The Day of the Clown (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Sarah Jane Adventures
{{title dab away}}
|story name= The Day of the Clown
{{real world}}
|image= [[Image:Clown.jpg|250px]]
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|series= [[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]<br>
{{Infobox Story SMW
[[List of The Sarah Jane Adventures television stories|TV story]] |
|image               = OddBobInHallOfMirrors.jpg
|number=  
|series               = [[List of The Sarah Jane Adventures television stories|''SJA'' television stories]]
|featuring= <ul><li>[[Sarah Jane Smith]]</li><li>[[Luke Smith]]</li><li>[[Clyde Langer]]</li><li>[[Rani Chandra]] (introduction)</li></ul>
|season number        = Series 2 (SJA)
|enemy= [[Odd Bob the Clown]] / [[Pied Piper]] / [[Elijah Spellman]]  
|season serial number = 2
|writer= [[Phil Ford]]
|story number        = 8
|director= [[Michael Kerrigan]]
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/sja-series-2-episode-3-the-day-of-the-clown-part-one-blue-revisions-17042008.pdf
|producer=
|scripturl2      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/sja-series-2-episode-4-the-day-of-the-clown-part-two-blue-revisions-17042008.pdf
|broadcast date= [[6th October]] - [[13th October]] [[2008]]
|main character      = [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]], [[Luke Smith|Luke]], [[Clyde Langer|Clyde]], [[Rani Chandra|Rani]], [[Mr Smith]]
|format= 2x30 minute episodes |
|featuring            = Haresh Chandra
|production code=
|featuring2          = Gita Chandra
|previous story= [[The Last Sontaran]]
|featuring3          = Steve Wallace
|next story= [[Secrets of the Stars]]
|featuring4          = Celeste Rivers{{!}}Rivers
|enemy               = The [[Pied Piper]]
|setting              = [[Ealing]], [[8 October|8]]-[[11 October]] [[2009]]
|writer               = Phil Ford
|director             = [[Michael Kerrigan]]
|producer             = [[Nikki Smith]]
|novelisation        = Day of the Clown (novelisation)
|broadcast date       = 6 October - 13 October 2008
|format               = 2x30 minute episodes
|prev                = The Last Sontaran (TV story)
|next                 = Secrets of the Stars (TV story)
|clip                = Spellman's Evil Plan The Day of the Clown The Sarah Jane Adventures
|clip2                = Trapped In The Circus! The Day of the Clown The Sarah Jane Adventures
|clip3                = Sarah Jane Defeats Spellman The Day of the Clown The Sarah Jane Adventures
|network              = CBBC
|epcount              = 2
}}
}}
'''''The Day of the Clown''''' was the second serial of [[Series 2 (SJA)|series 2]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. It was written by [[Phil Ford]] and directed by [[Michael Kerrigan]]. It introduced [[Rani Chandra|Rani]], [[Gita Chandra|Gita]] and [[Haresh Chandra]] as the new occupants of [[36 Bannerman Road]]. Also noteworthy was the guest appearance of [[Bradley Walsh]] as the episode's villain, [[Pied Piper|Elijah Spellman]], almost ten years before his casting as [[Graham O'Brien]], a [[companion]] of the [[Thirteenth Doctor]].


==Synopsis==
== Synopsis ==
The new girl on [[Bannerman Road]], [[Rani Chandra]], is being haunted by a sinister clown -- does it have anything to do with the local children that have gone missing? When [[Clyde Langer|Clyde's]] friend Dave disappears, the trail leads them to a strange [[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus|circus museum]]- and the legend of the [[Pied Piper]].
[[Rani Chandra]] is the new girl on [[Bannerman Road]]. She is haunted by a sinister [[clown]]. Does it have anything to do with local children who have gone missing? When [[Clyde Langer|Clyde's]] friend Dave disappears, the trail leads to a strange [[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus|circus museum]] and the legend of the [[Pied Piper]].


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
===Part 1===
=== Part 1 ===
A new family is moving into number 36 [[Bannerman Road]], the house formerly occupied by [[Alan Jackson|Alan]] and [[Maria Jackson]].  [[Luke Smith]] still misses [[Maria Jackson|Maria]], even though she's keeping in touch by e-mail.  His mum [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] sympathises, and reminds him that Maria will visit England before too long; she'll be at [[Chrissie Jackson|her mother's]] wedding.  But, as Luke notes, it's not the same.
A group of boys are playing football when the ball goes out of the pitch. A child goes over to fetch the ball but sees a clown. A few seconds later, the child is scared by the clown and disappears, never to be seen again.


There's a new girl at [[Park Vale School]], the boys' comprehensive: clever and inquisitive [[Rani Chandra|Rani]], who wants to be a journalist. [[Clyde Langer|Clyde]] is smitten--even forgetting his odd sightings of clowns, always just out of the corner of his eye--until he notices that there's ''also'' a new head at the school: humourless [[Haresh Chandra|Mr Chandra]], who is determined to improve the students' scores and put an end to the recent rash of child disappearances... and who is ''not'' impressed with Clyde, the class clown.  Clyde doesn't make it to lunch before receiving a summons to the new head's office.
A new family is moving into number [[36 Bannerman Road]], formerly occupied by [[Alan Jackson|Alan]] and [[Maria Jackson]]. [[Luke Smith]] still misses Maria, even though she's keeping in touch by e-mail. His mum [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] sympathises and reminds him Maria will visit England soon. She'll be at [[Chrissie Jackson|her mother's]] [[wedding]]. Yet, as Luke notes, it's not the same.


