The Gift (TV story)

The Gift was the sixth and final serial of series 3 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was written by Rupert Laight and directed by Alice Troughton. It was notable for containing the only televised direct reference to a family of Raxacoricofallapatorians other than the Slitheen, namely their rivals, the Blathereen.

Synopsis
When the Slitheen's latest scheme to destroy Earth for profit is foiled, another family from the Slitheen's planet arrive, the Blathereen. Though they seem helpful, can they be trusted? As a generous gesture of peace, the Blathereen gift the gang with a plant called Rakweed, which could end world hunger. However, the Rakweed goes wild, spreading spores about London and infecting people, including Luke. Sarah Jane must fight alone, not only to save the Earth, but also her son. Meanwhile, Clyde smuggles K9 into school to help him cheat at a test, and he, Rani and the metal dog find themselves trapped in the school — surrounded by Rakweed. Can the team work together across Ealing — and Antarctica — to prevent Rakweed from devouring the entire planet?

Part one
Sarah Jane and the gang chase a child Slitheen into a warehouse, where a disguised Slitheen sets up the countdown for a matter compressor that will form a web around the Earth's orbit to squash its huge reserves of carbon, transforming it into a very large diamond. However, two orange-skinned Blathereen arrive and teleport the Slitheen onto their ship. They state that they hunt Slitheen without profit. They introduce themselves as Tree and Leef Blathereen, and invite themselves to tea at Rani's house.

Whilst there, the Blathereen reveal that Raxacoricofallapatorius was once the most admired planet in the Raxas Alliance, governed by the Blathereen, until the Slitheen came into power. Their economy was destroyed, and eventually the Raxacoricofallapatorians revolted against the Slitheen; some were brought to justice, but some escaped to distant planets to gain money. The Blathereen returned to power and started to capture the various Slitheen.

The Blathereen give Earth a gift: a pot of Rakweed. They say it can survive in even the harshest conditions, and can bring an end to world hunger. With Sarah Jane as their ambassador, the Blathereen could form an alliance with Earth. Clyde, however, is suspicious. After the Blathereen leave, Mr Smith analyses the plant and concludes that it is, as far as he can tell, harmless. With the alien stuff dealt with, Sarah Jane orders the kids to bed since they have a biology test tomorrow. Clyde, having completely forgotten about it, is horrified and decides to take drastic action. After subtly getting K9 to reveal his knowledge of GCSE Biology, Clyde picks him up and absconds with him, intending to use him to cheat; Mr Smith feigns ignorance since he welcomes a break from K9.

Whilst getting dressed, Luke can't find his tie and goes into the attic to look for it. The Rakweed has mutated and released harmful spores into the atmosphere. Luke accidentally inhales some spores and becomes properly ill for the first time, since the Bane gave him perfect health. Sarah Jane decides that Luke has to stay home, and Rani is concerned. In school, Rani learns that Clyde has K9 to help him, and will talk to him through an earpiece, to her mingled fury at the idea of cheating and fear of K9 being discovered.

Sarah Jane discovers the Rakweed, and Mr Smith explains that the plant has mutated and is releasing spores across the Earth that will infect humans who may pose a threat to the Blathereen, and more Rakweed has grown outside Sarah Jane's house on Bannerman Road. A news report reveals that the Rakweed spores are already having an effect, with people collapsing from strange red and black marks on their skin. What's more, at the current rate of propagation, the plant will have seeded the whole of London within hours, and within a week the entire Earth will be infected. Mr Smith also reveals that the Rakweed will put humans into a coma from which they will never awaken. Sarah Jane sees red and black spots on Luke's chest and the Rakweed releases a massive wave of spores that head towards Sarah Jane and Luke. Sarah Jane shouts for Mr Smith to somehow stop them as the Rakweed spores come closer.

Part two
Mr Smith activates at the last moment and, using the cooling mechanism built into his system, diverts the spores towards the fans and away from Sarah Jane and Luke. However, doing this has depleted his energy. To prevent it from creating more spores, Sarah Jane throws the Rakweed into her safe. Mr Smith explains that the Blathereen use the Rakweed as a weapon to destroy anyone who stands in their path, and while Luke is a lot stronger than other humans, being able to resist the effects for longer, he inhaled the spores directly into his lungs. He can stand the spores for longer but not forever.

