Behind The Scenes

Sarah Jane Smith (with Graske version)

The Krillitane was a last minute addition to the story as the monster that Joseph sees. It needed to be something that Sarah Jane would recognise and since they've yet to be used on the AFT, they fitted the bill perfectly.

This episode was posted on 23 October 2008 as the third story in the ongoing Ingrid Fox arc.

Arcs and ongoing storylines now have their own page so you can catch up with anything you've missed and see how it all slots together.

K-9

Joseph Kellerman - Dr Constantine

Mr Davis - James Lester (Primeval)

Ingrid Fox- Helen Cutter Custom (Primeval)

Creature - Grey Krillitane

original storyline

Sarah Jane is investigating an alien artefact hidden in a derelict building and gets info on the building from Abby. This piques Abby's interest and the girl follows Sarah Jane into danger at the building. The danger was to be either a nest of Hoixes or later Zygons. Either way, Sarah Jane gets them out of trouble and sends Abby away warning her to forget what she's seen. But while Sarah Jane goes back to deal with the aliens, Abby is undeterred and investigates further discovering the building is owned by Ingrid Fox. Now Fox intervenes revealing that Sarah Jane has been 'retconned' to forget their previous encounters. In order to keep her identity secret, Ingrid kills Abby. The next thing we see is Ingrid knocking on Sarah Jane's door- something now held back for the next episode.

The main thrust of this adventure was to show how Ingrid Fox's plan is moving forward behind Sarah Jane's back. The details revealed by Mr Smith were retained from the original storyline but the story itself has been drastically rewritten. The original story involved Sarah Jane's friend from The Year That Never Was 'played by' Abby from Primeval. (see right)

I struggled with this story but ultimately decided to go with something completely different. Having Ingrid kill Abby was entirely in keeping with the character but doesn't suit the ethos of the Sarah Jane Adventures so had to be removed.


The story was shot entirely on 19th October 2008 using mostly standard sets. Kellerman's lab is Torchwood's hub dressed with the 'Satan Pit' inspired console and the UNIT work bench and computer. The wood panelled corridor and Davis' office are the same set redressed. The exterior of the Runciman Institute is the only new wall created for the story.

In the complete absence of Sarah Jane's car, she and K-9 were photoshopped into pictures of one.

This episode was edited between 21 and 23 October.
One major change at the last minute was to remove the final frames of the story making Fox's motivations a little more ambiguous and ultimately threatening.

In the original it's made clear exactly what information she needs from Mr Smith, something that is picked up in the next episode. But more on that next time...
		Another reason to do this is to remove a prop that was inadvertently used twice. The same prop appears in this month's Doctor Who ep but for an entirely different purpose. Oh dear indeed.

The Runciman Institute building is actually a place called Buckland Hall in Wales.

Dating on this story (as with the previous story) is still dependent on whether we get figures of Luke and his friends.

The 'Axiom Incident' of 1980 is an as yet unwritten Doctor Who story featuring the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane. It's likely that the 'Magenta Campaign' of 1993 is also a Doctor Who story but less has been decided on that one. For now...

The next chapter in this arc is INTO THE TRAP.