The Bannerman Road gang encountered a difficult situation when one day, the entire population of Earth suddenly vanished, leaving only Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra left (because they had previously been grounded by the Judoon in Prisoner of the Judoon). With Sarah-Jane and Luke Smith gone, Clyde and Rani had to unravel a mystery involving two robots and a boy called Gavin. The red and yellow robots (Automatons) had been sent to find the son and heir to the throne of their planet, which is Gavin. Clyde and Rani were able to remove Gavin’s bio-damper (previously seen in The Runaway Bride), which allowed the Automatons to find their King and return all the humans to Earth in this tense story from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Like all good TV drama, the build up and tension is more important than the explanation and the scenes at the beginning of this story, of Rani wandering around a deserted London, are reminiscent of the terrifying horror movie 28 Days Later.

The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Empty Planet

★★★★★

TX: 01/11/2010 – 02/11/2010

Written by Gareth Roberts   Directed by Ashley Way

Clyde and Rani wake up one morning to discover that everyone on Earth has vanished except them. Worse still, the pair discover that a pair of red and yellow robots are stalking them. After sheltering in a cafe in town, Clyde and Rani realise that the reason that they have not been taken is because they were previously grounded by the Judoon in Prisoner of the Judoon. They also see a countdown on a TV screen in the cafe. Rani and Clyde find a boy called Gavin who lives on a nearby council estate. Gavin claims to know nothing about what is going on. Clyde and Rani bring the two robots back to the cafe where they use a newspaper to help the robots speak English. The Automatons explain that the countdown indicates the time left until the warp shunt ends and humanity will not be returned. The robots demand the return of the son and heir to the throne of their planet. Rani realises that they mean Gavin, who is secretly an alien disguised by a bio-damper (The Runaway Bride). Rani and Clyde take the robots to Gavin in a nearby park, where Rani convinces him to remove the bio-damper. The Automatons scan Gavin and find their king. Prince Gavin leaves with the robots to become king of a distant alien planet. The human race is returned to Earth an hour after it was taken with no memory of what happened. Clyde and Rani feel proud that they have saved the Earth and that their experience has brought them closer together.