While he is waiting by Mr Chandra's office, Clyde has another clown sighting.  He tries to laugh it off, but he is shaken when his friend Dave ducks into a small art closet for supplies... ''and doesn't come out.''  Moreover, the art closet is empty; Dave has vanished into thin air.
There's a new girl at [[Park Vale School]]: clever and inquisitive [[Rani Chandra|Rani]], who wants to be a journalist. [[Clyde Langer|Clyde]] is smitten — even forgetting his odd sightings of [[clown]]s, always just out of the corner of his eye — until he notices there's also a new head at the school: humourless [[Haresh Chandra|Mr Chandra]]. He is determined to improve the students' scores and put an end to the recent rash of child disappearances. He is not impressed by Clyde, the class clown. Clyde doesn't make it to lunch before receiving a summons to the new head's office.


[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] brings the new family some [[tea]] and biscuits, in the guise of a welcoming gesture, but in reality, when [[Gita Chandra]]'s back is turned, she preforms a scan, due to Clyde's earilier remark, to check that no alien "residude" remains from the Jacksons' previous inhabitance..  Only Gita Chandra is there--her husband and daughter are at school, she explains--so the two women share tea, and Gita describes her family. She is thrilled to learn that Sarah Jane is an investigative journalist, as her daughter [[Rani Chandra|Rani]] wants to become one herself.
While he is waiting by Mr Chandra's office, Clyde has another clown sighting. He tries to laugh it off, but he is shaken when his friend Dave ducks into a small art closet for supplies and doesn't come out. The art closet is empty; Dave has vanished into thin air.


Clyde and Luke are walking home from school when Clyde sees another clown.  Though Luke doesn't see anything, the boys give chase; they encounter only Rani, who has ''also'' been seeing clowns. Rani is quick to wonder if there is an extraordinary or supernatural explanation behind the disappearances, and the three teens are deep in discussion when they reach Bannerman Road... and discover that Rani's dad is [[Haresh Chandra|Mr Chandra]].  He is not pleased to see his daughter walking home with Clyde, whom he has pegged as a troublemaker, though he is delighted that she has also made friends with Luke, one of Park Vale's most gifted students.
Sarah Jane brings the new family [[tea]] and biscuits as a welcoming gift, but when [[Gita Chandra]]'s back is turned, she performs a scan to check that no alien "residue" remains from the Jacksons' previous inhabitancy, because of Clyde's earlier remark. Only Gita Chandra is there — her husband and daughter are at school, she explains — so the two women share tea. Gita describes her family. She is thrilled to learn that Sarah Jane is an investigative journalist because her daughter [[Rani Chandra|Rani]] wants to become one herself.


Luke goes to help Rani unpack. In Rani's room, the two continue their discussion of the missing children. The mention of clowns jogs Rani's memory: suddenly, she remembers taking a ticket to see a [[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus|circus museum]] from a man outside the Tube.  Rani quickly decides to investigate, and Luke feels he has no choice but to follow.
[[File:RaniAndLukeTDOTC.jpg|thumb|Luke makes a new friend — in [[Maria Jackson|Maria]]'s old bedroom]]
Clyde and Luke are walking home from school when Clyde sees another clown. Though Luke doesn't see anything, the boys give chase. They encounter only Rani, who has also been seeing clowns. Rani wonders if there is an extraordinary or supernatural explanation of the disappearances. The three are deep in discussion when they reach Bannerman Road and Luke and Clyde find out that Rani's dad is [[Haresh Chandra|Mr Chandra]]. Mr Chandra is not pleased to see his daughter with Clyde, whom he has pegged as a troublemaker. On the other hand, he is delighted she has made friends with Luke, one of Park Vale's most gifted students.


Clyde and Sarah Jane have independently discovered the same thing: all the missing children had received tickets to the same circus museum, and ''only'' children with tickets were seeing the clowns. They elect to visit the clown museum as well.
Luke helps Rani unpack. In her room, they continue their talk of the missing children. The mention of clowns jogs Rani's memory: she remembers taking a ticket to see a [[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus|circus museum]]. Rani decides to investigate. Luke feels he has no choice but to follow.


[[Image:Pied_piper.jpg|thumb|250px|The Pied Piper wears red, yellow, and blue motley... just like Odd Bob the Clown.]]
Clyde and Sarah Jane have independently discovered the same thing. All the missing children received tickets to the same circus museum, and only children with tickets were seeing the clowns. They elect to visit the clown museum as well.
[[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus]] is run by strange [[Elijah Spellman]], who shows them around and leads them to a room filled with clown mannequins.  Clyde spots a picture on the wall: an old watercolour painting of a man wearing red, blue, and yellow--just like the mysterious ghost clowns he'd been seeing. Sarah Jane explains that the figure depicted is the [[Pied Piper]], a legendary figure out of European folklore who was purported to steal children.


