The most famous painting in the world is the Mona Lisa, which was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503. The portrait hangs in the Louvre gallery in Paris in real life and in the Doctor Who fictional universe (Whoniverse). However, the words ‘this is a fake’ can be seen by using UV light on the painting. This is because the Fourth Doctor went back in time and convinced Leonardo to paint copies of the Mona Lisa with the words ‘this is a fake’ that he wrote in pen underneath on the canvases. The Doctor did this to prevent an evil villain called Count Scarlioni from selling on the paintings in Paris, 1979 in order to fund time travel experiments (City of Death). Count Scarlioni was actually an alien called Scaroth in disguise and he wanted to go back in time and prevent his earlier self from taking off in his spaceship, which explodes and triggers life on Earth. The Doctor and Romana realised that Scaroth therefore had to be stopped at all costs! Little did the Doctor realise that there was an extraterrestrial element to the paint that Leonardo used… the real Mona Lisa painting is alive! Sarah-Jane Smith, her son Luke and his friends Clyde and Rani had to defeat Mona Lisa when she was brought to the UK National Gallery in London during The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa’s Revenge.

City of Death

★★★★★

TX: 29/09/1979 – 20/10/1979

Written by David Agnew (pseudonym for David Fisher, Douglas Adams and Graham Williams)    

Directed by Michael Hayes

The Fourth Doctor and Romana are on holiday in Paris, 1979. They visit the Louvre Gallery to look at the Mona Lisa. Whilst in Paris, the two experience time movements as a result of a crack in time. They also meet a violent investigator called Duggan. The Doctor and Romana find that an evil Count Scarlioni is stealing priceless works of art in order to finance experiments in time travel and his next target is the Mona Lisa! The Doctor travels back in time to Florence in 1505, where he leaves a note for Leonardo da Vinci telling him to paint copies of the Mona Lisa over the canvases with the words ‘this is a fake’ that he scrawled over in pen. The Doctor is captured by a man who is identical to Scarlioni. Scarlioni reveals that he is actually an alien called Scaroth, the last of the Jagaroth. Scaroth tried to take off from primordial Earth, but his spaceship exploded which triggered life on Earth in the first place and splintered Scaroth into twelve segments throughout time. The various splinters of Scaroth have accelerated human development so that Count Scarlioni in Paris, 1979 can achieve access to time manipulation. Scarlioni plans to roll back time around him and return to the moment his spaceship took off and prevent his younger self from taking off. Scarlioni demonstrates this by killing Professor Kerensky by accelerating time around him. Sadly, I never had the pleasure of meeting Thunderbirds and Doctor Who star David Graham who played Professor Kerensky. Scaroth disappears back in time to carry out his diabolical plan, even though it will mean the end of all life on Earth. The Doctor, Romana and Duggan pursue Scaroth back to primordial Earth where Duggan defeats Scaroth by punching him. The three return to Paris where the Doctor and Romana say goodbye to Duggan.

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa’s Revenge

★★★★☆

TX: 12/11/2009 – 13/11/2009

Written by Phil Ford    Directed by Joss Agnew

Luke secretly submits some of Clyde’s artwork to a competition, which he wins. Competitions are fine if you win them! The first prize is for the whole of Clyde’s class to visit the National Gallery in London, to see the new exhibition of the Mona Lisa which has been brought to the UK for the first time. However, what Luke, Clyde and Rani did not expect is that the Mona Lisa has come to life and left its frame! Sarah-Jane turns up at the gallery, but she is trapped in one of the paintings by Lisa. Lisa traps many other humans in the paintings, whilst the Curator Lionel Harding (Mona Lisa‘s biggest fan) helps her to find her brother. Mona Lisa‘s brother is a lost painting called The Abomination by Heirononymous Bosych, a painting so terrible that it was deemed unfit for public viewing. Mona Lisa captures Clyde, Luke and Rani with help from a painted gunslinger. Lisa forces Luke to release The Abomination by giving her a new puzzle lock to the painting that Clyde has drawn. However, underneath is a drawing of K-9, which also comes to life and defeats The Abomination. Mona Lisa unwillingly goes back into her own painting, having been a product of Leonardo da Vinci’s extraterrestrial paint. Mr Harding reunites with his assistant Phyllis Trupp (who fancied him), but she rejects him because she is angry that Lisa imprisoned her in Lisa’s frame whilst Harding fawned over Lisa. Sarah-Jane tells Clyde off for painting Sontaran blasters in his artwork. Sarah-Jane and Luke make amends after they had a row over Luke’s messy bedroom. The majority of this episode is set in The International Gallery in London, the same gallery where companion Lady Christina De Souza stole the Cup of Athelstan in the Doctor Who episode Planet of the Dead, as the incident was referred to by Mr Harding as “the Cup of Athelstan fiasco at Easter”. Over at the National Gallery in London, the Curator of the Gallery (who looks a lot like Tom Baker…) later gives the Eleventh Doctor an important message from one of the paintings: “Gallifrey Falls No More!” (The Day of the Doctor).