| The Sarah Jane Adventures | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Created by | Russell T Davies |
| Showrunners | Russell T Davies Phil Ford |
| Starring | |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Murray Gold |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 53 (27 serials) + 1 short (list of serials) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producers |
|
| Running time |
|
| Production company | BBC Cymru Wales |
| Original release | |
| Network |
|
| Release | 1 January 2007 (2007-01-01) – 18 October 2011 (2011-10-18) |
| Related | |
The Sarah Jane Adventures is aBritish science fiction television programme produced byBBC Cymru Wales forCBBC, created byRussell T Davies, and starringElisabeth Sladen. The programme is aspin-off of the long-runningBBCscience fiction programmeDoctor Who. It focuses on the adventures ofSarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist living inEaling, London, who, as a young woman, had numerous adventures across time and space withthe Doctor. The show ran for five years until Sladen's death in 2011.
The series debuted onBBC One 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 aBritish Academy Children's Award in 2008 in the Drama category, and for aBAFTA Cymru in 2009 in the Children's Drama category.[1][2] The programme won aRoyal Television Society 2010 award for Best Children's Drama.[3]
As of 2024, all episodes are onBBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom andHBO Max in the United States until July 31, 2025.[4]
A full series of ten 25-minute episodes began on 24 September 2007.[5] The first series consisted of five two-part stories,[6] and a second series, comprising six two-part stories, began airing on 29 September 2008.[7][8] A third series, of six two-part stories (with Russell T Davies serving as executive producer) aired from 15 October to 20 November 2009.[9]
The fourth series was aired from 11 October 2010.[10] An episode of another spin-off series,Sarah Jane's Alien Files, was shown immediately after each of the first episodes of the stories.[11]
Filming for three of six two-part serials planned for the fifth series was completed prior toElisabeth Sladen's death on 19 April 2011. The BBC stated that no further episodes would be produced.[12] This final series was broadcast between 3 and 18 October 2011 on Mondays and Tuesdays.[13][14]
In 2006, Children's BBC expressed an interest in producing aDoctor Who spin-off. Their initial idea was "a drama based on the idea of a youngDoctor Who", but Russell T Davies vetoed this. "Somehow, the idea of a fourteen year oldDoctor, onGallifrey inventingsonic screwdrivers, 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 formercompanion Sarah Jane Smith.[15]
The character of Sarah Jane Smith, played by Sladen, appeared inDoctor Who from 1973 to 1976, alongside bothJon Pertwee as theThird Doctor andTom Baker as theFourth Doctor. A pilot episode for anotherDoctor Who spin-off series,K-9 and Company, made in 1981, featured Sarah Jane and the robot dogK9; a full series was never commissioned.[16] Sarah Jane and K9 returned toDoctor Who in various media many times over the years, most notably in the 20th anniversary special "The Five Doctors" (1983), and in episodes "School Reunion" (2006), "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" (2008) and "The End of Time" (2010).
Sarah Jane is frequently voted the most popularDoctor Who companion by bothDoctor Who fans and members of the general public.[17]The series was first confirmed to be in development by the BBC's in-house newsletter,Ariel, in early August 2006.[18][19][20] These early rumours were associated with the working titleSarah Jane Investigates.[18]
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.[21][22] 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 toDoctor Who.[23] In 2009, K9 appeared withThe Sarah Jane Adventures cast in asketch forComic Relief, and K9 appeared in six episodes of the third series,[24] followed by two more appearances in the fourth series. He did not appear at all in series 5.[25]
Production on the full series began in April 2007.[26] Two of the five two-part stories were scripted by the special's co-writer Gareth Roberts.Bad Girls andNew Captain Scarlet writerPhil Ford wrote two stories andPhil Gladwin wrote one. Creator and executive producerRussell T Davies was going to write one story but was forced to drop out due to other work commitments.[27]
