'Death of the Doctor' (Part 1) by Russell T Davies

Sarah, Clyde and Rani are enjoying a video call with Luke when they are interrupted by an emergency alert from Mr Smith: U.N.I.T. forces are converging on the house! Rushing outside, Sarah, Clyde and Rani are met by Colonel Tia Karim, who bears solemn news: on Sunday at 17.00 hours, the body of a Time Lord was returned to Earth – Sarah’s old friend, the Doctor is dead! Colonel Karim goes on to explain that the Doctor’s corpse was found ten-thousand light years away by a group of intergalactic undertakers called the Shansheeth; she then hands the stunned Sarah an ‘Epitaph Stone’, which, when placed into Mr Smith’s apparatus, projects a recorded message from the Shansheeths’ leader, the Claw Shansheeth of the Fifteenth Funeral Fleet. As the gang look on, the image of the vulture-like alien details the events that led to the Doctor’s demise: in the Wastelands of the Crimson Heart, the Doctor gave up his life saving five-hundred children from the menace of the Scarlet Monstrosity; having retrieved the Doctor’s body, the Shansheeth decided that, with the Time Lords gone, they would return him to the people of Earth instead. The Colonel advises that U.N.I.T. will now take charge of the funeral arrangements with the Shanseeth, conducting the ceremony at U.N.I.T. Base 5 inside Mount Snowden. Despite all the evidence, Sarah is sceptical; believing the Doctor to still be alive she resolves to attend the funeral so she can find out what is going on… The following morning, as Clyde and Rani bid goodbye to Haresh, they confess their worries about Sarah’s behaviour; Haresh explains that Sarah is in denial, and will need to work things out for herself. Just then a U.N.I.T. car pulls up in the street; Sarah leaves her house and gets in, closely followed by Rani, but as Clyde climbs in, he experiences a jolt of what seems to be static electricity… Some time later, the gang arrive at the impressive U.N.I.T. base, where they are met by Colonel Karim. As the soldier leads them through the complex she remarks that very few of the Doctor’s colleagues are available: the Brigadier is stranded in Peru, while Liz Shaw is stuck on the U.N.I.T. Moonbase. Following their escort, Sarah, Clyde and Rani are dismayed to see Graske working inside; however, these aliens are not Graske, but Groske, blue-skinned versions of the diminutive creatures, who are building the Rocket X15 that will take the Doctor’s body in its lead-lined casket on its final journey into space. When Sarah asks after the TARDIS, Colonel Karim tells her it was not found; the soldier then leads her guests to their quarters – missing Clyde’s hand glowing once more, and failing to hear one of the Groske remark how Clyde “smells of Time”, and that “he is coming”… Later that evening, Sarah, Clyde and Rani attend a memorial ceremony given by the Claw Shansheeth. When Sarah asks for the Doctor’s casket to be opened, Colonel Karim refuses, explaining that the Time Lord was badly hurt in the incident; Sarah is still dubious, certain that if her friend really were dead then she would feel it. While the Claw Shansheeth begins to play a special harp called ‘The Cradle of Lost Chrods’, Sarah finds herself looking back over her time spent with the Doctor; Rani also remembers her adventure with the Time Lord, as does Clyde – who suddenly realises that the energy he has been experiencing is Arton Energy from the TARDIS! At that moment the ceremony is interrupted by the appearance of two more guests: the Third Doctor’s clumsy assistant Jo Jones (formerly Jo Grant) has arrived with her grandson, Santiago. Sarah is delighted to finally meet her ‘predecessor’, and Jo is equally elated to encounter someone else who knew the Doctor; the two women immediately become friends, and as the ceremony and music resumes, they share details of their families and the adventures they had with the Doctor. Meanwhile, Clyde and Rani meet Santiago, who tells then of the important ecological work – and protesting – that he, his parents and his grandmother have been doing. Jo is a little put out that Sarah has seen the Doctor recently, but puts aside her feelings when she learns that, like her, Sarah doesn’t believe the Doctor is dead, and together they resolve to find out who faked his death. Later on, Clyde, Rani and Santiago decide to leave Sarah and Jo to their investigations, and head off to get some refreshments; but then the energy in Clyde’s hand starts up again, and the Groske reappears, foretelling that “he is getting closer” and then darting into a ventilation shaft. Elsewhere, the Claw Shansheeth and his fellows busy themselves with ‘The Cradle of Remembrance’, extracting from it Sarah’s memories of the Doctor – their plan is working; the Claw Shansheeth then plays the device once more: as the music carries throughout the base, Sarah and Jo begin to drift off to sleep, while recalling more of their adventures with the Doctor… Making their way through the ventilation system, Clyde, Rani and Santiago realise they have lost the Groske – and then Clyde overhears the Shansheeth gloating over the success of their ‘trap’. When Clyde tries to sneak away, the Artron energy starts up again, alerting the vultures to his presence; stopping the music, the vulture-like aliens set off in pursuit. Back in their room, Jo and Sarah wake up; suspecting something to be wrong, the two women rush outside, where they meet up with Clyde, Rani and Santiago, and learn of the Shansheeths’ lies. At that moment, the Doctor’s voice sounds out: he is speaking through Clyde! Explaining that the Atron energy is allowing him to use Clyde as a receiver, the Doctor then carries out a complex biological swap – changing places with Clyde, he materialises before the eyes of the very confused party before him! When Rani and Jo challenge this stranger’s identity Sarah steps forward: she knows the Doctor has changed faces again. Asked where Clyde is the Doctor apologises: he had no choice but to send the boy into danger so that he could reach them. Sure enough, elsewhere, Clyde finds himself alone on a red-tinged alien world… Back in the U.N.I.T. base, the Doctor and his friends are faced with the arrival of the Shansheeth; the Doctor immediately reprimands them on their lies about him – but then the Claw Shansheeth unleashes a stream of deadly energy at the Time Lord, ensuring that this time, the Doctor’s death will be for real…

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Tommy Knight (Luke Smith), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Matt Smith (The Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Finn Jones (Santiago Jones), Laila Rouass (Colonel Karim)

Directed by Ashley Way
Produced by Brian Minchin
Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger
A BBC Wales production

TX:
25th October 2010 CBBC @ 5.15 pm
27th October 2010 BBC 1 @ 4.30 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, Luke, Clyde, Rani and Mr Smith; also reintroducing Jo, and introducing Santiago Jones