List of The Sarah Jane Adventures serials
Serials of British science fiction show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).[1] Phil Ford served as the show's head writer.[2] It is a spin-off of the long-running television production Doctor Who. Compared to Doctor Who 's family-oriented viewership, The Sarah Jane Adventures is targeted towards a younger audience.[3] The show centres around its titular character, Sarah Jane Smith (portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen), an investigative journalist and former time-travelling companion of The Doctor.

Sladen starred in Doctor Who from 1973–1976 and returned to the programme several times prior to the spin-off. In 2006, she made her first appearance in the revived era of Doctor Who by guest starring in the second series episode "School Reunion", which was retroactively viewed as a backdoor pilot.[4] The Sarah Jane Adventures was the second attempt at a spin-off featuring Sladen, the first being K-9 and Company which never made it past the pilot stage in 1981.[5] Now, living in modern-day Ealing, London, Smith investigates extraterrestrial matters and protects Earth against alien threats with a group of teenage accomplices: her adopted son Luke Smith, neighbour Maria Jackson and friend Clyde Langer. New neighbour Rani Chandra and adopted daughter Sky Smith later join the cast. Additionally, the group is aided by Mr Smith, a sentient extraterrestrial computer, and K9, a dog-shaped robot gifted to Sarah Jane by the Doctor.
The Sarah Jane Adventures was introduced in a 60-minute special episode broadcast on New Year's Day in 2007 on BBC One.[6] It was followed later in the year by a 10-part series, made up of five half-hour two-part serials which aired weekly from 24 September to 19 November 2007.[7] The first serial Revenge of the Slitheen premiered its first part on BBC One and the second part immediately after on CBBC. For the remainder of the series, each episode first aired on CBBC and was followed by a BBC One repeat broadcast one week later. The second series, which began a trend of each series consisting of 12 episodes split across six two-part serials, had an identical release schedule with transmission occurring between 29 September and 8 December 2008.[8][9][10] An additional special mini-episode, "From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love", was produced in support of Comic Relief, an annual telethon used to raise funds for charity, on 13 March 2009.[11][12]
For the third series, all first-run episodes were simulcast on BBC One and BBC HD twice-weekly prior to the CBBC broadcast.[13] It began on 15 October and concluded on 20 November 2009.[14][15] Original episodes then returned to CBBC for the fourth series, with repeated episodes on BBC Two, BBC HD, BBC One, and BBC One HD.[13] It premiered on 11 October with the finale airing on 16 November 2010.[16][17] Fifth and sixth series of the programme had been commissioned; however, Sladen died after only six of the intended twelve episodes for the fifth series had been recorded. Davies made the decision to continue post-production work on the completed stories, but to cancel filming on the remaining serials.[18][19][20][21] The completed episodes were broadcast posthumously from 3–18 October, first airing on CBBC again followed by simulcasted BBC One/BBC One HD transmissions one week later.[22][21] Three scripts had already been drafted for the other six episodes: Meet Mr Smith by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman, The Thirteenth Floor by Ford, and The Battle of Bannerman Road by Davies.[21] Davies and Ford co-created Wizards vs Aliens as a spiritual successor to the programme, in which The Thirteenth Floor was adapted as a serial.[23][24][25] Some reruns of The Sarah Jane Adventures also aired on BBC Three or in an omnibus format.[26][27][8] The show itself had one spin-off series, Sarah Jane's Alien Files, that aired in 2010 and a one-off reunion special, "Farewell, Sarah Jane, to honour Sladen in 2020.[13][28]
