Series 2 (SJA)



The Second Series of The Sarah Jane Adventures featured twelve episodes split among six two-part stories. It was broadcast in the UK in the fall of 2008. The season began with all of the first-season cast (with the exception of John Leeson's K9, who did not appear in any regular episodes). A major cast change occurred following the first two-part story, with Yasmin Paige (Maria Jackson) leaving the series and being replaced by Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra. Despite this, references to Maria, including flashback footage and photos were incorporated into the other stories, with Paige herself returning for a guest appearance in The Mark of the Berserker.

The season was notable for featuring the return of Nicholas Courtney as Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, for the first time (on screen) since the independent film BBV: Downtime in 1995 and for the first time in a BBC production since DW: Battlefield in 1989. UNIT also makes its first on-screen appearance in the spin-off. Returning villains include the Bane, the Trickster and the Graske, and Sontarans appear for the first time in the spin-off in an episode that is a direct sequel to the Doctor Who episodes The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky.

Several months after the season ended, the cast -- including K9 in his only Series 2 appearance -- reunited for From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love, a mini-episode produced for the 2009 Comic Relief Red Nose Day appeal.



Primary Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra (introduced in The Day of the Clown)
 * Mr. Smith - Alexander Armstrong

Secondary Cast

 * Maria Jackson - Yasmin Paige
 * Haresh Chandra - Ace Bhatti (introduced in The Day of the Clown)
 * Gita Chandra - Mina Anwar (introduced in The Day of the Clown)
 * Alan Jackson - Joseph Millson
 * Chrissie Jackson - Juliet Cowan

Guest Cast

 * The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
 * Mrs Wormwood - Samantha Bond
 * Nicholas Skinner - Ronan Vibert
 * Lucy Skinner - Clare Thomas
 * Celeste Rivers - Floella Benjamin
 * Paul Langer - Gary Beadle
 * Carla Langer - Jocelyn Jee Esien
 * Barbara Smith - Rosanna Lavelle
 * Eddie Smith - Christopher Pizzey

Aliens and Enemies

 * Kaagh
 * Pied Piper
 * Martin Trueman
 * Ancient Lights
 * Paul Langer
 * Travist Polong
 * The Trickster
 * Graske
 * Mrs Wormwood
 * Cal Kilburne
 * Bane
 * Slitheen

Novels
To date, two stories have been adapted as novelisations by Penguin Character Books, both published in November 2008. It has not yet been announced whether any other Series 2 episodes will be adapted, although a Series 3 story has been novelised.


 * The Last Sontaran
 * The Day of the Clown

Audiobooks

 * The Time Capsule
 * The Ghost House

International Broadcast
Unlike Series 1, which saw broadcast on BBC Kids in Canada and The Sci-Fi Channel in the US, Series 2 was not immediately broadcast in those regions, resulting in the DVD release (see below) occurring without a prior TV broadcast in North America.

In mid-January 2010, BBC Kids belatedly began airing Series 2, although by this time the digital network had been dropped by one of Canada's major cable service providers.

Home video releases

 * The Complete Second Series (including From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love as a bonus feature accessed by correctly completing a quiz) was released in the UK on 09 November 2009.
 * North American release occurred the next day, 10 November. This marked the first time a complete season of a Doctor Who franchise programme has been released to DVD in North America without first having been viewed on TV.