The Sarah Jane Adventures: Difference between revisions

[[File:250px-The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures_intro.jpg|frame|~~[[Dramatic Half Hour]] [[Science Fiction]]~~]]

 

 

It starred [[Elisabeth Sladen|Elisabeth "Lis" Sladen]], reprising her role of Sarah Jane Smith, investigative reporter and former companion of the Doctor (in his Third and Fourth incarnations), after sharing one adventure with the Tenth Doctor. She appeared to be a bit of an eccentric recluse at first, but it turned out she was really an expert on aliens and their technology. She was joined by local kids Maria and Clyde, as well as her adopted (and [[Artificial Human]]) son, Luke, as they battle aliens on Earth... [[City of Adventure|well in]] [[One London Thirty Three Boroughs|Ealing]] anyway. Later episodes introduce Rani, Clyde and Luke's schoolmate, and Sky, Sarah Jane's adopted alien daughter (a character introduced late in the series as a replacement for Luke).

 

''[[And the Adventure Continues...|And the story goes on...]]''

{{tropelist}}

* [[Adam and Eve Plot]]: On finding that he and Rani are (apparently) the last two humans in the world, [[Genre Savvy]] Clyde [[All Men Are Perverts|immediately decides]] they're in one of these. Rani [[All Women Are Prudes|isn't so keen on the idea.]]

** This was also suggested as a [[Take a Third Option|third option]] in ''The Vault of Secrets''. {{spoiler|Fortunately they figured out a fourth one.}}

* [[Never Mess with Granny]]: Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Jones.

* [[Bait and Switch Tyrant]]: Haresh's introductory scene.

* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Well, when you compare Eve to the Bane or Slitheen...

** But subverted in ''Mona Lisa's Revenge''.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Sarah-Jane frequently. She's an ex-companion of The Doctor, do ''not'' tick her off.

* [[Blank Slate]]: Luke, initially.

* [[Body Snatcher]]: {{spoiler|Androvax in ''Prisoner of the Judoon''.}} Clyde even calls him a "body-snatching alien scumbag".

* [[Card-Carrying Villain]]: The Slitheen-Blathereen in ''The Gift''.

* [[Chain Link Fence]]: In ''Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?''

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: Alan's skateboarding past, which was mentioned at the beginning of one story and came in very handy in the climax. This trope's even been nicknamed "Chekhov's Skateboard" on [[Outpost Gallifrey]].

* [[The Chessmaster]]: {{spoiler|Mr. Smith.}}

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: All the main characters wear a denim jacket at least once. Luke's is always on top of his school uniform. Also all the full-time companions from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' wear one at least once as well.

* [[Computer Equals Monitor]]: The death of Mistress in ''Warriors of Kudlak''.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Frequent references to ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (new and classic) and (more subtly) to ''[[Torchwood]]''.

*** In ''Revenge of the Slitheen'', Sarah Jane recalls when she met Rose in "School Reunion": "Slitheen in Downing Street."

* [[Cool Old Guy]]: the Brigadier, who returns in ''Enemy of the Bane''.

** And don't forget the 900+-year-old Time Lord called The Doctor.

** As does Jo Jones (aka Jo Grant) in ''Death of the Doctor''.

* [[Covered in Gunge]]: At least once a series (up until series 4), an alien will explode messily when at least one of the regulars is standing too close to them. On one such occasion, Clyde [[Lampshade Hanging|laments]] that it [[Butt Monkey|always happens to him]]. In series 4, he lampshades that he got through the series without being gunged... and then {{spoiler|Ruby White's stomach gunges him.}}

** The recurring villain the Trickster has also gotten mentioned, but did not appear, in the parent series, as well as ''Torchwood''.

*** Although the Trickster's Brigade appeared in both.

** Originally, Martha Jones was supposed to appear in the finale of the second series (she was replaced with The Brigadier.) Had this went through, she would have been the first and only character to appear on all three shows other than the American newscaster Trinity Wells and the unnamed French newscaster.

* [[Cryptic Background Reference]]: When listing the aliens she fought off, Sarah Jane mentions the unseen Patriarchs of the Tin Vagabond.

