The Vault of Secrets (TV story)

The Vault of Secrets was the second story in the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It featured the return of Androvax and the Alliance of Shades.

Synopsis
When an old enemy, Androvax the Veil, returns to Earth asking for help, the gang face a dilemma — should they trust him? Or does the legendary Vault hold an even greater terror? A second threat arises, when android guardians threaten to destroy anyone who uncovers their secrets. As the battle between Sarah Jane, Androvax and the androids reaches its climax, Rani has to save her mother from being caught in the crossfire. As the Vault opens the destiny of the entire Veil species is at stake. Is it too late to save them?

Part 1
A teenage girl enters an old asylum, and approaches the Vault of Secrets. She trys to access it, but only has one disc and needs two. She is confronted by the Alliance of Shades. She runs, hurts herself and falls over. Androvax, the "destroyer of worlds", exits her body and escapes. The Alliance of Shades (a.k.a. Men in Black) arrive on the scene and scan the unconcsious girl, declaring the Veil is no longer in her.

Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani are in the attic, speaking to Luke on webcam. Mr Smith interferes with a NASA space probe on Mars, as Sarah Jane wishes to prevent the probe discovering an "ancient and deadly civilisation".

Gita and her husband Haresh have joined B.U.R.P.S.S. (British UFO Research and Paranormal Studies Society) due to their prior encounter with the Judoon and Androvax. When the couple return home on Bannerman Road, Gita spots Androvax entering Sarah Jane's front garden.

She gives Haresh a tyre iron and he goes to investigate. He encounters Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde, leaving after speaking with them. Unseen, Androvax enters Rani's body. Sarah Jane scans for alien activity, and realises Rani has been taken over. Sarah Jane and Clyde chase her/him to the attic, and order Mr Smith to contain him after he willingly exits Rani's body. Surprisingly, he asks for Sarah Jane's help.

They learn Androvax is dying. Since they last encountered him, he has escaped a Judoon prison in a swamp. In doing so, he was poisoned by an alien swamp viper. He is dying slowly and intends to free a hundred of his people from cyrogenic sleep in The Vault of Secrets. They are the last survivors of the Veil species aside from Androvax himself. Forty years ago, their ship crashed on Earth, and was sent to the Vault by the Alliance of Shades.

Ocean Waters (the founder of B.U.R.P.S.S.) arrives with Minty to scan for alien activity by picking up Beta particles. Sarah Jane uses her sonic lipstick to deactivate this device.

The three of them go to investigate a mental asylum, where they encounter the base of the Men in Black. They discover Ocean Waters was abducted in 1972 and met the Men in Black. The Men in Black arrive to confront them. They activate their robotic hands. They tell Sarah Jane she must hand over Androvax and their disc or be incinerated.

The gang arrive home, where they agree to let Androvax use Clyde's body. They speak to Ocean and Minty. Ocean has the other disc needed to enter the Vault. She recalls past encounters with the Men in black and Mister Dread. As Androvax grabs the two discs, the Men in Black arrive and tell them they must prepare to be incinerated.

Part 2
The incineration is averted. Androvax escapes and enters Gita's body. Gita leaves to the Vault, and is followed by Mister Dread, Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde. Sarah Jane causes Mister Dread's car to malfunction, so he acquires a new one (which he takes from a civillian by force).

They all arrive at the asylum, where Rani and Clyde rescue Gita. Androvax then leaves and encounters Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane refuses to help him because when the Veil are reawakened and leave Earth, the spaceships will cause Earth to explode, ending the human civilisation. Sarah Jane's body is then taken over by Androvax.

Clyde jumps away from an incineration blast from two Men in Black, and the two men destroy each other. Rani explains to her mother about aliens, and how Sarah Jane, she and Clyde have encountered them. Mister Dread is placed into his capsule and made to sleep. Androvax goes to the Vault, in Sarah Jane's body. When Rani, Clyde and Gita run at the point Androvax wants to open the vault, Androvax pretends to be Sarah. He/she opens to the Vault, revealing many spaceships, much to Gita's surprise. Androvax then leaves Sarah's body, and locks himself inside the Vault, which uses a transmat to make it bigger on the inside. The team awaken Mister Dread, who gives up 450 years of his energy to allow Androvax and his race to leave Earth without harming anybody, by being beamed into space.

Mister Dread is then lacking power, and declares his mission terminated. He erases Gita's memory, who intends to tell the world about their experiences, and Mister Dread then goes to sleep in his capsule.

The team returns home, and Ocean and Minty arrive to ask about the Men in Black. Sarah Jane denies everything and Gita says she doesn't believe in aliens. Minty and Ocean say that the aliens have won again and decide to leave.

Androvax is in outer space, and flies away to find a new world, having saved his species.

Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra
 * Gita Chandra - Mina Anwar
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * Haresh Chandra - Ace Bhatti
 * Androvax - Mark Goldthorp
 * Mister Dread - Angus Wright
 * Ocean Waters - Cheryl Campbell
 * Melvin Minton - David Webber
 * Gill - Sophie Benjamin
 * Van Driver - Perry Blanks

Story notes
to be added

Ratings
Part 1- 731,000

Part 2- 606,00

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Men in Black last appeared in DW: Dreamland.
 * Androvax last appeared in SJA: Prisoner of the Judoon in which Gita saw him and Judoon.
 * Flashback clips used were part of SJA: Prisoner of the Judoon.
 * The Mars pyramid was first seen in DW: Pyramids of Mars.
 * The majority of people deny or don't believe in aliens.
 * Mr. Smith previously used his Containment vortex on Mrs. Wormwood. (SJA: Enemy of the Bane)
 * The last appearance of Androvax in Prisoner of the Judoon linked to Dreamland with his creation of the Roswell spaceship, as does this episode, which features the Men in Black.
 * Consequences of Sarah Jane asking Mr. Dread to erase Gita's memory will be felt in SJAA: Judgement Day.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after SJA: The Nightmare Man.
 * This story takes place before SJA: Death of the Doctor.

DVD releases
to be added

Blu-ray releases
to be added