K9 Says…
Mr Smith saves the day when Meteor K67 heads through a radar blind spot. A meteor is a small particle of debris in space.
Players
Andrea (Jane Asher); The Trickster (Paul Marc Davies); The Grasake (Jimmy Vee); Young Sarah Jane (Jessica Ashworth); Young Andrea (Francesca Miller); Newsreader (Jason Mohammad); Voice of the Graske (Philip Hurd-Wood).
NOT South Croydon
Set across two days in the present (“a couple of years after” Attack of the Graske) and also Monday July 13th, 1964, in the fictional town Westport, at some dodgy pier.
K9 Says…
Sarah Jane Smith’s friend Andrea Yates died when she was 13, falling from Westport Pier. She has not spoken about this since, even to her best friend, me.
Blink and You’d Miss It
Before this episode began, a Verrin soothsayer gave Sarah a mysterious box and told her to give it to the person she trusts the most. search-wise.net (the fake search engine that first appeared in Rose) appears again. Sarah says she once defeated the Patriarchs of the Tin Vagabond – The Church of the Tin Vagabond was referenced in The Satan Pit.
K9 Says…
As Sarah Jane knows, the Doctor defeated the Graske two years ago when one invaded Earth to kidnap a family and spoil their Christmas. See interactive videogramme Attack of the Graske for further information.
Generation Gap
Check out all the brown those girls wore in 1964! Vile! Andrea doesn’t like modern music (she acts even older than Sarah Jane!) and probably doesn’t understand when Clyde talks about the film Armageddon (1998).
Things That Embarrass Us
Alan skateboarding (although even worse – he’s pretty good!). Alan flirting with Sarah. Andrea flirting with Alan!! Ancient people suck.
Classified/Top Secret
Well, UNIT isn’t any more, Sarah Jane seems to have written a book about them.
K9 Says…
Sarah is a fan of the novel Day of the Triffids written by John Wyndham (the pen name of John Harris). Wyndham/Harris wrote the book in 1951 and it later spawned a successful film in 1962, shortly before Andrea’s death.
Mode of Transport
Alan and Clyde both skateboard.
The Sarah Jane Utility Belt
Like all old people, Sarah Jane’s best gadgets are her books! She’s got one on French Cooking, one on The Photographic Library and the old comic book collection Dan Dare vol 9: The Terra Nova Trilogy, as well one she wrote herself called UNIT: Fighting for Humankind.
Eldrad Must Live (and everybody else must die)
No-one dies in this. Except Sarah. And Andrea. And Sarah. And, erm Andrea. Oh, and Maria. Possibly.
Keeping it in the Family
Maria keeps a photo of her Mum and Dad on her laptop. Chrissie claims it took her fourteen years to leave Alan.
Girls Clyde Thinks are Fit
He offers to go out with Maria, but only when he can fit her in next Thursday.
Sarah Jane’s Got the Coolest Duds
…and so does Alan, looking well hip at the skateboard park.
“And He Goes… And She Goes…”
“Sandwiches won’t butter themselves!” – Andrea
“Look, if you’re trying to ask me out, just ask me out. I can fit you in next Thursday.” – Clyde
“My ex-husband and a dwarf in a suit, now I’ve seen it all.” – Chrissie
“She’s just a normal woman isn’t she?” – Alan
“She’s a lot more than that.” – Maria
Things That Don’t Make Sense (even to a six-year old)
All of Maria’s friends mobile numbers begin with 0700900. Why does Clyde look at his watch when trying to figure out what day to go out with Maria? What OS does Maria’s computer run – the browser seems to be Safari, but the OS doesn’t look like a Mac. Why hasn’t Torchwood spotted a dirty great meteor headed towards the planet?!
Snafus
As Maria and Alan leave the library, Cardiff Uni red/white signs are visible (not identifiable onscreen, but Cardiff alumni can spot this a mile off). The news report’s captioning uses the acronym “U.K.” whereas in reality it would be “UK” – the BBC logo is also missing. As per Eye of the Gorgon, Sarah’s/Andrea’s house number reads 21, but as per Invasion of the Bane, Alan says she lives at number 13.
Also Known As
Jane Asher’s been in loads and loads of stuff. We’re far too young to remember her in The Stone Tape (1972) or The Goodies (1977) but our Mums remember her in Wish Me Luck (1988-90) and we saw her in eight episodes of Holby City (2007). Plus she played Susan Foreman in a radio play based on Doctor Who, apparantly.
Paul Marc Davies was in the first Harry Potter film (2001) and also in a Doctor Who (2007). Jimmy Vee played the Graske in Doctor Who (2006) and was also in the 2005 episodes End of the World and Aliens of London. Real life newsreader Jason Mohammad had also previously turned up in Doctor Who (1997) and Philip Hurd-Woord was once seen in The District Nurse (1984).
Incidentally, both Sarah and Andrea were presumably born in 1951. In real life, Sladen was born in 1948 and Asher in 1946, so both are playing characters a little older than they are.
Photographic Proof