Elijah Spellman agrees: he reveals that he is the Pied Piper ''and'' the mysterious clown, and he has come for more children.  Nor will he tolerate discovery--with a word, he vanishes, and the clown mannequins come to life and threaten Sarah Jane and Clyde.
[[File:ClydeInFrontOfClownTDOTC.jpg|thumb|Clyde gets accused of having a sense of humour inappropriate to the situation|left]]
[[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus]] is run by the strange [[Elijah Spellman]]. He shows them around and leads them to a room filled with clown mannequins. Clyde spots a picture on the wall: an old watercolour painting of a man wearing red, blue and yellow — just like the mysterious ghost clowns he'd been seeing. Sarah Jane explains that the figure depicted is the [[Pied Piper]], a legendary figure of European folklore who stole the children from Hamelin.


They run to the entrance, where they meet Luke and Rani, and discover that--while Sarah Jane's [[Sonic lipstick|sonic lipstick]] is effective against the clown mannequins--the Pied Piper has trapped them in the building...
Elijah Spellman agrees. He reveals that he is the Pied Piper and the mysterious clown. He has come for more children. Nor will he tolerate discovery — with a word, he vanishes, and the clown mannequins come to life and threaten Sarah and Clyde.


[[Image:RaniChandra.jpg|thumb|250px|New friend, Rani]]
They run to the entrance, where they meet Luke and Rani and find that while Sarah Jane's [[sonic lipstick]] is effective against the clown mannequins, the Pied Piper has trapped them in the building...


===Part 2===
=== Part 2 ===
[[File:SJSGivesRaniAChoiceTDOTC.jpg|thumb|Sarah Jane gives Rani a choice.]]
Spellman frightens Sarah Jane with insights on her childhood fear of clowns, whilst Clyde, Luke and Rani try to escape from the museum. Luke and Clyde get outside whilst Sarah remains terrified inside the circus museum. Rani's phone rings and she is confronted by a dilemma as "Mum" appears on the screen. While the phone rings, Spellman freezes. After a few seconds, Rani declines the call and runs out of the circus. Sarah Jane follows and the gang get inside Sarah Jane's car to drive back to Bannerman Road. Once there, Sarah Jane gives Rani a choice: live across the road and not interfere with her life, or go with Sarah and a whole world of adventure. Rani chooses to join Sarah Jane and says she will explain to her mum that she is completing some work experience with her.


Spellman continues to frighten Sarah Jane Smith by revealing insights on her childhood whilst Clyde, Luke and Rani attempt to escape from the museum. Luke and Clyde manage to get outside whilst Sarah Jane remains terrified inside the circus. Rani's phone starts to ring and she is forced with a dilemma as ''Mum'' appears on the screen. While the phone rings, Spellman freezes. After a few seconds of though, she decides to decline the call and run out of the circus. Sarah Jane follows and the crew get inside Sarah Jane's car to drive back to Bannerman Road.
Sarah Jane, Rani, Luke and Clyde go into Sarah Jane's house. Rani is amazed at the alien gear in Sarah Jane's attic, particularly the alien supercomputer, [[Mr Smith]]. The new team quickly determines the history of the [[Pied Piper]] is traceable to a [[meteorite]] that fell to [[Earth]] in [[1283]]. The extrasolar meteorite originated in the [[Jeggorabax Cluster]], a region of space known to house entities that feed off of emotions. To confirm this, Mr Smith will need a sample of the meteorite. Fortunately, it is on loan from the [[University of Munich]] to the [[Pharos Institute]].


Once there, Sarah Jane gives Rani a choice of living across the road and not interfering with Sarah Jane's life or alternatively going with Sarah Jane and experiencing a whole new world of adventure. Rani opts to join Sarah Jane and says she will explain to her mum that she is completeing some work experience with Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rani, Luke and Clyde go into Sarah Jane's house, where Rani is amazed by the alien gadgets and gizmos in Sarah Jane's attic, particularly alien supercomputer [[Mr Smith]].  The new team quickly determines that the history of the [[Pied Piper]] is traceable to a [[meteorite]] that fell to [[Earth]] in [[Early_human_history#13th_century_A.D.|1283]].  The extrasolar meteorite originated from the [[Jeggorabax Cluster]], a region of space known to house entities that fed off of emotions. To confirm this, Mr Smith says, he will need a sample of the meteorite.  Fortunately, it is on loan from the [[University of Munich]] to the [[Pharos Institute]].
Luke confronts Sarah Jane about her fear of clowns, confused how she could be after having seen some of the strangest things in the universe. Sarah Jane explains that she was frightened of a clown marionette owned by her [[Lavinia Smith|Aunt Lavinia]] when she was a child. It was one of the few times she missed having parents she could call on for comfort.


