You better not be foolin'!

Great news for Sarah Jane fans here in America!! Following an announcement made by tvshowsondvd.com earlier this month, Warner Home Video and BBC Worldwide Americas will be releasing two Sarah Jane stories in early 2008!

April 1st, 2008 will see the R1 releases of The Time Warrior and Planet of Evil. Both titles are expected to sell for $24.95 each, and I believe they will have the same extras as their R2 counterparts.

Steve Manfred notes that this is the first time they've released DVDs in consecutive months at this time of year, and is a part of the general increase in the release rate of classic series titles in the Americas.

All I have to say is, it's about time! ;)

Canadian Maple

Thanks to BenjaminElliot over on the Doctor Who Forum we now know that Canada will be showing the full series of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" next year. That's right folks, from next January Canada will be able to see the series broadcast weekly on the BBC Kids channel!

Here's a press release sent to Elliot:

On behalf of BBC Kids, I'm thrilled to announce that the "The Sarah Jane Adventures" are coming to Canada on BBC Kids!

Beginning with the broadcast of the hour-long pilot "Invasion Of The Bane" on Sunday, January 13th at 9:00pm ET (with an encore presentation at 4:00am), BBC Kids will run 2 half-hour episodes back to back every Sunday at 9:00pm and 4:00am ET thereafter.

The schedule is as follows:
Sunday, January 12 - Invasion of the Bane (1 x 1 hour) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET
Sunday, January 19 - Revenge of the Slitheen (2 x 30 minutes) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET
Sunday, January 26 - Eye of the Gorgon (2 x 30 minutes) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET
Sunday, February 2 - Warriors of Kudlak (2 x 30 minutes) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET
Sunday, February 9 - Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane? (2 x 30 minutes) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET
Sunday, February 16 - The Lost Boy (2 x 30 minutes) - 9:00pm / 4:00am ET

Also, to celebrate the launch of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" on BBC Kids, we will broadcast each Classic Who Sarah Jane Story every Saturday and Sunday at 2:00am ET beginning Saturday, January 12 with "The Time Warrior". We will show complete stories each night except for 6-part stories which will be spread over 2 nights - 3 episodes per night. Following the run of Sarah Jane's last story, "The Hand of Fear", we will present an encore run of the one-off spin-off "K9 & Company"! It should be noted that BBC Kids does not have the rights to broadcast the classic Who stories "Death To The Daleks" and "Genesis of The Daleks", and as such, these stories will not be broadcast as part of the Sarah Jane Classic Who run.

Please contact me with any questions, and thank you for posting this.

Best, Pete

So there we go; another country has the SJA at last! Not only that, but they'll be repeating some vintage Sarah Jane adventures before hand. What more could you ask for?*

Canada, begin the countdown!

*Well, considering how bad it is, you could ask them not to repeat "K9 and Company"! ;)

Hindsight (Not Required)

Way back in February on this very site we asked readers 20 very important questions about the (then) forthcoming series proper of "The Sarah Jane Adventures". Now that the series has finished its 10 week run, it's time to look back and answer those questions. So, how many did you guess correctly?

1: What date will the full SJA series premiere?
Monday September 24th

2: What time slot will the series occupy?
The series aired on BBC One at 5pm, and 5:30 on the CBBC Channel

3: Will the series debut of the CBBC Channel (a la "MIHigh")
New episodes debuted on the channel

4: How many episodes (if any) will K9 appear in?
Just the one ("The Lost Boy - Part Two")

5: The Bane; will they return?
No reappearences (so far) for the Bane...

6: Do you think any "classic series" monsters from Doctor Who will appear?
No classic series monsters appeared, although the Slitheen (from the new series) did return

7: If so, what exactly?
Personally, I would have guessed the Sontarans (there was a fleeting mention)

8: What rating will the first episode achieve?
1.3 Million

9: Will Kelsey appear in the full series?
Kelsey hasn't returned to the series. Small mercies...

10: How many "Doctor Who" references will there be?
Generally, at least one per adventure - pictures in the attic, monster names (the Yeti, Sontarans, etc) and namesacking the Doctor were the most common

11: How many "K9 and Company" references will there be?
None!

