School Reunion (TV story)

Summary
Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 join the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey to investigate sinister events at a modern-day comprehensive school, and take on the evil Krillitanes, a race that takes traits from the races they destroy. (Click here for a more detailed summary)

Cast & Characters

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Mr Finch - Anthony Stewart Head
 * K9 - John Leeson
 * Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
 * Mr Wagner - Eugene Washington
 * Kenny — Joe Pickley
 * Melissa — Lucinda Dryzek
 * Nina — Heather Cameron
 * Luke — Benjamin Smith
 * Milo — Clem Tibber

Crew
To be added.

Influences

 * Davies' first ever T.V. script, Dark Seasons, was set in a school, and featured sinister teachers brainwashing children with computers
 * The Demon Headmaster a series of books and a hit CBBC television series also features a Headteacher who takes control of a school in a similar manner

Ratings
School Reunion - 7.6m viewers (39.8%)

Location Filming

 * The primary location for the school filming was Duffryn High School in Newport

Cultural References

 * Happy slapping - A current fad sweeping Europe in which people are attacked in the street while the incident is filmed on a mobile device
 * Hoodie - A type of clothing often associated with Chavs and criminals by the UK press
 * ASBO - An order made against those who engage in anti social behaviour
 * Ring tone - The noise made by a mobile phone to indicate that someone is calling. The choice of ring tones available has increased dramatically in the last few years
 * The eat more chips poster is in part a reference to Jamie's School Dinners which had a large impact on government policy towards school dinners. This reference is confirmed on the schools own website on which Mr Finch states "We didn't need a TV Chef to tell us what to do in our canteen"

Continuity
When Sarah and Rose argue they refer to a lot of encounters with aliens. Sarah refers to meeting:


 * Mummies (Pyramids of Mars)
 * Lots of robots (Robot, The Sontaran Experiment, and The Android Invasion)
 * Daleks (Death to the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks)
 * Anti-matter monsters (Planet of Evil)
 * Dinosaurs (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
 * The Loch Ness Monster (Terror of the Zygons)

Rose refers to meeting:


 * Ghosts (The Unquiet Dead)
 * The Slitheen (Aliens of London, World War Three, The Monsters Inside and Boom Town)
 * The Dalek Emperor (The Parting of the Ways)
 * A Werewolf (Tooth and Claw)

The Doctor left Sarah on earth in The Hand of Fear and this story is referenced on several occassions. It is revealed that, at the end of The Hand of Fear, Sarah Jane was dropped off in Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, rather than South Croydon in London as was the Fourth Doctor's intention

The Doctor left K9 with Sarah in the spin off series K9 and Company

The Doctor says "Correct-a-mundo", adding "A phrase I have never used before, and will hopefully never use again." In the Tenth Doctor Adventure Feast of the Drowned he used the phrase "Cool-a-mundo", and makes an almost identical comment on it.

Sarah's words in this episode seem to indicate that her experiences in The Five Doctors did not happen, or at least that she does not recall them. This would seem to indicate that the Time Lords wiped the memories of those who participated in these events.

K-9 is rebuilt at the end of the episode as K-9 Mark IV, after being blown up inside the school at the climax of the episode

Sarah encountered the Eighth Doctor and Sam in Interference but given that the time line was in flux at this stage it is conceivable that these events never occurred.

Discontinuity

 * As Mickey leaves K9 in the car, how is he able to get out and come to the rescue?

Story Arcs
Torchwood Arc

More Info

 * Story Synopsis
 * Story Statistics
 * Story in the Media
 * School Reunion TARDISODE
 * Doctor Who Confidential:Friends Reunited
 * Totally Doctor Who Episode 3

Public Releases

 * According to Doctor Who Magazine #366, this episode will be released as a "vanilla" DVD along with Tooth and Claw and The Girl in the Fireplace.