21 –Death of the Doctor | |||
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The Sarah Jane Adventures story | |||
Cast | |||
Starring | |||
Others
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Production | |||
Directed by | Ashley Way | ||
Written by | Russell T Davies | ||
Script editor | Gary Russell | ||
Produced by | Brian Minchin Phil Ford (co-producer) | ||
Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Nikki Wilson | ||
Music by | Sam Watts Dan Watts | ||
Production code | 4.5 and 4.6 | ||
Series | Series 4 | ||
Running time | 2 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
First broadcast | 25 October 2010 | ||
Last broadcast | 26 October 2010 | ||
Chronology | |||
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Death of the Doctor is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 25 and 26 October 2010. [1] It is the third story of the fourth series. A cross-over story with Doctor Who , the story features actress Katy Manning reprising her role as Jo Grant for the first time since the 1973 Doctor Who serial The Green Death and a guest appearance by Matt Smith—Doctor Who's lead actor from 2010 to 2013—as the Eleventh Doctor. In the episode, Tia Karim, a rogue member of UNIT allies with members of the Shansheeth alien race to lure Sarah Jane and Jo into a trap so they can access the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS, and change history and Karim can leave Earth, with the cover story of the Doctor's funeral. Exposition at the end of the episode provides updates on the lives of numerous companions from the "classic era" who had gone unaddressed in the revived era. This story was the last to feature Sarah Jane and the Doctor together on-screen.
Members of the Shansheeth, a race of alien vultures, lure the Eleventh Doctor to the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart, and strand him there. The Shansheeth steal the TARDIS, with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver still inside. With the help of UNIT colonel Tia Karim they fake the Doctor's death to lure his friends to his funeral, held by the Shansheeth in a UNIT base under Snowdon. Karim notifies Sarah Jane, Clyde, and Rani of the Doctor's supposed death and invites them. Jo Grant, who stopped travelling with the Doctor to get married, [N 1] and is now Jo Jones, is also attending.
The Shansheeth's plan is to recreate the TARDIS key from Sarah Jane's and Jo's memories, which would kill them, so that the Shansheeth can use the time machine to stop death across the universe by interfering with timelines. Karim collaborates with them as there is nothing left for her on Earth.
The Doctor travels 10,000 light-years to repeatedly swap places with Clyde, who still has residual artron energy from when he touched the TARDIS. [N 2] On one swap over, the Doctor brings Sarah Jane and Jo with him to the wasteland. With the help of Sarah Jane's sonic lipstick and buchu oil Jo has collected from her travels around the Earth, the Doctor is able to repair the device that he has been using to perform these exchanges, allowing them to return to Earth without displacing Clyde's body.
Karim and the Shansheeth forcibly secure Sarah Jane and Jo in the funeral room, where the Shansheeth have kept the TARDIS. As the Shansheeth start to pull the memories of the TARDIS key from Sarah Jane and Jo, the Doctor shouts through the door for Sarah Jane and Jo to recall all their memories of their time with him, and encourages the children to do the same. The machine is overwhelmed and begins to self-destruct. Sarah Jane and Jo safely shield themselves with the lead-lined coffin that they were fooled into believing was where the Doctor's body was. Karim and the Shansheeth are killed in the explosion. After the Doctor uses the TARDIS to return the group to Sarah Jane's home, Sarah Jane tells Clyde and Rani about the Doctor's other companions, whom she has researched.
In some of Sam Watts' music, vocals were provided by Jodie Kearns, wife of Doctor Who and Torchwood writer James Moran. [3] [ clarification needed ]
Part 1 achieved combined final ratings of 1.40 (0.92/0.48) and Part 2 achieved combined final ratings of 1.43 (0.96/0.47). [4]
Released as part of The Complete Fourth Series, (Season in America) on DVD, Blu-ray is a UK exclusive. This story was released on the Special Edition DVD of Doctor Who story The Green Death , including an audio commentary by Russell T Davies and Katy Manning, [5] and re-released on The Complete Matt Smith Years on Blu-ray on its bonus disc. It was released again as a part of The Collection: Season 10 Blu-ray set on its bonus disc.