Series overview
Series | Episodes | Originally released (UK) | Average viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | ||||
New Year's special | 1 January 2007 | 2.90 | |||
1 | 10 | 24 September 2007 | 19 November 2007 | 1.16 | |
2 | 12 | 29 September 2008 | 8 December 2008 | 0.79 | |
Comic Relief Special | 13 March 2009 | 8.30 | |||
3 | 12 | 15 October 2009 | 20 November 2009 | 1.01 | |
4 | 12 | 11 October 2010 | 16 November 2010 | 0.80 | |
5 | 6 | 3 October 2011 | 18 October 2011 | 0.65 | |
Reunion special | 9 April 2020 | — |
Episodes
New Year's special (2007)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [8] | AI [8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | – | "Invasion of the Bane" | Colin Teague | Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts | 1 January 2007 | 1.X | 2.90 | 77 |
Series 1 (2007)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [8][a] | AI [8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 1–2 | Revenge of the Slitheen | Alice Troughton | Gareth Roberts | 24 September 2007 | 1.1 | 1.40 | 79 |
1.2 | 1.10[b] | 77 | ||||||
3 | 3–4 | Eye of the Gorgon | Alice Troughton | Phil Ford | 1 October 2007 | 1.3 | 1.10[c] | 83 |
8 October 2007 | 1.4 | 1.00[d] | 85 | |||||
4 | 5–6 | Warriors of Kudlak | Charles Martin | Phil Gladwin | 15 October 2007 | 1.5 | 1.00[e] | 85 |
22 October 2007 | 1.6 | 1.20[f] | 85 | |||||
5 | 7–8 | Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? | Graeme Harper | Gareth Roberts | 29 October 2007 | 1.7 | 1.20[d] | 85 |
5 November 2007 | 1.8 | 1.10[g] | 85 | |||||
6 | 9–10 | The Lost Boy | Charles Martin | Phil Ford | 12 November 2007 | 1.9 | 1.30[h] | 84 |
19 November 2007 | 1.10 | 1.20[i] | N/A | |||||
Series 2 (2008)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [8][a] | AI [8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 1–2 | The Last Sontaran | Joss Agnew | Phil Ford | 29 September 2008 | 2.1 | 0.82 | 85 |
2.2 | 0.73[j] | 86 | ||||||
8 | 3–4 | The Day of the Clown | Michael Kerrigan | Phil Ford | 6 October 2008 | 2.3 | 0.60[k] | 82 |
13 October 2008 | 2.4 | 0.76[l] | 81 | |||||
9 | 5–6 | Secrets of the Stars | Michael Kerrigan | Gareth Roberts | 20 October 2008 | 2.5 | 0.86[m] | 83 |
27 October 2008 | 2.6 | 0.70[k] | 86 | |||||
10 | 7–8 | The Mark of the Berserker | Joss Agnew | Joseph Lidster | 3 November 2008 | 2.7 | 0.87[n] | 75 |
10 November 2008 | 2.8 | 0.87[o] | 84 | |||||
11 | 9–10 | The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith | Graeme Harper | Gareth Roberts | 17 November 2008 | 2.9 | 0.72[j] | 82 |
24 November 2008 | 2.10 | 0.80[p] | 85 | |||||
12 | 11–12 | Enemy of the Bane | Graeme Harper | Phil Ford | 1 December 2008 | 2.11 | 0.94[h] | 79 |
8 December 2008 | 2.12 | 0.82[q] | 85 | |||||
Comic Relief special (2009)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | – | "From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love" | Joss Agnew | Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman | 13 March 2009 | – | 8.30 |
Series 3 (2009)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [13][r] | AI [13] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | 1–2 | Prisoner of the Judoon | Joss Agnew | Phil Ford | 15 October 2009 | 3.1 | 0.73 | 81 |
16 October 2009 | 3.2 | 0.82 | 86 | |||||
14 | 3–4 | The Mad Woman in the Attic | Alice Troughton | Joseph Lidster | 22 October 2009 | 3.3 | 0.75 | 86 |
23 October 2009 | 3.4 | 0.84 | 86 | |||||
15 | 5–6 | The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith | Joss Agnew | Gareth Roberts | 29 October 2009 | 3.5 | 1.59 | 87 |
30 October 2009 | 3.6 | 1.47 | 89 | |||||
16 | 7–8 | The Eternity Trap | Alice Troughton | Phil Ford | 5 November 2009 | 3.7 | 1.14 | 86 |
6 November 2009 | 3.8 | 0.93 | 86 | |||||
17 | 9–10 | Mona Lisa's Revenge | Joss Agnew | Phil Ford | 12 November 2009 | 3.9 | 1.10 | 84 |
13 November 2009 | 3.10 | 0.92 | 86 | |||||
18 | 11–12 | The Gift | Alice Troughton | Rupert Laight | 19 November 2009 | 3.11 | 0.95 | 84 |
20 November 2009 | 3.12 | 0.89 | 87 | |||||