Back at Sarah Jane's home, Luke confronts Sarah Jane about her apparent fear of clowns. Why should his mum, who has seen some of the strangest things in the universe, be frightened of clowns?  Sarah Jane explains that she was frightened of a clown marionette owned by her [[Lavinia Smith|Aunt Lavinia]], when she was a child; a trauma intensified because it was one of the few times she missed having parents she could call on for comfort.
Sarah Jane visits the Pharos Institute and borrows a piece of meteorite to give to Mr Smith. Whilst she is there, Spellman appears and tells Sarah Jane that families will perish at the deaths of a nation of children.


Sarah Jane then visits the Pharos institue and steals a piece of meteorite to give back to Mr.Smith but whilst there, Spellman appears and tells Sarah Jane that families will perish at the deaths of a nation of children.  
Meanwhile, at [[Park Vale School]], a host of red balloons fall from the sky. As the children grab them, they seem to lose free will, and mindlessly walk out of school towards Spellman's museum. Sarah Jane remembers when Rani's phone rang earlier, Spellman froze. She gets Mr Smith to ring all the children's mobile numbers, breaking the spell, but Spellman kidnaps Luke and imprisons him in the hall of mirrors. Currently, he is sleeping with the other missing children whom Odd Bob has caught and after a while, "they just fade away".


Meanwhile, at [[Park Vale School]], a host of red balloons falls from the sky. As the children grab them, they seem to lose free will, and mindlessly walk out of school towards Spellman's museum. Sarah Jane renembers how when Rani's phone range earilier, Spellman froze. She gets Mr Smith to ring all the childrens' mobile numbers--breaking the spell--but Spellman kidnaps Luke and imprisons him in the hall of mirrors. Currently he is sleeping with the other missing children who Odd Bob has caught.
[[File:SJSInHallOfMirrors.jpg|thumb|left|In a hall of mirrors, Sarah Jane confronts Spellman.]]
Sarah Jane demands the children be brought back, but Spellman correctly [[deduce]]s she is still afraid of him and says he has been responsible for her lifelong fear of clowns. Spellman and she face off, unaware that Rani and Clyde have entered the building. Clyde faces Spellman unafraid. He begins to tell jokes. The humour loosens the grip that fear has on Sarah, which in turn weakens Spellman, who feeds on fear. Spellman weakens and Sarah Jane forces him back into the fragment of the meteorite, which she puts into an alien box from which nothing can escape from.


Sarah Jane demands her child back, but Spellman correctly deduces that she is still afraid of him, and reveals that he has been responsible for her lifelong fear of clowns.  She and Spellman face off, unaware that Rani and Clyde have entered the building secretly.
Rani is a little shaken by her odd experiences, but vows to help Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde in their adventures.


Clyde faces Spellman, unafraid, and begins to tell jokes.  The humour loosens the grip that fear has on Sarah Jane, which in turn weakens Spellman--who feeds on fear--further. Spellman weakeans to the extents that Sarah Jane can force him back into the fragment of the meteorite, which she puts into an alien box which nothing can escape from.
== Cast ==
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
* [[Maria Jackson]] - [[Yasmin Paige]] (Voice)
* [[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
* [[Clyde Langer]] - [[Daniel Anthony]]
* [[Rani Chandra]] - [[Anjli Mohindra]]
* Voice of [[Mr Smith]] - [[Alexander Armstrong]]
* [[Gita Chandra]] - [[Mina Anwar]]
* [[Haresh Chandra]] - [[Ace Bhatti]]
* [[Pied Piper|The Pied Piper]] / [[Elijah Spellman]] / [[Odd Bob the Clown]] - [[Bradley Walsh]]
* [[Dave Finn]] - [[Jem Brownlee]]
* [[Tony Warner]] - [[Aaron Shosanya]]
* [[Cunningham|Mr Cunningham]] - [[Huw Higginson]]
* [[Steve Wallace]] - [[Elijah Baker]]
* [[Celeste Rivers|Professor Rivers]] - [[Floella Benjamin]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith|Young Sarah Jane]] - [[Jessica Mogridge]]
* [[Animated clown|Clowns]] - [[Alan Ruscoe]] and [[Sean Palmer]]


Rani is a little shaken by her odd experiences, but vows to help Sarah Jane, Luke, and Clyde in their adventures.
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== Worldbuilding ==
=== Individuals ===
* Haresh is attracted to a woman named [[Dawn French]].
* [[Albert G Wicks]] is a senator in Springfield.
* [[Keith Hartridge]] is the chief constable of the Ealing police.
* [[Barbara Knorr]] asks for help in a newspaper after her daughter [[Elizabeth Knorr]] vanished.
* [[Francis Lincoln]] and [[Thomas C. Kent]] are journalists.
* [[Edwin Cleaver]] is a major in [[Littlewood]]
* [[Kevin Warner|Kevin]] and [[Marie Warner]] are the parents of [[Tony Warner]].
* [[Jeremy Larsson]] and [[Tricia Chan]] are kidnapped by the [[Pied Piper]] in [[2009]]. [[Louis Arbourne]], [[Melissa Deaver]] are kidnapped in the [[1930s]] or [[1940]]s.
* [[Webster (The Day of the Clown)|Miss Webster]] organises the [[National Schools Science Challenge]].
* Sarah Jane and [[Johnny Depp]] have [[coulrophobia]].
 
