‘SCHOOL REUNION’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Sarah Jane and K-9 return with the Tenth Doctor, Rose and Mickey
This episode is by Toby Whitehouse. It’s very extra special as it features the return of not one but two classic ‘Doctor Who’ companions. Say hello to Sarah Jane Smith and the loveable robot dog K-9!
This episode was the first time I became aware of ‘Doctor Who’ having a past history. It was great to see a classic companion who was popular from the 1970s and see how she met the Doctor again.
The Doctor and Rose are called back by Mickey Smith to investigate some strange goings-on at Deffry Vale School. It involves the teachers and the kitchen staff who turn out to be the bat-like alien Krillitanes.
As the Doctor, Rose and Mickey investigate, they meet up with an old friend of the Doctor’s, Sarah Jane Smith. She and her dog K-9 have also come to investigate these strange goings-on at the school.
This was the first time that I saw Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. It was lovely to see her and I liked her immediately, hoping to see more of her past adventures in ‘Doctor Who’ from the 1970s.
I liked that first scene where the Doctor met Sarah Jane again. He’s clearly delighted to see her since she was her best friend and I liked it when Sarah Jane gradually realised that he’s the Doctor after all.
Sarah Jane has missed the Doctor terribly since her life didn’t end up the way she had hoped after she left him. She wondered why he never came back for her, but he couldn’t as he had to move on.
Rose Tyler isn’t too happy to see Sarah Jane. She’s shocked and upset that she’s the latest in a long line of companions of the Doctor’s and is afraid of what will happen in the future if she was dumped.
The relationship between Rose and Sarah Jane is interesting. They start being antagonistic towards each other, but soon become friends as they share each other’s experiences of being with the Doctor.
Noel Clarke returns as Mickey Smith. I liked it when he observed the Doctor in an awkward position between Sarah Jane and Rose and he finds it funny. I liked the scenes when he’s with K-9 in the car.
K-9 is back! I loved K-9 instantly when I saw him. K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) is a robot dog of Sarah Jane’s. I liked it when he said “Affirmative!” a lot, and I was upset when he got destroyed in the story.
The monsters are the bat-like Krillitanes. These creatures are pretty terrifying to watch as they feast on human flesh. They’re trying to use the children at the school to break the Skasis Paradigm.
Anthony Head is the main villain as school headmaster Mr Finch. I love Anthony’s performance as the villain, balancing the humour, charm and menace well. His scenes with the Doctor are so superb!
‘School Reunion’ has been a great ‘Doctor Who’ episode to watch. I enjoyed seeing Sarah Jane Smith for the first time as well as seeing K-9. The performances of David Tennant; Billie Piper; Noel Clarke and Elisabeth Sladen are amazing, and I was really getting into the fandom of the series pretty well.
At the end of the episode, Mickey joins the Doctor and Rose for adventures in the TARDIS. Sarah Jane would soon return for her own series without the Doctor called ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’!
The DVD/Blu-ray special features for this episode are as follows. There’s an audio commentary with David Tennant, writer Toby Whitehouse and executive producer Julie Gardner. There’s also the ‘Doctor Who Confidential’ episode ‘Friends Reunited’.
‘School Reunion’ rating – 8/10
| The previous story
For the Tenth Doctor was
For Rose was
For Mickey was
For Sarah Jane was
For K-9 Mk III was |
The next story
For the Tenth Doctor is For Rose is For Mickey is For Sarah Jane is
For K-9 Mk IV is
|
| Return to The Tenth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Rose’s Timeline | |
| Return to Mickey’s Timeline | |
| Return to Sarah Jane’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Timelines of K-9 | |
| Return to The Doctors’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to The Companions’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to Doctor Who Timelines | |
| Return to Doctor Who | |
| Return to Sci-Fi |
Bradley's Basement 
Everytime i watch this one i cry, that ending were the Doctor says goodbye to Sarah & leaves her a new K-9 igets me everytime.
A excellent review of the episode Tim.
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Hi Simon.
Glad you enjoyed my review on ‘School Reunion’. It must have been a thrill for you to see Sarah Jane return to ‘Doctor Who’ and meet the Tenth Doctor along with K-9 in the new series.
Tim. 🙂
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Love this episode, a true nostalgia trip for us older fans but written to appeal to the new audiences too, David’s just awesome in this & ole Billie adds the green eyed monster to Rose who’s jealous of Sarah Jane, Liz Sladen God rest her she’s just magnificent in this episode & I’ll admit i still cry when the Doctor says “goodbye my Sarah Jane” & then the new K-9 appears.
Gets me everytime (sobs).
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I’m pleased the RTD era of ‘Doctor Who’ made the connection to the classic series by getting Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane back as well as K-9. This was the first time I saw Sarah Jane in ‘Doctor Who’ and I’m glad she was written well for her return in the new series.
It’s sad to think Lis Sladen’s no longer with us now. I still enjoy seeing Sarah Jane reunite with the Tenth Doctor. Lis Sladen and David Tennant bounce off each other very well in the episode. I was so pleased to see K-9 resurrected in his new model by the end of the episode too. 😀
Glad you enjoyed this nostalgia trip when you saw it, Simon.
Thanks for your comments.
Tim. 🙂
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I was quite shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Lis. It was when I came home early from work because of a cold and looked up my email updates from DWAS, which I was a member of at the time, and read that we lost her to cancer. Having lost quite a few loved ones to cancer, it’s even sadder for me. Sarah’s original farewell in The Hand Of Fear is one of my most favorite memories from the Hinchcliffe era. It’s wonderful that Lis’ return in School Reunion has paved the way for many classic era companions to return. Thank you, Tim, for your review.
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Hi scifimike,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on ‘School Reunion’ and Elisabeth Sladen. I was hoping to meet people like Nick Courtney, Lis Sladen, Mary Tamm and Caroline John when I started going to conventions back in 2010, so it’s sad it didn’t happen that way. It was nice to see Sarah Jane and K-9 in ‘School Reunion’ and it made me more aware of the show’s long history before the new series happened. I’m pleased more classic companion returns have happened since this episode, including ‘The Power of the Doctor’ and I’m looking forward to how Bonnie Langford as Mel will make her return in the new TV series.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim 🙂
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You’re welcome. David Tennant’s very heartfelt words for Lis made her return to Doctor Who even more special.
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Hi scifimike,
Thanks for sharing the foreword to Lis Sladen’s autobiography by David Tennant. It was lovely to hear the foreword on YouTube again.
Tim 🙂
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