The Gift (TV story)

The Gift was the sixth and final story in The Sarah Jane Adventures Series 3.

Synopsis
When the Slitheen's latest scheme is foiled, the Blathereen arrive - can they be trusted? The gang recieve a gift, which could save millions. But, when the gift runs wild Sarah Jane faces the battle of her life to save Luke.

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 compresser that forms a web around the Earth's orbit to squish it into a diamond. However, two orange-skinned Blathereen arrive and teleport the Slitheen onto their ship. They reveal that they hunt Slitheen without profit. They reveal their names as Tree and Leaf 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 where brought to justice, but some escaped into distant planets to gain money. The Blathereen returned to power and started to capture the various Slitheen.

The Blathereen then give Earth a gift the Rakweed. They reveal that it can survive in even the harshest conditions, and would end Earth's famine. With Sarah Jane as their ambassador, the Blathereen could begin an alliance with Earth. Clyde is suspicious. After the Blathereen leave, Mr Smith says that the Rakweed is harmless. Clyde, Rani and Luke have a biology test tomorrow, and with Mr Smith's help, Clyde is able to smuggle K-9 into school.

Whilst getting dressed, Luke can't find his tie and goes into the attic to look for it. The Racweed had mutated and released harmful spores into the atmosphere. Luke accidentally swallows 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 K-9 to help him, and will talk to him through an earpiece

Sarah Jane discovers the Racweed and Mr Smith explains that the plant has mutated and is releasing spores across Earth that will infect humans that may pose as a threat to the Blathereen, and more Racweed has grown outside Sarah Jane's house on Bannerman Road. Mr Smith also reveals that the Racweed will put humans into a coma which they will never awaken from. Sarah Jane sees red and black spots on Luke's chest and the Racweed releases a massive wave of spores that head to Sarah Jane and Luke, and Sarah Jane shouts for Mr Smith to somehow stop them as the Racweed 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 energy from him. 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 meaning that 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 K-9 to analyse and asks for the answers to be relayed to him via the metal earpiece. K-9 initially refuses, stating that his order is inethical, but is soon persuaded by Clyde, who said to K-9 "you said a test was a one Human demonstrating intellectual superority over others, I brought a supercomputer into school, that's pretty smart, wouldn't you say?" K-9 considers by flashing his eye lights, 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. Sarah Jane learns that others have already been infected in the London area. Clyde is caught cheating when K-9 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 their 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 upon 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, armed with a Jet-Powered Water Pistol loaded with vinegar. Rani learn about the Rakweed's effects after finding some of the students unconscious, and calls Luke, who is now infected by 87% and falls unconscious mid-conversation. Sarah Jane bargains with the Blathereen to destroy the Rakweed, but she is tricked and strapped into a chair which they say "cost a fortune!!".

Clyde, Rani and K-9 discover that the Racweed has spread throughout the school grounds and find themselves trapped in the building. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane discovers that the Blathereen are addicted to the Rakweed and plan to repopulate the Earth with it, as it has a high value on the galactic market. It is soon after that they reveal their true form -a cross of the Blathereen and the Slitheen races. Clyde and Rani discover from news reports that the spores are spreading across the whole of London. They are nearly infected when the school bell rings, neutralising the Racweed spores and some actual Racweed. Sarah Jane then learns that the Rakweed plants 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 unconcious.

K-9 utilises the school bells to defeat the Rakweed within the building. Clyde uses K-9 to connect with Mr Smith to send the frequency level required to spread the noise across London (1421.09 Hertz). After setting off every single device that could emmit those levels of noise, Luke and the other infected people recover from the deadlly spores, and he and Sarah Jane embrace. The Slitheen-Blathereen teleport into the attic and confront Sarah Jane and the gang. Mr Smith activates the alarm, which eventually causes the Slitheen-Blathereen to explode, covering everyone and everything in their remains; the undigested Rakweed reacted to the alarm, causing them to "fart themselves to death." As punishment for trying to cheat, Clyde is told to clean up the mess, while the others prepare a barbecue.

During the epilogue, Sarah Jane comments that, "One day, I hope that Earth will be hospitable for other alien races"

Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra
 * Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * Voice of K-9 - John Leeson
 * Blathereen Voice - Miriam Margolyes
 * Blathereen Voice - Simon Callow
 * Leef Blathereen - Paul Kasey
 * Tree Blathereen - Ruari Mears
 * Slitheen Child - Jimmy Vee
 * Chris - Calvin Dean
 * Dave - Edward Judge
 * Miss Jerome - Sarah Paul

