''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith'' is the third serial of the third series the British science fiction television series ''

The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC sc ...

''. The two-part story was first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 29 and 30 October 2009. It guest stars

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

as the

Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...

, marking the first appearance of parent programme ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

s main character in a spin-off show. The episode includes the final scenes David Tennant recorded during his first tenure as the Doctor. In the story, alien investigator

Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien t ...

gets engaged to her boyfriend, Peter Dalton. However, alien time traveller and old friend of Sarah Jane's, the Doctor, raises an objection at her wedding, and the marriage is revealed to be a malicious plot set up by Sarah Jane's arch nemesis, the Trickster.

Plot

Peter Dalton, a servant of the Trickster, proposes to Sarah Jane. When Sarah Jane puts the engagement ring on it glows red and begins influencing her. At a countryside hotel two weeks later, the

bursts through the doors, demanding the wedding be stopped. As he warns Sarah Jane to step away from Peter, the Trickster appears and kidnaps Sarah Jane. As

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, and

Rani ''Rani'' in Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, sometimes spelled ''Ranee'', is a Hindu/Sanskrit feminine given name. The term is the female form of the term for princely rulers in South and Southeast Asia and applies equally to the wife of a ...

regain consciousness, the Doctor introduces himself, swiftly revealing that they and K9 are the only people in the hotel; the Trickster has trapped them in a looping second, cutting them off from the rest of the world, and the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

. The Doctor determines that Sarah Jane is trapped in another second, deducing that the Trickster has separated the group to prevent them helping Sarah Jane. Peter is in a state where he is only half-alive. At the moment of his death, the Trickster offered him to be restored to life after he married Sarah Jane. The Trickster is holding Sarah Jane's friends hostage in a second, and time will only resume if she says "I do", after which she will forget her old life of defending Earth, creating more chaos for the Trickster to feed on. The Doctor enters the TARDIS, with the hopes of using its artron energy to fight the Trickster. However, it departs before Luke, Clyde, and Rani can enter. Clyde's attempt to enter the TARDIS results in him becoming charged with artron energy, allowing him to attack the Trickster. With the Trickster's power momentarily disrupted by Clyde's attack, the Doctor is able to arrive in Sarah Jane's second, telling her that there is only one way to end the Trickster's deal. Sarah Jane informs Peter that the only way to stop the Trickster is for Peter to take back the deal, even though this will mean his death. Strengthened by his love for Sarah Jane, Peter ends the deal, returning the hotel to the moment before the Doctor's arrival. With Peter having vanished, Sarah Jane cancels the wedding. Returning to Sarah Jane's attic in the TARDIS, the Doctor says goodbye to Sarah Jane and her friends.

Cast notes

Zienia Merton Zienia Merton (11 December 1945 – 14 September 2018) was a British actress born in Burma. She was known for playing Sandra Benes in '' Space: 1999''. Early career Merton was the daughter of Minny and Cecil Burton. Her mother was Burmese, and ...

had previously appeared as Ping Cho in the Doctor Who serial ''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' in 1964.

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

had previously played Nick in the

Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door pilo ...

audio drama '' No More Lies''. In the story, Clyde states that

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

is "back in Peru". It had been intended by the production team that Lethbridge-Stewart would appear in the story and meet the Tenth Doctor, but actor

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...

was recovering from a stroke and unable to take part. This serial was the final episode that David Tennant filmed as the Tenth Doctor, as he had already finished filming '' The End of Time'' (his final chronological episode of ''

'') before production began on the serial. He would later reprise the role in the 50th anniversary special; and will play the

Fourteenth Doctor The Fourteenth Doctor is the current incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, '' Doctor Who''. The Fourteenth Doctor is portrayed by Scottish actor, David Tennant, who previously por ...

in the forthcoming 60th anniversary specials in late 2023.http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2009/09/bbc-press-office-has-released-video.html

Novelisation

This was the ninth of eleven Sarah Jane Adventures serials to be adapted as a novel. Written by Gareth Roberts, the book was first published in paperback on 5 November 2009.aperback">

References

External links

*
''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith'' (Part 1)''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith'' (Part 2)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, The The Sarah Jane Adventures episodes Films with screenplays by Gareth Roberts (writer) 2009 British television episodes Tenth Doctor stories Doctor Who crossovers Television episodes about weddings