"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion". In the episode's respective TARDISODE, Mickey Smith alerts the Doctor and Rose Tyler to a comprehensive school where strange things are happening, such as UFO sightings. At the school, the Doctor encounters his old companion Sarah Jane Smith and the robotic dog, K-9 Mark III, he sent her, who likewise were interested by the current events. Together, they discover the force behind the events, a race known as the Krillitanes, and work to prevent them gaining control of the universe.

The use of the Doctor's previous companions, in particular Sarah Jane and K-9, was first proposed in 2003 to the BBC. After the episode was produced, Elisabeth Sladen was approached by the BBC to star in a spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which also included K-9 in several stories. The episode was positively reviewed, with an Appreciation Index of 85% ("Excellent"), due to Sladen's appearance as Sarah Jane.

Plot

Mr. Finch, the headmaster of Deffry Vale School, has been changing the school to improve the students' performance; his changes include free lunches with special chips. The Doctor, under the alias "John Smith", is undercover as a science teacher in the school and is shocked by the uncommon intelligence of the students. His companion, Rose Tyler, is working undercover in the school's canteen. Both the Doctor and Rose relate the mysterious events around the school to the chips: Rose observes that the chip oil has an adverse effect on the other kitchen staff, while the Doctor notes that the chips themselves are making children more intelligent.

The higher-than-average intelligence of the children has aroused media attention - in particular, the attention of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. While at first the Doctor feigns ignorance, when Sarah Jane discovers the TARDIS during the night, he is forced to admit his identity. Sarah Jane meets Rose and Mickey, much to the chagrin of Rose; they then find thirteen bat-like creatures asleep in Finch's office. Sarah Jane reveals a battered, inactive version of K-9 (pictured above), which - once repaired - identifies the chip oil as Krillitane oil. Rose, who was unaware he had past travelling companions and thought that she had "something special" with the Doctor, confronts him; he replies sadly that, while she can spend the rest of her life with him, he cannot spend the rest of his life with her.

The following day, the group returns to the school to investigate further. The Doctor confronts Mr. Finch, who confirms that he and the others are Krillitanes - a composite species that takes desirable attributes of the species they conquer. He attempts to subvert the Doctor, without success. Meanwhile, Sarah Jane and Rose try to unlock the programming on the school's computers; Mickey and K-9 remain in Sarah Jane's car for surveillance. With the Doctor's help, they discover that the computers - bolstered by the students' enhanced intelligence - are part of a Krillitane effort to solve the "Skasis Paradigm", a theory of everything. As the paradigm is nearly solved - which would allow the Krillitanes full control over time and space - the Krillitanes seal the school. Mr. Finch propositions the Doctor a second time, tempting him with the ability to save the Time Lords and override human mortality. With Sarah Jane's counseling, the Doctor refuses, and they run from Mr. Finch. Mickey crashes Sarah Jane's car through the school's doors and unplugs the computers, allowing the children to flee. The Doctor leads the Krillitanes to the kitchen; upon their arrival, K-9 opens fire on the oil barrels, destroying the Krillitanes, the school, and himself.

At episode's end, Rose, Sarah Jane, Mickey, and the Doctor are standing by the TARDIS. Sarah Jane declines a second chance of travelling in the TARDIS. Mickey says he would like to travel in the TARDIS instead, a suggestion of which Sarah Jane approves. She then asks Rose to stay with the Doctor and - if she needs help - to find her. Sarah Jane then gets a chance to part properly with the Doctor, who leaves her with a brand new K-9 as a parting present.

Continuity

Sarah Jane, when talking about the last time she saw the Doctor, says he left her in Aberdeen (rather than the intended Croydon) at the end of The Hand of Fear. The bragging match between Sarah and Rose also references other stories: Sarah has met the Daleks, "lots of robots", anti-matter monsters, mummies, dinosaurs, and the Loch Ness Monster, whereas Rose has met ghosts, "Slitheen in Downing Street", the Dalek Emperor, gas-masked zombies, and a werewolf. The phrase "Slitheen in Downing Street" was later used in Revenge of the Slitheen by Sarah.

Production

The concept of Sarah and K-9 returning to Doctor Who was an idea of Russell T Davies from pitching the show in 2003. While K-9's return did not survive through production, the return of a previous companion was one of Davies' favourite ideas, and was placed in the second series. Such a use would show what would happen after a companion left the Doctor, without dwelling too much on the classic series. It was Davies' full intention for Sarah Jane to be used for this, and while Sladen originally denied a request thinking her role would not be important, she changed her mind when she realised she would be the focal point of the adventure. After production of the episode was finished, Sladen was approached about a full spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which was formally announced on 14 September 2006.

The episode went through several changes in production: working titles included "Old Friends" and "Black Ops", the latter being set in an army base. Davies requested that Whithouse set it in a school instead, mainly for simplicity, but also for a desire for the Doctor to masquerade as a school teacher. Additionally, the Krillitanes were to be named "Krillians" until the BBC found the name was trademarked, and Finch's forename was originally Hector, until the BBC found a real teacher by the same name, and renamed him Lucas. K-9's lights were intended to flash in sync with his lines, not unlike the Daleks, until Phil Collinson vetoed the idea. A scene that was cut was of Milo's brain being "shorted out" by the Doctor's rapidfire questions at the beginning of the episode, which was later alluded to in the episode.

The episode, originally in the second production block, was produced in the first block along with "The Christmas Invasion" and "New Earth". Two high schools in Wales were used for filming: Fitzalan High School in Leckwith was used on 23 August and 24 August 2005, for filming the first conversation between the Doctor and Finch, and for the playground, kitchen, and cafeteria scenes, and Duffryn High School in Newport, which was used between 25 August and 6 September for the remainder of the episode, with filming delayed due to asbestos being discovered in Duffryn High School's structure. The scenes in the schools utilised dozens of children as extras. Pick-up shots were later completed on 7 September and 8 September, with filming of the cafe scene delayed due to drunk and disorderly conduct from members of the public.

Broadcast and reception

The episode was watched by 8.3 million viewers, the twelfth most-watched programme of the week, with an Appreciation Index score of 85%. Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity gave the episode an A+ rating, and jokingly stated that he "didn't know why the Doctor was fucking around [during the Physics lesson]: he taught Physics at Coal Hill School way back in '63". Ahsan Haque of IGN gave the episode a 8.7 out of 10 ("Great") and commented that the episode had "fantastic character moments" and "brilliant CGI effects", and that "if you're willing to accept the Scooby-Doo storyline, then the strong nostalgic vibes present in this episode should be enough to carry this episode into a must-see category.", and K-9 and Sarah alone made the episode worth watching for fans of the classic series. The episode was subsequently nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, an award that was won by the following episode "The Girl in the Fireplace".

References

External links

• TARDISODE 3
• Episode trailer
• Episode commentary by Phil Collinson, Helen Raynor and Eugene Washington (MP3)
• "School Reunion" episode homepage
• "Doctor Who is reunited with K9"
• BBC Somerset: Interview with Anthony Head
• BBC Norfolk: Interview with Elisabeth Sladen
• Deffry Vale School tie-in website
• The Skasas Paradigm Code (WMV)

Reviews