12: Will Sarah-Jane have a romance in the series?
Except weekly shouts of "Mr. Smith, I need you!" there was none.

13: Will any other characters form a relationship?
In the finale it's hinted that Alan and Chrissie are back on; they hold hands as the series draws to a close. Apart from that, no. Although don't tell Clyde that. You'd dent his pride.

14: Do you think the series will end on a cliffhanger? If so, what?
No cliffhanger this time...

15: How much coverage will DWM give the series?
Generally one behind the scenes article for each issue released while the series was on the air

16: Will there be any novels?
There were novelisations, and original audio fiction

17: If so, who will write them?
Terrance Dicks, Phil Gladwin, Gary Russell and Rupert Laight

18: Is "Mister Smith" all that he seems?
He's not a computer; he's a very naughty boy!

19: Will there be any crossovers with "Doctor Who" / "Torchwood"?
No crossovers this year - although OutpostGallifrey readers were convinced that the Doctor would show up at some point...

20: Finally, will the series be recommissioned for a second season?
So far, no second series has been commissioned - although it could be, any day now...

So, how well did you score?

To Be Continued...?

That, as they so fondly say, is that. "The Sarah Jane Adventures" has now concluded its run on BBC One, and there's still no confirmation on whether a second series is going ahead or not. So, you might ask, what next for everybody's new favourite children's programme?

Well, there's consistent rumours that Elisabeth Sladen will show up at some point during Doctor Who's fourth series, which kicks off next March/April. Apparently (SPOILER WARNING!) Sarah Jane Smith teams up with the Doctor once again, as well as Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness. Whether this budget-breaking storyline is actually going to happen is anybody's guess, but there have been whispers of Lis and Catherine Tate filming together on the streets of Cardiff...

Nevertheless, you can expect two or three SJA DVDs early next year, as the 10 part series proper is released to buy. "Revenge of the Slitheen" and "Eye of the Gorgon" will be bundled together in March, but it's not known if the final three series will be grouped together as a trio, or as two seperate DVDs (two stories on one set, just one story on the last DVD).

I'm told that the entire series (including "Invasion of the Bane") will be grouped together in a series boxset, sometime next year. No news on whether the boxset will simply recycle the already-released bonus features.

There are rumours that a number of "classic" Doctor Who adventures which feature Elisabeth Sladen could be released next year. I've heard that "K9 and Company" is on 2 Entertain's radar, as is a re-release of the 20th anniversary adventure "The Five Doctors". There's speculation that 2008 will see "Revenge of the Cybermen" and "Death to the Daleks" finally made available on the DVD format.

Don't forget that the two new Sarah Jane audios are available to buy now. Written by long term 'Who writers Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, the adventures are narrated by Elisabeth Sladen - and are everything you've come to expect from "The Sarah Jane Adventures"!

There's also four SJA novelisations, out now at book stores like Waterstones, with a further two ("Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?" and "The Lost Boy") set to follow later this year, with Boxing Day looking like a likely release date. They are all RRP £4.99.

Finally, this very website will continue to report all things Sarah Jane Smith, so don't you go anywhere else! If you do, you might just miss official confirmation of a 2008 series (which might, or might not, come sooner than you think...) or the results of the Reader Awards, or lots of other things we've got up our sleeves.

Sarah Jane Smith has left our television screens for another year; but she's still firmly in our hearts.

Christmas Is Coming...

According to reports in the Beccles and Bungay Journel, Elisabeth Sladen will be turning on the Christmas lights next Friday night (November 30th) in Beccles town centre. The evening kicks off at 6pm with Lis appearing on the main stage. Later, the star will be "handing out prizes" to competition winners. Lucky them!

Elsewhere, OutpostGallifrey is reporting that "The Sarah Jane Adventures" has broken records for the CBBC. The transmission of "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?" over two weeks ago attracted 633,000 viewers - becoming the highest rated programme in the CBBC channel's short history. Way to go!

