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Story: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
Year: 2010
Written by: Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
Directed by: Joss Agnew

Synopsis: Sarah Jane, Rani and Clyde rush to the site of a meteor crash to neutralise a harmful substance there, but when they get there, someone else has already done the job, a mysterious woman who dresses and acts a bit like Sarah Jane, but refuses to talk to them.

Back on Bannerman Road, they realise that she is the new neighbour, recently moved in down the street. Going to her house, they find out that her name is Ruby White and that she considers them amateurs when it comes to dealing with alien threats. Shocked by her rudeness and unwillingness to cooperate, they decide to leave her alone for the time being.

Recently Sarah Jane has been a little absent-minded, but things come to a head when she forgets that Luke isn't home and hurries to make his tea. She is upset, and Rani comforts her, but they are interrupted by an invasion by the Dark Horde. They intercept the ships nearby, but Sarah forgets the sonic lipstick, which she needed to defeat them. Luckily, Ruby turns up and saves them, sending the Horde packing. Realising that they know what they're doing, she offers to be friends after all.

Sarah is happy to have a grown-up friend for once, and Clyde and Rani like Ruby too. As the days pass, they spend a lot of time together, but Sarah is distracted as her memory deteriorates further.

She asks Mr Smith to give her a medi-scan, and he detects evidence of deterioration of brain tissue, cognitive dysfunction and impaired reaction times. Sadly, he informs Sarah Jane that she is very ill indeed and there is nothing to be done, and in her present state she should not be allowed responsibility over the lives of others.

Miserable and confused, Sarah asks Ruby to take over her role protecting the Earth. Ruby accepts, and Sarah gives everything to her – including the sonic lipstick, the attic and control of Mr Smith. With this done, Ruby gleefully reveals that she is in fact a creature called a Katesh – a species who feed on life force and thrive on the most exciting lives. She has already begun to drain Sarah, causing her memory problems.

Ruby's human form is only her mouth – her stomach, which absorbs the life force, resides in the cellar of her house, and she intends to leave Sarah there while she carries out her plan – she will use Sarah's technology and resources to bring more alien invasions to Earth, causing lots of excitement and fear on which she can feed.

Back in the attic, Ruby shows Clyde and Rani a faked goodbye message from Sarah. Clyde, reminded of his father's abandonment of him, is upset and takes it out on Rani, who runs home in tears. Gita comforts Rani and assures her that Sarah Jane would never, ever leave without so much as saying goodbye to Luke, and that there must be something else going on.

Meanwhile, Mr Smith tries to warn Clyde about Ruby, but she finds out and takes Clyde somewhere out of the way – the tiny space ship that was her prison until recently. Her appetite was too much for her people and they incarcerated her alone with only a games console for company, which she modified and now uses as her own portable super computer, Mr White.

Luke, having rushed back the moment Clyde left him a message explaining the situation, finds Rani, and with the help of K9, via a remote link to Luke's uni room, they work out that Ruby has deceived them, figure out where Clyde is and come up with a plan to retrieve him.

Clyde returns safely, and he and Rani discover where Sarah Jane is being kept and hurry there, with Ruby on their tail.

She arrives and threatens to absorb them all, but Luke sets up holographic meteors across the world to provoke strong feelings of fear from everyone, to overload Ruby and destroy her stomach.

With Ruby rendered harmless, Sarah's life force returns to her in full. She sends Ruby back to the prison ship, where her people intended her to be. Furious, Ruby swears to someday get her revenge.

Sarah isn't worried though, as she and the team go out on a well-earned night off.

Sarah Moments:

* Sarah worries that she is getting too old and forgetful to continue her work – she forgets the Doctor's name for a moment!
* She is excited to make a new grown-up friend

* Trapped in the cellar, she has faith that Clyde, Rani and Luke will save her

Capture, Rescue and Mortal Peril:

* Ruby saves the gang from the Horde, supposedly
* Luke, Rani and K9 save Clyde from suffocating
* Ruby tries to drain Sarah Jane's life energy, the kids save her

Quotes:

* 'She's exactly like you!' - Clyde to Sarah Jane, on Ruby
* 'You followed me?' 'We only live over there!' - An indignant Ruby, and Rani
* 'This area – they call it the Ealing Triangle.' - Ruby, explaining that the strange events in Ealing haven't gone unnoticed
* 'It's over – I'm over. My story is finished.' - Sarah Jane (sob!)
* 'What are you?' 'I am Katesh. My race devours the excitement and excesses of life. The adventures, the terrors, the thrills. That's why I came for you. Yours is the most exciting life on the planet!' - Sarah Jane and Ruby
* 'Sarah Jane... I underestimated you.' 'No, you know me inside out. I knew I could rely on Luke, Rani and Clyde – I can always rely on them.' - Ruby and Sarah
* 'So, I take it that the combined efforts of myself and K9 were satisfactory?' 'You called him K9!' 'He's not so bad after all. I've met worse.' 'It is an equitable arrangement.' 'Get a room, boys!' - Mr Smith, Sarah, K9 and Clyde
* 'All of you saved me. Every single one of you played a part. Thank you. But don't think you're having an easy ride. We've got a planet to proetct.' 'You sure you're up to it?' 'Oh, Clyde – with a team like this, yeah, I think I can go on forever.' - Sarah and Clyde – yaaaay!

Wardrobe Appreciation

Essentially, this story is a greatest hits compilation of Sarah's recent outfits, including all the best waistcoats, jackets and reading glasses: