The Man Who Never Was (TV story)

The Man Who Never Was was the third and final story of Series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures and the final story of the series itself.

Part one
Joseph Serf has launched his new SerfBoard, the must-have computer that no one can resist owning. Intrigued, Sarah Jane takes Luke and Sky to investigate what is so compelling about Serf and his business. Meanwhile Clyde and Rani take a SerfBoard to pieces, suspecting alien technology may be the answer. Everyone wants the brand new SerfBoard - and why not? What could be so dangerous about a computer?

Part two
The truth behind Joseph Serf’s company is out – alien Light Sculptors, slaves kept beneath his office building. As Luke and Sky try to find a way to free them and get them home safely, Sarah Jane needs Clyde and Rani to come and help her – and get married along the way…

Part One
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Part Two
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Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer - Daniel Anthony
 * Rani Chandra - Anjli Mohindra
 * Sky Smith - Sinead Michael
 * Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * Harrison - James Dreyfus
 * Joseph Serf - Mark Aiken
 * Adriana Petrescu - Edyta Budnik
 * Lionel Carson - Peter Bowles

Story notes

 * This is the final episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Although three more episodes for the series were planned, production was postponed and later cancelled after Elisabeth Sladen's death from cancer on 19th April 2011.
 * A special epilogue was added to the end of Part 2 following the death of Elisabeth Sladen featuring clips from the series, as well as a brief clip of DW: Journey's End with David Tennant (making this the third on-screen appearance of the Tenth Doctor on The Sarah Jane Adventures). Maria and K-9 also appear in the clips.
 * The character name Joseph Serf may have been inspired by actor Patrick McGoohan, who used this name as a pseudonym while directing episodes of The Prisoner.
 * Maria Jackson & K-9 Mark IV appeared in archive footage.
 * James Dreyfus, who plays Harrison in this story, is known for playing George Monday, the second incarnation of Thermoman in My Hero. His predecessor, Ardal O'Hanlon, played Thomas Kincade Brannigan in Gridlock.

Ratings
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Rumours
It was rumoured that Rani and Clyde would be married in part 2. This was later proven false, however, they did pose as a married couple, and at the end, they were keeping a secret from Sarah Jane, which they said was a "family affair".

Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * When Mr Smith's scan shows the SerfBoard to be benign, Clyde is still fearful, saying that it isn't the first time he has said something was okay but it turned out to be deadly, pointing out the Rakweed. (SJA: The Gift)

DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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