Don't Sit Too Close to the Screen (unproduced TV story)
Don't Sit Too Close to the Screen was an unproduced story written by Joseph Lidster. The story was intended as the third and fourth episodes of Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, a slot that was ultimately filled by Phil Ford's The Vault of Secrets [+]Loading...["The Vault of Secrets (TV story)"]. The story would have functioned as an alternative departure story for Luke Smith, with various details being reused in Lidster's replacement story The Nightmare Man [+]Loading...["The Nightmare Man (TV story)"]. The story would have also introduced new characters in the form of Carla Langer's new boyfriend and his daughter, and explored how Clyde coped with them moving in.[1][2]
Plot outline[[edit] | [edit source]]
After visiting Oxford, Sarah Jane and Luke return to Bannerman Road. Luke, at Sarah Jane's suggestion, decides to stay over at the Langers. There, Clyde and Carla are there with Carla's new boyfriend and his seven-year-old daughter. Staying the night, the next morning Luke notices the young girl watching television like she's entranced. Luke and Clyde see that the characters in the children's programme are talking directly to the girl.
Sarah Jane visits Rani to talk about her future in journalism. The pair talk about Rani's school blog, however, Rani is distracted and upset about Luke's impending departure to university. Sarah Jane receives a call from Clyde and Luke as they tell her about the strange children's programme. Returning to the attic, Mr Smith receives reports of children acting strangely all across London.
Watching a television news report, suddenly the newsreader addresses Sarah Jane directly, threatening her not to get involved or the children will be destroyed. They reveal themselves as a race of aliens living within electricity, and can control any electrical output. They are harnessing electrical impulses in children's brains through the television programme. The ultimate aim of the aliens is to rid Earth of humanity in order to live in electricity without interference.
It is up to Luke to save the day. Through the course of the story, Sarah Jane is reassured that Luke will cope well at university, Clyde agrees that Carla's new boyfriend and his daughter can move in, and Rani begins to focus more on journalism and prepares herself for a career after leaving school.[1]
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Sarah Jane Smith
- Luke Smith
- Clyde Langer
- Rani Chandra
- Mr Smith
- Carla Langer
- Carla Langer's boyfriend
- Carla Langer's boyfriend's daughter
- Newsreader
- Unnamed electricity aliens
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- This story would have served as a replacement to The Nightmare Man [+]Loading...["The Nightmare Man (TV story)"], also written by Joseph Lidster. Initially, Lidster's script had been planned for the second story slot in series 4, but was swapped with Phil Ford's as Tommy Knight's availability schedule became more clear.[3]
- This story would have had a focus on all three of the main child characters, rather than just Luke's experience moving to university. The story would have tackled Clyde's experience as his mother's new boyfriend moved in and Rani's ambitions in journalism after leaving school and her potentially leaving home.[1]
- The villains of this story, a race of aliens living in electricity and using television to their advantage, are notably similar to the Wire from the Doctor Who story The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"].
- An alternative version of the story had the aliens also entering people's houses through free gifts on magazines.
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Sarah Jane Companion: Volume Three p. 71. Panini Comics (16 August 2012).
- ↑ The Sarah Jane Companion: Volume Two p. 55. Panini Comics (20 April 2011).
- ↑ The Sarah Jane Companion: Volume Two p. 67. Panini Comics (20 April 2011).
