Sarah Jane Adventures: Series Five Summary
Series Five was a strong finale dedicated to the show’s roots.
It’s an odd position to be in with three stories and an unexpected finale, but those three showcased the found family heart of The Sarah Jane Adventures. That’s really what this series and Sarah Jane herself were all about. The Bannerman Road Gang came together under a common cause and ended up becoming a family bound by purpose instead of blood, from Luke and Maria to Clyde, Rani, and Sky.
It’s a philsophy that so many of my friends (who are like family) live every day, and one that so many more could learn a lesson from.
Series Five comes in at an average of 4.7. That’s the highest rated set for the show, and in comparison to Doctor Who, it would be second place behind the Ninth Series from the classic era.
Sky – 4
The Curse of Clyde Langer – 5
The Man Who Never Was – 5
Sarah Jane Adventures Series Four Average Rating: 4.7/5
Sadly, this ends The Sarah Jane Adventures on television. After decades of watching television, I understand that endings are inevitable. But the premature ending here is tough. The series overall was quite enjoyable and is something that I would readily recommend to Doctor Who fans, especially if they want something lighter than the normal fare.
Series 1 – 4.3
Series 2 – 4.1
Series 3 – 3.3
Series 4 – 4.3
Series 5 – 4.7
The Sarah Jane Adventures Weighted Average Rating: 4.11/5.00
The premature end of this spinoff meant that several story ideas were left behind. In fact, three more stories were planned for Series Five and a set of four Halloween specials were planned after that to bridge the gap leading into Series Six.
The first was Meet Mr. Smith, written by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman. It would have seen Mr. Smith transformed into a human by an alien called the Ozmo. Mr. Smith’s human form would have been played by the supercomputer’s voice actor Alexander Armstrong.
The next story was The Thirteenth Floor, written by Phil Ford. This tale would have finally united Rani and Clyde as a couple after hinting at the relationship over the course of the series. It would have also potentially featured Amy and Rory. The story was repurposed by Phil Ford for Wizards vs Aliens, another show on the CBBC.
The final story of the Series Five set was The Battle of Bannerman Road, which would have returned the Trickster to the series. The plan was to reveal that he had instilled his essence into Sky at the moment of her creation and manipulated events to leave her on Sarah Jane’s doorstep. The Trickster would have used Sky to take over Bannerman Road and the world, but Sky would turn on him and eventually supervise his imprisonment. Jo and Santiago Jones, Professor Rivers, and the Shopkeeper would also return to help.
The first Halloween story was scheduled to be Full Moon, written by Clayton Hickman. The Bannerman Road Gang would have been pitted against the Pagan gods Gog and Magog, escapees from an alien ship.
The second Halloween story was to be The Station, also written by Clayton Hickman, which would have thrown the Bannerman Road Gang back in time to 1911 and 1934.
The third Halloween tale was also penned by Clayton Hickman but was unnamed at the time. It would feature our heroes encountering a Gargoyle-like creature.
Finally, the last Halloween tale was The Night of the Spectre, written by Phil Ford. It would have been an animated story and featured the return of Alan and Maria Jackson. The team would have faced off against an enemy called the Spectre.
The Sarah Jane Adventures also featured ten audiobooks between 2007 and 2011. The first eight – The Glittering Storm, The Thirteenth Stone, The Time Capsule, The Ghost House, The White Wolf, The Shadow People, Deadly Download, and Wraith World – were read by Elisabeth Sladen. The ninth book, Children of Steel, was read by Daniel “Clyde” Anthony. The final book, Judgement Day, was read by Anjli “Rani” Mohindra.
I think it fair to assume that I’ll eventually get to those audio adventures.
The Sarah Jane Adventures finally came to an end in April of 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic. During the Doctor Who: Lockdown series on YouTube, Russell T Davies crafted a celebration of Elisabeth Sladen’s life and a capstone for the iconic character of Sarah Jane Smith in his short story Farewell, Sarah Jane.
UP NEXT – Farewell, Sarah Jane
The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.
