BBC Cymru Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, 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, ...
for
CBBC
CBBC 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 brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
, created by
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
, 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
Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media
*Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine
* ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
of the long-running
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' 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 series ''Doctor Who'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien ...
, an investigative journalist living in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
, London, who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space with
the Doctor
The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...
. Following Sladen's death in 2011, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
with a 60-minute special, " Invasion of the Bane", 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
BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987. The programme won a
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
2010 award for Best Children's Drama.
As of 2024, all episodes are on
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...
in the United Kingdom and
HBO Max
Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...
in the United States.
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, of six two-part stories (with Russell T Davies serving as executive producer) aired from 15 October - 20 November 2009.
The fourth series was aired from 11 October 2010. An episode of another spin-off series, ''
Sarah Jane's Alien Files
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British television science fiction, 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 sp ...
'', 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
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 ...
's death on 19 April 2011. The BBC stated that no further episodes would be produced. This final series was broadcast between 3 - 18 October 2011 on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
, on
Gallifrey
The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their non-linear perception of t ...
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-off ...
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
John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...
as the
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' ...
and
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
as the
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British 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 ...
. A pilot episode for another ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series, '' K-9 and Company'', made in 1981, featured Sarah Jane and the robot dog K9; 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 ...
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on . The episode was written by show runner and hea ...
" / "
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 com ...
" (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, '' K9'', which features a remodelled version of K9 with only indirect nods to ''Doctor Who''. In 2009, K9 appeared with ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' cast in a sketch for ''
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
'', 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
''New Captain Scarlet'' is a British animated remake of the 1960s Supermarionation series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons''. Both series were produced by Gerry Anderson. As a nod to Supermarionation, the new series' animation was promoted as ...
'' writer Phil Ford wrote two stories and Phil Gladwin wrote one. Creator and executive producer
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
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
Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
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 former actor best known for playing Luke Smith in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who'', Kevin Chalk in the original run of '' Waterloo Road'', Cal Bray in ''Glue'' and Arc ...
,
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
Mina Anwar
Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Constable Maggie Habib in '' The Thin Blue Line'' and Gita Chandra in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''.
Early life
Anwar was born to a family of P ...
,
Katy Manning
Catherine Ann Manning (born 14 October 1946) is a British actress. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doct ...
,
Paul Marc Davis
Paul Marc Davis (born 16 April 1974) is a British actor who has appeared on ''Doctor Who'' (the episode "Utopia (Doctor Who), Utopia") and three of its spin-off series: ''Torchwood'' ("Exit Wounds (Torchwood), Exit Wounds"), ''The Sarah Jane Ad ...
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 ac ...
Richard Wisker
Richard David Kevin Wisker (born 1 February 1995) is an English actor and television presenter, best known for his role as Liam O'Donovan in '' Tracy Beaker Returns'' (2010–2012). He also portrayed Rich in the CBBC series '' Dani's Castle'' (2 ...
, 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. After sixteen years with the company, it was announced in 2022 that Handcock would le ...
John Leeson
John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in ''Doctor Who'' and spin-offs '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' a ...
, 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 Yasmin Paige as Maria Jackson, Sarah Jane's 13-year-old neighbour in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
, west London, and
Tommy Knight
Thomas Lawrence Knight (born 22 January 1993) is an English former actor best known for playing Luke Smith in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who'', Kevin Chalk in the original run of '' Waterloo Road'', Cal Bray in ''Glue'' and Arc ...
as a boy named
Luke
Luke may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...
, 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 Clyde Langer, played by Daniel Anthony, who is introduced in the first episode of the full series. Actress Porsha Lawrence Mavour briefly played Maria's friend, Kelsey Hooper, in the 2007 New Year's Day special '' Invasion of the Bane'' 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
''The Last Sontaran'' is the first serial of the second series of the British science fiction television series '' The Sarah Jane Adventures''. The first part of the two-part story aired on BBC One on 29 September 2008, with the second part pre ...