* [[Daddy Had a Good Reason For Abandoning You]]: Clyde's father.

** More so with Sarah Jane's parents.

** The show also serves as a good example of why [[Dawson Casting]] is sometimes necessary. The reason Maria and Luke got [[Put on a Bus|Put On Busses]]? [[Real Life Writes the Plot|Exams]].

* [[Dead Line News]]: Trinity Wells in ''Secrets of the Stars''.

* [[Disappeared Dad]]: Clyde's dad ran off with Clyde's aunt Melba some time before the events of ''Revenge of the Slitheen''. He briefly visits him, but returns to his new family at the end of ''The Mark of the Berserker''.

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: The Trickster.

** {{spoiler|Ruby}} in ''Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith'' and Androvax also fit.

** Martin Trueman.

* [[Gender Equal Ensemble]]: Until ''The Nightmare Man'' at the beginning of series 4 -- two boys (Luke and Clyde), and two girls (Maria and Sarah Jane, later Rani and Sarah Jane).

** In fact, it's believed that part of the reason that Kelsey was written out after the pilot and replaced with Clyde was so create a gender-balanced ensemble (and possibly because Kelsey's actress just wasn't working out.)

* [[Genre Savvy]]: As of the fourth series, Clyde apparently keeps a flashlight on him at all times.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: In ''The Man Who Never Was'', Luke sends a morse code message that told "Clani" to grab Harrison's pen. Clyde stated he was never more glad to see a full stop. [http://twitter.com/#!/OldRoberts953/status/126370112335904768 Gareth Roberts even tweeted how surprised he was that it got through].

* [[Gorgeous Period Dress]]: Rani in ''Lost in Time''.

* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!]]: Sarah Jane herself. She was a) ''57'' as of its beginning, and (b) [[Hello, Nurse!|insanely hot]].

* [[G-Rated Drug]]: {{spoiler|In ''The Gift'', the Slitheen-Blathereen are addicted to the Rakweed.}}

* [[Grey Goo]]: The nanoforms in ''Prisoner of the Judoon''.

* [[Hate Plague]]: In ''The Curse of Clyde Langer'', after Clyde gets a splinter from a cursed totem pole, every human who hears or reads his name starts to hate him.

* [[Haunted House]]: Ashen Hill Manor in ''The Eternity Trap''.

** {{spoiler|Kaagh}} in ''Enemy of the Bane'', prompting Sarah Jane to observe {{spoiler|"The universe is an amazing place. It's got so many surprises for us, but one thing I never expected to see was the universe being saved by a Sontaran!"}}

** Anyone the Trickster manipulates against Sarah Jane in his effort to allow chaos into the world will end up making one of these. This includes {{spoiler|Andrea Yates, Sarah Jane's parents, and Peter Dalton}}.

* [[Hot Mom]]: Chrissie and Gita wear low-cut tops occasionally. And, of course, there's Sarah Jane herself.

** And now there's Miss Myers.

** Subverted in ''Secrets of the Stars''; Sarah Jane ''thinks'' this is why Clyde couldn't {{spoiler|kill her}}, but it turns out that {{spoiler|it was Luke touching him, since Luke has no birthday and thus no star signs and acts like a circuit breaker to those affected by the Ancient Lights}}.

** Later used straight {{spoiler|with Clyde's dad in ''Mark of The Beserker''}}.

* [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum]]: Mr Smith, most notably; but Sarah Jane has a few other alien toys to help her out.

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: "Or they'll find relations with Santiago will get a little Chile." Even Clyde's ashamed of himself for making the joke.

** Also averted with thirteen-year-old Andrea Yates in ''Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?''.

* [[Interrupted Declaration of Love]]: Clyde to Rani in ''Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith''.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]: {{spoiler|At the end of ''The Mad Woman In The Attic'' it is revealed that Eve and Sam, alien and human teenagers we meet in the episodes have a child.}}

* [[It's Personal]]: In ''The Gift'', it gets personal for Sarah Jane after {{spoiler|Luke gets infected by the Rakweed}}. This happens every time Luke gets hurt. Also happened ''to'' Luke once or twice, most notably in Mona Lisa's Revenge when {{spoiler|Sarah Jane got trapped in a painting}}.