Series 4 (2010)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [13] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19 | 1–2 | The Nightmare Man | Joss Agnew | Joseph Lidster | 11 October 2010 | 4.1 | 0.59 |
12 October 2010 | 4.2 | 0.67 | |||||
20 | 3–4 | The Vault of Secrets | Joss Agnew | Phil Ford | 18 October 2010 | 4.3 | 0.73 |
19 October 2010 | 4.4 | 0.61 | |||||
21 | 5–6 | Death of the Doctor | Ashley Way | Russell T Davies | 25 October 2010 | 4.5 | 0.92 |
26 October 2010 | 4.6 | 0.96 | |||||
22 | 7–8 | The Empty Planet | Ashley Way | Gareth Roberts | 1 November 2010 | 4.7 | 0.99 |
2 November 2010 | 4.8 | 0.82 | |||||
23 | 9–10 | Lost in Time | Joss Agnew | Rupert Laight | 8 November 2010 | 4.9 | 0.99 |
9 November 2010 | 4.10 | 0.68 | |||||
24 | 11–12 | Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith | Joss Agnew | Clayton Hickman and Gareth Roberts | 15 November 2010 | 4.11 | 0.81 |
16 November 2010 | 4.12 | 0.82 | |||||
Series 5 (2011)
No. story | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | UK viewers (millions) [21] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 | 1–2 | Sky | Ashley Way | Phil Ford | 3 October 2011 | 5.1 | 0.53 |
4 October 2011 | 5.2 | 0.53 | |||||
26 | 3–4 | The Curse of Clyde Langer | Ashley Way | Phil Ford | 10 October 2011 | 5.3 | 0.79 |
11 October 2011 | 5.4 | 0.73 | |||||
27 | 5–6 | The Man Who Never Was | Joss Agnew | Gareth Roberts | 17 October 2011 | 5.5 | 0.71 |
18 October 2011 | 5.6 | 0.60 | |||||
Sarah Jane's Alien Files (2010)
Summarize
Perspective
A spin-off compilation series titled Sarah Jane's Alien Files aired on CBBC in 2010 to accompany the fourth series. The programme included the main characters of the parent series inputting data about recently-confronted aliens into Mr Smith. New footage was mixed with existing material from The Sarah Jane Adventures and Doctor Who.[13]
No. | Featured Aliens | Featured Character | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) [13] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Trickster and Graske | Sarah Jane Smith | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 11 October 2010 | 0.43 |
2 | Entity, Eve, and Ship | Rani Chandra | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 18 October 2010 | 0.43 |
3 | Mrs Wormwood, Bane Mother, and Sontarans | Luke Smith | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 25 October 2010 | 0.39 |
4 | Slitheen, Blathereen, and Rakweed | Sarah Jane Smith | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 1 November 2010 | 0.49 |
5 | Bersekers and Mona Lisa | Clyde Langer | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 8 November 2010 | 0.48 |
6 | Judoon, Androvax, and Mister Dread | Luke Smith | Pip Banyard | John Piper | 15 November 2010 | 0.43 |
Reunion special (2020)
A one-off reunion special written by Davies was produced as a webisode during the COVID-19 pandemic. It featured cast members of The Sarah Jane Adventures attending a memorial service for Sarah Jane and was released on Doctor Who social media platforms on 19 April 2020.[28][29]
Title | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|
"Farewell, Sarah Jane" | Russell T Davies | 9 April 2020 |
Ratings
Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
1 | 2.90 | 1.40 | 1.10 | 1.10 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.20 | 1.20 | 1.10 | 1.30 | 1.20 | – | 1.32 | |
2 | 0.82 | 0.73 | 0.60 | 0.76 | 0.86 | 0.70 | 0.87 | 0.87 | 0.72 | 0.80 | 0.94 | 0.82 | 0.79 | |
3 | 0.73 | 0.82 | 0.75 | 0.84 | 1.59 | 1.47 | 1.14 | 0.93 | 1.10 | 0.92 | 0.95 | 0.89 | 1.01 | |
4 | 0.59 | 0.67 | 0.73 | 0.61 | 0.92 | 0.96 | 0.99 | 0.82 | 0.99 | 0.68 | 0.81 | 0.82 | 0.80 | |
5 | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.79 | 0.73 | 0.71 | 0.60 | – | 0.65 |
The Sarah Jane Adventures : UK viewers per episode (millions)
Audience measurement performed by Broadcasters' Audience Research Board[8][13][21][s]

See also
Notes
References
External links
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