Author | Gary Russell |
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Series | The Sarah Jane Adventures #11 |
Published | 25 November 2010 BBC Children's Books |
Pages | 128 |
ISBN | 978-1-405-90806-1 |
Preceded by | The Nightmare Man |
This was the eleventh and final Sarah Jane Adventures serial to be adapted as a novel. Written by Gary Russell, the book has only been published as an E-book on 25 November 2010. [6]
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, fully Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and played by Nicholas Courtney. He is one of the founders of UNIT, an international organisation that defends Earth from alien threats, and serves as commander of the British contingent. Presented at first as reluctant to accept the continuing aid of the Doctor, over time the Brigadier became one of the Doctor's greatest friends and his principal ally in defending Earth.
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 regular cast, appearing in much of the first two seasons from 1963 to 1965. In a film adaptation of one of the serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), he was played by Roy Castle, but with a very different personality and backstory. Ian appeared in 16 stories and 77 episodes. He later returned for a cameo appearance, played once again by Russell, in the 2022 episode "The Power of the Doctor".
Barbara Wright is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. She was one of the programme's first regulars and appeared in the bulk of its first two seasons from 1963 to 1965, played by Jacqueline Hill. Prior to Hill being cast the part had originally been offered to actress Penelope Lee, who turned the role down. Barbara appeared in 16 stories. In the film version of one of the serials, Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965), Barbara was played by actress Jennie Linden, but with a very different personality and backstory, which includes her being a granddaughter of "Dr Who".
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 time traveller the Doctor while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from alien invasions and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist.
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Josephine "Jo" Grant, later Jo Jones, is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Jo was introduced by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in the first episode of Doctor Who's eighth season (1971) as a new companion of series protagonist the Doctor, in his third incarnation. After the Doctor's previous companion Liz Shaw, a scientist and intellectual, the production team looked to introduce a less experienced companion to act as an audience surrogate. Jo appeared in 15 stories.
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The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
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 science fiction programme Doctor Who and is aimed at a younger audience than Doctor Who. It focuses on the adventures of Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space with the Doctor. Following Sladen's death in 2011, the BBC confirmed that the show would not return for a sixth series.
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, or shares adventures with, the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as an audience surrogate by providing the lens through which the viewer is introduced to the story, and often, the series itself.
Luke Smith is a fictional regular character played by Tommy Knight in the British children's science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off of the long-running series Doctor Who. Luke is a regular character in The Sarah Jane Adventures both in television and audio adventures. He has also appeared in three episodes of Doctor Who: the two-parter "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" (2008), and the Tenth Doctor's finale episode "The End of Time, Part Two" (2010).
Rani Chandra is a fictional character played by Anjli Mohindra in the British children's science fiction television programme The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. She first appeared in The Day of the Clown.
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith is the third serial of the third series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures. The two-part story was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 and 30 October 2009. It guest stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, marking the first appearance of parent programme Doctor Who's main character in a spin-off show. The episode includes the final scenes David Tennant recorded during his first tenure as the Doctor.
The Mad Woman in the Attic is the second serial of the third series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures. The two-part story was first broadcast on BBC One on 22 and 23 October 2009, and marks the return of John Leeson as K9.
The Gift is the sixth and final serial of the third series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures. It first aired in two parts on CBBC on 19 and 20 November 2009.
The Nightmare Man is a two-part story of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which was first broadcast on CBBC on 11 and 12 October 2010.
The Empty Planet is a two-part story of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which was broadcast on CBBC on 1 and 2 November 2010. It is the fourth story of the fourth series.
Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith is the sixth and final serial of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures. It first aired in two parts on CBBC on 15 and 16 November 2010. It is the last story to feature John Leeson as the voice of K9, and as of December 2022, the last to feature the character in any televised media.
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 story was originally intended to be a crossover with the modern Doctor Who series; Russell T Davies, an executive producer of Doctor Who and creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures reveals in his non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale that former companion Martha Jones was intended to appear in the two-parter, but had to be replaced with classic series character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart "at the last minute" due to Freema Agyeman's role in the ITV series Law & Order: UK, making this the last episode to have Courtney as the Brigadier prior to his death in 2011.