The Trickster is the God of Traps and is an evil being that feeds off chaos. The Trickster continually meddled with the life of the Doctor’s companion Sarah-Jane Smith. The Trickster was the most powerful villain in The Sarah Jane Adventures. However, the Doctor himself has met the Trickster and also some of his servants such as the Trickster’s Brigade Time Beetle in the Doctor Who story Turn Left.
The Sarah Jane Adventures:
Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?
★★★★★
TX: 29/10/2007 – 05/11/2007
Written by Gareth Roberts Directed by Graeme Harper
Sarah-Jane had a childhood friend called Andrea Yates. However, Andrea was killed in a tragic accident when she fell from a pier when she and Sarah-Jane were just 13. But the Trickster switched them around and changed history so that Sarah-Jane died instead and Andrea grew up to have the life and house that Sarah-Jane had. Only Sarah-Jane’s teenage friend Maria remembered because she was given a box that protected her memories of Sarah-Jane. None of Maria’s friends, including Clyde Langer and Maria’s mum Chrissie could remember Sarah-Jane. Maria and her dad Alan Jackson fought the Graske, a servant of the Trickster. Maria ended up in 1964 on the day of the accident where she met child Sarah-Jane and Andrea before being trapped in limbo with adult Sarah-Jane. The Trickster changed history so that Sarah-Jane will not be around in the present day to protect Earth from a meteor that is on collision course with the planet. The destruction of Earth will cause chaos which the Trickster feeds on. However, Andrea goes back on her bargain with the Trickster and this reverses all of the meddling he has caused. Sarah-Jane’s supercomputer Mr Smith deflects the meteor back into space. However, now Maria’s dad Alan knows all about aliens and Sarah-Jane’s life and this causes him concern about Maria’s safety. This prompts him to consider selling the house over the road and moving in the following story The Lost Boy.
The Sarah Jane Adventures:
The Temptation of Sarah-Jane Smith
★★★★★
TX: 17-24/11/2008
Written by Gareth Roberts Directed by Graeme Harper
Sarah-Jane, Clyde, Rani and Luke follow a young boy called Oscar through a time fissure to the sleepy English village of Foxgrove in 1951. This is a significant location as this was where Sarah-Jane was abandoned by her parents as a baby. Despite the fact that it could be a trap, Sarah-Jane cannot resist the temptation to see her parents so she and Luke travel through the fissure to Foxgrove. Sarah-Jane meets her ordinary parents but soon it begins to rain and it becomes clear that the situation is a trap. Sarah-Jane sees an opportunity to change history and save her parents’ lives, Sarah-Jane notes that this is finally a chance for her to do something for herself instead of for “miners on Peladon” (The Monster of Peladon) and “all the people drinking Bubbleshock” (Invasion of the Bane). Sarah-Jane disables her parents’ car so that they cannot drive off and be killed in a car crash. However, this alters history enough to allow the Trickster through to our universe and to rule the Earth. Clyde and Rani are protected by the box, but they discover that the human race (including Rani’s mum Gita) and the Graske have been enslaved by the Trickster. Clyde and Rani give the Graske the box that protected Maria (Whatever Happened to Sarah-Jane?), freeing him from the Trickster. The Trickster tells Sarah-Jane that she cannot undo his victory because it would mean sending her parents to their deaths. But, Sarah-Jane’s parents work out that they are adult Sarah-Jane’s mum and dad and they voluntarily set off in the car to their deaths, which defeats the Trickster. The heartbroken Sarah-Jane, Luke, Clyde and Rani return to present day Ealing, London. This was one of the most emotional stories in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Turn Left
★★★★★
TX: 21/06/2008
Written by Russell T Davies Directed by Graeme Harper
Whilst visiting the Oriental planet of Shan Shen with the Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble meets a fortune teller. The fortune teller tricks her into allowing a Time Beetle (a member of the Trickster’s Brigade) to climb onto her back. The Time Beetle creates a parallel universe around Donna, a world in which she never met the Doctor. In this terrifying alternate reality, the Doctor died during the events of The Runaway Bride, meaning that he was not around to repel all subsequent alien invasions. This leaves the Earth devastated following the spaceship Titanic crashing into London and millions of Americans dissolving into Adipose. Donna, her mother Sylvia and her grandfather Wilf are evacuated along with thousands of other Londoners to Leeds. Donna meets Rose Tyler, a former companion to the Doctor from our universe. Rose tells Donna that she has to go back in time and turn left when she makes the decision to join the job that will ultimately lead her to meeting the Doctor. With help from U.N.I.T and a recovered TARDIS, Rose manages to send Donna back in time. Donna runs out of time and she therefore sacrifices herself to prevent her earlier self from turning right. By turning left, the earlier Donna puts history back on track, bringing an end to the parallel universe around Donna. Donna tells the Doctor that she met Rose Tyler in the parallel world and gives him the vital warning that Rose gave her: Bad Wolf.
The Sarah Jane Adventures:
The Wedding of Sarah-Jane Smith
★★★★★
TX: 29-30/10/2009
Written by Gareth Roberts Directed by Joss Agnew
Sarah-Jane has a new boyfriend called Peter Dalton (Nigel Havers)! He is a wealthy lawyer and he seems harmless enough but Clyde is suspicious, particularly when Sarah-Jane begins acting oddly. Sarah-Jane and Peter announce their engagement and Sarah-Jane decides to retire from defending Earth with her teenage friends. At the wedding, Sarah-Jane and Peter are about to say their vows but suddenly the Tenth Doctor bursts in and interrupts the ceremony. The Trickster appears and he traps the Doctor, Clyde, Luke, Rani and K-9 in limbo in a different second of time to Sarah-Jane and Peter. The Trickster used Peter Dalton as a pawn to marry Sarah-Jane so that she will stop defending Earth from extraterrestrial threats, which will cause more chaos for the Trickster to feed off. Clyde, Rani and Luke help the Doctor to reach his TARDIS so that he can communicate with Sarah-Jane and Peter. Peter Dalton revokes his deal with the Trickster and he dies, but history is saved. A tearful Sarah-Jane leaves the wedding, devastated that the man she loved was just a trick by her arch enemy.
Chris Olsen's TARDIS 