Two Trailers For SARAH JANE ADVENTURES Upcoming Episode "Death Of The Doctor"

  

Here are two more trailers for the upcoming Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor".  This series is aimed primarily at children, unlike its parent series, which is targeted at entire families.  This particular episode will be noteworthy for a few reasons. It will feature former companion Sarah Jane Smith's first meeting with the new Eleventh Doctor, who will be written by former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies for the first time.  Davies ran the show during the Ninth and Tenth Doctor years, so it will be interesting to see how he handles Matt Smith's character.  It will also see the return of Jo Grant, a companion of the Third Doctor, as well as the Eleventh Doctor's first onscreen dealings with UNIT. 

And one significant plot point will be buried in this story:  a throwaway line will establish that the Doctor will not be held to the long held limit of twelve regenerations.  He will mention to one of the children that he can regenerate as many times as he wants:

"Fans have always thought that the 13th doctor would be the last, thanks to a 1976 Doctor Who episode, The Deadly Assassin, featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor in his fourth incarnation, and revealing for the first time the regeneration limit. But a passing comment in a children's television programme later this month is set to rewrite history and cast the Doctor, iconic hero of the world's most successful and longest-running science fiction series, as immortal.

The moment comes in the CBBC spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which stars former companion Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Matt Smith, who plays the current Doctor Who, guest stars in a two-part episode called The Death of the Doctor, to be screened on October 25 and 26. While the Doctor and Clyde Langer, played by Daniel Anthony, are in the process of outwitting spooky vulture undertakers the Shansheeth, Clyde asks how many times he can regenerate. The Doctor indicates that there is no limit. The action continues.

Fans of the show have been expecting an official moving of the goalposts for some time, but it was anticipated as part of the Christmas special, rather than in an after-school slot on the CBBC channel.

Back in 1976, 12 regenerations must have felt like a safely distant number to pluck from the ether. Now, however, with Smith playing the character in his 11th incarnation, circumventing the rule has begun to feel rather urgent. As JK Rowling hinted last week, once a hero has conquered the world, it is hard to put him away for good: we may also see an extension to the seven-book Harry Potter franchise, despite its very final ending and Nineteen Years Later epilogue."

Also of note is the fact that this will be the first onscreen appearance of the Eleventh Doctor's slightly tweaked outfit that will be appearing in the sixth series of his program.  Not too major an overhaul--a new shirt and what appears to be a slightly different tweed jacket.  I notice these details because I spend an embarrassing amount of time studying these details between set photos and action figures from the series.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. The two trailers are embedded below.  The episodes air in the UK October 25 and 26.