Clyde Langer
Clyde Langer was a classmate of Maria Jackson, Luke Smith and Rani Chandra at Park Vale Comprehensive School. He joined them on adventures with Sarah Jane Smith involving aliens.
Biography
Early Life
Clyde's father, Paul had walked out on his mother and him when Clyde was young, and went off with his mother's sister. Clyde blamed his mum and played up at school, resulting in him getting expelled. (SJA: Warriors of Kudlak, The Mark of the Berserker)
Meeting Sarah Jane
At around the age of 14, Clyde met and befriended Maria and Luke on his first day at Park Vale School. He considered himself one of the "cool kids". Clyde had a rebellious streak and disliked the school dinners as the food was rotten due to a Slitheen machine in the school. The next day he brought a home-made chip sandwich to school where the science teacher, a Slitheen in disguise, had a negative reaction to the vinegar in the sandwich; vinegar was the Raxacoricofallapatorian's weakness. After school the teacher unmasked himself as an alien and chased Maria and Clyde. Clyde sprayed deodorant to confuse the Raxacoricofallapatorian's advanced sense of smell. After meeting Sarah Jane Smith, he helped defeat the Slitheen, despite Sarah Jane's initial reluctance to let him get involved. In the aftermath, Clyde decided to join the others in fighting evil aliens and to tutor Luke in the ways of "coolness". In contrast to the others (and to previous casts), Clyde showed no moral qualms about the Slitheen being killed - "They were going to kill billions of people, I dunno what the big dilemma was". (SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen)
Adventures with Sarah Jane, Luke and Maria
His grandmother, who knew Mrs. Randall, and lived at Lavender Lawns, tipped him off that there was something strange happening there. The claims she made were in fact true as the manager, Mrs. Gribbins, was in league with a Gorgon. (SJA: Eye of the Gorgon)
Luke and he went to a laser tag centre, where they were teleported to General Kudlak's battle station. There, he met others kids who had gone missing due to winning a Combat 3000 game. He got home safely with Sarah Jane's help. (SJA: Warriors of Kudlak)
When the Slitheen took Luke away, Clyde bunked off school to visit him but got the door slammed into his face along with a photo. Convinced it was a fake, Clyde took it to Mr Smith, who confirmed that that Mr Smith had faked the photo himself and turned evil before zapping Clyde into the computer. During his time there, he managed to contact Alan Jackson via his laptop and warn him, allowing Alan to run over and save Sarah Jane's and Maria's lives, He was released just before Mr Smith was defeated (SJA: The Lost Boy)
Clyde was with his mother during Earth's transportation to the Medusa Cascade and its subsequent invasion by the Daleks. (DW: The Stolen Earth). After this threat had passed, the world was returned to normal. (DW: Journey's End).
He helped Sarah Jane in further adventures such as against the Sontaran Commander Kaagh. (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
Adventures with Sarah Jane, Luke and Rani
Shortly afterwards, Rani Chandra, an aspiring teenage journalist, and her parents Gita and Haresh moved in to Maria's former address. She joined Luke and Clyde defeat a child-stealing energy entity which had inspired the Pied Piper myth. Reluctantly, Sarah took Rani into the team. The entity thrived on Sarah's fears of clowns which had begun in childhood. Clyde weakened the entity by telling jokes, allowing Sarah Jane to imprison it in a piece of the meteor it had come to Earth in. (SJA: The Day of the Clown)
Afterwards, Rani joined the team permanently. They defeated the Ancient Lights (SJA: Secrets of the Stars), the Berserker (SJA: The Mark of the Berserker) and even the Trickster when he attempted to manifest corporeally in Foxgrove in 1951. (SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith) Later, Mrs Wormwood returned to Earth with the Sontaran Kaagh in an attempt to summon Horath, the immortal tyrant of the Dark Empire. With help from Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and infighting between Kaagh and Mrs Wormwood, they were able to stop this potential apocalypse. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane).
He later helped defeat Androvax and stop him from destroying Earth with Nanoforms. (SJA: Prisoner of the Judoon).
