If Doctor Who's Eleventh Doctor hasn't yanked your heart-strings with both hands yet, David Tennant style, fear not — Russell T. Davies will be writing for Matt Smith soon. And Davies has found a surefire way to bring some angst.


Oh, and minor spoilers are ahead. Be warned!

Matt Smith will be appearing in a two-part adventure of the Doctor Who spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, written by Davies. And he's not the only guest star — also appearing will be Katy Manning, who played the Doctor's companion Jo Grant from 1971 to 1973. (She was Sarah Jane's immediate predecessor in the TARDIS.) So expect lots more angsting about what happens to companions who've left the Doctor.


Says the BBC:

Viewers are in for a real treat, with an action-packed story full of Russell's usual wit and warmth, which takes the gang inside a secret base beneath Snowdon and introduces brand-new vulture aliens, the mysterious Shansheeth. All this, plus a trip to an alien planet – a first for The Sarah Jane Adventures.

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But of course, Jo's leave-taking was the opposite of Sarah Jane's. Jo met a cute young professor, who was vegan and had awesome fashion sense, and reminded her of a younger version of the Doctor — so she bailed on the poor Third Doctor, who actually shed a tear on screen. New producer Steven Moffat has cited this moment as proof that the Doctor's relationship with his companions really is at the center of the show, and Doctor Who is really the story of each companion and how the Doctor changes her (or sometimes him.) Later, the Doctor punished Jo for leaving him, by sending her a mind-altering blue crystal that was being hunted by evil alien spiders. (Okay, it was a present, not a punishment. But he might have known it would be trouble.)

And as we've been reminded pretty often, the Doctor left Sarah Jane behind, ditching her somewhat unceremoniously because he was returning to his home planet, Gallifrey, and non-Gallifreyans weren't allowed there. (Except for Leela, and Nyssa, and everyone in "The Five Doctors," and so on.)


So how will this play out? Will Jo feel remorse for leaving the Doctor? Will she and Sarah Jane bond over post-companionship depression? How will Smith's Doctor interact with two former companions? Actually, forget all of those questions — I just want to see Clyde visit an alien planet for the first time.

You can comment on this post, incidentally, over in the Doctor Who tag page. [BBC]