''The Mark of the Berserker'' is the fourth serial of the second series of 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 ...
''. It was first broadcast in two weekly parts on
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
on 3 and 10 November 2008. Due to
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen (1 February 1946 – 19 April 2011) was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series ''Doctor Who'', appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside ...
's commitments elsewhere, main character
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 ...
has a minor role in this serial, making the episodes similar to the 'Doctor-lite' episodes of ''
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 ...
'' ("
Love & Monsters", "
Blink
Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...
" and “
Turn Left
"Turn Left" is the eleventh episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by showrunner Russell T Davies and broadcast on BBC One on 21 June 2008.
David Tennant on ...
") which do not feature
The Doctor heavily, as well as the ''
Torchwood
''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...
'' episode "
Random Shoes
In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of pattern or predictability in events. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. Individual rand ...
", which had minor roles for most of the main cast.
Plot
Jacob, an unpopular pupil at school, finds an alien pendant. He begins using it to control other people, while leaving a strange blue handmark on his palm.
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 ...
finds the pendant in the school bathroom and, upon learning its effects, leaves it in
Sarah Jane's attic.
Meanwhile,
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 ...
's father
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
returns to Clyde's house, years after leaving his family for Clyde's aunt in Germany. Clyde takes Paul to the attic to prove he fights aliens. Paul pockets the pendant, and uses it to force Rani's father Haresh to do push ups indefinitely. When
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 ...
and Rani turn up, Paul uses the pendant to make Clyde forget about Luke, Rani, and Clyde's mother
Carla
Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include:
* Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United
* Carla Abe ...
, and the two drive off to travel the world. Paul uses the pendant to steal expensive objects to bond with Clyde.
In Washington D.C.,
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
hacks into
UNIT
Unit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
* Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation
Music
* ''Unit'' (alb ...
's database to find a match of a drawing of the pendant Luke and Rani send to him. They discover that the pendant belongs to a race of alien warriors known as the Berserkers, and that using the pendant can change the user into one of them, including marking their hands and turning their veins blue.
Luke, Rani, Carla, and Sarah Jane (who Alan tracked down by hacking into hospital records) follow Clyde and Paul to the marina. The pendant begins to possess Paul and transform him into a Berserker, and Paul declares that he and Clyde will fight in a war. Clyde and Carla talk Paul through his memories, whilst Sarah Jane shows him a reflection of himself in the mirror, and he remembers who he is. Everyone whom the pendant commanded has their commands undone. Paul returns to Germany to raise his unborn child. Clyde tells Carla to forget about what she knows about Sarah Jane's adventures with her son. Clyde throws the pendant into the sea.
Continuity
* Sarah Jane states that she is visiting Tarminster. Tarminster is featured in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''
Terror of the Autons
''Terror of the Autons'' is the first serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 January 1971.
The serial is set in various locations ...
''. The Harold Saxon promotional website mentions that
Lucy Saxon
This is a list of henchmen, fictional characters serving villains and/or monsters and aliens in the long-running British science fiction television series, '' Doctor Who''. For other, related lists, see below.
B
Lance Bennett
Lance Benne ...
's father was Lord Cole of Tarminster.
*Clyde stirs Sarah Jane's memories of her own parents, whom she longs to have known. This foreshadows the plot of the next episode.
References
External links
The official BBC ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' websitePress Pack information regarding ''The Mark of the Berserker''
at th
BBC Press Office website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark of the Berserker, The
The Sarah Jane Adventures episodes
2008 British television episodes
Television episodes about psychic powers
Fiction about mind control