When Sarah Jane announced her wedding to Peter Dalton, Clyde thought she was rushing and was determined to find a flaw in Peter. He was teleported along with Luke, Rani and the Doctor, who crashed the wedding, into a time trap. Thanks to the TARDIS' power, he fought the Trickster to exhaustion before collapsing himself. His weakened condition helped Sarah Jane to convince Peter to withdraw from the Trickster's agreement, making the Trickster explode into nothing. Clyde later got to take a look inside the TARDIS when the Doctor came to Bannerman Road. (SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) Clyde also assisted in defeating Erasmus Darkening. (SJA: The Eternity Trap).
After Luke secretly entered one of Clyde's paintings in an art contest, the painting won first prize, earning their class a trip to the International Gallery to see the Mona Lisa, which made Mr. Chandra treat Clyde more warmly. Though initially embarrassed by the adulation, Clyde realised that he had a real talent for art, a talent that would help defeat the Mona Lisa when she came to life. (SJA: Mona Lisa's Revenge)
Clyde was present when the Slitheen-Blathereen arrived, posing as benevolent Blathereen, and helped stop two members of the Slitheen. Clyde was suspicious of the two despite their help, and a gift of Rakweed. Before leaving Sarah Jane's house that night, he 'borrowed' K9 to help him cheat in an exam. By then, the Rakweed had spread across London, threatening the lives of all the residents. Clyde and Rani discovered that the sound of a school bell could destroy the Rakweed, and had K9 send Mr. Smith the frequency. On their return to the attic, the group were confronted by the Slitheen-Blathereen, who revealed their true identities, and prepared to attack. Sarah Jane had Mr. Smith replicate the sound of the school bell, destroying the Rakweed in the Slitheen-Blathereen's stomachs. This created a lethal build-up of methane, causing them to, as Clyde put it: "fart themselves to death", The entire attic was covered with their slimey remains. Sarah Jane had Clyde clean up the mess as punishment for using K9 to cheat. (SJA: The Gift)
Luke's departure and further adventures
When it was established that Luke would be leaving for University one year early, Clyde was distant to his best friend but threw him a party at Park Vale to show that they were still best friends. After defeating the Nightmare Man, Luke parted from Clyde when he left for Oxford. (SJA: The Nightmare Man)
Clyde, Sarah Jane and Rani helped Androvax save his species, and, with the help of Mister Dread, stop the Earth from being destroyed. (SJA: The Vault of Secrets)
When Sarah Jane was given news of the Doctor's death by UNIT, Clyde thought she was in denial over his accept his death. He soon discovered that the Doctor was in fact still alive when he overheard the Shansheeth formulating their plan, and later switched places with the Eleventh Doctor himself through residual artron energy from their first encounter. Clyde was returned to Earth and helped remind Sarah Jane of all of their adventures, causing the Shansheeth's Memory Weave to explode. (SJA: Death of the Doctor)
Clyde and Rani were the only two humans left on Earth by the Automatons (they had been grounded by the Judoon). They found Gavin, who did not know he was an alien. He was protected by a Bio damper which, when removed, allowed the Automatons to find him and return him home, but not before he pronounced the duo Lord Clyde and Lady Rani and ordered the return of the human race. (SJA: The Empty Planet)
The Shopkeeper sent Clyde back to 7th June 1941 in search of an item called Chronosteel to repair the tapestry of time. Assisted by a boy called George Woods he escaped capture by a group of Nazis. He was able to gain the object, a Nazi device, then reappeared in his home time after bidding George farewell. His Chronosteel, along with Rani's and Sarah Jane's saved the world. Clyde later did some research on George, learning he was 83 years old and very recently knighted by Elizabeth II. (SJA: Lost in Time)
The gang met Ruby White, another alien hunter. They befreinded her, but the next day received a message from Sarah Jane saying she was moving away. Clyde was very upset because it felt like his dad leaving him. Mr Smith tried to warn Clyde that Ruby was evil and was holding Sarah Jane captive, but Ruby captured Clyde as well and left him in an airless prison ship in orbit to suffocate. Clyde left a message on his phone in case he didn't make it, but luckily was teleported back to the attic by K9. Ruby was a Qetesh with a seperate stomach, which swelled and then shrank when she absorbed too many emotions and was, as Clyde put it, 'supersized'. Clyde went closer to the shrunken organ and commented that it hadn't exploded, only for it to splatter him with purple slime. (SJA: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith)
