'The Mad Woman in the Attic' (Part 2) by Joseph Lidster

The story of Old Rani’s mistake continues: while the red face in Sam’s bedroom mirror read Luke’s mind and saw his past, the crimson visage in Harry’s office mirror scanned Sarah, not only seeing her former adventures but also those of her future, in which the Doctor returned into her life... Shaken by this knowledge, Sarah broke free of Harry’s grip and then ran outside with Clyde. Elsewhere, a tearful Rani vowed that she would prevent the lonely future foretold by Eve from ever happening, and promised to help the alien girl find her spaceship and get home. At the orphanage, Luke convinced Sam that Rani didn’t desert him; but Luke then realised that it was Sam who met Eve, letting her scan his time line and learn all about Rani. Back at the pleasure park, Sarah and Clyde became suspicious of ‘The Haunted Mine’ and decided to investigate; they soon met up with Rani and Eve, but their reunion was far from happy, and tempers flared. Finding Sam gone, Luke became concerned by a note explaining that it wasn’t Eve who wanted Rani, and so he phoned his mother to warn her. Eve left the confines of ‘The Haunted Mine’ and immediately became over-excited and used her powers to activate all the rides, sending them spinning out of control. Harry tried to stop Eve, but she wouldn’t listen – until her body became wracked with pain. Rushing to the mirror in the office, Sarah summoned the red-faced woman for help; the image explained that she was the projection of Eve’s sentient spaceship: Eve was just a child, left in Harry’s care while the vessel rebooted herself follow its crash-landing on Earth – and unless Eve could be stopped she would be unable to cope with her power, and her mind would burn. As Eve’s powers continued to run wild, Sam arrived on the scene; together with Sarah and Clyde he lead the alien girl down to the beach, where her presence caused the ship to partially reveal itself from under the sand, opening a hatch to allow them access. Once Sarah, Clyde and Sam had helped Eve to the control room, Ship was able to drain the girl’s overloading energy into her systems, saving Eve and fully charging herself in the process. Back at the park, an elated Harry watched as Rani and the homeless people were freed from Eve’s influence. When Ship told Sarah that her systems operated on “the darkness”, referring to the energy of a black hole, Sarah knew she could help; she quickly contacted Mr Smith and instructed him to patch her through to K-9, who was located in a pocket dimension generating a shield around a black hole that threatened Earth. As soon as K-9 transmitted the black hole’s coordinates to Ship, the vessel absorbed all the dark energy, fully charging her systems, and completing K-9’s mission for him. Free to go home, K-9 teleported back to Sarah’s attic, much to Mr Smith’s chagrin. With her ship now ready to leave, Eve bade goodbye to Sam, Sarah and Clyde, and a newly arrived Rani and Harry. Having apologised to his friend for his treatment of her, Sam then accepted Eve’s offer to join him on her travels exploring space – and so did Harry. Everyone was happy, but as Sarah, Clyde, Luke and Rani made to leave Ship offered to repay Rani by making her wish come true: too late, Rani realised that Ship was referring to her angry comment that her friends leave her alone – and she could only look on in horror as her friends faded from existence…

Back in 2059, Old Rani finishes her story, only to find that it is far from over: to Rani’s amazement she learns that Adam isn’t from across the road after all – his parents are Eve and Sam, who have sent him to help Rani by putting time back onto its proper course. Old Rani is elated, and wishes that Ship never fulfilled her original wish – and so, back in 2009, Rani’s younger self leaves Ship, emerging onto the beach with Sarah and Clyde as the vessel rises up from the sand and blasts off into space. Friends again, the trio collect Luke and return home to Bannerman Road, where they are overjoyed to see K-9, and take the opportunity for a group photograph.

In 2059, grandmother Rani has the photograph on her desk – and in this future Rani is far from alone, as her days are filled spent with her loving family…

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Thomas Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Souad Faress (Old Rani), Gregg Sulkin (Adam), Brian Miller (Harry Sowersby), Toby Parkes (Samuel ‘Sam’ Lloyd), Eleanor Tomlinson (Eve), Kate Fleetwood (Ship), John Leeson (Voice of K-9), Jai Rajani (Suresh), Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor)*, Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor)*, David Tennant (The Tenth Doctor)*
*Uncredited

Directed by Alice Troughton
Produced by Nikki Wilson
Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger
A BBC Wales production

TX (BBC 1 & BBC HD):
23rd October 2009 @ 4.35 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, Luke, Clyde, Rani, K-9 Mk IV and Mr Smith

*When Ship scans Sarah's time-line, we see clips of the Third and Fourth Doctors from 'Doctor Who'