Meanwhile, Clyde and Rani prepare to begin their exam. Clyde slides the question papers under the table for K9 to analyse and asks for the answers to be relayed to him via the metal earpiece. K9 initially refuses, stating that his order is unethical, but is soon persuaded by Clyde, who says to K9, "You said a test was one human demonstrating intellectual superiority over others. I brought a supercomputer into school, that's pretty smart, wouldn't you say?" K9 considers by flashing his eye light. He finally agrees and Clyde says he wants the answers "short and to the point". In the attic, Mr Smith analyses Luke and determines that they have half an hour before he is completely poisoned, being at 63%, and that he is unable to find an antidote as the spores are constantly adapting; it could take him days to create one himself, and even then it might not work. Clyde is caught cheating when K9 is discovered by the teacher, but everyone is distracted when the Rakweed plants spawn in the classroom, infecting the teacher and creating panic among the students.

Sarah Jane asks Mr Smith to locate the Blathereen using the teleportation co-ordinates she recorded, and learns that they are hiding in Antarctica. In their base, the Blathereen mock Sarah Jane's greed for glory over accepting the Rakweed and gloat over their plan's success. Mr Smith teleports Sarah Jane to the Blathereen base, despite the fact that he only has enough energy for a one-way trip, but Sarah Jane is determined to save her son at any cost. The Blathereen, still gloating aboard their ship, are flabbergasted when Sarah Jane teleports into their midst, packing a six-barreled super-soaker loaded with vinegar and threatening to blast them into oblivion if they so much as move without her consent. Rani learns about the Rakweed's effects after finding some of the students unconscious, and calls Luke, who is now 87% infected and falls unconscious mid-conversation. Sarah bargains with the Blathereen to destroy the Rakweed, but she is tricked and strapped into a chair.

Clyde, Rani and K9 discover that the Rakweed has spread throughout the school grounds and find themselves trapped in the building. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane discovers that the Blathereen are addicted to eating Rakweed, and plan to cover the Earth with it, as it has a high value on the galactic market. They soon reveal their true identities — members of a family descended from both the Slitheen and the Blathereen, known as the Slitheen-Blathereen family, who tend to take after the greedy Slitheen more than the noble Blathereen. Clyde and Rani discover from news reports that the spores are spreading across the whole of London, with the districts of Southall, Perivale, Acton and Chiswick all reporting serious cases. They are nearly infected but then the school bell rings, neutralising the Rakweed spores and some actual Rakweed. Sarah Jane learns that the Rakweed plants somehow rely heavily on communication with each other in order to spread. She breaks out of her restraints and manipulates their teleportation device to return home, only to discover Luke unconscious.

K9 utilises the school bells to defeat the Rakweed within the building. Clyde uses K9 to connect with Mr Smith to send the frequency level required to spread the noise across London (1421.09 Hertz). Mr Smith hacks into every single device that could emit those levels of noise and are within the affected areas, warning Sarah Jane and the kids to brace themselves since it will be very loud. True to his word, everything from microwaves, car alarms and mobile phones go off in a great cacophony of noise, destroying the Rakweed. Luke and the other infected people recover from the deadly spores, and he and Sarah Jane embrace.

Furious at the upsetting of their plans, the Slitheen-Blathereen teleport into the attic and confront Sarah Jane and the gang. Sarah Jane gives them a final chance to simply call it off and leave, but they insist on killing Sarah Jane and the kids, which leaves her with no choice. On Sarah Jane's request, Mr Smith activates the alarm, which initially confuses them since their hearing is not highly sensitive but soon causes the Blathereen's stomachs to move then explode, covering everyone and everything in orange goo. K-9 deems the "disintegration successful" and Sarah Jane explains that the undigested Rakweed in their stomachs reacted to the alarm, creating uncontainable amounts of methane; as Clyde puts it, Leaf and Tree farted themselves to death. Clyde is told to clean up the mess as punishment for cheating on his test, while the others prepare a barbecue.

Later, Clyde walks out, mop in hand and still covered in goop, while the rest of the group has changed into casual, clean clothes, telling Sarah Jane he has finished cleaning. After switching to a fresh outfit and washing up, Clyde joins his friends at the outdoor picnic table for a leisurely meal. During the epilogue, Sarah Jane comments on the possibility that one day some alien races will want to help humanity, the importance of friendship and that "Earth could become a shining example to the entire universe".

Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra
 * Voice of Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson
 * Voice of Leef Blathereen - Miriam Margolyes
 * Voice of Tree Blathereen - Simon Callow
 * Leef Blathereen - Paul Kasey
 * Tree Blathereen - Ruari Mears
 * Chris Slitheen - Jimmy Vee
 * Chris - Calvin Dean
 * Dave - Edward Judge
 * Miss Jerome - Sarah Paul
 * Reporter - Nick Williams

Planets

 * The planets Raxacoricofallapatorius and Clom are mentioned as part of the Raxas Alliance, as are its counterpart planets, Raxacoricovarlonpatorius and Clix.
 * The two Slitheen plan to go to Pakros.

Locations

 * Many people who are infected with the Rakweed spores are brought to the Park Vale Hospital.
 * Rakweed spread over Southall, Ealing, Perivale, Acton and Chiswick.

Objects

 * Sarah Jane uses a dog whistle to call K9.

Species

 * The Rackateen are mentioned by the Blathereen.
 * The Blathereen say that land prawns are a popular delicacy on Clom, which the Raxacoricofallapatorians also enjoy.
 * The Abzorbalovians are part of the four-world Raxas Alliance.

Technology

 * The Slitheen utilise their skin suit disguises and one of them suffers the oft-cited and audible common flaw of gas exchange.

Cultural references from the real world

 * While Luke is getting changed, the song "Everybody in Love" can be heard.
 * Clyde says he should apply for MasterChef after the Blathereen enjoy his cooking.
 * Rani compares Clyde to Jamie Oliver.

Story notes

 * Mickey Smith was originally going to appear in this story as part of UNIT. When Noel Clarke became unavailable, Mickey was dropped from the storyline.
 * The Blathereen and Slitheen both appeared in the book The Monsters Inside. The Gift is the first appearance of the Blathereen in a TV story.
 * K9 is also given an olfactory sensor in this story, thereby granting him the sense of smell.
 * In part two, Clyde asks Rani what Sarah Jane would do. Rani replies, "She'd do what she always does: improvise." This is how the Third Doctor described his own approach to Sarah Jane in The Five Doctors.
 * This story features the first instance where a substance other than vinegar has caused a reaction in a Raxacoricofallapatorian's body that made them explode, ironically methane, a gas they often abundantly produce from poor gas exchange in their skin suit disguises.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 0.95 million viewers, with an AI score of 84. (DWMSE 28)
 * Part 2 - 0.89 million viewers, with an AI score of 87. (DWMSE 28)

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * When the Blathereen are eating dinner there are times where the studio lights reflect in their eyes.
 * At one point, it's obvious that Leef's collar has orange paint on it the same colour as her skin.

DVD releases

 * It was released in the Complete Collection Series 1-5 boxset release (Region 2 release: 6th February 2012).

Continuity

 * K9 activates "Hover Mode" again to exit Sarah's car from atop a seat and lower onto the pavement. He previously used it to cross down a flight of stairs in her house after responding to the alien presence of a Travast Polong. (TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith)
 * Mr Smith and K9's acrimonious relationship returns to the forefront yet again when Mr Smith expresses pleasure at the thought of Clyde taking him to school and away from Sarah Jane's house. Likewise, K9 logically dictates that Mr Smith "interferes with his synaptic circuits," which Clyde sees as the equivalent of getting on his nerves. (TV: The Mad Woman in the Attic, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith)
 * Clyde reminds Rani that the original K9 unit was built in the year 5000. (TV: The Invisible Enemy)
 * Sarah Jane previously visited Antarctica with the Fourth Doctor, (TV: The Seeds of Doom) and in 2006. (AUDIO: Snow Blind)
 * When the Blathereen explodes in the attic covering the team with its remains, Clyde says, "Why does this always happen to me?". (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen, Enemy of the Bane)
 * Sarah Jane's line, "there should have been another way", mirrors the Fifth Doctor's comment after destroying the Silurians and Sea Devils. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)
 * With Mr Smith, Sarah Jane will later make a record of her encounter with the Blathereen and the Rakweed for the Alien Files. (TV: SJAF 4)