'The Curse of Clyde Langer' (Part 2) by Phil Ford

Clyde awakes to find himself lying on a makeshift bed beneath a bridge, in a ‘cardboard city’ occupied by Ellie and a number of other homeless people. When Ellie asks her new friend his name, Clyde knows that he will lose her if she were to speak his real name; taking inspiration from a discarded pizza box, he calls himself “Enrico Box”. Ellie explains that she has been living rough for the last two years, after her dad died and her mother remarried; she tells Clyde that there are other perils threatening the homeless: something called “The Night Dragon” causes people to disappear for no reason… Sky is puzzled to find Sarah in the attic busily throwing away all of Clyde’s things; when she asks what Clyde has done wrong, her mother refuses to answer. Later, over lunch at school, Sky tries asking Rani about Clyde, but her friend just gets angry and storms off. At the museum, lightning begins to crackle around the Hetocumtek totem pole. Called in by Doctor Madigan to help, Sarah scans the artefact and finds it alive with alien energy – and then the totem’s eyes start to glow! Bustling Doctor Madigan from the room, Sarah urges her to close the exhibition… Ellie and Clyde go out on the street to beg for money; unfortunately they aren’t very successful, so Ellie decides to get something to eat. Back in the attic, Mr Smith notices that Sarah is crying, even though she doesn’t know why; changing the subject, Sarah reports that the ancient totem is no longer dormant – something has caused it to come alive. Ellie takes Clyde to a ‘soup kitchen’, where she introduces him to an old lady nicknamed ‘Mystic Mags’. Staring at the tea-leaves in her mug, the elderly lady warns that something bad is coming, something worse than the Night Dragon – and it has put a curse on Clyde. Worried that he will get Ellie into trouble, Clyde runs off; Ellie goes after him, not wanting to lose her “lucky charm”. Back at Bannerman Road, Haresh becomes worried about his daughter: Rani is upset that she has lost something special, but she doesn’t know what… Sky pays a visit to Clyde’s mum, who is crying for no discernable reason. When Sky tries asking about Clyde, the woman becomes extremely angry; seeing Clyde’s name glowing on an envelope addressed to him, Sky realises that something has cursed her friend’s name... Back at the museum, one of the totem pole’s carved faces starts to move... Sheltering from the rain in an old building, Clyde burns his ‘Silver Bullet’ artwork to make a fire for him and Ellie. He asks the girl about the recent ‘fish storm’ – perhaps it was a sign of something bad coming? Ellie tells Clyde that she had lost hope of ever reclaiming her life, but since meeting him her faith has returned. Back at the museum, more of the carved wooden faces are now coming to life... Hearing Sarah and Rani discussing the totem's increase in power, Sky recalls how Clyde got a splinter in his finger. In an attempt to make her mum and Rani see that their minds are being changed by an alien influence, Sky consults Mr Smith; the Xylok determines that the totem is using psychophonic programming to isolate Clyde, so that Hetocumtek can use the boy's energy to come back to life. To break the curse, Sky encourages Sarah and Rani to say Clyde's name; acting against their instincts, the duo repeat Clyde's name - and it works! Now free of the curse, Sarah and Rani are able to recall how much Clyde means to them, and they resolve to get him back... Elsewhere, Clyde shows Ellie a sketch he has made of her, hoping he can make money as a street artist; flattered, Ellie kisses him and then goes to get them both a drink. Just then a familiar car pulls up, and Sarah, Rani and Sky rush out a envelop Clyde in a group hug. Clyde is overjoyed that his friends are now free of the curse’s influence, but when Sarah urges him to come and help beat Hetocumtek, he tells them he needs to wait for Ellie. But Sarah is insistent, and so Clyde reluctantly leaves, vowing to return for his friend as soon as he can. Together they speed back to No.13, where Mr Smith hacks into the transmat system of a passing alien spaceship and uses it to teleport the totem pole into the attic. The artefact is now bristling with energy, its faces contorting in anger at the gang’s interference, and it fights back by sending a ferocious gale around the room. Refusing to give in, Clyde steps forward and repeats his name again and again – and the totem vanishes! With his nightmare finally over, Clyde goes home and receives a heart-felt welcome from his mum. Sometime later, Clyde, Sarah and Rani go looking for Ellie, but can find no trace of the girl in either “camp cardboard” under the bridge, or at the mission. Clyde is understandably worried, concerned that Ellie will have thought he abandoned her, and resolves to find her; however, after noticing a poster about a singer called ‘Ellie Faber’, he realises that he doesn’t even know his friend’s real name – and then a truck drives past, with the name ‘Night Dragon Haulage’ emblazoned on its side. Hearing Clyde’s surprise, a nearby homeless person explains that the company’s drivers often give lifts to people living rough on the streets... That night, Clyde lies in bed thinking of Ellie, hoping that she has found a better life for herself, and knowing that all he has left is the picture he drew of her…

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Sinead Michael (Sky Smith), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Lily Loveless (Ellie Faber), Jocelyn Jee Esien (Carla Langer), Sara Houghton (Doctor Samantha Madigan), Angela Pleasence (Mystic Mags), Ewart James Jones (Max)

Directed by Ashley Way
Produced by Brian Minchin
Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Nikki Wilson
A BBC Wales production

TX (CBBC):
11th October 2010 @ 5.15 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, Clyde, Rani, Sky and Mr Smith