No Sarah Jane this September

It's now official: the third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures will break from tradition, by not airing in the latter half of September. We've come to expect the series launch on the last Monday of September for the past two years, but for 2009 - possibly to tie in with Doctor Who's Water of Mars in November - it seems that an October launch is now set in stone.

CBBC SJA LANYARD - I HAD TO BEG, STEAL & BORROW FOR THIS!

At the SJA event on Saturday, CBBC lanyards were given out to children in the audience. These had pieces of cards attached to them, which included information on various CBBC shows. The SJA segment reads:

Sarah Jane and her gang, Clyde, Luke and Rani, are back on TV this autumn for brand new escapades. They'll be battling Judoon, Slitheen and Blathereen non-stop in what's set to be endless action and adventure. And watch out for a very special guest star this series!

Brand new series starts this October, only on CBBC.

On top of that, at the end of today's CBBC marathon, the (pointlessly annoying) presenter revealed to the audience that October is indeed our date.

Several online sources - including DigitalSpy - are indicating that the third series hits our screens on Thursday October 15th. This would mean that The Wedding of Sarah Jane starring David Tennant will air mid-November, possibly just days before the next Doctor Who special - Waters of Mars, which was co-written by the SJA's Phil Ford.

Just over one month to go!

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We know the Mona Lisa's coming to life in the third series, as played by Coronation Street's Suranne Jones - but have you seen this, the real Mona Lisa, coming alive in Japan...

Quick, somebody call our favourite journalist!

Rewind ----> Series One

Right now the CBBC Channel is in the middle of re-running the entire first series of The Sarah Jane Adventures. They're up to the rather magnificent Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane, to be exact.

The event supposedly runs until 4 o'clock this afternoon (though if The Lost Boy ends like expected at 3pm, what will they show during the last hour*?!) - so if it's been a while since you last viewed these episodes, or want a refresher, or if you think they're just plain fab, get watching them now!

That's the CBBC Channel - running until 4pm.

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*According to reader MacMachavelli, they're simply repeating Invasion of the Bane again from 2:55pm. D'oh! They could have rounded off Maria's era by showing The Last Sontaran!

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Ahead of Nabu's report about Saturday's trip to the SJA event (at Manchester's Trafford Centre) here's another little tease. Yesterday I gave you one word, and just one word. The word in question? Orange. But what does it mean...?

Well, here's your answer!

MEET... THE BLATHEREEN!

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Yep, that's right. As exclusively revealed at the Trafford Centre, the Blathereen (who - SPOILER! - appear in the third series finale, The Gift) are a fab orange!

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Trust me, they completely suit the colour, too.

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Come Christmas, you'll be saying orange is most definitely the new green...

2|Entertain Shot Liberty Valance Hall

I know, I know... you're all eagerly awaiting Nabu San's report upon yesterday's fan event at Manchester's Trafford Centre - but for now, you'll have to settle for silly old me! I can reveal a little exclusive however, as I too was at the event. It's not much, and I shan't be telling you in what context this stands, but here's your tease. Just one word, mind: Orange.

Make of that what you will.

In actual, real, not-teasing-this-time-but-actually-telling news 2|Entertain (a BBC Worldwide company, who issue Doctor Who on DVD) released earlier this month the long-rumoured "Black Guardian" trilogy. In the opening story, Mawdryn Undead, Nicholas Courtney reprises his role as Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart - almost 25 years before he'd do the same thing in The Sarah Jane Adventures!

Filmed months before his SJA appearence, Liberty Hall is just one of the boxset's many special features. It is a dramatisation, staring Courtney in character as Lethbridge-Stewart, reflecting upon his time as a school teacher - as well as the other side of his personal history, his time at UNIT.

It was after filming this that Courtney was asked back to the Doctor Who universe for Sarah Jane. The intention was to have him back again for this year's series*, but sadly Courtney suffered a stroke at the start of the year and had to drop out of the SJA's third series. He wasn't even well enough to commit to BBC Audio's 4th Doctor adventure, Hornet's Nest.

According to reports, Courtney has now almost fully recovered, but it's still heart breaking to hear that such a fan favourite has been so unwell. Everybody at SARAH-JANE.tv wishes him well, and sends their love and affection.

You can pick up the Black Guardian trilogy, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, online for around £25.

* Courtney (as Lethbridge-Stewart, of course) was slated to appear as a grandfather-type figure to the team in a handful of episodes - including The Wedding of Sarah Jane - and was going to get to meet both K9 and the Tenth Doctor. These plans were ultimately shelved.

How Very Kudlak

So... this Saturday. The Trafford Centre. Who's going?

(For those not yet informed, the 'See Me on CBBC' tour hits Manchester's Trafford Centre shopping mall this coming Saturday between 10am and 6pm. It allows you to act out a scene from the SJA, along with various other CBBC shows.)

I'll - hopefully! - be meeting up with fellow SJ.tv scribe Nabu San on the day, and after we've messed around the SJA area, pushed a few kids out of the queue, and smuggled some SJA related goodies we're probably heading on over to the site's Laser Quest for a couple of games. Just 'cos Laser Quest is fun and exciting - and most definitely not because we're trying to mimic anything we might have seen in a certain series one Kudlak-focused adventure... ;)

Any other fans going? If you are, hope to see you there! Most of you know Nabu, so if you do happen to bump into him, chances are I won't be too far behind, so say hello!

See y'all Saturday.

UPDATE BY NABU: Thanks to TheNobleOneX over @ Gallifrey Base for finding this, and Sarah for making me aware of it. T'is a CBBC Channel commercial promoting the Manchester event this weekend!

Titles Revealed!

The new issue of DWM reveals the full title listing for The Sarah Jane Adventures' third series! Look away now if you don't wish to know!! Magic invisible writing too...... highlight to reveal:

Prisoner of the Judoon by Phil Ford
The Mad Woman in the Attic by Joseph Lidster
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith by Gareth Roberts
The Eternity Trap by Phil Ford
Mona Lisa's Revenge by Phil Ford
The Gift by Rupert Laight

It also mentions that series four is in pre production, although it has not yet been officially commissioned!

With thanks to Chuck Foster over at Gallifrey Base and the wonderful chaps at Doctor Who Magazine, the latest issue of which goes on sale tomorrow.