctor Who'' and ''

'', aired this series starting 17 February 2008. The first series began airing on

Sci Fi Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

in the USA beginning on 11 April 2008, but this is the only series broadcast on American television as of Summer 2010, though later series have continued to be released on DVD in America without a prior television broadcast. In Australia, ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' started on 31 October 2008 on

Nickelodeon Australia Nickelodeon is an Australian children's pay television channel operated by a joint venture of Foxtel Networks and Paramount Networks UK & Australia. Being a version of the namesake television channel in the United States, the channel broadcas ...

. In Brazil, the show started airing on 19 November 2012 on

TV Cultura TV Cultura or simply Cultura, is a free Brazilian public television network headquartered in São Paulo and a part of Father Anchieta Foundation, a non-profit foundation funded by the São Paulo State Government. It focuses on educational and ...

, right after their broadcast of '' Doctor Who series 6'' ended. It also screens in New Zealand on Nickelodeon New Zealand, and in Belgium on

Ketnet Ketnet is a Dutch-language public children's television channel in Belgium owned and operated by the VRT, Flemish public broadcaster. It broadcasts a mix of locally produced and imported productions on the VRT3 channel from 6am until 8pm. On 1 D ...

. In 2013 the show started airing on

JeemTV JeemTV ( ar, تلفزيون جيم), formerly known as Al Jazeera Children's Channel (abbreviated as JCC) ( ar, قناة الجزيرة للأطفال), is a Qatari pay television (formerly free-to-air until 2016) channel, aimed at kids between ...

in Arabic. Various seasons of the series has also been broadcast multiple times on the Swedish children's Channel 'Barnkanalen' in Swedish.

Merchandising

Toys

Character Options have been awarded a licence to produce ''The Sarah Jane Adventure'' play sets,

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...

s, and a 'Sonic Lipstick' toy. Four 2-figure sets have been released: Sarah Jane and Star Poet; Sarah Jane and General Kudlak; Sarah Jane and Child Slitheen and Sarah Jane and Graske. Also released are Sarah Jane's Sonic Lipstick with Watch Scanner and Alien Communicator. Character Options have now discontinued the range due to lack of customer interest.

Battles in Time Trading Cards Adventurer Set

The ''Adventurer The Sarah Jane Adventures'' series of ''Doctor Who: Battles in Time'' trading cards was a bonus set of 10 limited edition, additional cards (plus one cover card) released exclusively with Issue 62 and packaged in a clear plastic wrap. With the ''Doctor Who: Battles in Time'' (magazine) being extended beyond its original number of proposed issues, the ''Adventurer The Sarah Jane Adventures'' cards saw the series expanded once more by the inclusion of this popular spin-off series which frequently crossed-over to the parent series. The Adventurer series consisted of 10 individual Common cards referenced by the prefix SJA, cards also showed their individual series number 01-10

Audio adventures

Ten audiobooks have been released on CD, all but the last two read by the series lead, Elisabeth Sladen, who read them in the first person in character as Sarah Jane. The final two books, released in November 2011 after Sladen's death, were read by Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra, respectively, though not as their characters. The first two were the first time that BBC Audiobooks had commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio. A 20-minute mini-episode in two parts called "The Monster Hunt" written by

Trevor Baxendale Trevor Baxendale is a writer. His first ''Doctor Who'' novel ''The Janus Conjunction'' was published by BBC Books in 1998. He has also written novels for ''Torchwood'' and ''Blake's 7'', as well as short stories, comic strips and audio drama scri ...

and read by

was made especially for the Monster Hunt game on the ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' website. Two more comics were released "Return of the Krulius" and "Defending Bannerman Road". All comics were available as a pdf and a free mp3 download on the official Sarah Jane Adventures website.

Comics

Five ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' comics were released on the official ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' website. Four of them were comic adventures with audio narration by

. A pdf document and a MP3 audio track was available to download of the comics. An online version of ''The Silver Bullet'', presented, in full, a comic written and drawn by Clyde and briefly seen in, the episode ''

The Curse of Clyde Langer ''The Curse of Clyde Langer'' is a two-part story of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' which was broadcast on CBBC on 10 and 11 October 2011. It is the second story of the fifth and final series. Plot Part 1 At school, Clyde shows Rani ''The S ...

''.

Novelisations

''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' merchandising revived the concept of the novelisation, which had been part of the ''Doctor Who'' franchise from the 1970s to the 1990s (principally under the editorship of author and former ''Who'' script editor Terrance Dicks). The first series and most of the second were adapted in this way, but later series saw only a few releases and a transition from print to e-books. In September 2010, Pearson Education published four simplified novelisations based on stories from the third series:

Magazines and Books

Although there has never been a Sarah Jane Adventures magazine there have been three special editions of the Doctor Who Magazine, focused on the Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as regular mentions in the standard editions of Doctor Who Magazine.

Home media

DVD

Blu-ray

Notes

References

External links

* *
BBC ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' Merchandise
*
BBC Norfolk webTV Elisabeth Sladen previews ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''
*

Past official BBC websites

''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' Series 2,3,4
via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' Series 1
via

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarah Jane Adventures, The 2000s British science fiction television series 2010s British science fiction television series 2007 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings BBC children's television shows British science fiction television shows Doctor Who spin-offs English-language television shows Television shows set in London British television spin-offs CBBC shows BBC Cymru Wales television shows Television series about extraterrestrial life Television series about teenagers Television series by BBC Studios Television series created by Russell T Davies British time travel television series