Invasion of the Bane
Encyclopedia
Sladen and Doctor Who
Elisabeth Sladen, who previously played Sarah Jane between 1973 and 1976. In 1981, she was offered the role again to ease the transition between the FourthFourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
and Fifth
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
Doctors, which she declined, but agreed to star in the pilot (and only episode) for the spin-off series K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
, which brought her together with K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
, another popular character. After her appearance in The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
in 1983, she temporarily stopped acting in order to raise her family, but lent her voice to several Big Finish audio productions
Doctor Who audio productions
A number of officially licensed audio productions based upon the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who have been produced over the years....
. She returned to Doctor Who in the aptly titled Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
episode, "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
". Sladen and Tommy Knight
Tommy Knight
Thomas 'Tommy' Lawrence Knight is an English actor best known for playing Luke Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures.-Personal life:...
have also appeared as Sarah Jane and Luke Smith in the series 4 finale, "The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
"/"Journey's End
Journey's End (Doctor Who)
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
", and in the second and final part of David Tennant's swansong as the Tenth Doctor, The End of Time
The End of Time
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
.
Concept and writing
In 2005, Russell T Davies had envisioned using a previous companion to explore the role and eventual fate of the Doctor's companions. Sladen was convinced to appear in the second series episode "School ReunionSchool Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
". Meanwhile, CBBC proposed a spin-off to Davies about a teenage Doctor, which he denied in favour of a spin-off revolving around Sarah Jane. While surprised, Sladen agreed to sign on the project. However, the rights for K-9 to appear in the series were not secured. To explain the non-appearance of K-9, the production team gave him a cameo fixing a black hole inadvertently created in Switzerland.
The episode was written by Davies and Gareth Roberts. Roberts drew from several outside sources several parts of the plot, for example the allusion to the star of Wormwood
Wormwood (star)
Wormwood, αψίνθιον or άψινθος in Greek, is a star, or angel, that appears in the Biblical New Testament Book of Revelation.-Wormwood in the Bible:...
from the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
. Roberts also used the name of a beverage called "Bubbleshake" in his novel The Highest Science
The Highest Science
The Highest Science is an original novel written by Gareth Roberts and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor and Bernice and the first appearance of the recurring monsters, the Chelonians...
for inspiration for Bubble Shock!.
Broadcast and reception
The first scene of "Invasion of the Bane" to be shown was on 8 December 2006, during a BBC BreakfastBBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
interview with Sladen, and was released a day later on the interactive advent calendar
Advent calendar
An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Some calendars are strictly religious, whereas others are secular in content...
on the Doctor Who microsite. The clip, lasting one minute in length, was of Sarah Jane's interview with Mrs Wormwood.
The episode's airing on BBC1 gathered 2.9 million viewers, 15% of the audience share, of which 20% were under 16. While the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
, which aired against "Invasion of the Bane" on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
, had a higher overall reach, "Invasion of the Bane" had a slightly higher number of viewers head-to-head. The episode's audience Appreciation Index
Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index is a score out of 100 which is used as an indicator of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by BARB, the organisation that compiles television...
was 77, the average score for an episode of a drama programme.