'', but Maria and her father return briefly in the second part of '' The Mark of the Berserker''. In the second story of that series, ''
The Day of the Clown
''The Day of the Clown'' is the second 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 the CBBC channel on 6 and 13 October 2008. ''The Da ...
'', several new regular cast members are introduced:
Rani Chandra
Rani Chandra (2 June 1949 – 12 October 1976) was an Indian actress and model, a winner of Miss Kerala. She died when Indian Airlines Flight 171 crashed in Bombay in 1976. She acted in several landmark films such as '' Nellu'' (Malayalam, ...
Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, ...
(played by
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
,
Ace Bhatti
Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti is a British actor. Early in his career, he appeared in the BBC series ''Cardiac Arrest'' (1994–1995), '' Holding On'' (1997), '' NCS: Manhunt'' (2001–2002), and '' New Street Law'' (2006–2007), as well as the ITV ...
, and
Mina Anwar
Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Constable Maggie Habib in '' The Thin Blue Line'' and Gita Chandra in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''.
Early life
Anwar was born to a family of P ...
, respectively). This happened as the character
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...
(
Joseph Millson
Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor, writer, director and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London. He gained a master's degree in screenwriting from Falmouth University in 2023. ...
Juliet Cowan
Juliet Cowan is a television, film and stage actress from Northern Ireland. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as ''EastEnders'', ''Silent Witness'', and ''Casualty''. Cowan has also had a recurring role in the ...
) and
Maria Jackson
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British television science fiction, 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 sp ...
Joseph Millson
Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor, writer, director and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London. He gained a master's degree in screenwriting from Falmouth University in 2023. ...
appears throughout the first series as Maria's recently separated father, Alan, with
Chrissie Jackson
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British television science fiction, 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 sp ...
, Maria's mother, played by
Juliet Cowan
Juliet Cowan is a television, film and stage actress from Northern Ireland. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as ''EastEnders'', ''Silent Witness'', and ''Casualty''. Cowan has also had a recurring role in the ...
. One other regular is
Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
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 individu ...
, 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. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Rob ...
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 through her associatio ...
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. The case of Yateswho had exhibited severe postpartum depression, postpartum p ...
,
Floella Benjamin
Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin (born 23 September 1949), is a Trinidadian-British actress, singer, presenter, author and politician. She is known as presenter of children's programmes such as ''Play School (British TV series), ...
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 who has appeared in roles on 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 father w ...
Bradley Walsh
Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer.
Walsh's acting roles on television include Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004 ...
as an evil alien clown in the story ''
The Day of the Clown
''The Day of the Clown'' is the second 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 the CBBC channel on 6 and 13 October 2008. ''The Da ...
'' and
Russ Abbot
Russell Allan Abbot (born Russell Allan Roberts; 18 September 1947) is an English musician, actor and comedian. Born in Chester, he first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black A ...
Jocelyn Jee Esien
Jocelyn Jee Esien (born 7 May 1974) 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:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
and
Carla
Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man".
People
Notable people with the name include:
* Carla Lazzari (born 2005), French singer and former member of the children's mus ...
in '' The Mark of the Berserker''; Esien reprised her role briefly in Series 4 and more prominently in series 5. Samantha Bond returned as Wormwood 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 ...
''.
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 ''Emmerdale ...
, 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
CBBC
CBBC 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 brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
.
In December 2007, the BBC released a statement that
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'' ...
would be replaced by Piers Wenger as executive producer for ''Doctor Who'' in January 2009, but that she would continue to executive-produce ''
Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British-American 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 i ...
'' 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
Cyril Ikechukwu Nri (born 25 April 1961) is a Nigerian-born English actor best known for playing Superintendent Adam Okaro in the police TV series ''The Bill''. Cyril Nri plays the role of Lord Danbury in the Netflix series '' Queen Charlotte ...
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
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
'', ''The Sarah Jane Companion Volume 3'', published in August 2012, detailed the plotlines of the three unfilmed stories.