More news as it comes in; don't forget to watch "The Lost Boy - Part Two" (if you haven't already seen it) on BBC One next Monday, at the usual time of 5pm.

The Sonic Lipstick Awards 2007

Now that "The Sarah Jane Adventures" have completed their first series run (for CBBC viewers, at least) it's time you tell us what you loved, liked or hated about Sarah Jane Smith's return to television - and while we're at it, lets talk history; just what is the definitive Sarah Jane adventure from her 34 year history?

There's only one way to find out... VOTE!

Send an email to the following address; answering each of the following categories. All the results will be added together at the end of December - and we'll announce the winners at the end of the year!

THE CLASSIC ADVENTURES (mark out of 10; 10 = highest, 1 = lowest)

1: "The Time Warrior"
2: "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"
3: "Death to the Daleks"
4: "The Monster of Peladon"
5: "Planet of the Spiders"
6: "Robot"
7: "The Ark in Space"
8: "The Sontaran Experiment"
9: "Genesis of the Daleks"
10: "Revenge of the Cybermen"
11: "Terror of the Zygons"
12: "Planet of Evil"
13: "Pyramids of Mars"
14: "The Android Invasion"
15: "The Brain of Morbius"
16: "The Seeds of Doom"
17: "The Masque of Mandragora"
18: "The Hand of Fear"

SPECIAL EPISODES (mark out of 10; 10 = highest, 1 = lowest)

1: "K9 and Company"
2: "The Five Doctors"
3: "School Reunion"

RATE THE EPISODES (mark out of 10; 10 = highest, 1 = lowest)

1: "Invasion of the Bane"
2: "Revenge of the Slitheen"
3: "Eye of the Gorgon"
4: "Warriors of Kudlak"
5: "Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?"
6: "The Lost Boy"

SARAH JANE SMITH'S GREATEST ADVENTURE

Nominate any of Sarah Jane Smith's television adventures here.

BEST ACTOR/ACTRESS

Choose from any of the regular cast (excluding Elisabeth Sladen):
1: Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson)
2: Thomas Knight (Luke Smith)
3: Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer)
4: Porsha Lawrence Mavour (Kelsey Harper)
5: Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson)
6: Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson)

BEST WRITER

Choose from any one of the below:
1: Russell T Davies / Gareth Roberts ("Invasion of the Bane")
2: Gareth Roberts ("Revenge of the Slitheen" / "Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?")
3: Phil Ford ("Eye of the Gorgon" / "The Lost Boy")
4: Phil Gladwin ("Warriors of Kudlak")

BEST DIRECTOR

Choose from any of the below:
1: Colin Teague ("Invasion of the Bane")
2: Alice Troughton ("Revenge of the Slitheen" / "Eye of the Gorgon")
3: Charles Martin ("Warriors of Kudlak" / "The Lost Boy")
4: Graeme Harper ("Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?")

TWO OF A KIND

With each statement pick your preferred choice:
1: K9 or Mr. Smith
2: Kelsey or Clyde
3: Sarah or Sarah-Jane
4: The Sarah Jane Adventures or Torchwood
5: Sarah-Jane.tv or Torchwood.tv

FINALLY...

Should series two:
a: ...Remain on CBBC?
b: ...Be promoted to prime time Saturday night (a la Doctor Who)?
c: ...Not happen at all?

You have until December 15th to submit your replies. The results will be published here in late-December.

Click here and get writing!

Lost (& Found)

The overnight ratings are in for both parts of "The Lost Boy" - the series finale of The Sarah Jane Adventures. 1.3 million were watching the first installment on BBC One, and afterwards 0.44 million people were there to watch the final episode over on the CBBC Channel. Over the last nine week's the show has had a first run average of 0.306 million on the CBBC Channel - which is a massive improvement on the channel's typical ratings.