For the tenth anniversary of the show, an event was held 29 July 2017 atCardiff University Students' Union, with proceeds going toTy Hafan Hospice for Children.[28] A total of £6643.35 was raised by the sale of tickets to the event and merchandise.[29] Members of the cast and crew that took part in the event wereTommy Knight,Anjli Mohindra,Yasmin Paige, Sinead Michael,Mina Anwar,Katy Manning,Paul Marc Davis,Phil Ford,Gary Russell,Joe Lidster, Sam Watts,Richard Wisker, Cheryl Rowlands,Scott Handcock,Brian Miller,John Leeson,Mat Irvine andChris Johnson.[29] The event was recorded and was released onto DVD and Blu-ray and could be bought exclusively through the event's website.[28]
| Actor | Character | Series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| Elisabeth Sladen | Sarah Jane Smith | Main | |||||
| Yasmin Paige | Maria Jackson | Main[a] | |||||
| Tommy Knight | Luke Smith | Main[b] | |||||
| Daniel Anthony | Clyde Langer | Main | |||||
| Anjli Mohindra | Rani Chandra | Main | |||||
| Sinead Michael | Sky Smith | Main | |||||
In addition to Sladen, the first series of the programme starsYasmin Paige as Maria Jackson, Sarah Jane's 13-year-old neighbour inEaling, west London, andTommy Knight as a boy namedLuke, 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 byDaniel 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 specialInvasion of the Bane which was created before the start of the series.[30] 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 ofThe Mark of the Berserker. In the second story of that series,The Day of the Clown, several new regular cast members are introduced:Rani Chandra and her parents,Haresh, andGita (played byAnjli Mohindra,Ace Bhatti, andMina Anwar, respectively).[31] This happened as the characterAlan Jackson (Joseph Millson) left the series, along withChrissie (Juliet Cowan) andMaria Jackson (Yasmin Paige).[32][33]
Joseph Millson appears throughout the first series as Maria's recently separated father, Alan, withChrissie Jackson, Maria's mother, played byJuliet Cowan. One other regular isAlexander Armstrong of comedy duoArmstrong and Miller, who provides the voice ofMr Smith, an extraterrestrial computer in Sarah Jane's attic. The 2007 special featuredSamantha Bond as the scheming villainMrs Wormwood andJamie Davis as her PR agentDavey. The first series included among its guest castJane Asher as Sarah Jane's childhood friendAndrea Yates,Floella Benjamin asProfessor Rivers, who returned in Series 2, Series 3 and Series 5, andPhyllida Law asBea Nelson-Stanley. The second series guest starredBradley Walsh as an evil alien clown in the storyThe Day of the Clown andRuss Abbot as a sinister astrologer inSecrets of the Stars.[31] Also appearing in the second series wereGary Beadle andJocelyn Jee Esien, who portrayed Clyde's parentsPaul andCarla inThe Mark of the Berserker; Esien reprised her role briefly in Series 4 and more prominently in series 5. Samantha Bond returned as Wormwood inEnemy of the Bane.
The original executive producers forThe Sarah Jane Adventures werePhil Collinson, Russell T Davies andJulie Gardner.Susie Liggat produced the pilot, but Matthew Bouch worked as producer of the series. Co-writerGareth Roberts, writing inDoctor 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."[34] Sue Nott was the executive producer of the second series forCBBC.[35]
In December 2007, the BBC released a statement thatJulie Gardner would be replaced byPiers Wenger as executive producer forDoctor Who in January 2009, but that she would continue to executive-produceTorchwood andThe Sarah Jane Adventures through 2008.[36]
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.[11] 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,[37] 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.[38] 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 ofDoctor Who Magazine,The Sarah Jane Companion Volume 3, published in August 2012, detailed the plotlines of the three unfilmed stories.[39]
As well as Sarah Jane, some characters from the past or current run ofDoctor Who appear inThe Sarah Jane Adventures.K9, voiced byJohn Leeson, guest stars in theNew Year's special as well as theseries 1 finale, appears regularly in the third series, and makes two further appearances in series 4.The Doctor appears twice in the series, withDavid Tennant featuring inThe Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (2009), and his successorMatt Smith inDeath of the Doctor (2010). The latter episode also guest starsKaty Manning asJo Jones (née Grant), reprising the role she played alongside theThird Doctor (Jon Pertwee) between 1971 and 1973. The episodeSky was originally to have featured Smith, but scheduling prevented his appearance.[40]Nicholas Courtney appears asBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart inEnemy of the Bane (2008),[41] his final appearance as the character prior to his death in 2011. Various newsreader characters who appear across Davies' tenure asDoctor Who showrunner also appear inThe Sarah Jane Adventures, namelyLachele Carl andTrinity Wells,Jason Mohammad and Anthony Debaeck.
