Template:Transmat:SJA
The Day of the Clown was the second story of the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It introduced Rani, Gita and Haresh Chandra as the new occupants of the Jacksons' home on Bannerman Road. It established that Sarah had been afraid of clowns since childhood and thereby centred the story on the nature of fear itself.
The story also contained some important character beats that were carried on throughout the series. Hanging over Rani's introduction was the fact that Luke keenly missed Maria, and that Rani knew that she was a kind of "replacement" for Jackson. Additionally, the hostility between Haresh Chandra and Clyde Langer began here, as did the notion that Rani was a budding journalist who needed professional mentoring by Sarah Jane. All of these themes would continue for the rest of the series, and were even prominent as late as the final story.