In other news I've just received an email off a guy who calls himself "Astrobuoy", where he claims that series two of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" will have a Doctor Who 'celebrity' penning a two part adventure (writing has already started on year two, even though we haven't had official confirmation of its recommission):

"Hey Jack! Long time reader of this and your other site. Thought I'd give you a heads up that Clayton Hickman, former editor of Doctor Who Magazine, is going to write a two part story for next year's Sarah Jane series. He's now a freelancer, and I don't know if you're aware of the Big Finish CDs he's already had produced? Gary Russell, our script editor, must be fond of the guy! If you use this, give me a cool name like Astrobuoy, or sumthing."

And that's that. I have no idea who "Astrobuoy" is, or how reliable his information may be. For now I'd recommend that you take this with a pinch of salt. But it's be neat if Hickman was coming onboard for an adventure or two...

Just What Mistress Ordered

As far as viewers watching on the CBBC Channel are concerned "The Sarah Jane Adventures" have now reached their conclusion... for 2007 at least. Straight after "The Lost Boy - Part Two" finished on the channel a presenter (strangely dressed in drag as Queen Victoria) seemed to indicate that the series would be returning for a new series next year.

Hopefully we'll have confirmation soon...

Earlier on this year I was made aware of several "issues" that could prevent a second series from taking place. Hopefully this has now been resolved, and all the cast and crew can move forth and create another series of Sarah Jane frolics!

Anyway... how great was that series finale? I won't discuss specific details for the sake of viewers who haven't yet seen the episode, but it was a very neat way to wrap up series one. And who would have thought that we'd see... well, if you've seen the episode, you'll know what I'm talking about! Everybody else will have to find out what the big mystery is when the second installment of "The Lost Boy" airs next Monday afternoon on BBC One.

Roll on 2008, and the return of Sarah Jane Smith!

Children In Need

While waiting for the Doctor Who special Time Crash on BBC's Children in Need last night, viewers in Wales were given a special Sarah Jane shaped treat!

One of the local films to promote charities here in Wales, along with an appeal for donations was presented by Lis Sladen!

I didn't have my dvd recorder set up sadly, but the trusty old VHS has taped it and I will try and get it online for you to see.

I hope you donated!

My Sarah Jane Day

University finished early, so I thought I'd pop into town and do a little Christmas shopping - though, admittedly, I couldn't resist a little shopping for myself too! I picked up the two Sarah Jane Adventures audios in one of Manchester's two Waterstones stores (they're in the children's section, but hey-ho) and I was tempted to pick up the novelisations too - what with Waterstones' 3 for 2 offer - but decided otherwise. The books are mighty pretty though...

Toys 'R Us are now selling the Sonic Lipstick toy in store, which I decided to buy. Not for myself, of course. It's my youngest sister's birthday in December. She can have that as her gift. Naturally I'll have to inspect it once its out of the box, but she can have it back... eventually.

Finally, I headed on over to Forbidden Planet, where I picked up the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine. It features interviews with the three writers of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" (that's Gareth Roberts, Phil Ford and Phil Gladwin) who discuss the challenges of writing for children's television in the 21st century, amongst other things...

"Honestly," Gareth Roberts tells the magazine, "at the end of Part One of Revenge of the Slitheen, there are bits where Maria, Luke and Clyde are splitting up and coming back in all manner of different directions - and that's purely because Yasmin Paige and Thomas Knight were constantly off doing their schoolwork! But Daniel Anthony is 20, so we can work him into the ground!"

Talking of Mr. Anthony and Mr. Knight, there's (slight) interviews with the boys, too.

Inside the magazine there's also:

+ News on how well the SJA have performed in the ratings.
+ A look at Graeme Harper's "Calling the Shots" book
+ Lots of readers' letters about the SJA (all very positive)
+ Reviews of the two Sarah Jane Adventures audio CDs

You can pick up Doctor Who Magazine issue number 389 now, priced £3.99. Next month the magazine returns sporting a brand new look, and will review all ten episodes of the full SJA series.

Finally, the second DVD release of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" appears to be taking place next March. Woolworths have posted details online which suggests that volume two of the series - containing "Revenge of the Slitheen" and "Eye of the Gorgon" - will hit shelves on March 15th, with an RRP of £12.99 - more news on this when we have confirmation.

Have a great night; I'm off to listen to Lis Sladen reading "The Glittering Storm"...