''Doctor Who'' characters
As well as Sarah Jane, some characters from the past or current run of ''Doctor Who'' appear in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. K9, voiced by
John Leeson
John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in ''Doctor Who'' and spin-offs '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' a ...
, guest stars in the New Year's special as well as the series 1 finale, appears regularly in the third series, and makes two further appearances in series 4.
The Doctor
The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...
appears twice in the series, with
David Tennant
David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...
Katy Manning
Catherine Ann Manning (born 14 October 1946) is a British actress. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doct ...
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' ...
(
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...
) between 1971 and 1973. The episode ''Sky'' was originally to have featured Smith, but scheduling prevented his appearance.
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was best known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. ...
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 ...
'' (2008), his final appearance as the character prior to his death in 2011. Various newsreader characters who appear across Davies' tenure as ''Doctor Who'' showrunner also appear in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', namely Lachele Carl and
Trinity Wells
Over the course of its many years on television, the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' has not only seen changes in the actors to play the Doctor, but in the supporting cast as well.
Companions
The Doctor is ...
,
Jason Mohammad
Jason Mohammad (born 17 September 1973) is a Welsh radio and television presenter currently working for the BBC. He is the host of '' Final Score'' on BBC One on Saturday afternoons.
Personal life
Mohammad was born and brought up in Cardiff to ...
and Anthony Debaeck.
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
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system
Places
* 3rd Street (di ...
, 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 ...
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, Pauline ...
,
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 a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
are revealed.
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 " Invasion of the Bane", which was co-written by
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
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
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, with episodes airing a week ahead on children's digital channel
CBBC
CBBC 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 brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...
. 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 ''
Sarah Jane's Alien Files
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British television science fiction, 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 sp ...
'', 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 wizar ...
''.
"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
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 ...
. During this story, a memorial service is held for Sarah Jane, attended by Luke, Clyde, Rani, Sky and Maria, and accompanied by their friends and families (among them several of the Doctor's former companions). Apart from a small interruption from the Trickster, the memorial goes smoothly, and after the guests say goodbye, Luke, Clyde and Rani revisit 13 Bannerman Road. Rani stays behind to have a final conversation with Mr Smith, expressing her belief that Sarah Jane is once again travelling with the Doctor (whose absence Jo Grant commented on, speculating that both of the Doctor's hearts would break to be there). It was written by Russell T Davies.
The story acts as an epilogue to the series, narrated by Jacob Dudman and featuring
Tommy Knight
Thomas Lawrence Knight (born 22 January 1993) is an English former actor best known for playing Luke Smith in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who'', Kevin Chalk in the original run of '' Waterloo Road'', Cal Bray in ''Glue'' and Arc ...
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
,
Katy Manning
Catherine Ann Manning (born 14 October 1946) is a British actress. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doct ...
,
Mina Anwar
Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Constable Maggie Habib in '' The Thin Blue Line'' and Gita Chandra in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''.
Early life
Anwar was born to a family of P ...
all in their respective roles from the series. It also includes
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 British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...
.
Spin-offs
''Rani Takes on the World''
On 19 July 2022, it was announced that
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
would produce an audio spin-off of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' set to release in April 2023, which features Rani Chandra (
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
) as the protagonist. The audio spin-off is set 15 years after the events of the series with the first three stories featuring Clyde Langer ( Daniel Anthony) as well as Gita Chandra (
Mina Anwar
Mina Mumtaz Anwar (born 20 September 1969) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Constable Maggie Habib in '' The Thin Blue Line'' and Gita Chandra in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''.
Early life
Anwar was born to a family of P ...
), Rani's mother.
On 28 March 2023, Big Finish Productions additionally announced a sequel boxset set to release in January 2024 titled ''The Revenge of Wormwood'' with Mrs Wormwood (
Samantha Bond
Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Rob ...
