The Mad Woman in the Attic (TV story)

The Mad Woman in the Attic was the second story of Series 3 of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Synopsis
The year is 2059. In the derelict attic of 13 Bannerman Road, an elderly Rani Chandra tells the story of the day she met the alien Eve and her life went wrong...

Part one
In the year 2059, a boy called Adam walks inside the dark, mysterious 13 Bannerman Road. It is no longer occupied by Sarah Jane Smith, but by a self-described "mad old woman," Rani Chandra. Mr Smith has long since broken down and the whole house seems to be deteriorating. Rani herself is unkempt and unwell. She lingers over old photographs and drawings as she tells Adam how she came to be in this sorry state...

In 2009, Rani is intrigued by reports of strange lights. She goes to Sarah Jane to discuss them. Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde are laughing about Maria Jackson, who is now hiding aliens from the American government. Sarah Jane says the strange lights were just lightning; Mr Smith has already checked up on them. Hurt by Sarah Jane's dismissive attitude, Rani returns home to sulk and finds an e-mail from Sam Lloyd, her best friend before she moved to Ealing. Sam is an orphan who lost contact with Rani, even though she confided in him about her adventures with Sarah Jane.

Rani visits Sam, who tells her that there is a "demon" in a closed funfair and people have disappeared. Rani goes in to investigate, but Sam returns to the orphanage. Rani finds the caretaker, Harry, and pretends she has a twisted ankle to get into his office. There, she hears a voice say, "Playtime has begun". She witnesses the people who disappeared walk from the haunted house and begin playing on the rides; all of their eyes have turned red and they smile fixedly. The rides seem to operate themselves. While Rani observes the people on the rides, Harry is contacted by a red face in his mirror. The voice says, "Playtime is over", and the people return to the haunted house.

Rani makes her way into the haunted house and discovers a red-skinned alien called Eve. Eve is a child and the two talk. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane tries to call Rani, who mutters to herself that she wishes they'd just leave her alone. Eve says her race can allow people to see their pasts and futures, as well as manipulate timelines. They were killed off in a conflict between two other races — most likely the Last Great Time War. Eve's parents placed her in a ship that crashed on Earth. Harry found her and has raised her ever since, hidden in the fair.

Eve says the people she has possessed are her friends. She is not allowed outdoors because of her inhuman appearance. Eve asks Rani if she wants to see her future. Rani sees herself old and insane. She denies violently that such a thing could happen to her and decides to help Eve escape.

Part two
Clyde investigates Rani's disappearance and finds Sam's e-mail. Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde go to the orphanage, where Sam tells them where Rani is. Sarah Jane and Clyde leave to find Rani, while Luke stays behind with Sam, who says Eve saw Rani in his mind and wanted to meet her. The red face appears in a mirror.

Sarah Jane and Clyde find Harry. They also see the face in the mirror. The face scans Sarah Jane's mind and shows her past and a glimpse of her future: the Doctor's TARDIS in her attic. Sam captures Luke and the face does the same for him, showing him as a university graduate. Sarah Jane runs outside and Clyde follows. The face exclaims they need "the darkness"; it is their future.

Sarah Jane and Clyde go to find Eve, who is escaping with Rani. Though they argue, Rani insists on taking Eve outside. Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, Luke brings a couple of mugs into Sam's room, but discovers Sam gone. He goes to the computer and sees a note that says that it wasn't Eve that wanted Rani.

Eve is thrilled to see the outside world, but soon her ability to manipulate people and rides goes out of control; she sends her "friends" out for "playtime" and the rides spin wildly. When Rani gets angry at her and storms off, Eve possesses her too, causing her eyes to turn red. Sam arrives at the funfair. Eve says Rani was scared of the future and growing old, but now she will be young forever. Eve doubles over in pain, energy flashing between the rides and her body. Sarah Jane tells her she has to let the people go, but Eve tells her she doesn't know how.

Sarah Jane and Clyde go back inside to consult the face in the mirror. The face identifies itself as Ship, the computer system that drives Eve's ship, programmed to protect Eve until she is fully grown. Ship says Eve is dying. She is too young to control her powers and must be brought back to Ship for treatment.

Harry makes the homeless people and Rani sit while Sarah Jane, Sam and Clyde go to the beach to locate Ship and get Eve on board. Ship absorbs Eve's excess energy, saving her life and returning Rani and the others to themselves. Rani and Harry run to the beach and also board Ship. Eve invites Sam and Harry to travel the stars with her. As the only thing that can power Ship is a black hole, Sarah Jane asks K9 to fetch one, which allows him to come home for good. As soon as K9 teleports back home, Mr. Smith enquires if he will be staying permanently. "Affirmative," K9 replies. "Oh, good," Mr. Smith exclaims in a resigned tone.

As Rani and her friends prepare to leave, Ship stops her and offers to grant Rani a wish. As she had said she wished Clyde, Luke and Sarah Jane would leave her alone, Ship erases them from existence; before Rani can ask for them back, Ship leaves, taking Eve, Sam and Harry.

In 2059, Rani has finished her tale. Adam tells her he's not from across the road; his mum sent him. Rani is confused. Adam's eyes glow red. He is the son of Eve and Sam. He explains that Ship was damaged and she got it wrong. He has come here to grant her a wish. She wishes Ship never took her friends away and Adam corrects it.

The scene on the ship repeats, but this time, Ship keeps quiet and doesn't erase anyone. Ship takes off happily with Eve, Sam and Harry, onwards to more adventure. Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde are joined by Luke and find K9 at Sarah Jane's house when they return. Sarah Jane takes a photo of Rani, Luke, Clyde and K9.

In 2059, Rani is now living a very different life. She still lives in Bannerman Road, but is healthy and sane. The house is clean and well-lit. Her three grandchildren rush into the attic to hug her, followed by their father, Shuresh, who asks her how her trip to Washington, D.C. was. She says it was great and she and Luke got to catch up with Maria. The photo of Rani with Luke, Clyde and K9 is on a shelf.

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
 * Eve - Eleanor Tomlinson
 * Older Rani - Souad Faress
 * Harry Sowersby - Brian Miller
 * Adam Lloyd - Gregg Sulkin
 * Samuel Lloyd - Toby Parkes
 * Shuresh - Jai Rajani
 * Ship - Kate Fleetwood
 * Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee (uncredited, stock footage)
 * Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker (uncredited, stock footage)
 * Tenth Doctor - David Tennant (uncredited, stock footage)

Species

 * Sarah Jane references the Terrible Zodin while talking to Luke and Clyde. This is a continuation of a running joke — Zodin is always referenced but never seen — dating back to DW: The Five Doctors. Although various Doctors and companions have claimed to have encountered her, this is the first time Sarah Jane had made such a claim.
 * Eve refers to her race being targeted by both sides in a war and many being "exterminated" because of their ability to read the "Timelines". This is presumably a reference to the Last Great Time War and the two races were the Time Lords and the Daleks.
 * 'Older Rani' talks about the time before people became truly aware of aliens. Cybermen and Daleks are mentioned in a likely reference to either the Battle of Canary Wharf or the events of DW: The Stolen Earth.

Individuals

 * Many references are made to Maria Jackson, and Rani's fears of being compared to her. This is also touched upon by Mrs Wormwood in SJA: Enemy of the Bane.
 * The Doctor is seen, and mentioned by Ship.

Culture

 * In the fun park, there are pictures of many characters from other shows, as well as logos. Some of them are Mickey Mouse, Pluto and the Warner Bros. logo (likely caught on camera unintentionally).
 * Eve and her son's name are a biblical reference to the first humans, Adam and Eve.
 * Rani mentions to Sam that he ignored her on Facebook.
 * Rani has a poster of Zac Efron on her bedroom wall. Eve mentions him when she is reading Rani's mind.
 * The fun park is closed due to the economic slowdown of the late 2000s. This is one of the few Doctor Who-franchise stories to make direct reference to this current event.

Story notes

 * Harry was played by Brian Miller, Elisabeth Sladen's husband. Miller previously appeared in Doctor Who as Dugdale in DW: Snakedance, and provided Dalek Voices in DW: Resurrection of the Daleks and DW: Remembrance of the Daleks. Furthermore, he played Abbotly in BFSJS: Ghost Town (also alongside his wife) and would later play Surgeon-Master Rexus in BFG: Reborn. Their daughter Sadie Miller played Natalie Redfern in the Sarah Jane Smith audio series.
 * The fact that Rani mentions the Daleks and Cybermen being part of the reason people are very aware of aliens may hint that the government ended its cover-up story at some point following the events of DW: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End.
 * Several clips from the classic era are shown when Sarah Jane's mind is read, including DW: The Five Doctors, The Hand of Fear and The Time Warrior, as well as footage of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. This marks the first time footage from the classic series had appeared on one of the spin-off series, though the first overall "revival era" story to use such clips was DW: The Next Doctor. A line of dialogue is spoken by Baker in his flashback, making him the first classic-series Doctor other than Peter Davison to actually be heard in any of the revival series.
 * This is the only episode of the series to not have an actual villain per se, as neither Eve nor Ship are depicted as having ill-intent, despite their actions.
 * The Gravitron is never mentioned, but it was up and running by 2059 (per DW: The Moonbase). The opening shot of part 1 makes it clear that the Moonbase did not bother preventing run-of-the-mill thunderstorms.
 * This episode foreshadows Luke leaving for university in the premier story of the next series, and the events of the next story, SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

Ratings
to be added

Myths

 * Since Eve spoke about playing games in the trailer, some people thought she was related to the Celestial Toymaker or the Isolus.
 * People thought another fairytale creature might be shown (such as the Pied Piper or Gorgon) because that was the normal format.
 * People thought Sarah Jane would be classified as mad and Luke will have to live in a home.
 * The Trickster could have been involved as he constantly tries to remove Sarah Jane from time.

Filming locations

 * Barry Island

Production errors
''However, this might not be an error, because it was implied by The Five Companions, that the Time scoop caused Sarah Jane to lose her memory of the events. Therefore, Ship's interference in Sarah's mind could've just uncovered her lost memory.''
 * Luke first says Maria is "helping the government hide aliens" — when this scene is replayed by Eve, he says Maria is "helping aliens hide from the government". (The latter is probably the right version of the line.)
 * When Eve scans Rani's mind, a Gorgon appears. However, the Gorgon appeared in series 1, whereas Rani appeared in series 2. There are also clips of the Star Poet Maria saw in Sarah Jane's yard. You can even see part of Maria in the clips. Rani is also able to 'remember' Sarah Jane's encounter with the Trickster, again in Series 1.
 * Clips from DW: The Five Doctors are shown but Sarah Jane was supposed to have forgotten about that adventure.

Continuity

 * Images of the Bane, Slitheen, the Trickster, Captain Tybo and Kaagh are seen when Eve views Rani's thoughts.
 * Visions of Sarah Jane's past include clips from DW: The Time Warrior (her first story), DW: Planet of the Spiders, DW: The Hand of Fear (her last regular classic story), DW: The Five Doctors, DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End.
 * Clips from SJA: Invasion of the Bane, SJA: The Day of the Clown, SJA: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith and the next story SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith appear.
 * K9 appears for the first time since SJA: From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love. This marks his first appearance in Series Three.
 * The Daleks and Cybermen are mentioned. They came into common Earth knowledge during the events of DW: Doomsday. The Daleks also appear in a flashback of DW: The Stolen Earth.
 * Eve mentions her backstory, including two races who were at war who attacked her people, even though they remained neutral. She also mentions escaping "extermination." It is likely that she was actually referring to the Last Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks. Eve also reveals that her people can read the timelines and that's why they were targeted in the war, which is further evidence that it was part of the Last Great Time War.
 * Some time after this adventure, Rani is shown to have full knowledge of the alternate timeline surrounding her future self and its correction by Adam Lloyd. (SJAF: Sarah Jane's Alien Files episode 2) Whether Rani directly remembers the events herself or re-learned of them later by other means is not known.
 * Mr. Smith has a mirror on him in Rani's parallel world. He previously had a mirror in (SJA: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?

For Sarah Jane and her gang

 * This story takes place after SJA: Prisoner of the Judoon.
 * This story takes place before SJA: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

For the older Rani

 * This story takes place after SJA: The Man Who Never Was