=== Cultural references from the real world ===
* Gita mentions [[William Bligh|Captain Bligh]].
* Luke read about [[Johnny Depp]]'s [[coulrophobia]] in ''[[Heat (magazine)|Heat]]''.
* Clyde makes a joke about [[Dracula (fictional character)|Dracula]].
 
=== Foods and beverages ===
* Sarah Jane and Gita share [[tea]] and [[biscuit]]s.


==Cast==
=== Locations ===
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
* The [[Weserbergland meteorite]] falls to Earth in the [[Weserbergland Mountains]] of [[Lower Saxony]]. [[Hamelin]] is located near the mountains.
*[[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
* From [[1932]] and [[1940]], Odd Bob kidnapped children from the [[Millhouse community]] in [[Pennsylvania]], and from [[Nebraska]].
*[[Clyde Langer]] - [[Daniel Anthony]]
*[[Rani Chandra]] - [[Anjli Mohindra]]
*[[Gita Chandra]] - [[Mina Anwar]]
*[[Haresh Chandra]] - [[Ace Bhatti]]
*[[Pied Piper|The Pied Piper]] / [[Elijah Spellman]] / [[Odd Bob the Clown]] - [[Bradley Walsh]]
*[[Dave Finn]] - [[Jem Brownlee]]
*[[Tony Warner]] - [[Aaron Shosanya]]
*[[Cunningham|Mr Cunningham]] - [[Huw Higginson]]
*[[Steve Wallace]] - [[Elijah Baker]]
*[[Rivers|Professor Rivers]] - [[Floella Benjamin]]
*Young Sarah Jane - [[Jessica Mogridge]]
*[[Maria Jackson]] (voice) - [[Yasmin Paige]]
*Clowns - [[Alan Ruscoe]] & [[Sean Palmer]]


==Production crew==
=== Objects ===
''to be added''
* The [[circus museum ticket]]s are marked with an alien enzyme.
* Sarah Jane gives a [[Vorgatt defence field emitter]] to Rani.
* Sarah Jane has a [[Halkonite puzzle box|puzzle box]] made from [[Halkonite steel]] and a [[Cylethian distress beacon]] from a [[Cylethian scoutship]] inside her attic.


== References ==
=== Other ===
===[[:Category:Food_and_Beverages|Foods and Beverages]]===
* The [[Park Vale Comprehensive School]] football team have been knocked out by West Hill after a 4-0 mauling at the [[Inter-School Challenge Cup]].
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[Gita Chandra]] share [[tea]] and biscuits.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
*Luke claims that they have saved the world 12 times.
* Gita's name was originally Sundra, Haresh's name was originally Suresh and theirs and Rani's last name was originally going to be Rakhit.<ref>http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/sarahjane/2008cd.html</ref>
*One of the Clowns shown on Sarah Jane's Lap top is [[Clara the Clown]], a Clown that appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[The Celestial Toymaker]]''.  
* Luke claims that he and the Bannerman Road gang have saved the world twelve times, indicating that the gang have had several off-screen adventures given that the previous stories plus ''[[The Thirteenth Stone (audio story)|The Thirteenth Stone]]'', ''[[The Glittering Storm (audio story)|The Glittering Storm]]'' and even ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'' only amounts to ten.
* [[Gita]] continues the tradition of misnaming of Sarah Jane that was begun by [[Chrissie Jackson]], albeit to a smaller degree by calling her simply "Sarah" as opposed to Sarah Jane. It is shown that Sarah Jane is irritated by this, despite the Doctor having done the same repeatedly throughout their friendship. This inconsistency is resolved in ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'', where the [[Tenth Doctor]] clarifies to Rani that Sarah Jane only allows him to call her "Sarah".
 
=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
*Episode 1 - 514,000 (CBBC)
**0.5 million (BBC 1)
*Episode 2 - 443,000 (CBBC)
**0.7 million (BBC 1)


=== Myths and rumours ===
* Part 1 - 0.51 million viewers ([[DWMSE 23]])
* The introduction of Rani sparked fan-forum speculation as to whether there is any connection between her and [[The Rani]], the recurring villain of the [[Colin Baker]] and [[Sylvester McCoy]] eras. ''Other than having the same name, no connection has as yet been in evidence.''
* Part 2 - 0.44 million viewers ([[DWMSE 23]])


=== Filming Locations ===
''Part One's BBC One repeat gained 0.6 million with an AI score of 82, whilst Part Two's BBC One repeat gained 0.76 million with an AI score of 81.''
 
=== Filming locations ===
''to be added''
''to be added''


=== Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors ===
=== Production errors ===
* Luke says that they have saved the world 12 times, but this is incorrect as this is the number of overall episodes (not counting Invasion of the Bane) rather than stories, which is 6 (Revenge of the Slitheen - The Last Sontaran). ''He may have been referring to off-screen adventures, or the events of Journeys End/The Stolen Earth and in some times they have save it more than once in a single episode [[ The Last Sontaran]] and [[Invasion of the Bane]] does add to the count for Luke ''
{{SJA discontinuity}}
* [[Clyde Langer]] claims that the house over the road from [[13 Bannerman Road]] is 36 Bannerman Road. This contradicts ''[[Invasion of the Bane (TV story)|Invasion of the Bane]]'', where it was established that Maria and Alan lived at 12 Bannerman Road.
* Rather than have his face painted, Bradley Walsh simply wore a mask when dressed as Odd Bob the Clown. This is obvious during Sarah Jane's final confrontation with him when creases are visible on the back of his neck.


