Eye of the Gorgon (TV story)

Eye of the Gorgon is the title of a story in The Sarah Jane Adventures series. It is the third story of the series, and makes up episodes 3 and 4 of season 1.

Synopsis
After a tip-off from Clyde's grandmother, the team investigate a local nursing home. Stories of visitations by a phantom-like nun abound and soon they find themselves pursued by a spooky order of Sisters who hide a dark secret.

Plot
Sarah Jane and her companions investigate claims of sightings of a ghostly nun at Lavender Lawns, the local nursing home. Meanwhile, Chrissie Jackson moves into her ex-husband's house, but succeeds only in causing further problems with the family. Back at Lavender Lawns, an old lady gives Luke an ancient talisman, which is really the key to a portal in space and time. They find that a group of nuns are hiding an age-old creature, the Gorgon. When Sarah Jane refuses to give the talisman to the nuns, they kidnap Luke and Clyde and take the Gorgon and Maria to Sarah Jane's house where the Gorgon turns Maria's father to stone.

Having got what they came for, the nuns and Gorgon leave. Luke and Clyde escape from their entrapment via a secret passage. Mr Smith tells Maria and Sarah that Alan is retrievable until 16:00. Luke and Clyde see the Gorgon stumble, but are unable to prevent the talisman beginning the process of joining the Gorgon Homeworld with Earth. The Gorgon - a parasite inside the Abbess - chooses Sarah Jane as its next host. Chatting with Bea reveals to Maria that the talisman can revert those turned to stone. Clyde distracts the nuns long enough that Luke grabs the talisman, disconnecting the portal. However, Sarah Jane and both boys are recaptured and locked in another room, though Sarah Jane is soon taken and tied next to the portal. Luke and Clyde escape again and join Sarah Jane just as the Gorgon begins to transfer itself, but Maria arrives and uses a mirror to revert the transfer and turn the Gorgon - and Abbess - to stone, freeing the nuns of mind-control. Maria disconnects the talisman and the portal shuts down forever. The talisman brings Alan back to flesh-and-blood and Chrissie leaves, reuniting with Ivan.

Cast

 * Sarah Jane Smith — Elisabeth Sladen
 * Maria Jackson — Yasmin Paige
 * Luke — Tommy Knight
 * Clyde Langer — Daniel Anthony
 * Alan Jackson — Joseph Millson
 * Chrissie Jackson — Juliet Cowan
 * Mr Smith — Alexander Armstrong
 * Bea Nelson-Stanley — Phyllida Law
 * Sister Helena — Beth Goddard
 * Mrs Gribbins - Sarah Crowden
 * Mrs Randall — Doreen Mantle
 * The Abbess — Audrey Ardington
 * Nun - Cheryl Rowlands

Production crew

 * Writer - Phil Ford
 * Director - Alice Troughton
 * 1st Assistant Director - Gareth Williams
 * 2nd Assistant Director - Anna Evans
 * 3rd Assistant Director - Sarah Davies
 * Exectutive Producers - Phil Collinson, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
 * Producer - Matthew Bouch

Cultural References

 * Chrissie Jackson calls Sarah Jane a "bunny-boiler", a reference to the 1987 film Fatal Attraction.

Story notes

 * Both episodes aired on the CBBC channel, and were broadcast on BBC 1 a week later.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 365,000 (CBBC)
 * 1.1 million (BBC 1)
 * Episode 2- 411,000 (CBBC)
 * 1.0 million (BBC 1)

Myths
To be added

Location filming
To be added

Continuity

 * Sarah Jane met the Sontarans in The Time Warrior and The Sontaran Experiment.
 * The Gorgon uses what looks like to be Petrifold Regression on Alan Jackson, which was last seen in New Earth.
 * The Gorgons may be a reference to the Series 4 finale of Doctor Who, Journey's End, in which the Doctor and his companions encounter the Medusa Cascade. One of the Gorgons of Greek Mythology is Medusa.
 * The building used as Lavender Lawns is the same building used as the hotel in Turn Left

Discontinuity

 * If Bea remembers the Gorgon turning her to stone, why did Alan not? She could have been told afterwards.
 * Sarah Jane's house number should be 13 but in these to episodes the door number is 21

DVD, video, and audio releases
This was to be released on a vanilla DVD along with Revenge of the Slitheen on 17 March 2008, until the release was cancelled. It will feature on the Series One boxset, due for release on 10 November 2008.

Novelisation

 * ''Main article: Eye of the Gorgon (novelisation)


 * A novelisation was released on 1 November 2007, written by Phil Ford.