* [[I Was Quite a Looker]]: Mrs Randall claims this in ''Eye of the Gorgon''. Rani notes this about Harry in ''The Mad Woman in the Attic''.

** The largest ham in has got to be the Nightmare Man. "Youuuur dreams are just beauuuuutiful!"

** {{spoiler|Ruby}} in ''Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith''.

* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: After Sarah Jane offered Gita a cup of tea: "Do you save the world every day, or only on Mondays?"

** In "Sky", he opened up slower than usual and with no fanfare, apparently because he was scared of the title character's power to short out electronics.

* [[Lethal Chef]]: While there's no indication that her cooking's particularly ''bad'', Sarah Jane has been known to set the kitchen on fire while making scrambled eggs.

* [[Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard]]: Luke in the cellar full of gardening tools in ''Eye of the Gorgon''

* [[Look Behind You!]]: Performed on a {{spoiler|Sontaran, allegedly one of the finest soldiers in the galaxy.}} He claims he falls for it because he knows where they are going to run and it saves him from having to force them there. Whatever helps you sleep at night, bud.

* [[Magical Computer]] / [[Magical Database]]: Mr. Smith, Sarah Jane's [[Magical Computer|alien computer]], has access to all sorts of stuff, as 'he' can "hack into anything" and thus is able to scan for any news about alien activity. Sarah Jane [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on this, pointing out he is also configured to look up boy band news. This is a somewhat [[Justified Trope]], given that the computer is a [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]] one, and this is acknowledged by the fact that it has restricted files which humans can't access. {{spoiler|Which turns out to be because he's evil.}}

* [[Mass Hypnosis]]: On more than one occasion.

* [[Meganekko]]: Sarah Jane is, to quite a few fans, infinitely sexier while wearing glasses, as seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCz7o_tOlIc#t=7m34s here] among a few other places.

** And so's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3L2r3Z9D2s&feature=related Rani].

* [[Mix-and-Match Man]]: Luke Smith.

* [[The Mole]]: {{spoiler|Mr. Smith, though he's back to good for series 2 as a result of a virus-induced [[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* [[Monster Clown]]: In ''The Day of the Clown'', naturally.

{{quote|'''[[Last of His Kind|Eleven]]''': [[Beat|...]] Yeah, I'd probably better go.}}

* [[Most Important Person]]: Luke and Sarah Jane to each other, explicitly so. All you have to do is ''look'' at them to see it. Forget the [[Shipping]], and forget the romance; their [[Happily Adopted|love story]] is the show's heart, and remains so even after {{spoiler|Luke begins [[Commuting on a Bus]]}}.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Joseph Serf in "The Man Who Never Was" bears a certain similarity to the late Steve Jobs, and his company to Apple. It was commonly said that Jobs had a "reality distortion field" that made audiences love his products; {{spoiler|Serf accomplishes this with actual hypnotic powers.}}

* [[No Endor Holocaust]]: This series is guilty of it. ''All'' power going out ''all'' over the world, even those with its own power source? The Moon being pulled towards Earth and pushed back? Just about everyone in a trance because of their zodiac signs? No deaths?

* [[No Man of Woman Born]]: the remarkably Macbeth-like climax of ''Secrets of the Stars''.

* [[No Social Skills]]: Luke Smith, at first.

* [[Pardon My Klingon]]: "Oh, for the love of Clom..."

* [[Parental Abandonment]]: Sarah Jane was an orphan raised by her Aunt Lavinia.

{{quote|'''Mr Smith''': She says she is 'open-minded' and 'willing to try anyth-'

'''Sarah Jane''': Thank you, that will do. }}

* [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up]]: {{spoiler|Sky}}.

* [[The Power of Love]]: Oh yes, particularly the love between Luke and Sarah Jane.

* [[Readings Are Off the Scale]]: {{spoiler|Luke's psychic energy}} in the series 1 finale.

