School Reunion (TV story)

School Reunion
Doctor:	[[doctor::Tenth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Rose Tyler, Sarah Jane Smith, K-9
Main enemy:	Krillitanes
Main setting:	2006
Key crew
Writer:	Toby Whithouse
Director:	James Hawes
Producer:	Phil Collinson
Release details
Release number:	174
Premiere broadcast:	29th April 2006
Format:	1 45-minute Episode
Production code:	174

Summary

Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 join the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey to investigate sinister events at a modern-day comprehensive school, and take on the evil Krillitanes, a race that takes traits from the races they destroy. (Click here for a more detailed summary)

Cast & Characters

• The Doctor - David Tennant
• Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
• Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
• Mr Finch - Anthony Stewart Head
• K9 - John Leeson
• Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
• Mr Wagner - Eugene Washington
• Kenny — Joe Pickley
• Melissa — Lucinda Dryzek
• Nina — Heather Cameron
• Luke — Benjamin Smith
• Milo — Clem Tibber

Crew

To be added.

Notes

• Mickey Smith becomes a companion of the Doctor at the end of the episode
• According to an interview with writer Toby Whithouse in Doctor Who Magazine #367, this episode had the working title Black Ops. The original storyline submission for the episode involved the Doctor meeting Sarah while investigating events at an army base neighbouring an isolated village. The change of location to a school was suggested by Russell T. Davies
• This is the first time that companions from the original series of Doctor Who appear in the new series
• The K-9 prop used in the episode is one of the original props from the 1970s. The fake innards of the prop have been redesigned to match the style of Gallifreyan technology introduced in the new series
• Anthony Stewart Head's character was originally announced as the "Headmaster". This led to fan speculation that the Doctor's old enemy the Master might be making a return. On 28th August 2005 the fan site Outpost Gallifrey reported that these rumours were false
• Anthony Stewart Head auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie
• In the episode, Mickey is checking the internet for information on UFO sightings and further information is denied by Torchwood which is the recurring theme for the season

Influences

• Davies' first ever T.V. script, Dark Seasons, was set in a school, and featured sinister teachers brainwashing children with computers
• The Demon Headmaster a series of books and a hit CBBC television series also features a Headteacher who takes control of a school in a similar manner

Ratings

School Reunion - 7.6m viewers (39.8%)

Location Filming

• The primary location for the school filming was Duffryn High School in Newport

Cultural References

• Happy slapping - A current fad sweeping Europe in which people are attacked in the street while the incident is filmed on a mobile device
• Hoodie - A type of clothing often associated with Chav's and criminals by the UK press
• ASBO - An order made against those who engage in anti social behaviour
• Ring tone - The noise made by a mobile phone to indicate that someone is calling. The choice of ring tones available has increased dramatically in the last few years
• The eat more chips poster is in part a reference to Jamie's School Dinners which had a large impact on government policy towards school dinners. This reference is confirmed on the schools own website on which Mr Finch states "We didn't need a TV Chef to tell us what to do in our canteen"

Continuity

When Sarah and Rose argue they refer to a lot of encounters with aliens. Sarah refers to meeting:

• Mummies (The Pyramids on Mars)
• Lots of robots (Robot, The Sontaran Experiment, and The Android Invasion)
• Daleks (Death to the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks)
• Anti-matter monsters (Planet of Evil)
• Dinosaurs (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
• The Loch Ness Monster (Terror of the Zygons)

Rose refers to meeting:

• Ghosts (The Unquiet Dead
• The Slitheen (Aliens of London, World War Three, The Monsters Inside and Boom Town)
• The Dalek Emperor (The Parting of the Ways)
• A Werewolf (Tooth and Claw

The Doctor left Sarah on earth in The Hand of Fear and this story is referenced on several occassions. It is revealed that, at the end of The Hand of Fear, Sarah Jane was dropped off in Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, rather than South Croydon in London as was the Fourth Doctor's intention

The Doctor left K9 with Sarah in the spin off series K9 and Company

The Doctor says "Correct-a-mundo", adding "A phrase I have never used before, and will hopefully never use again." In the Tenth Doctor Adventure Feast of the Drowned he used the phrase "Cool-a-mundo", and makes an almost identical comment on it.

Sarah's words in this episode seem to indicate that her experiences in The Five Doctors did not happen, or at least that she does not recall them. This would seem to indicate that the Time Lords wiped the memories of those who participated in these events.

K-9 is rebuilt at the end of the episode as K-9 Mark IV, after being blown up inside the school at the climax of the episode

Sarah encountered the Eighth Doctor and Sam in Interference but given that the time line was in flux at this stage it is conceivable that these events never occurred.

Discontinuity

• As Mickey leaves K9 in the car how is he able to get out and come to the rescue

Story Arcs

Torchwood Arc

More Info

• Story Synopsis
• Story Statistics
• Story in the Media
• School Reunion TARDISODE
• Doctor Who Confidential:Friends Reunited
• Totally Doctor Who Episode 3

Public Releases

• According to Doctor Who Magazine #366, this episode will be released as a "vanilla" DVD along with Tooth and Claw and The Girl in the Fireplace.