No Mere Pretender

Firstly, just how great was "Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?" Considering that this series was pitched for children, that story had a hell of a lot of balls. And the Graske were back too (the icing on the cake!). Part Two of the adventure, which aired on BBC One yesterday, garnered 1.1 million viewers - 8% of the available television audience.

The figures are so good that the episode beat ITV 1's new Chris Tarrant vehicle, "The Great Pretender", by 100,000 viewers. That show only managed to draw in one million viewers, meaning that Sarah Jane Smith retains her crown as Queen of the 5pm slot!

Over on the CBBC Channel part one of "The Lost Boy" had 0.29 million viewers watching.

And what an episode that was too...

Book Worm

It's kinda depressing, because there's not an awful lot to talk about with regards to "The Sarah Jane Adventures". Since the series proper started airing back in September there's been very little news at all; cept for what I've been able to scramble together from overnight ratings and such. It's a shame, because the series is so fantastic and wonderfully made. I just wish there was more news with which to promote the show!

Anyhoo, the first four SJA novelisations went on sale at the start of the month, and you can see pretty pictures of three of their covers below.

+

"Invasion of the Bane" (Terrance Dicks)

"Eye of the Gorgon" (Phil Ford)

"Warriors of Kudlak" (Gary Russell)

The books are quite interesting and feature all sorts of typos (just like the Target novels for the original series often did!). One avid reader has noted that in Dick's "Bane" adaptation, Maria is mistakenly referred to as "Martha" at one point. Oops!

In other news, the toy chain Toys 'R Us are now beginning to sell the first SJA toys in Character Options' new range. Quick, get those Sonic Lipsticks before they're all gone!

Whoever Watched Whatever Happened...

The overnight figures say that 1.2 million viewers saw Part One of "Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?" on BBC1 on Monday. That gives it a 9.6% of total telly viewing at that time.

Over on CBBC, Part Two received 0.38 million, an 18% share of children watching. No, I have no idea if they literally mean children or are just making assumptions based on channel content. Whichever, it seems a good cliffhanger has people flicking over for part 2 in droves as the digital airing was a big increase on previous weeks!

So... for those who have seen the complete story this week ... just one adventure to go. Man, time flies when you are having fun.

Off the Wall

Pyramid Posters is set to release the first in a new series of posters for "The Sarah Jane Adventures" later this week. You can see the image below, and can pre-order it via play.com by clicking on this handy link.

Also on release right now are the first two Sarah Jane Adventures audio CD. They contain brand new stories, as read by Elisabeth Sladen. You can pick both of them up for a reasonable £5 each. Again, you can order them online by clicking here and here.

As for Monday's ratings, you'll just have to watch this space. When the overnights come in, you'll be sure that we'll report them here asap!

Oh Boy... They're Back

The BBC Press Office has released information regarding the tenth and final episode of "The Sarah Jane Adventures". It confirms the return of a former Doctor Who monster - so you have been warned! Look away now if you want to keep the return as much of a surprise as possible.

Here goes...

The Lost Boy - Part Two

Maria and her dad, Alan, dig deeper into the mystery of Luke's new parents and discover that Luke has actually been kidnapped by the Slitheen, in the final episode of the popular children's adventure series.

There are more shocks in store when Sarah Jane and Maria find out that Mr Smith, Sarah Jane's super computer, is one of the bad guys.

With Clyde nowhere to be seen, Luke in the clutches of aliens and no Mr Smith to help, things aren't looking good for Sarah Jane and Maria. But just what do the Slitheen want with Luke and who, or what, exactly, is the Xylok?

Sarah Jane Smith is played by Elisabeth Sladen, Maria Jackson by Yasmin Paige, Luke Smith by Thomas Knight, Clyde by Daniel Anthony and Alan by Joseph Millson.

In other news, this week's broadcast of "Warriors of Kudlax - Part Two" had 1.2 million viewers watching. Straigh afterwards there were 0.23 million watching the first part of "Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?" on the CBBC Channel. "Kudlax" had an audience appreciation of 85 - which takes it into the "excellent" category.