The Sarah Jane Adventures S05X01 Goodbye Bannerman Road Remembering Elizabeth Sladen

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Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith was the sixth and final serial of series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was written by Clayton Hickman and Gareth Roberts and directed by Joss Agnew. It served as the last story in any media to feature K9 Mark IV for almost a decade, before the robot dog finally returned in 2020's Farewell, Sarah Jane, a story celebrating the life of Elisabeth Sladen.

In a sad case of irony arising from the title and plot, it was the final story of the programme to be broadcast during the life of its star, Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away from cancer shortly after its broadcast.


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Synopsis
Sarah Jane has begun developing a form of dementia, and she realises that her ability to defend the Earth is diminishing. She must now hand over the task to surer hands. A seemingly suitable replacement, Ruby White, has arrived on Bannerman Road, but can she be trusted?

Plot
Part one
A meteor hurtles towards Earth. Mr Smith redirects it to a safer crash site and says it will contain germ pathogens. The gang hurry to neutralise the germs. The meteorite reads all clear. Then a strange woman appears, claiming to be saving the world. She drives off in a red sports car and Clyde points out that she is doing the same thing as Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane does not look pleased.

They find the woman has just moved in across the street and go to find out who she is. She behaves coldly towards them, telling them to get out of her house. Her name is Ruby White and she sees them as amateurs. She moved to Ealing because of all the alien activity — Trueman, the Bubble Shock! factory, rhinos driving police cars and alien plant life. Sarah Jane decides to stay away from Ruby, but keep her eyes open.

The next day, Gita waves to Sarah Jane on her way home. Sarah Jane says she has to make Luke's tea and then realises he is still at university. Clyde and Rani go to check that she is alright. She calls Luke, just two hours after she last spoke to him. She can't remember K9's name. Rani suggests she take a holiday and visit Luke. Mr Smith gives a red alert. A fleet of Dark Horde warriors are heading for Earth. They trace the scan beam and lock onto the attic to neutralise enemy technology. Mr Smith diverts the teleport to an uninhabited area. Sarah Jane gives Clyde a gun and says they must protect the Earth by any means.

An advance party of three warriors lands on Earth. Sarah Jane plans to use a device to overload their sensors. She asks Clyde for the sonic lipstick, but he said she told him to bring the gun, which she reveals isn't even charged. Sarah Jane has made a big mistake. Then Ruby arrives and tosses spheres to Rani and Clyde. She uses an artificial intelligence to convince the Dark Horde that they are faced by a stronger version of themselves. Their logical reaction is to flee. Clyde suggests calling the AI "Mr White".

They take Ruby back to the attic, where Mr White gets along well with Mr Smith. Sarah Jane says she'd be glad to have an adult

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