Numerous others have been referenced in dialogue. Several former companions of the Doctor are referenced in the storyDeath of the Doctor, and the episode also includes brief on-screen flashbacks showing theThird,Fourth andTenth Doctors. CompanionHarry Sullivan is referenced separately in dialogue on several occasions and a photograph of the character is visible in one episode. In an issue ofDoctor 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,[42] and she was alluded to at the end ofThe Death of the Doctor when the fates of Harry Sullivan,Ian Chesterton,Barbara Wright,Ben Jackson,Polly,Tegan Jovanka, andAce are revealed.
| Series | Episodes | Originally released (UK) | Average viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| New Year's special | 1 January 2007 (2007-01-01) | 2.90 | |||
| 1 | 10 | 24 September 2007 (2007-09-24) | 19 November 2007 (2007-11-19) | 1.16 | |
| 2 | 12 | 29 September 2008 (2008-09-29) | 8 December 2008 (2008-12-08) | 0.79 | |
| Comic Relief special | 13 March 2009 (2009-03-13) | 8.30 | |||
| 3 | 12 | 15 October 2009 (2009-10-15) | 20 November 2009 (2009-11-20) | 1.01 | |
| 4 | 12 | 11 October 2010 (2010-10-11) | 16 November 2010 (2010-11-16) | 0.80 | |
| 5 | 6 | 3 October 2011 (2011-10-03) | 18 October 2011 (2011-10-18) | 0.65 | |
| Reunion special | 9 April 2020 (2020-04-09) | — | |||
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 byRussell T Davies andGareth Roberts.[20] "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".[43] The story focused on Sarah Jane's investigation of a popular and addictive soft drink calledBubble 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 onBBC One, with episodes airing a week ahead on children's digital channelCBBC. 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.[44] The fourth series aired from 11 October 2010. The first of each story pair was accompanied by an episode ofSarah Jane's Alien Files, 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.[45][46][47][48]
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.[49] Filming for three stories of the fifth series had been finished, and thus post-production on these stories was completed.[50] 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 ofDoctor Who and the ending text "And the story goes on... forever."[13]
The script of the unfilmedSarah Jane Adventures episode "The Thirteenth Floor" was rewritten and broadcast as an episode ofWizards vs Aliens.[51]
On 19 April 2020, a special 13-minute webcast mini episode entitled "Farewell, Sarah Jane" aired onDoctor Who's social media channels as a tribute toElisabeth Sladen. 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.[52][53]
The story acts as an epilogue to the series, narrated byJacob Dudman and featuringTommy Knight,Daniel Anthony,Anjli Mohindra,Katy Manning,Mina Anwar all in their respective roles from the series. It also includesSophie Aldred, who portrayed Ace, a companion to theSeventh Doctor.[54][55][56][57]
On 19 July 2022, it was announced thatBig Finish Productions would produce an audio spin-off ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures set to release in April 2023, which features Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra) as the protagonist.[58] 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), Rani's mother.[59]
On 28 March 2023, Big Finish Productions additionally announced a sequel boxset set to release in January 2024 titledThe Revenge of Wormwood with Mrs Wormwood (Samantha Bond) to reprise her role as the villain from the television series.[60] The second boxset will also feature the return ofLuke Smith (Tommy Knight).[61]
The Sarah Jane Adventures has been generally well received by critics and the viewing public.[62] At the end of the first series, Abi Grant ofThe Daily Telegraph wrote: "With the debate about the future of children's TV still rumbling on, this is what theBBC does best, and despite lacking the production values ofDoctor Who, it's still top tea-time programming."[63] Daniel Martin ofThe Guardian described the show as looking very promising and more convincing than anotherDoctor Who spinoffTorchwood.[64] Review websiteDVD Talk called the series "wonderful", "thoughtful" and "imaginative children's entertainment" that was highly recommended.[65] The series also received praise for its willingness to tackle "darker themes [such as]Alzheimer's, homelessness and loss."[66]
"It's not often that you get a character who appeals across the generations. What SJA gets absolutely right is that Sarah Jane remains immediately recognisable as this tenacious reporter of old, but with an added maternal touch that enchants its target audience. Its absence in the schedules is going to be keenly felt."
