Forum:Sarah Jane's Alien Files

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Currently we have The Alien Files, which were short webisodes. Now, they're 30 minutes long! I think these should have articles of their own, as they are just like episodes. They also follow a sort of plot and have continuity and references. However, I'm not sure how to go about it. Should we do it on the series 4 page, as they are effectively part of that? And they don't have individual titles, so how would name the articles?--The Thirteenth Doctor 21:51, October 23, 2010 (UTC)

I suppose if we did decide to make them, we could name them after the enemies shown or something like that. I'm also concerned about the actual canonicity of them; while they don't quite contradict anything, they do show stuff Sarah Jane and Mr Smith shouldn't know/have. - I. Am. Excalibur-117-^{(talk • contribs)} 21:57, October 23, 2010 (UTC)

What stuff wouldn't/shouldn't they know? --The Thirteenth Doctor 22:05, October 23, 2010 (UTC)

In the Trickster and Graske one, they show a Series 4 promo picture of Donna , and find it a bit weird that they're aware of the attack on Donna. The base of the show is sound enough though. - I. Am. Excalibur-117-^{(talk • contribs)} 22:09, October 23, 2010 (UTC)

Are they made to tie in with Series 4? Or are these promotional things that tie in with the series as promotional material rather than story material?

Can if we create them name them after whatever the page they're shown on is called so the Androvax one would be titled "Androvax Alien File" and just go from there? --Tangerineduel 13:07, October 24, 2010 (UTC)

Promotional. They don't contribute to any ongoing storyline in the series proper, just summarise various past enemies and episodes involving them. - I. Am. Excalibur-117-^{(talk • contribs)} 15:58, October 24, 2010 (UTC)

They don't push forward with plot devices, no, but they're not exactly promotional. It's more of a "in between the adventures, what do they do?" And it does tie in to a few things, like in the first one, Sarah Jane mentions about Luke being off at school, and that she can't expect him to come back every time she can't cover something up. As for the titles, they wouldn't work. They don't focus on the alien of the episode it airs after, but several from previous series. The second one would be called "Odd Bob the Clown/The Pied Piper/Mr Spellman, Ship and Eve", so that wouldn't work. --The Thirteenth Doctor 21:17, October 24, 2010 (UTC)

If they're "what do they do between adventures", we'll likely need to come up with a way to deal with them if not for them, then for the upcoming mini-episodes that will be released on the S5 DVD/Bluray (which will have Amy and the Doctor mini-episodes in the "what do the do between episodes vein").

I'm not sure what to do with regards to titles. The Alien Files page seems to suggest they're tied to a certain episode, so the Alien Files could be a sub-page of whichever episode they're closest linked to. Or just be a separate page. Alternatively make them a sub-page of The Alien Files page. --Tangerineduel 15:49, October 25, 2010 (UTC)

The series is entitled "Sarah Jane's Alien Files" in BBC websites, programme guides, and the iPlayer, but the title in the logo on-screen is "SJA Alien Files." Additionally, the "Alien Files" are now an in-universe item, as they are what Sarah Jane and company are updating every episode; we should probably give that its own separate article. Rob T Firefly 00:31, October 27, 2010 (UTC)

Well...I can't really say which title to go for as we've got precedents on both sides of the court with regard to on-screen vs BBC given titles.

But the in-universe element does bring an issue of its own, do we present them as in-universe elements or as stories and acknowledge that they're used within an in-universe environment? --Tangerineduel 13:22, October 27, 2010 (UTC)

How about if we move The Alien Files to "Sarah Jane's Alien Files," since of the two choices that title makes more semantic sense, and use a redirect for the logo's spelling. I further suggest using the Tardisode model for articles about the individual episodes, with brief summaries of what little story content there is, perhaps with "SJAF" as a prefix. We could then use an article at "Alien Files" for the in-universe element, with the standard disambiguating italics on top each to direct users to the other article. Rob T Firefly 09:10, October 28, 2010 (UTC)

Sure, nicely thought out! Go ahead with the move / renaming etc. --Tangerineduel 16:22, October 28, 2010 (UTC)

Okay, we've now got TV, Sarah Jane's Alien Files, Alien Files, and Sarah Jane's Alien Files episode 1. I wonder whether that's the best way to go about titling the individual episodes, though. Thoughts? Rob T Firefly 02:07, October 29, 2010 (UTC)

I'm still a bit skeptical of the fact that Mr Smith and the others are aware of events they shouldn't know about. As for the name thing, what you've got works, but it might be a bit tricky if the person doesn't know what episode they want; maybe something like Sarah Jane's Alien Files: The Trickster, Graske, could work as well? - I. Am. Excalibur-117-^{(talk • contribs)} 07:32, October 29, 2010 (UTC)

Well, Mr Smith knowing about others is basically the same thing as Rose knowing about Donna's family. There's no real way she could know, but she does. The naming you suggest was brought up earlier, but I pointed out, that would make the second episode's title, Sarah Jane's Alien Files: Odd Bob the Clown/The Pied Piper/Mr Spellman, Ship and Eve which is just too long. --The Thirteenth Doctor 09:10, October 29, 2010 (UTC)

Yes, the "shouldn't have known" thing can be listed as plot holes for the individual episodes. As for the info on who was profiled in what episode that is listed on the main Sarah Jane's Alien Files entry, and we can start adding notes on the individual alien articles for those profiled noting their presence in the Alien Files with citation links back to the SJAF episodes. Rob T Firefly 13:58, October 29, 2010 (UTC)