Farewell, Sarah Jane was a short special written by Russell T Davies for the Doctor Who: Lockdown event, airing on the 9th anniversary of Elisabeth Sladen's death. It features appearances from various cast members of The Sarah Jane Adventures and some of the Doctor's companions.
Tropes
- Ambiguous Situation: We're told Sky has "manifested in her human form". We're not told what her other form is. It's possible that her electrical abilities have developed until she became an Energy Being. It's also likely a reference to RTD's planned Series 5 finale, in which Sky was revealed to be the child of the Trickster, and to have a natural appearance similar to his.
- And the Adventure Continues: At the end, Rani tells Mr Smith she believes the Doctor came back for Sarah Jane at the end and took her on further adventures.
- Babies Ever After: Martha and Mickey have a son named August.
- Canon Discontinuity: Zig-zagged. While it's unclear as to how much the special in general is canonical with the rest of the franchise, one part that was contradicted by the series proper was Tegan and Nyssa's relationship, with Tegan's backstory in "The Power of the Doctor" and “The Passenger
” being inconsistent with her being in a relationship with Nyssa, though ultimately a Tales of the TARDIS episode featuring an older Five and Tegan included the latter talking about "(saying) goodnight to Nyssa" in bed, seemingly confirming the pairing. Further conflicts with "Power of the Doctor" also existed as far as Ace and Kate Stewart's roles and familiarity with other characters. - Curb-Stomp Battle: With so many of the Doctor's friends in one place, the battle against the Trickster and the Jackals of the Backwards Clock takes ten minutes, after which they continue with the wake.
- Dying Alone: Sarah Jane ultimately died alone, as the Bannerman gang were all abroad when they heard of her death. It's suggested that she waited until they were gone, as she didn't want to trouble them. It's also implied that they didn't know she was ill given that they "got the news" rather than expected it.
- Evil Is Petty: Sarah Jane is dead, but the Trickster still decides to crash the wake.
- Happily Married: Luke and Sanjay have been married for five years by the time of this story.
- Meaningful Background Event: Luke has a framed photo of himself with Sarah Jane visible when he speaks.
- Noodle Incident:
- Ace and Sarah Jane had an adventure together involving the Diamond Wolf Clan. Whoever they are.
- Ace and the Seventh Doctor were once captured on a prison planet run by giant mechanical prawns, where he mentioned missing Sarah Jane.
- Exactly how Nyssa and Tegan reunite is never explained, given that Tegan was dropped off on Earth in 1984, while Nyssa was last seen on the spaceship Terminus in the 35th century. To say nothing of their adventures in expanded universe media, with Big Finish in particular having left Nyssa stranded in E-Space for many years after a long reunion arc.
- Official Couple: Nyssa and Tegan are confirmed to be one.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The Trickster is shrunken to the size of a doll, locked in a treasure chest and sent to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for the next thousand years.
- Shout-Out: Ace and the Doctor visited a prison planet run by mechanical prawns. Sophie Aldred read the audiobook of Skyward.
- Single Tear: Rani sheds one as she visits the loft for the last time.