AtMetacritic, the first series received a generally favourable score of 66 out of 100 based on five critics.[68] As the series progressed reviews became slightly more positive withDVD Talk reviewer David Cornelius saying that the "second series is even better than the first."[69] However Eric Profancik fromDVD 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."[70] Series three is described by Guy Clapperton of review siteScreenJabber.com as being slightly braver than its predecessors,[71] whileBullz-eye.com described it as "a sweet, fun little show, with some neat ideas" with "its heart very much in the right place."[72] 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 fromThe Guardian said that it was "a fitting tribute to Elisabeth Sladen" and has occupied a "unique place in theWhoniverse".[73]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Royal Television Society | Children's Drama | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Nominated | [74] |
| SFX Awards | Best TV Actress | Elisabeth Sladen | Nominated | [75] | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Drama | Matthew Bouche,Alice Troughton, andGareth Roberts | Nominated | [76] | |
| 2009 | Nikki Smith,Graeme Harper, and Gareth Roberts | Nominated | [77] | ||
| Royal Television Society | Children's Drama | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Nominated | [78] | |
| 2010 | British Academy Children's Awards | Drama | Nikki Wilson, Joss Agnew, and Gareth Roberts | Nominated | [79] |
| Writer | Phil Ford | Nominated | [79] | ||
| BAFTA Kids' Vote – Television | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Nominated | [79] | ||
| Royal Television Society | Children's Drama | Nominated | [80] | ||
| BAFTA Cymru | Interactive | The Sarah Jane Adventures (website) | Won | [81] | |
| 2011 | British Academy Children's Awards | Drama | Russell T Davies, Brian Minchin, and Ashley Way | Nominated | [82] |
| Writer | Phil Ford | Nominated | [82] | ||
| BAFTA Kids' Vote – Television | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Nominated | [82] | ||
| Royal Television Society | Children's Drama | Won | [83] | ||
| BAFTA Cymru | Children's Programme | Brian Minchin forDeath of the Doctor | Won | [84] | |
| 2012 | British Academy Children's Awards | BAFTA Kids' Vote – Television | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Nominated | [85] |
| Writer | Phil Ford | Nominated | [85] | ||
| BAFTA Cymru | Children's Programme | Brian Minchin forThe Curse of Clyde Langer | Nominated | [86] | |
| Royal Television Society | Children's Drama | The Sarah Jane Adventures series 5 | Nominated | [87] | |
| SFX Awards | Elisabeth Sladen Award | The Sarah Jane Adventures, for "excellence in the field of children's fantasy" | Won | [88] |
BBC Worldwide's children's channel in Canada,BBC Kids, began broadcastingThe Sarah Jane Adventures with "Invasion of the Bane" on 13 January 2008, airing the rest of the series back-to-back on Sundays thereafter.[89]The South African channelSABC 2 started airing the series beginning on 9 February 2008.[90] The Hong Kong channelATV World, which has also airedDoctor Who andTorchwood, aired this series starting 17 February 2008.[91] The first series began airing onSci Fi in the USA beginning on 11 April 2008,[92] 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 onNickelodeon Australia.[93] In Brazil, the show started airing on 19 November 2012 onTV Cultura, right after their broadcast ofDoctor Who series 6 ended.[94] It also screens in New Zealand on Nickelodeon New Zealand, and in Belgium onKetnet.[95][96] In 2013 the show started airing onJeemTV in Arabic.[97] Various seasons of the series has also been broadcast multiple times on the Swedish children's Channel 'Barnkanalen' in Swedish.
Character Options have been awarded a licence to produceThe Sarah Jane Adventure play sets,action figures, and a 'Sonic Lipstick' toy.[98]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.[99] Character Options have now discontinued the range due to lack of customer interest.[100][101][102]
TheAdventurer The Sarah Jane Adventures series ofDoctor 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 theDoctor Who: Battles in Time (magazine) being extended beyond its original number of proposed issues, theAdventurer 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.