Crew

 * Co-Producer - Phil Ford
 * K-9 originally created by - Bob Baker and Dave Martin
 * First Assistant Director - Guy de Glanville
 * 2nd Assistant Director - Sarah Davies
 * 3rd Assistant Director - Wil Cummins
 * Location Manager - Nicky James
 * Production Co-Ordinater - Ceri Hughes
 * Continuity - Nicki Coles
 * Script Editor - Gary Russell
 * Camera Operator - Martin Stephens
 * Focus Pullers- Mani Blaxter Paliwala and Anna James
 * Grip- John Robinson
 * Boom Operator- Kevin Staples
 * Gaffer- Dave Fowler
 * Set Decorator- Joelle Rumbelow
 * Standby Art Director- Jackson Pope
 * Standby Props- Dewi Thomas
 * Graphics- BBC Wales Graphics
 * Costume Supervisor- Barbara Harrington
 * Assistant Editor- Lee Bhogal
 * Post Production Supervisor- Nerys Davies
 * Post Production Co-Ordinator- Marie Brown
 * Colourist- Jon Everett
 * Sound Editors- Matthew Cox and Howard Eaves
 * Dubbing Mixer- Mark Ferda
 * Title Music- Murray Gold
 * Music- Sam Watts
 * Casting Directors- Andy Brierley and Andy Pryor CDG
 * Production Executive- Julie Scott
 * Production Accountant- Dyfed Thomas
 * Sound Recordist- Ray Parker
 * Costume Designer- Stewart Meacham
 * Makeup Designer- Emma Bailey
 * Visual Effects- Craig Higgins
 * Special Effects- Any Effects
 * Prosthetics- Millennium X
 * Editor- Ceres Doyle
 * Production Designer- Arwel Wyn Jones
 * Director of Photography- Mark Waters
 * Production Manager- Steffan Morris

Cultural References

 * While Luke is getting changed Everybody in Love by JLS can be heard.

Story Notes

 * A CBBC literature statement confirmed both the Slitheen and Blathereen would appear in the series.
 * In an interview with Nikki Wilson for SFX she confirmed the Blathereen as appearing in these episode. A series preview by Digital Spy also confirmed the Blathereen as appearing in the Finale
 * The Blathereen and Slitheen both appeared in the book NSA: The Monsters Inside. The Gift is the first appearance of the Blathereen in a TV story.
 * The Slitheen leader referred to the Blathereen in SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen.
 * This episode marks the return of the Slitheen in the Sarah Jane Adventures. They previously appeared in SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen, The Lost Boy, From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love
 * The Blathereen are orange compared to their green cousins.
 * Simon Callow previously played Charles Dickens in DW: The Unquiet Dead

Ratings
to be added

Myths

 * The Judoon will appear. This is a rumour, because in the previous two series the alien from the first episode appeared the the finale.This is not strictly true because it has been the villain from the opening story so the Slitheen in Revenge of the Slitheen in Series One and Kaagh the Sontaran in The Last Sontaran in Series 2. If the pattern of the previous two series were repeated for Series 3 (Which is unlikely because of the appearence of the Slitheen and Blathereen ) then Androvax from Prisoner of the Judoon would have returned but the Judoon could still make an appearence since the Slitheen have previously mentioned the Judoon. On the 30.10.09 a CBBC spokesperson for the show said that the Judoon were spotted by fans with a gun at a slitheen/blathereen in human form, this scene would not have fitted in Prisoner of the Judoon as it took place outside the Pharos Institute. This turned out to be false.
 * It has been rumoured thats someone will die. It is highly rumoured that this person will be Luke. The effects of the Rakweed were resetted and Luke didn't die, nobody else did either, simply this rumour was false.

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * The fact that K-9 is in the back of Sarah-Jane's car at the beginning of the story suggest that all four humans plus K-9 travelled in the car at once. Sarah-Jane's car is a bit small to hold them all.


 * Why did the Blathereen present the Rakweed to Sarah-Jane? They could have planted it anywhere at random and it would have still have done its work. They hoped she would make it public so that it would be helped rather than feared which would of helped their plan better.


 * Why didn't Mr. Smith detect that the Rakweed was dangerous at the first analysis? Mr Smith said that between his first and second analysis, the plant mutated


 * When Chris Slitheen is talking to the other Slitheen, his compression unit lifts up, revealing the edge of where the latex head and fat suit meet.


 * Since the Blathereen aren't actually bounty hunters and weren't sending the Slitheen to Raxacoricofallapatorius to be executed, what happened to the Slitheen?


 * Why do the Blathereen still have their compression collars on when they only appear in their Raxacoricofallapatorian form, and why did Sarah Jane not notice the collars on their necks? The neck braces look different to the Slitheen ones and they are never seen using skinsuits, so most likely the braces have a different or additional functions - like a translator for example.


 * When the Blathereen are eating Rakweed notice that when Sarah is captured they aren't actually eating it.


 * When the Bane created Luke and "gave him" perfect health, why did he fall ill due to the Rakweed?


 * At the end of part one the spores from the Rakweed are alarmingly close to Luke and Sarah at the beginning of part two they are very far away from them. Dramatic Effect.


 * Why did Sarah Jane tell Mr. Smith that Luke was only fifteen? Firstly, given he was created by the Bane perhaps two (in-universe) years previously he's technically not fifteen even if he has the physical appearance of one? Sarah Jane is trying to make Luke seem like a normal teenager so she gave him the Human age of fifteen


 * When the Blathereen are eating dinner there are countless times where in the reflection of their eyes you can see stage lights or lighting systems.


 * Why is Sarah Jane so surprised when Mr Smith vents the Rakweed spores away? Surely she built the computer to house him so she would have built the air vents as well?

Continuity

 * The Blathereen first appeared in NSA: The Monsters Inside.
 * The Slitheen first appeared in DW: Aliens of London / World War Three, and SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen SJA: The Lost Boy and SJA: From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love.

Timeline
to be added