Death of the Doctor

Death of the Doctoris a two-part story ofThe Sarah Jane Adventureswhich was broadcast onCBBCon 25 and 26 October 2010.It is the third story of the fourth series. A cross-over story withDoctor Who,the story features actressKaty Manningreprising her role asJo Grantfor the first time since the 1973Doctor WhoserialThe Green Deathand a guest appearance byMatt Smith—Doctor Who's lead actor from 2010 to 2013—as theEleventh Doctor.In the episode, Tia Karim, a rogue member ofUNITallies with members of theShansheethalien race to lure Sarah Jane and Jo into a trap so they can access the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS, and change history and Karim can leave Earth, with the cover story of the Doctor's funeral. Exposition at the end of the episode provides updates on the lives of numerouscompanionsfrom the "classic era" who had gone unaddressed in the revived era. This story was the last to feature Sarah Jane and the Doctor together on-screen.

21 –Death of the Doctor
The Sarah Jane Adventuresstory
Cast
Starring Elisabeth Sladen–Sarah Jane Smith Tommy Knight–Luke Smith Daniel Anthony–Clyde Langer Anjli Mohindra–Rani Chandra Alexander Armstrong–Mr Smith
Others Matt Smith–The Doctor Katy Manning–Jo Jones Finn Jones– Santiago Jones Laila Rouass– Colonel Karim Ace Bhatti– Haresh Chandra Jimmy Vee– Groske Paul Kasey,Ruari Mears, and Ben Ashley – Shansheeth David Bradley– Voice of Shansheeth Blue Phillip Hurd-Wood – Voice of The Groske Jon Glover– Additional Shansheeth Voices
Production
Directed by	Ashley Way
Written by	Russell T Davies
Script editor	Gary Russell
Produced by	Brian Minchin Phil Ford(co-producer)
Executive producer(s)	Russell T Davies Nikki Wilson
Music by	Sam Watts Dan Watts
Production code	4.5 and 4.6
Series	Series 4
Running time	2 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast	25 October 2010(2010-10-25)
Last broadcast	26 October 2010(2010-10-26)
Chronology
←Preceded by The Vault of Secrets Followed by→ The Empty Planet

Plot

Members of theShansheeth,a race of alien vultures, lure theEleventh Doctorto the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart, and strand him there. The Shansheeth steal theTARDIS,with the Doctor'ssonic screwdriverstill inside. With the help ofUNITcolonel Tia Karim they fake the Doctor's death to lure his friends to his funeral, held by the Shansheeth in a UNIT base underSnowdon.Karim notifiesSarah Jane,Clyde,andRaniof the Doctor's supposed death and invites them.Jo Grant,who stopped travelling with the Doctor to get married,and is now Jo Jones, is also attending.

The Shansheeth's plan is to recreate the TARDIS key from Sarah Jane's and Jo's memories, which would kill them, so that the Shansheeth can use the time machine to stop death across the universe by interfering with timelines. Karim collaborates with them as there is nothing left for her on Earth.

The Doctor travels 10,000 light-years to repeatedly swap places with Clyde, who still has residual artron energy from when he touched the TARDIS.On one swap over, the Doctor brings Sarah Jane and Jo with him to the wasteland. With the help of Sarah Jane'ssonic lipstickandbuchuoil Jo has collected from her travels around the Earth, the Doctor is able to repair the device that he has been using to perform these exchanges, allowing them to return to Earth without displacing Clyde's body.

Karim and the Shansheeth forcibly secure Sarah Jane and Jo in the funeral room, where the Shansheeth have kept the TARDIS. As the Shansheeth start to pull the memories of the TARDIS key from Sarah Jane and Jo, the Doctor shouts through the door for Sarah Jane and Jo to recall all their memories of their time with him, and encourages the children to do the same. The machine is overwhelmed and begins to self-destruct. Sarah Jane and Jo safely shield themselves with the lead-lined coffin that they were fooled into believing was where the Doctor's body was. Karim and the Shansheeth are killed in the explosion. After the Doctor uses the TARDIS to return the group to Sarah Jane's home, Sarah Jane tells Clyde and Rani about the Doctor's othercompanions,whom she has researched.

Continuity

• When Clyde asks the Doctor how many times he can change, he states that he can change 507 times, contrary to the original twelve. Davies subsequently explained that this was a joke, both on the Doctor's part and on his.
• Conversation between Sarah Jane, Jo, and the Doctor gives the current whereabouts of several past companions:
  • Liz Shawis working on the UNIT moonbase.
  • Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewartis "stranded inPeru".
  • Barbara WrightandIan Chestertonare married and professors atCambridge University,rumoured to have not aged since the 1960s. This rumour was later proved untrue by the parent series, when a 97-year-old Ian appeared in the 2022 Doctor Who episodeThe Power of the Doctor.
  • Ben JacksonandPollyare also married and run an orphanage inIndia.
  • Harry Sullivanhad worked on vaccines that saved thousands of lives. The characters mention him in the past tense, possibly a reference to the death ofIan Marter,the actor that portrayed Sullivan.
  • Tegan Jovankahas become an advocate forAboriginalrights.
  • A companion named Dorothy has raised billion of pounds through her non-profit organization "A Charitable Earth". The initials of the organization suggest the companion is probablyAce,whose first name was revealed to be Dorothy in the serialDragonfire.
• The episode's novelization expands on this list, giving the current whereabouts of several more companions:
  • Melanie Bushworks at A Charitable Earth alongside Dorothy, providingPCsto schools inAfrica.
  • A "Doctor Holloway" works inSan Francisco,where she is looking into new breakthroughs in surgery. Given the Holloway surname and the San Francisco setting, it is very likely that this companion is meant to beGrace Holloway.
• When Rani reminds Sarah Jane of theirpast encounter with the Mona Lisa,the Doctor responds with, "what do you mean the Mona Lisa?". The Doctor had previously dealt with the Mona Lisa himself in the Doctor Who serialCity of Death.

Music

In some of Sam Watts' music, vocals were provided by Jodie Kearns, wife ofDoctor WhoandTorchwoodwriterJames Moran.

Ratings

Part 1 achieved combined final ratings of 1.40 (0.92/0.48) and Part 2 achieved combined final ratings of 1.43 (0.96/0.47).

Home media

Released as part of The Complete Fourth Series, (Season in America) on DVD, Blu-ray is a UK exclusive. This story was released on the Special Edition DVD ofDoctor WhostoryThe Green Death,including an audio commentary by Russell T Davies and Katy Manning,and re-released onThe Complete Matt Smith Yearson Blu-ray on its bonus disc. It was released again as a part ofThe Collection: Season 10Blu-ray set on its bonus disc.

Novelisation

Death of the Doctor

Author	Gary Russell
Series	The Sarah Jane Adventures#11
Published	25 November 2010 BBC Children's Books
Pages	128
ISBN	978-1-405-90806-1
Preceded by	The Nightmare Man

This was the eleventh and final Sarah Jane Adventures serial to be adapted as a novel. Written byGary Russell,the book has only been published as anE-bookon 25 November 2010.

External links

• Death of the DoctoronTardis Wiki,theDoctor WhoWiki

• "Death of the Doctor"atIMDb