TheAdventurer series consisted of 10 individualCommon cards referenced by the prefix SJA, cards also showed their individual series number 01–10
| Card No. | Card name |
|---|---|
| 0 | Introductory Card |
| 1 | Sarah Jane Smith (and Friends) |
| 2 | Mrs Wormwood |
| 3 | Commander Kaagh |
| 4 | The Gorgon |
| 5 | The Trickster (with the Graske) |
| 6 | Korst Gogg Thex Lutiven-Day Slitheen |
| 7 | General Kudlak |
| 8 | Odd Bob |
| 9 | Mr Smith |
| 10 | The Brigadier |
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.[103]
A 20-minute mini-episode in two parts called "The Monster Hunt" written byTrevor Baxendale and read byAnjli Mohindra was made especially for the Monster Hunt game on theSarah Jane Adventures website.[104] 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.[105]
| Title | Author | Release date | Reader |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Glittering Storm[106] | Stephen Cole | 5 November 2007 | Elisabeth Sladen |
| The Thirteenth Stone[106] | Justin Richards | ||
| The Time Capsule[107] | Peter Anghelides | 13 November 2008 | |
| The Ghost House[107] | Stephen Cole | ||
| The White Wolf[108] | Gary Russell | 3 September 2009 | |
| The Shadow People[108] | Scott Handcock | ||
| Deadly Download[109] | Jason Arnopp | 7 October 2010 | |
| Wraith World[110] | Cavan Scott & Mark Wright | ||
| Children of Steel[111] | Martin Day[112] | 10 November 2011 | Daniel Anthony[113] |
| Judgement Day[114] | Scott Gray[112] | Anjli Mohindra[112] | |
| The Sarah Jane Adventures Collection (Complete Audio Collection)[115] | Stephen Cole Justin Richards Gary Russell Cavan Scott Mark Wright Peter Anghelides Jason Arnopp Martin Day Scott Gray | 24 November 2011 | Elisabeth Sladen Daniel Anthony Anjli Mohindra |
FiveThe Sarah Jane Adventures comics were released on the officialSarah Jane Adventures website. Four of them were comic adventures with audio narration byAnjli Mohindra. A pdf document and a MP3 audio track was available to download of the comics. An online version ofThe Silver Bullet, presented, in full, a comic written and drawn by Clyde and briefly seen in, the episodeThe Curse of Clyde Langer.
| Title | Author | Artist | Release date | Read by | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster Hunt: The Beginning | Trevor Baxendale | 2009 | Anjli Mohindra | Monster Hunt: The Beginning on the BBC website | |
| Monster Hunt: The Ending | Trevor Baxendale | 2009 | Anjli Mohindra | ||
| Return of the Krulius | Trevor Baxendale | Neil Roberts | 2009 | Anjli Mohindra | |
| Defending Bannerman Road | Trevor Baxendale | 2010 | Anjli Mohindra | ||
| The Silver Bullet | 2011 | The Silver Bullet on the BBC website |
The Sarah Jane Adventures merchandising revived the concept of the novelisation, which had been part of theDoctor Who franchise from the 1970s to the 1990s (principally under the editorship of author and formerWho 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.
| Title | Author | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Invasion of the Bane | Terrance Dicks | 1 November 2007[116] |
| Revenge of the Slitheen | Rupert Laight | 1 November 2007[117] |
| Eye of the Gorgon | Phil Ford | 1 November 2007[118] |
| Warriors of Kudlak | Gary Russell | 1 November 2007[119] |
| Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? | Rupert Laight | 6 November 2008[120] |
| The Lost Boy | Gary Russell | 6 November 2008[121] |
| The Last Sontaran | Phil Ford | 6 November 2008[122] |
| The Day of the Clown | Phil Ford | 6 November 2008[123] |
| The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith | Gareth Roberts | 5 November 2009[124] |
| The Nightmare Man(e-book only) | Joseph Lidster | 25 November 2010[125] |
| Death of the Doctor(e-book only) | Gary Russell | 25 November 2010[126] |
In September 2010,Pearson Education published four simplified novelisations based on stories from the third series:
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Judoon Afternoon (Prisoner of the Judoon)[127] | Trevor Baxendale |
| Haunted House (The Eternity Trap)[128] | Trevor Baxendale |
| Painting Peril (Mona Lisa's Revenge)[129] | Trevor Baxendale |
| Blathereen Dream (The Gift)[130] | Trevor Baxendale |
Although there has never been aSarah Jane Adventures magazine there have been three special editions of theDoctor Who Magazine, focused onThe Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as regular mentions in the standard editions ofDoctor Who Magazine.[131][132][133][134]
| Title | Publisher | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Sarah Jane Adventures: Quiz Book | Penguin Character Books Ltd | 5 November 2009[135] |
| Impossible Worlds, Impossible Things: Cultural Perspectives on Doctor Who, Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures | Cambridge Scholars Publishing | 1 May 2010[136] |
| Release name | Region 2 | Region 4 | Region 1 | Notes/extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invasion of the Bane | 29 October 2007[137] | 12 January 2009 Re-released 2 March 2010[138] | Not released individually | Elisabeth Sladen interview,Blue Peter Visits The Set, CBBC trailers, interactive Sarah Jane biography withDoctor Who clips, Character And Alien Profiles, behind the scenes Photo Gallery.[139] |
