Prisoner of the Judoon (TV story)

Prisoner of the Judoon was the first serial of series 3 of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was written by Phil Ford and directed by Joss Agnew.

Synopsis
Sarah Jane and the gang face the most dangerous day of their lives as the rhino-like Judoon return. When prisoner Androvax the Annihilator crash-lands on Earth, the Veil is set free to turn Earth's technology against itself. His next intended victim is Sarah Jane. As the Judoon fleet approaches Earth, it's a race against time to stop Androvax. With Genetec Systems' technology on the rampage and Rani's parents taken prisoner, can anything stop the Army of the Infinitesimal?

Part 1
Sarah Jane Smith gives an overview of her life and tells how life on Earth is just as exciting as travelling the stars. She goes to interview Mr. Yorke, the head of Genetec Systems, about nanoforms and the threat they might pose if released into the environment along with the fact he is centuries away from proper programming to back his boasts. Yorke takes her questions poorly and has her thrown out. Sarah takes it in stride.

She returns home to find Luke and Clyde playing football. Rani comes over just as a "meteor" crashes onto the Earth. They race inside and Sarah Jane activates Mr Smith, who tells them that the falling object crossed the solar system in forty-five minutes. Sarah says it can't be a meteor. Mr Smith notes the falling object sent a distress signal. His monitor shows Judoon calling for help. He says a life-pod was launched before the ship crashed. Sarah explains the Judoon's job and their dimwitted methods. Mr Smith says UNIT has secured the area. Worried that UNIT will get into a fight with the Judoon, Sarah tells her companions that it's time to move out. As they leave, Gita (once again) causes a delay by asking Sarah if any of her contacts would be interested in her flower shop, "Bloomin' Lovely". Sarah distractedly gives Gita a brochure from Genetec Systems. Gita decides to fill the company's office with plants as a sort of guerrilla marketing and drags Haresh with her.

They soon find the Judoon pilot pursuing his now-escaped prisoner and are nearly hit by stray blast from his weapon. Sarah explains that under the rules of the Shadow Proclamation, Earth barely exists. To make matters worse, the Judoon are brutal and will execute anyone that gets in their way.

In the meantime, the Judoon is knocked out by the escapee with a board, allowing him time to escape his straitjacket and flee. Sarah and the others find the Judoon and move his blaster away. The Judoon awakens, takes out its "language assimilation/cataloguing device" and records Sarah's offering of help and warning not to harm them. Assimilating English, the Judoon says his name is Captain Tybo and his prisoner, Androvax, is the "Destroyer of Worlds".

To prevent Tybo from harming any innocent humans in his zeal to recapture Androvax, Sarah insists on helping his investigations. After hearing a young girl's scream nearby, Sarah and Clyde run to investigate, leaving Luke and Rani to keep Tybo distracted.

They find the girl. They attempt to comfort her and find out where her mother is. However, Sarah's watch begins to beep. She had been scanning the girl, who is not human. Androvax steps out of the girl's body and into Sarah's, then puts Clyde in a trance.

Captain Tybo figures out that Luke and Rani are distracting him; they claim that they weren't lying to him, and that it was just a mistake. He smashes their mobile phones to prevent any more "mistakes". He says Androvax is a Veil life form, capable of possessing others. They find Clyde in the theatre, revive him with a squirt bottle after slapping him proves ineffective, and learn that Androvax has Sarah.

Tybo "commandeers" a police car and they pursue Sarah/Androvax back to Bannerman Road, where she has been talking to Mr Smith. Sarah returns to Genetec Systems, where she talked to Mr York about the nanoforms. Captain Tybo, Rani, Luke and Clyde reach the attic only to discover that Mr Smith has been set to self-destruct in sixty seconds, which will destroy all of Bannerman Road.

Part 2
Captain Tybo is prepared to blast Mr Smith, but Luke stops the countdown by telling Mr Smith that exploding would contradict his purpose of defending and protecting Earth, as the resulting explosion would destroy several city blocks. Mr Smith tells Luke, Rani, Tybo and Clyde where Sarah is — Genetec System Labs. Androvax plans to use the nanoforms to build a spaceship for escape, then allow them to run wild and destroy the Earth. Meanwhile, Gita and Haresh have been arrested by the security guard there, but when Androvax sets off multiple alarms, the guard leaves and they escape. Luke, Rani and Clyde arrive with Tybo. Rani insists they hide when she sees her parents roaming the building. The kids decide to lock the Judoon Captain in a shielded room to prevent him harming Sarah Jane in his zeal to stop Androvax.