* [[Reality Warper]]: The Trickster, of a very limited sort; he can change or undo deaths, but only with the dying person's consent.

* [[Robot Buddy]]: K-9.

* [[Running Gag]]: Sarah Jane burning food.

* [[Sealed Good in a Can]]: The Tenth Doctor implies that he dropped Sarah-Jane on Earth because she didn't need him anymore. Given how many Alien threats she's managed to defeat on her own, he's probably right.

* [[Season Finale]]

* [[Shout-Out]]: Many.

** To ''[[Star Wars]]'' in ''Enemy of the Bane''. Luke. I am your Mother!

{{quote|'''Clyde:''' If it wasn't for me, all these people... they, they wouldn't be here! I've saved them loads of times, and they don't know!

'''{{spoiler|[[Disappeared Dad|Paul]]}}:''' [[Yu-Gi-Oh!|OK... is this]] [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|some kind of]] [[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|trading card thing?]]] }}

** Torchwood is also absent, as is any references to the earth-shattering events it takes part in (i.e. Children of Earth - although Luke, Rani, Clyde and Maria are pubescent and thus weren't affected).

* [[Suspiciously Apropos Music]]: "Always Something There to Remind Me" randomly comes up on the stereo at a particularly appropriate juncture in ''Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?'' (and it's doubly appropriate, because the event she's trying to forget about happened in the year the song hit #1).

** Clyde Langer for Kelsey Hooper. Clyde appears to be a male, less annoying, and much less whiny version of Kelsey. He finds aliens exciting and interesting, whereas she was in a state of determined denial. She was dropped from the show; according to rumor this was to even up the gender ratio of the characters (three females and one male became two of each), however other reasons have been reported.

** Also, the computer Mr. Smith is a substitute for K9, resulting in an amusing mutual dislike between the two when K9 returns for good in ''The Mad Woman in the Attic''.

** Series 2, among other things, subs out Maria for Rani.

** Invoked by {{spoiler|Ruby White, who is actually an alien planning to take over Sarah Jane's life}}.

** After Luke leaves the regular cast, series 5 introduces Sky, someone who looks like a teenager but is [[Younger Than They Look]], has [[No Social Skills]], and is [[Happily Adopted]] by Sarah Jane.

** {{spoiler|Sarah Jane becomes the [[Token White]] when Luke leaves and it actually helps Rani and Clyde's development.}}

* [[The Trap Parents]]: In "The Lost Boy", Sarah Jane learns that Luke is not an [[Artificial Human]] after all, but a human boy who was kidnapped by the Bane and whose real parents miss him terribly and want him back. ...or is he?

* [[Undying Loyalty]]: It doesn't matter what you do to try to turn Luke against Sarah Jane - Mrs Wormwood! - his loyalty will ''always'' be with his mother, and hers with him (and, second, with The Doctor). The gang's loyalty to each other also counts.

* [[UST]]: Clyde and Rani, since first meeting, but more noticeable in series 4.

* [[Verb This]]: Clyde to a group of atom-disassembling nanoforms.

{{quote|''Atomise THIS.''}}

* [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World]]: School-based plots were more common in the first three series.

* [[The Watson]]: Sarah Jane's companions.

* [[Wedding Deadline]]: The "I do" variant, but on a cosmic scale, in ''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith''.

* [[We Hardly Knew Ye]]: Sky only appears in three storylines due to Elisabeth Sladen's passing and the show's subsequent cancellation.

** In ''Invasion of the Bane'', an alien is indeed seen visiting Sarah Jane outside 13 Bannerman Road.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: The Shansheeth faked the Doctor's death so they could lure him to them and steal his TARDIS in order to prevent all death in the universe.

* [[We Will Meet Again]]: Mrs. Wormwood, {{spoiler|and she keeps that promise}}.

* [[The World Is Just Awesome]]: Sarah Jane gives speeches like this ''a lot''.

* [[The X of Y]]: Appears in 14 out of 27 stories.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:British Series]]

[[Category:CBBC]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Series]]

[[Category:TV Series]]

[[Category:Whoniverse]]