* Why is Rani so surprised when [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] mentions aliens, after everything that has happened in [[Doctor Who]] - [[Autons]], the [[Slitheen]] spaceship, the battle of Canary Wharf, [[The Master]] telling the public about the [[Toclafane]] (although someone may have made up that it was a hoax, the [[Adipose]] spaceship, [[ATMOS]], [[Dalek]] spaceships, planets in the sky and all the things that have happened in [[Torchwood]]. ''Government cover-ups making the public believe otherwise, such as terroists, chemical hallucintions, etc. Even if she believed aliens existed, it is likely that she would still be skeptical that the woman across the street fights them all the time. Also it has often been remarked throughout the various [[Whoniverse]] series that humans will believe anything except for what's right in front of them.''
== Continuity ==
[[File:ClaraClown-on-SJSs-Computer.jpg|thumb|right|[[Clara the Clown]]]]
* Sometime after she meets Sarah Jane, [[Rani Chandra]] got trapped in the dark hall of mirrors of [[Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus|Spellman's Museum of the Circus]]. She went there to investigate the disappearance of the kids, but, with the help of several light sources like the [[sonic lipstick]] and a torch, she got out. ([[WC]]: ''[[Light (video game)|Light]]'')
* Cylde refers to past battles with [[Sontaran]]s, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Last Sontaran (TV story)}}) the [[Slitheen family]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Revenge of the Slitheen (TV story)}}) and the [[Gorgon]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Eye of the Gorgon (TV story)|Eye of the Gorgon]]'')
* [[Haresh Chandra]] refers to the "vanished" [[Greg Blakeman]], the previous head teacher, who was actually killed by the Slitheen and used as a skin suit by their leader. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Revenge of the Slitheen (TV story)}})
* Clyde refers to [[Kudlak]] when mentioning how aliens have been involved with kidnapping children. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Warriors of Kudlak (TV story)}})
* The [[First Doctor]], [[John Who|John]] and [[Gillian Who|Gillian]] encountered the [[Pied Piper]] in [[1284]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Challenge of the Piper (comic story)|Challenge of the Piper]]'')
* While missing Maria, Luke looks at the photo Alan took of them and the Bannerman Road gang when they went skateboarding. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (TV story)}})
* On Sarah Jane's staircase there are several framed newspaper cuttings, appearing to have been written by her. One of them is about events at [[Deffry Vale High School]], regarding the "explosive results" involving it being blown up. ([[TV]]: {{cs|School Reunion (TV story)}})
* One of the clowns shown on Sarah Jane's laptop is [[Clara the Clown]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)}})
* Sarah Jane tells Luke about her parents, and how they had died when she was a baby. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)}})
* [[Celeste Rivers|Professor Rivers]] thanks Sarah Jane for helping the [[Pharos Institute]] with the incident involving [[Nathan Goss]], who was actually [[Korst Gogg Thek Lutiven-Day Slitheen]] in disguise. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Lost Boy (TV story)}})
* With Mr Smith, Rani will later make a record of her encounter with Odd Bob for the [[Alien Files]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[SJAF 2]]'')


== Continuity ==
== Home video releases ==
*[[Haresh Chandra|Mr Chandra]] refers to [[Greg Blakeman]], the previous head teacher  who was killed by the Slitheen and used as a skin suit for their leader ([[SJA]]: ''[[Revenge of the Slitheen]]'') but claims that Blakeman "mysteriously vanished."
* This story, along with the rest of series 2, was released on [[DVD]] on the 9th November 2009 (UK) and 10th November 2009 (North [[America]]).
*[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]], who finds clowns creepy, tangles with sinister clowns in this story.  Fellow [[companion]] [[Ace]] was also frightened of clowns, but conquered her fears when she encountered sinister clowns at the [[Psychic Circus]] on [[Segonax]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]'')
* It was also released in the Complete Collection Series 1-5 boxset release (Region 2 release: 6th February 2012).
*Menacing clowns have also appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[The Celestial Toymaker]]'', ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''. There were also clowns among the [[Night Travellers]] in [[TW]]: ''[[From Out of the Rain]]''.
*The [[Nestene Consciousness]] also uses animated mannequins as attack drones.  ([[DW]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'', ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'')
*On the noticeboard on the classroom there is a paper with the name [[Rhys Williams]] written on it. ''Probably coincidence as there cannot really be anything to link a 30 something logistics manager from Cardiff to a school in West London.'' Yes, there can.
* The 2009 mini-episode ''[[Funny for Money]]'' occurs at some point after Rani joins Sarah Jane's team in this episode.
*On Sarah Jane's staircase there are several newspaper cuttings, (which appear to have been written by Sarah Jane) one of them is sbout the events of [[School Reunion]].