| The Complete First Series Also includes "Invasion of the Bane" | 10 November 2008[140] | 4 June 2009[141] Re-released 5 January 2010 | 7 October 2008[142] | Interviews, Blue Peter Set Visit, CBBC trailers,outtakes (accessed via a quiz), Characters, Tools and Aliens Profiles, behind the scenes Photo Gallery.[143] |
| The Complete Second Series | 9 November 2009[144] | 3 June 2010[145] Re-released 2 March 2011 | 10 November 2009[146] | From Raxacoricofallapatorious with Love (accessed via a quiz),Me & My Movie with Tommy Knight (behind the scenes clips), CBBC trailers, Character, Tools & Alien profiles, Photo galleries.[147] |
| The Complete Third Series | 1 November 2010[148] | 2 March 2011[149] Re-released 2 June 2011 | 4 January 2011[150] | No Blu-ray release despite being filmed in HD.[151] |
| The Complete Fourth Series | 31 October 2011[152] | 1 March 2012[153] | 6 December 2011[154] | UK release includesPyramids of Mars as a bonus feature in tribute to Elisabeth Sladen.[155] |
| The Fifth Series | 6 February 2012[156] | 5 July 2012[157] | 12 June 2012[158] | Includes the documentaryGoodbye Bannerman Road: Remembering Elisabeth Sladen.[159] |
| The Complete Series 1–5 | 6 February 2012[160] | Not Released | Not Released | Includes all of the features that are included in Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 boxsets. |
| Doctor Who:The Green Death (Special Edition) | 5 August 2013[161] | 7 August 2013[162] | 13 August 2013[163] | The Special Edition release of thisDoctor Who serial containsThe Sarah Jane Adventures storyDeath of the Doctor as a bonus feature with commentary by creator Russell T. Davies and actress Katy Manning.[164] |
| The Attic: Sarah Jane Adventures 10th Anniversary Reunion | 29 July 2017[165]Region Free | Not released | Not released | Released for charity as part of the 10th Anniversary to help raise money forTy Hafan Children's Hospice. The set includes footage from the day, guest panels, interviews, behind the scenes of the event and bonus features. |
| Release name | UK release date (region B) | Australian release date (region B) | North American release date (region A) | Notes/extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Fourth Series | 31 October 2011[152] Region Free | Not released | Not released | UK release includesPyramids of Mars as a bonus feature in tribute to Elisabeth Sladen (in Standard Definition)[155] |
| The Fifth Series | 6 February 2012[166] Region Free | Not released | Not released | Includes the documentaryGoodbye Bannerman Road: Remembering Elisabeth Sladen.[159] |
| The Attic: Sarah Jane Adventures 10th Anniversary Reunion | 29 July 2017[165]Region Free | Not released | Not released | Released for charity as part of the 10th Anniversary to help raise money forTŷ Hafan Children's Hospice. The set includes footage from the day, guest panels, interviews, behind the scenes of the event and bonus features. |
| Doctor Who: The Collection:Season 10 | 8 July 2019 | 13 November 2019 | 15 October 2019 | IncludesDeath of the Doctor as a bonus feature with commentary by creator Russell T. Davies and actress Katy Manning.[167] |
| Doctor Who: The Complete David Tennant Collection | Not released | Not released | 17 September 2019[168] | IncludesThe Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith as a bonus feature. |
| Doctor Who:The Specials(steelbook) | 21 October 2019[169] | Not released | Not released | IncludesThe Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith as a bonus feature. |
| Sarah Jane's Alien Files | |
|---|---|
 Title Card | |
| Created by | Russell T Davies |
| Starring | |
| Voices of | Alexander Armstrong |
| Theme music composer | Murray Gold |
| Composer | Sam Watts |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Gillian Scothern |
| Producer | John Piper |
| Running time | 30 min |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBBC |
| Release | 11 October (2010-10-11) – 15 November 2010 (2010-11-15) |
Sarah Jane's Alien Files is a BBC series based onThe Sarah Jane Adventures. It features the charactersSarah Jane Smith,Luke Smith,Clyde Langer andRani Chandra entering data on aliens they have encountered during their adventures intoMr 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.[170]
Each episode is aclip show summarising the events of episodes in which the featured aliens appeared.[170] The only new footage is the framing and narration, shot entirely on the series' standing attic set.[171] Occasionally, brief clips fromDoctor Who are included for context, such as in Episode 6 when theJudoon are compared to theCheetah People ofSurvival in that each humanoid species looks superficially like a non-humanoid terrestrial mammal (rhinoceros andcheetah, respectively).[171] The series format was based upon the short "alien files" clips previously produced for the CBBC'sThe Sarah Jane Adventures website.[172]
The series is similar to theDoctor Who spin-offMonster Files.[172]
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