Sky and subsequent adventures
In 2011, Clyde was of course very surprised by the fact Sarah Jane had a baby one day, called Sky which caused power fluctuations around Bannerman Road. He had to babysit but was attacked by a supposed meteor. He was saved by the child's mother, Miss Myers and taken to a power plant where he escaped, met up with Sarah Jane and Rani and saw Sky's transformation from baby to pre-teen. He and Rani deactivated the core of the power station, preventing the entire Metalkind species from being brought to Earth that would have caused Sky to detonate and destroy them all, as per her purpose. When Miss Myers and the Metalkind had left Earth at the supposed cost of Sky's electrical powers, the gang returned to Bannerman Road where Clyde and Rani saw that Sky had not fully lost her abilities. (SJA: Sky)
Clyde was put under a curse by Hetocumtek after he caught a splinter from the alien's totem pole. Everyone who said or saw his name turned against him. The police were called on him and he was left on the streets of London. He met Ellie Faber, a homeless teenager whom he had given some change to the previous day. He made up an alias "Enrico Box" so he would not be turned on again. He learned of the "Night Dragon" which takes homeless people. He became close with Ellie while back at Bannerman Road, Sky- who was immune to the curse as she wasn't human- had urged Sarah Jane and Rani to break the curse by saying Clyde's name until they remembered what he meant to them. Clyde drew a portrait of Ellie and she kissed him. She went to get them a coffee and a moment later Sarah Jane, Rani and Sky found him. They embraced Clyde and took him back to the attic where he defeated and destroyed the totem pole by shouting his name at it. With the curse lifted, Clyde reconciled with his mother and tried to find Ellie to no avail. He found out that her name wasn't actually Ellie but she got it from a poster like Clyde got "Enrico Box" from a pizza box. One of Ellie's acquaintances, Max told him that she had been taken by the Night Dragon which was actually a haulage truck that went around Europe. The homeless people in the area went on it to get a second chance. Clyde kept the portrait of Ellie, he would never forget her. (SJA: The Curse of Clyde Langer)
As she was one of the top three journalists in the United Kingdom, Sarah Jane was been invited to the rehearsal of the launch of the SerfBoard by Joseph Serf. She took Sky and Luke who had just come back from university. Sarah Jane found out through Mr Smith that the real Serf had died in a skiing accident in 2007. She organised an interview with the hologram Serf while Clyde, Rani and Mr Smith analysed a Serf Board finding it be be nothing more than a low standard computer. Luke and Sky who had used K9's whistle to alert Clyde and Rani via Mr Smith to get the pen Harrison was using to torture the Skullion slaves he forced to control Serf. Clyde and Rani arrived at the launch in disguise and managed to retrieve Harrison's pen. Luke and Sky took control of Serf whilst Sarah Jane and her new friend Adriana took the Skullions to the roof of the building. Mr Smith had alerted the Skullion species to send a spaceship to Earth to pick up the Skullions. Harrison took his pen back and began to kill the Skullions, fortunately, Luke and Sky used Serf to hypnotise the audience at the launch to destroy Harrison's pen which they did. He told Clyde and Rani to go to the roof where a Skullion spaceship appeared and took the freed Skullions home. Harrison had also been beamed up by the Skullion spaceship, where Luke hoped that the Skullions would put him to work. Sarah Jane gave Adriana a card for U.N.I.T saying that Adriana was just what they needed and she would ensure that Adriana was paid well. Sarah Jane and her gang then returned home. Clyde drew a picture of Sky entitled "Sky's Room" which Luke stuck up in her room. (SJA: The Man Who Never Was)
Later Life
Sarah Jane and her gang continued to have adventures, defend Earth and save countless lives. Statues would be raised in their honour and they would leave behind a legacy that would last forever. (SJAN: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (novelisation), SJA: The Man Who Never Was)
Alternate realities
Donna's World
If Donna Noble had turned right for a job interview instead of turning left, Clyde would have investigated the Royal Hope Hospital with Sarah Jane, Maria and Luke. Since, as it was moved to the moon and the Tenth Doctor was absent due to his death earlier, the oxygen ran out and caused every one in the hospital, including Clyde, to die of suffocation. (DW: Turn Left)
The Trickster's World
In The Trickster's World, as Sarah Jane Smith died in 1964, Clyde never knew her and barely knew Maria. (SJA: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?)
