'Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith' (Part 1) by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman

Detecting a meteor heading straight for Earth, Mr Smith immediately redirects it to a safe place and then informs Sarah of the alien pathogens it is carrying. Sarah, Clyde and Rani whip into action, racing off to the crash site so that they can neutralise the germs; arriving on the scene the trio rush towards the meteor’s remains – only to be stopped in their tracks by a sudden explosion; a quick scan by Sarah’s wrist device shows that all traces of the pathogens have vanished – but what just happened? Looking around, Sarah, Clyde and Rani see a mysterious woman standing nearby, brandishing a piece of alien technology. Declaring that she has just saved the world, the woman jumps into a flashy red sports car and then speeds off. Clyde and Rani are stunned – the woman is just like Sarah Jane… Contemplating the identity of this anonymous amateur adventurer, Sarah drives her friends back to No.13 Bannerman Road. When they pull up outside, they are surprised to see the woman getting out of her car too: she is moving into No.46! Determined to get to the bottom of things, Sarah strides up to the woman’s house and demands an explanation; the woman tries to get rid of her unwelcome visitors, but Sarah merely doorsteps her, pushing past and into her new home. After Clyde reads the woman’s identity - Ruby White - from an item of post, Sarah confronts the new arrival over her use of alien tech; in response Ruby is rude and dismissive, and after begrudgingly explaining that she moved into ‘The Ealing Triangle’ because it has been the centre of a number of alien sightings, she throws the trio out of her house… Back in her attic, Sarah seems troubled and distracted as she listens to Mr Smith’s research on Ruby, which reports that she has just moved from New Zealand; prompted by Clyde and Rani, Sarah shrugs off her mood, declaring that they will just carry on protecting the Earth, while staying out of Ruby’s way. Some time later, Clyde, Rani and Haresh help Gita load her ‘Blooming Lovely’ van while gossiping about the street’s new arrival. Just then Sarah arrives with groceries: she seems even more confused than ever, even momentarily forgetting that Luke is no longer living at home. Concerned Rani goes after Sarah, finding her in the attic in videoconference with Luke via Mr Smith; once the call is over, Rani tries speaking to Sarah: her friend is defensive, but soon gives in and admits that she is tired, but unable to rest because there is so much to do. Their conversation is suddenly interrupted by an alert from Mr Smith: he has detected a fleet of warships entering the solar system – an invasion by the terrible Dark Hoard! Then things get even worse, as the invaders trace Mr Smith’s scanning beam and teleport an advance party to his and Sarah’s location; although Mr Smith manages to divert the invaders to a nearby disused area, it seems that Sarah and the gang are on their own, unable to contact U.N.I.T. for help because all transmissions have been blocked. As Clyde arrives in the attic, Sarah unlocks a safe and hands him an alien weapon; Clyde and Rani are astonished, as Sarah never advocates the use of weapons… Arriving at the waste ground, Sarah, Clyde and Rani begin their search for the Dark Hoard advance party. However, the aliens spot them first, pinning them down with weapons fire. To Sarah’s horror she realises that she has forgotten to bring her sonic screwdriver – she has led her two friends to their deaths… As the three Dark Hoard warriors close in on their victims, their energy staffs levelled for the kill, they are stopped by a challenging shout from behind them. As the aliens turn, Sarah, Clyde and Rani see a familiar figure leaning confidently against a red sports car: Ruby White has arrived in the nick of time! Shouting orders to Clyde and Rani, Ruby throws them each a ball-shaped device, before creating a triangular force field around the Dark Hoard Warriors, who then teleport away. As Clyde, Luke and Sarah look on, the white, ovoid A. I. device in Ruby’s hands announces that the Dark Hoard fleet is now retreating: it has scared them off by reflecting back the image of a larger version of their fleet. To the trio’s further astonishment Ruby then offers the hand of friendship: she admits that she misjudged them, and now that she has had a chance to research their exploits, she has nothing but admiration for them… Deciding to trust Ruby, Sarah, Clyde and Rani take her and her A.I. – now dubbed ‘Mr White’ by Clyde – back to the attic at No.13, to meet Mr Smith. Ruby is impressed by the alien technology on display, and also pleased to finally have someone to talk to about her adventures. Clyde and Rani are excited too, but leave the two adults to their chat. Voicing her concern that she put children in danger today, Sarah finds herself telling Ruby about the Doctor – although for a moment she actually forgets his name. Once Ruby has gone, Sarah gets Mr Smith to replay the recording of her conversation; perplexed that she actually forgot the Doctor, Sarah gets her supercomputer to run a full medi-scan on her; Mr Smith confirms Sarah’s worst fears: she has untreatable brain damage… Knowing that her condition prohibits her from being responsible for people’s lives, Sarah comes to an important decision: inviting Ruby over one evening, she confides to the woman about her illness, and then offers to hand over everything to her. Ruby is astonished, unable to believe that Sarah is giving up her house, Mr Smith, her friendship with Clyde and Rani, even Luke. Sarah insists, explaining that she is old, tired and dangerous. Pushed for an answer Ruby accepts; Sarah is pleased, although she is now shaking and behaving even more out of character. Commenting that she will leave Luke without saying goodbye, Sarah then orders Mr Smith to only accept orders from Ruby. Unseen by Sarah, Ruby’s faces beams with a sly, triumphant grin... Handing over her keys, wrist scanner and sonic lipstick, Sarah suddenly feels faint – and then Ruby’s attitude changes, becoming spiteful and taunting. Sarah becomes confused, and she collapses to the floor. When Mr Smith ignores her request to speak to Luke, Sarah asks Ruby to help, but the woman refuses – she is in charge now! Grabbing Sarah, Ruby activates a device on her wrist, teleporting them both the cellar of No.46. To Sarah’s horror she sees a huge, pulsating thing in the corner of the room, something that Ruby identifies as her own stomach! Chaining Sarah to the wall, Ruby reveals that she is a K’Tesh, one of a race of aliens that devour life’s thrills and excitement, and when Sarah’s exploits drew her to Earth, Ruby tricked her latest victim into handing over her entire life. Gloating in triumph, Ruby blasts Sarah with a beam of energy, draining her life force and feeding it across to her disembodied stomach. Laughing in triumph, Ruby gloats that soon she will feast on the world…

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Tommy Knight (Luke Smith), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Julie Graham (Ruby White), Eddie Marsan (Mr White)

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

TX:
15th November 2010 CBBC @ 5.15 pm
17th November 2010 BBC 1 @ 4.30 pm

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