'Revenge of the Slitheen' (Part 1) by Gareth Roberts

Maria and Luke begin their first day at Park Vale School, in Ealing. Elsewhere, the headmaster, Mr Blakeman, lures the science teacher, Tim Jeffrey, into a quiet corridor, where a giant, green-clawed monster slaughters him. Attending assembly, Maria and Luke make friends with fellow newbie Clyde Langer, and together they listen to the half-hearted welcoming speech given by a rather flatulent Blakeman, who is soon joined by a similarly farty Jeffrey. As Blakeman subsequently shows Maria and her fellow 10B classmates around the newly constructed Technology Block, Luke and Clyde notice the headmaster’s chuffs smell unusually strange, like batteries; they then head for the canteen, only to discover that all the food has gone mouldy… After school, Luke and Maria are collected by Luke’s adopted mother, Sarah Jane Smith; Sarah drives them home, where she intrigued to learn that Maria’s father, Alan, worked for a company called Coldfire Construction on a similar IT installation at St. Cheldon’s School in Upminster. That evening, inside a control room full of complex equipment, Blakeman and Jeffrey gleefully activate a device that blacks out all of London’s electrical power – including Sarah’s control bracelet and her computer, Mr Smith. However, the teachers’ equipment quickly destabilises, forcing them to shut it down; Blakeman and Jeffrey are disappointed – they were just one step away from destroying the planet... The following day, Sarah decides to visit St. Cheldon’s, where she learns that the teachers also have a new technology block, and have been experiencing strange smells and rotting food; Sarah is unaware that she is being watched by a mysterious woman via CCTV... Back at Park Vale, Luke’s scientific knowledge draws the attention of Mr Jeffries, who invites him to join the lunchtime science club, along with geeky schoolboy Carl; here Luke astonishes Jeffrey by identifying the flaw in the teacher’s plans for a complex energy-storing capacitor system, and then swiftly writing the equation required to fix it. Sarah sets off for Coldfire Construction, where she meets the corpulent owner, Janine; but when Sarah questions the woman about her company’s I.T. projects in other countries, Janine threatens her. After school, Maria and Luke carry out Sarah’s instructions to investigate the building; splitting up to search the classrooms, Luke is soon joined by Clyde, and together they find a secret door in a little-used section of the building. Entering the computer room, Maria is discovered by Jeffrey, who promptly unzips his forehead and sheds his human skin – revealing the hideous green form of a Slitheen! At the same time, Sarah learns Janine’s true form: she too is a terrifying Slitheen. Leaving Luke to his attempts to open the door, Clyde wanders off and meets Maria, who is on the run from the Jeffrey Slitheen; as the two friends run for their lives, Luke unlocks the door and finds himself inside a control room, where he is confronted by the evil headmaster. Hiding from Jeffries, Maria and Clyde are saved by Carl, who leads them to the safety of a nearby classroom – but then Carl locks the door behind them, and reveals that he too is an alien: a vicious Slitheen child!

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Yasmin Page (Maria Jackson), Thomas Knight (Luke Smith), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Joseph Millson (Alan Jackson), Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Martin Ellis (Blakeman [Glune Fex Fize Sharlever Slam Slitheen]), Ian Midlane (Jeffrey [Kist Magg Thek Lutovin Day Slitheen]), Pamela Merrick (Wendy), Imogen Barin (Janine), Anton Thompson McCormick (Carl [Korst Gogg Thek Slitheen]), Jimmy Vee (Carl Slitheen [Korst Gogg Thek Slitheen]), Paul Kasey (Jeffrey Slitheen / Blakeman Slitheen / Janine Slitheen)

Directed by Alice Troughton
Produced by Matthew Bouch
Executive Producers Phil Collinson, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
A BBC Wales production

TX:
24th September 2007 @ 5.00pm BBC 1

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, Maria, Luke and Mr Smith, and introducing Clyde Langer

*Part 1 of a 2 part story