== DVD and Other releases ==
== Footnotes ==
A Novelisation of Day of the clown was released by Penguin on the fifth of November 2008.[[File:Miscbooks-2050-med.jpg|thumb|left]]
{{Reflist}}


==See also==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{dwrefguide|sja_08.htm|{{StoryTitle}}}}
* {{briefhistory|sarahjane/2008cd.html|{{StoryTitle}}}}
* {{locguide|dayoftheclown|{{StoryTitle}}}}


==External links==
{{SJATV}}
''to be added''
{{TitleSort}}


{{SJA series 2}}
[[Category:SJA television stories]]
[[Category:2008 television stories]]
[[Category:Series 2 (SJA) stories]]


[[Category:The Sarah Jane Adventures episodes|Day of the Clown, The]]
[[de:SJA 08 - The Day of the Clown]]
[[Category:Stories set in England|Day of the Clown, The]]
[[fr:The Day of the Clown (TV)]]
[[Category:2008 television stories|Day of the Clown, The]]
[[ro:The Day of the Clown]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2009|Day of the Clown, The]]

Latest revision as of 18:03, 31 March 2024

RealWorld.png

The Day of the Clown was the second serial of series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was written by Phil Ford and directed by Michael Kerrigan. It introduced Rani, Gita and Haresh Chandra as the new occupants of 36 Bannerman Road. Also noteworthy was the guest appearance of Bradley Walsh as the episode's villain, Elijah Spellman, almost ten years before his casting as Graham O'Brien, a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Rani Chandra is the new girl on Bannerman Road. She is haunted by a sinister clown. Does it have anything to do with local children who have gone missing? When Clyde's friend Dave disappears, the trail leads to a strange circus museum and the legend of the Pied Piper.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

A group of boys are playing football when the ball goes out of the pitch. A child goes over to fetch the ball but sees a clown. A few seconds later, the child is scared by the clown and disappears, never to be seen again.

A new family is moving into number 36 Bannerman Road, formerly occupied by Alan and Maria Jackson. Luke Smith still misses Maria, even though she's keeping in touch by e-mail. His mum Sarah Jane sympathises and reminds him Maria will visit England soon. She'll be at her mother's wedding. Yet, as Luke notes, it's not the same.

There's a new girl at Park Vale School: clever and inquisitive Rani, who wants to be a journalist. Clyde is smitten — even forgetting his odd sightings of clowns, always just out of the corner of his eye — until he notices there's also a new head at the school: humourless Mr Chandra. He is determined to improve the students' scores and put an end to the recent rash of child disappearances. He is not impressed by Clyde, the class clown. Clyde doesn't make it to lunch before receiving a summons to the new head's office.

While he is waiting by Mr Chandra's office, Clyde has another clown sighting. He tries to laugh it off, but he is shaken when his friend Dave ducks into a small art closet for supplies and doesn't come out. The art closet is empty; Dave has vanished into thin air.

Sarah Jane brings the new family tea and biscuits as a welcoming gift, but when Gita Chandra's back is turned, she performs a scan to check that no alien "residue" remains from the Jacksons' previous inhabitancy, because of Clyde's earlier remark. Only Gita Chandra is there — her husband and daughter are at school, she explains — so the two women share tea. Gita describes her family. She is thrilled to learn that Sarah Jane is an investigative journalist because her daughter Rani wants to become one herself.

Luke makes a new friend — in Maria's old bedroom

Clyde and Luke are walking home from school when Clyde sees another clown. Though Luke doesn't see anything, the boys give chase. They encounter only Rani, who has also been seeing clowns. Rani wonders if there is an extraordinary or supernatural explanation of the disappearances. The three are deep in discussion when they reach Bannerman Road and Luke and Clyde find out that Rani's dad is Mr Chandra. Mr Chandra is not pleased to see his daughter with Clyde, whom he has pegged as a troublemaker. On the other hand, he is delighted she has made friends with Luke, one of Park Vale's most gifted students.

Luke helps Rani unpack. In her room, they continue their talk of the missing children. The mention of clowns jogs Rani's memory: she remembers taking a ticket to see a circus museum. Rani decides to investigate. Luke feels he has no choice but to follow.

Clyde and Sarah Jane have independently discovered the same thing. All the missing children received tickets to the same circus museum, and only children with tickets were seeing the clowns. They elect to visit the clown museum as well.

Clyde gets accused of having a sense of humour inappropriate to the situation

Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus is run by the strange Elijah Spellman. He shows them around and leads them to a room filled with clown mannequins. Clyde spots a picture on the wall: an old watercolour painting of a man wearing red, blue and yellow — just like the mysterious ghost clowns he'd been seeing. Sarah Jane explains that the figure depicted is the Pied Piper, a legendary figure of European folklore who stole the children from Hamelin.

Elijah Spellman agrees. He reveals that he is the Pied Piper and the mysterious clown. He has come for more children. Nor will he tolerate discovery — with a word, he vanishes, and the clown mannequins come to life and threaten Sarah and Clyde.