) to reprise her role as the villain from the television series. The second boxset will also feature the return of Luke Smith (
Tommy Knight
Thomas Lawrence Knight (born 22 January 1993) is an English former actor best known for playing Luke Smith in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Doctor Who'', Kevin Chalk in the original run of '' Waterloo Road'', Cal Bray in ''Glue'' and Arc ...
).
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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' wrote: "With the debate about the future of children's TV still rumbling on, this is what the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
does best, and despite lacking the production values of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', it's still top tea-time programming." Daniel Martin of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described the show as looking very promising and more convincing than another ''Doctor Who'' spinoff ''
Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British-American 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 i ...
''. 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 (;
), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf (;
; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the Pakistan's Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during I ...
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
, homelessness and loss."
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, 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 ''
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 ...
'' 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 ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' said that it was "a fitting tribute to Elisabeth Sladen" and has occupied a "unique place in the
Whoniverse
The Whoniverse is a British media franchise and shared universe consisting of the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'', its Doctor Who spin-offs, spin-offs, and other associated media. The shared universe nature was established by crossing ove ...
".
Awards and nominations
International broadcast
BBC Worldwide's children's channel in Canada,
BBC Kids
BBC Kids is the international children's brand of BBC Studios, and has been applied to a number of TV services. It draws from the long history of children's programming on the BBC, and is strongly related to the CBBC channel in the United King ...
, began broadcasting ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' with " Invasion of the Bane" 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 free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks.
As ...
started airing the series beginning on 9 February 2008. The Hong Kong channel
ATV World
ATV World, was one of two free-to-air Hong Kong English, English language television channels in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival TVB Pearl. Its sister station, ATV Home, broadcast in the Hong Kong Cantonese, Cantonese language. It ...
, which has also aired ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' and ''
Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British-American 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 i ...
'', aired this series starting 17 February 2008. The first series began airing on
Sci Fi
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
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
Nick or Nickelodeon is an Australian and New Zealand children's pay television channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. It is based on the Nickelodeon, namesake American television channel.
Since 1 December 2010 the Australian and N ...
. In Brazil, the show started airing on 19 November 2012 on
TV Cultura
TV Cultura, or simply Cultura, is a free Brazilian non-commercial 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 ...
, 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 Flemish public children's television channel in Belgium owned and operated by the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, VRT, Flemish public broadcaster. It broadcasts a mix of locally produced and imported productions on the VR ...
. In 2013 the show started airing on JeemTV 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, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
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 scr ...
and read by
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
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
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...
. 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''.
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
Pearson Education, known since 2011 as simply Pearson, is the educational publishing and services subsidiary of the international corporation Pearson plc. The subsidiary was formed in 1998, when Pearson plc acquired Simon & Schuster's educatio ...
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
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
, focused on the Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as regular mentions in the standard editions of
Doctor Who Magazine
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
.
Home media
DVD
Blu-ray
''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
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien ...
Clyde Langer
''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 sc ...
and
Rani Chandra
Rani Chandra (2 June 1949 – 12 October 1976) was an Indian actress and model, a winner of Miss Kerala. She died when Indian Airlines Flight 171 crashed in Bombay in 1976. She acted in several landmark films such as '' Nellu'' (Malayalam, ...
entering data on aliens they have encountered during their adventures into Mr Smith, Sarah Jane's extraterrestrial computer, to benefit humanity in the event that Sarah Jane is no longer capable of defending the Earth against alien threats.
Each episode is a
clip show
A clip show is an episode of a Television program, television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows include a frame story in which cast members recall events from past installments of the show, depicte ...
summarising the events of episodes in which the featured aliens appeared. The only new footage is the framing and narration, shot entirely on the series' standing attic set. Occasionally, brief clips from ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' are included for context, such as in Episode 6 when the Judoon are compared to the Cheetah People of ''
Survival
Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...
'' in that each humanoid species looks superficially like a non-humanoid terrestrial mammal (
rhinoceros
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
and
cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...
, respectively). The series format was based upon the short "alien files" clips previously produced for the CBBC's ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' website.
The series is similar to the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''Monster Files''.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...