Abilities
Though he initially kept his talents secret, Clyde had talents for drawing and cooking. (SJA: The Mark of the Berserker) Encouraged by his friends Clyde further developed and embraced his artistic talents; he won a competition to see the Mona Lisa with one of his paintings, and later used his drawing abilities to defeat an alien threat. (SJA: Mona Lisa's Revenge) Clyde later drew Mr Smith's portrait, proudly calling himself "the Picasso of Bannerman Road." (SJAF: Sarah Jane's Alien Files episode 5) His adventures as part of the Bannerman Road influenced his art and he even had a comic creation named "Susie June Jones" referring to Sarah Jane. (SJA: The Empty Planet, The Curse of Clyde Langer) He also created a superhero comic called The Silver Bullet. (SJA: The Curse of Clyde Langer)
Clyde briefly obtained a charge of artron energy from The Doctor's TARDIS, with which he was able to defend himself against the Trickster. (SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) The Doctor used the residual artron energy Clyde retained from this encounter to switch places with Clyde and come to Earth after being stranded, although he was able to modify this device to completely teleport himself from the planet where he had been trapped with the aid of equipment provided by Sarah and Jo. (SJA: Death of the Doctor)
Clyde had demonstrated a degree of athletic skill, hitting a target with a thrown hat. (SJA: From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love)
Personality
Clyde apparently likes the Star Wars series, as he referred to it a number of times. (SJA: Warriors of Kudlak) When asked to recreate a famous historical battle at school, he suggested to do one on the Battle of Hoth, much to the annoyance and disaporval of his teacher. (SJA: The Last Sontaran)
Of all of Sarah Jane's young friends, Clyde wisecracked by far the most, as he has acknowledged, and put to good use. (SJA: The Day of the Clown) He has frequently made fun of aliens such as Sontaran Commander Kaagh, calling him a baked spud, (SJA: The Last Sontaran) and the Bane, describing them as 'one-eyed squidy things', referencing the sea-creature, squid. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane)
Clyde also showed an interest in girls of his age group. (SJA: Warriors of Kudlak, The Last Sontaran) He has also shown a particular interest in Rani and seemed the closest to her in the gang. (SJA: Day of the Clown, The Nightmare Man, The Vault of Secrets, The Empty Planet, Sarah Jane's Alien Files episode 5) He formed a strong bond with Ellie Faber when he was cut off from his friends, to the point that she kissed him, but they were separated when Clyde had to join his friends to defeat their enemy. (SJA: The Curse of Clyde Langer) Clyde was also kind and fiercely loyal to Sarah Jane. He was rarely unkind to people and was often helpful, trying to make others he knew feel better, even giving money to Ellie when he first encountered her on the grounds that her homelessness probably wasn't her fault (SJA: The Curse of Clyde Langer). Clyde was very understanding with Luke, despite his strange behaviour, especially when he did not understand many social aspects of life. (SJA: The Last Sontaran) At first, Clyde was unsympathetic to the fates of the enemies the team encountered. (SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen) This opinion would change somewhat over time, as evidenced when he attempted to help the wounded Kaagh. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane) He was very close to his mother due to the tramatic childhood event of his father leaving his mother from his aunt Mel. (SJA: The Mark of the Berserker, The Empty Planet, The Curse of Clyde Langer)
Unlike Sarah Jane and the Doctor, Clyde believed in fate; the idea that most things happened for a reason, and that events in the universe were connected. (SJA: The Vault of Secrets, The Empty Planet)
Clyde also shows great respect for the Doctor. his respect and inspiriation in the Doctor was caused by stories Sarah Jane often told him about the Doctors battles with monsters. (SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen, The Last Sontaran) he was delighted when he got to meet the Doctor and was impressed by the TARDIS. (SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, Death of the Doctor) Clyde also shared a sense of humor with the Tenth Doctor, stating the Pantheon of Discord would be a good name for a band. (SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith) He was also quite interested in the Doctor's biology due to his regeneration, wondering if he's always humanoid and white. (SJA: Death of the Doctor)
He also has a habit/gift of finding out about the bad guys acting like good guys before anyone else, and people he has not initially trusted have usually turned out to be evil in the end. (SJA: The Lost Boy, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, The Gift, Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith)
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