They run to the entrance, where they meet Luke and Rani and find that while Sarah Jane's sonic lipstick is effective against the clown mannequins, the Pied Piper has trapped them in the building...

Part 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

Sarah Jane gives Rani a choice.

Spellman frightens Sarah Jane with insights on her childhood fear of clowns, whilst Clyde, Luke and Rani try to escape from the museum. Luke and Clyde get outside whilst Sarah remains terrified inside the circus museum. Rani's phone rings and she is confronted by a dilemma as "Mum" appears on the screen. While the phone rings, Spellman freezes. After a few seconds, Rani declines the call and runs out of the circus. Sarah Jane follows and the gang get inside Sarah Jane's car to drive back to Bannerman Road. Once there, Sarah Jane gives Rani a choice: live across the road and not interfere with her life, or go with Sarah and a whole world of adventure. Rani chooses to join Sarah Jane and says she will explain to her mum that she is completing some work experience with her.

Sarah Jane, Rani, Luke and Clyde go into Sarah Jane's house. Rani is amazed at the alien gear in Sarah Jane's attic, particularly the alien supercomputer, Mr Smith. The new team quickly determines the history of the Pied Piper is traceable to a meteorite that fell to Earth in 1283. The extrasolar meteorite originated in the Jeggorabax Cluster, a region of space known to house entities that feed off of emotions. To confirm this, Mr Smith will need a sample of the meteorite. Fortunately, it is on loan from the University of Munich to the Pharos Institute.

Luke confronts Sarah Jane about her fear of clowns, confused how she could be after having seen some of the strangest things in the universe. Sarah Jane explains that she was frightened of a clown marionette owned by her Aunt Lavinia when she was a child. It was one of the few times she missed having parents she could call on for comfort.

Sarah Jane visits the Pharos Institute and borrows a piece of meteorite to give to Mr Smith. Whilst she is there, Spellman appears and tells Sarah Jane that families will perish at the deaths of a nation of children.

Meanwhile, at Park Vale School, a host of red balloons fall from the sky. As the children grab them, they seem to lose free will, and mindlessly walk out of school towards Spellman's museum. Sarah Jane remembers when Rani's phone rang earlier, Spellman froze. She gets Mr Smith to ring all the children's mobile numbers, breaking the spell, but Spellman kidnaps Luke and imprisons him in the hall of mirrors. Currently, he is sleeping with the other missing children whom Odd Bob has caught and after a while, "they just fade away".

In a hall of mirrors, Sarah Jane confronts Spellman.

Sarah Jane demands the children be brought back, but Spellman correctly deduces she is still afraid of him and says he has been responsible for her lifelong fear of clowns. Spellman and she face off, unaware that Rani and Clyde have entered the building. Clyde faces Spellman unafraid. He begins to tell jokes. The humour loosens the grip that fear has on Sarah, which in turn weakens Spellman, who feeds on fear. Spellman weakens and Sarah Jane forces him back into the fragment of the meteorite, which she puts into an alien box from which nothing can escape from.

Rani is a little shaken by her odd experiences, but vows to help Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde in their adventures.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural references from the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Objects[[edit] | [edit source]]

Other[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Gita's name was originally Sundra, Haresh's name was originally Suresh and theirs and Rani's last name was originally going to be Rakhit.[1]
  • Luke claims that he and the Bannerman Road gang have saved the world twelve times, indicating that the gang have had several off-screen adventures given that the previous stories plus The Thirteenth Stone, The Glittering Storm and even Journey's End only amounts to ten.
  • Gita continues the tradition of misnaming of Sarah Jane that was begun by Chrissie Jackson, albeit to a smaller degree by calling her simply "Sarah" as opposed to Sarah Jane. It is shown that Sarah Jane is irritated by this, despite the Doctor having done the same repeatedly throughout their friendship. This inconsistency is resolved in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, where the Tenth Doctor clarifies to Rani that Sarah Jane only allows him to call her "Sarah".

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part 1 - 0.51 million viewers (DWMSE 23)
  • Part 2 - 0.44 million viewers (DWMSE 23)

Part One's BBC One repeat gained 0.6 million with an AI score of 82, whilst Part Two's BBC One repeat gained 0.76 million with an AI score of 81.

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • Clyde Langer claims that the house over the road from 13 Bannerman Road is 36 Bannerman Road. This contradicts Invasion of the Bane, where it was established that Maria and Alan lived at 12 Bannerman Road.
  • Rather than have his face painted, Bradley Walsh simply wore a mask when dressed as Odd Bob the Clown. This is obvious during Sarah Jane's final confrontation with him when creases are visible on the back of his neck.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Clara the Clown

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story, along with the rest of series 2, was released on DVD on the 9th November 2009 (UK) and 10th November 2009 (North America).
  • It was also released in the Complete Collection Series 1-5 boxset release (Region 2 release: 6th February 2012).

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ http://www.shannonsullivan.com/doctorwho/sarahjane/2008cd.html

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

v • e
SJA television stories
Series 1
Series 2
Regular episodes
Mini-episodes
Series 3
Series 4
Series 5
Stories listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
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