More Judoon arrive on the scene, right behind Haresh and Gita. Haresh wants to find out what they're up to, but Gita is more concerned about finding the security guard, who's taken her mobile, and staying alive. The Judoon comment that Gita is more intellegent than Haresh; interfering with their work will warrant termination. In the meantime, Sarah argues with Androvax, but when the kids arrive in the lab, Androvax captures Luke and sets the nanoforms after Clyde and Rani with Sarah's sonic lipstick. They recall that nanoforms will go dormant at low temperatures, and manage to temporarily stun them with a fire extinguisher.

Androvax takes Luke aboard the now-complete space ship. Sarah attempts to take control of her body again. Clyde and Rani also arrive at the ship, which Luke has opened the door of to let them in. Luke steals the ship's power core, insisting they'll let Androvax escape if he releases Sarah Jane. Androvax finally agrees, but the Judoon arrive to arrest him moments later.

The nanoforms, meanwhile, have begun eating the building and Haresh and Gita are trapped inside. Luke uses the spaceship's computer to deactivate the nanoforms. The Judoon leave with their prisoner in the ship. Tybo, taking into account the youngsters' part in stopping Androvax, chooses not to prosecute them for locking him in the room. Instead, he revokes their interplanetary travel rights — despite the fact that Earthlings shouldn't have any — effectively "grounding" them on Earth. Sarah and her team arrive home safe, where Gita and Haresh regale them with the harrowing story of their encounter with aliens.

Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra
 * Voice of Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * Gita Chandra - Mina Anwar
 * Haresh Chandra - Ace Bhatti
 * Captain Tybo - Paul Kasey
 * Androvax - Mark Goldthorp
 * Madison Yorke - Terence Maynard
 * Security Man - Robert Curtis
 * Julie - Scarlett Murphy
 * Voice of the Judoon - Nicholas Briggs

Cultural references from the real world

 * When Tybo commandeers a police SUV but adheres to the speed limit, Rani asks him, "Don't they get Starsky & Hutch repeats in Judoonland?".
 * Gita tells Haresh he's "more of a Jamie Oliver than a James Bond".
 * Clyde mentions Albert Einstein and Star Wars.

Races and species

 * Veil World is the home planet of the Veil.

Objects

 * An ionic fusion bar is the power core of the grey alien ship. It is inside a ionic pulse fusion engine.
 * Judoon lifepods are small space pods.

Other

 * Guerrilla planting is a form of planting, though it is questionably legal.

Story notes

 * Beginning with this episode, Sarah Jane episodes now begin with a brief prologue in which Clyde breaks the fourth wall to explain the characters and concept of the series to viewers. This same footage had previously formed the basis of the cinema trailer for the season. This teaser includes brief scenes from the different stories of the season.
 * Nicholas Briggs, with his performance of the Judoon's voice in this story, became credited on all three BBC-produced Doctor Who-franchise series that were in existence during the Russell T Davies era. However, this was Briggs' only appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
 * Mr Smith mentions a spaceship crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and the Dreamland base in Arizona. This is the first time that plot lines for future episodes have been pre-referenced, as Roswell and Dreamland were involved in an animated serial titled Dreamland that, at the time this episode was broadcast, was in late production stages.

Ratings

 * Part 1 — 0.6 million
 * Part 2 — 0.7 million

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

DVD releases

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

Continuity

 * Rani is concerned about UNIT still being on bad terms with Sarah Jane after her breaking into the Black Archive. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)
 * Rani recalls Gita being kidnapped by Mrs Wormwood. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)
 * Mr Smith reminds the Veil-possessed Sarah Jane that he is a Xylok, indicating he has some knowledge of his alien identity intact after the virus-induced memory deletion, though none of the hostile elements remain. (TV: The Lost Boy)
 * When Mr Smith's self-detonation countdown reaches 22 seconds, his monitor begins to scramble and displays several past analyses, including the Metasaran Galaxy, the planet Sontar, the probic vent of a Sontaran, (TV: The Last Sontaran) the ticket for Spellman's Magical Museum of the Circus, (TV: The Day of the Clown) and a Slitheen family member. (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen)
 * Mr Smith reinstates that his purpose is to "defend the Earth". (TV: The Lost Boy)
 * The ship that Androvax ordered the nano-bugs to create was based on the schematics of a crashed ship re-engineered at the Dreamland base in Arizona. The original ship had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. (TV: Dreamland)
 * Androvax recalls from Sarah Jane's memories that Luke was grown from synthesised DNA as a perfect human being, was part of an alien invasion, and ended up as Sarah Jane's adopted son because of her "meddling". (TV: Invasion of the Bane)
 * With Mr Smith, Luke will later make a record of his encounter with Androvax and the Judoon for the Alien Files. (TV: SJAF 6)