Line #3 AudioPlay/SarahJaneSmith


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sarahjanesmith.jpeg]]Part of the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' AudioPlay series, ''Sarah Jane Smith'' is, naturally, a spin-off focusing on the Doctor's most popular classic companion. Years after her adventures with the Doctor, with her reporting career in shambles following a botched investigation into a major corporation, Sarah Jane finds herself once again saving the world, this time with the aid of her friend Natalie Redfern and her new acquaintance Josh Townsend.
2
3	While considerably darker in tone than its parent series, the nine-episode audio drama, which ran from 2002-2006, draws regularly on previously-established continuity. The second series ends on a cliffhanger which would never be resolved, as Sarah Jane's return in the revived series of ''Who'' and her subsequent spin-off series meant Big Finish were no longer permitted to use her. Presumably, she got out of it somehow.
4
5	Recaps are listed under [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish Doctor Who]]. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Unrelated to]] ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''.
6
7	-----
8
9	!!!Tropes used in this series include:
10
11	* AncientConspiracy: The Orphans of the Future.
12	* AntiHero: Arguably Sarah Jane herself. She sometimes comes across as a bit of a JerkAss, puts the greater good ahead of her friends' lives, and in "The TAO Connection," she essentially murders the villain of the episode.
13	* AristocratsAreEvil: The Orphans of the Future are almost all aristocrats, and both of its dueling factions are pretty nasty.
14	* BigBad: Miss Winters, an old enemy of Sarah Jane's from her [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot first adventure with the Fourth Doctor]]. [[spoiler:Until she's unceremoniously killed off between seasons.]]
15	* BrownNote: What's actually killing people in [[spoiler:"Ghost Town".]]
16	* BusCrash: [[spoiler:Miss Winters and Harris between season one and two.]]
17	* CallBack: The events of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episodes "Robot" and "The Mask of Mandragora" prove to be very important here, and the series picks up years after the original Sarah Jane spin-off, ''Series/K9AndCompany''.
18	* CreepyHousekeeper: Subverted with Dmitri in "Ghost Town."
19	* DarkerAndEdgier: Than both ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''.
20	%%* DeadpanSnarker: Josh.
21	* DepravedHomosexual: Will Butley in "The TAO Connection."
22	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The entire series, depending on your interpretation of the ending. Was Sarah Jane abducted by aliens, picked up by the TARDIS, or did she simply die alone in space?]]
23	* TheDragon: Harris, to Miss Winters.
24	* {{Expy}} (or SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, depending on how you want to define ''Doctor Who'' canon): Ellie Martin for Samantha "Sam" Jones, a former ''Doctor Who'' companion from BBC Books' Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures range of novels. While still in the planning stages, the intent was to have Sam (who had left the Doctor's company in ''[[Recap/EighthDoctorAdventuresInterferenceBookTwo Interference - Book Two (Hour of the Geek)]]'', which also featured Sarah Jane Smith) be a series regular. Before recording began, however, Big Finish made a decision to distance themselves from BBC Books' continuity, so they swapped out one politically correct environmental protestor for another.
25	* ItGetsEasier: Josh, later in the series. It causes problems in his friendships with both Sarah Jane and Nat.
26	* KickTheDog: What Miss Winters does to [[spoiler:K-9.]]
27	* TheManBehindTheMan: Miss Winters is behind pretty much everything that happens in season one.
28	%%* MissionControl: Nat.
29	%%* TheMole: [[spoiler:Josh.]]
30	* {{Mundanger}}: Several episodes have few, if any, sci-fi elements.
31	* RapidAging: How [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Butley]] finally dies in "The TAO Connection."
32	%%* ScoobyDooHoax: "Ghost Town," complete with LampshadeHanging and a ShoutOut to the TropeNamer.
33	* SinisterMinister: The Squire in "Comeback."
34	%%* SnowMeansDeath: In "Snow Blind."
35	* TookALevelInJerkAss: Sarah Jane herself, after she left the Doctor (see AntiHero above). When she's called on it, she says that she basically ''had'' to in order to make life-or-death decisions for herself and others when the Doctor isn't there to save the day.
36	%%* TownWithADarkSecret: Cloots Coombe in "Comeback."

Context AudioPlay / SarahJaneSmith