The Sarah Jane Adventures Episodes 18 &
19:
The Mark Of The
Berserker
Rani discovers that one of her classmates has found an alien pendant
which allows the wearer to control the minds of others. But the power
comes at a terrible cost, and she is able to retrieve the artefact and
bring it to Sarah Jane's attic for safekeeping. However, Sarah Jane is
out of town, and Luke is staying with the Langers. Without warning,
Clyde's long-absent father, Paul, shows up and expects to reconnect with
his son. Clyde is reluctant, but he inadvertently gives his dad the
opportunity to steal the pendant. Paul quickly finds the lure of its
power irresistible -- and one of his first acts is to make Clyde forget
all about his friends.
Joseph Lidster began his professional writing career with Big Finish
Productions, the company which owned the licence to produce original
audio dramas featuring the cast and characters from twentieth-century
Doctor Who. His first play was a Seventh Doctor adventure called
The Rapture, released in 2002, and he thereafter became a
prolific contributor to Big Finish's various audio ranges, while also
writing short stories for their Doctor Who prose line. In 2005,
Lidster began developing Doctor Who material for the BBC's online
presence. This led to Lidster receiving a commission to write A Day In The Death for the
2008 season of the adult-oriented Doctor Who spin-off
Torchwood.
Late in the development of the second season of The Sarah Jane
Adventures, Lidster was approached about contributing a script for
that series as well. Executive producer Russell T Davies wanted it to
focus on Clyde Langer; he suggested that it should introduce Clyde's
estranged father, and take the form of a “road trip”-style
adventure. Lidster was instructed to keep Sarah Jane's involvement to a
minimum, as his story would afford star Elisabeth Sladen some downtime
in the middle of the production schedule, much like Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane? had
accomplished the year before. Since Lidster's scripts would be filmed
as part of the season's second production block, they would be made
alongside the season premiere, The Last
Sontaran, which was designed to write Maria Jackson and her
father, Alan, out of The Sarah Jane Adventures. As such, Lidster
was also asked to include a small role for Maria and Alan as a surprise
for viewers.
Traditionally, the Berserker was a Norse warrior whose
power was enhanced by mindless rage
Lidster developed an idea around the tradition of the Berserker, a type
of Norse warrior whose power was enhanced by entering a state of
mindless rage. The serial ultimately bore the title The Mark Of The
Berserker. Seen for the first time as Clyde's mother, Carla, was
Jocelyn Jee Esien, who had written and performed in her own comedy sketch
show, Little Miss Jocelyn, while also starring in the hidden
camera comedy 3 Non-Blondes. Esien's dramatic appearances
included episodes of The Bill and Holby City.
The first day of recording for The Mark Of The Berserker, under
director Joss Agnew, was May 21st, 2008. Work at the show's regular
Upper Boat studio facilities involved the sets for the Chandra residence
and Sarah Jane's attic. Bannerman Road sequences were then filmed at
Clinton Road in Penarth on the 22nd. May 26th and 27th concentrated on
scenes at Park Vale Comprehensive, doubled as usual by Cardiff High
School. Part of the 27th was also spent on scenes of Carla in her
automobile, which were taped in Cardiff along the A48 motorway and at
the intersection of Lakeside Drive and Torrens Drive. On May 28th, a
house on Henllys Road in Cardiff posed as the Langer residence.
During the first two days of the following week, June 2nd and 3rd, Agnew
concentrated on Clyde and Paul's “road trip”, with filming
at Dunleavy Drive in Penarth and on the A4232 in Cardiff on the first
day, and on Queen Street and at the Amante 9 Super Car Club in Cardiff
on the second day. Work on June 4th and 5th concentrated on the
climactic scenes at the Lynport Marina, which was actually the Cardiff
Bay Yacht Club. The 6th was largely spent in Cardiff at Victoria Park,
although the closing attic sequence was also taped that day at Upper
Boat. It was back to Clinton Road on June 8th and aditional material was
filmed there on the 9th, although Agnew's main focus was further
recording on Henllys Road. Inserts were captured at Upper Boat on June
10th and 13th, as were more scenes in the attic on the 13th and
27th.
Unfortunately, Maria actress Yasmin Paige had fallen ill during her
limited availability, resulting in some juggling of Agnew's plans and
the arrangement of additional recording after Block Two had ostensibly
wrapped. The chief make-up day was July 18th, which began with Sarah
Jane's mission to find Travast Polong, taped at Llandough Hospital in
Cardiff. Maria and Alan's surprise appearance was then filmed, with a
house on Bettws-y-Coed Road in Cardiff posing as the Jacksons' apartment
in Washington, DC. This left only some pick-up shots to be completed at
Upper Boat, on July 23rd and August 1st.
- Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #23, 24th December 2009,
“Episodes 2.7/2.8: The Mark Of The Berserker” by Andrew
Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
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Original Transmission
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Episode 1 |
Date |
3rd Nov 2008 |
Time |
5.15pm |
Duration |
28'02" |
· CBBC |
531k |
· BBC1 |
870k |
Appreciation |
75% |
Episode 2 |
Date |
10th Nov 2008 |
Time |
5.16pm |
Duration |
27'51" |
· CBBC |
628k |
· BBC1 |
870k |
Appreciation |
84% |
Cast
Sarah Jane Smith |
Elisabeth Sladen (bio) |
Luke Smith |
Tommy Knight (bio) |
Mr Smith |
Alexander Armstrong (bio) |
Clyde Langer |
Daniel Anthony (bio) |
Rani Chandra |
Anjli Mohindra (bio) |
Haresh Chandra |
Ace Bhatti (bio) |
Carla Langer |
Jocelyn Jee Esien |
Paul Langer |
Gary Beadle |
Jacob |
Perry Millward |
Mr Cunningham |
Huw Higginson |
Steve Wallace |
Elijah Baker |
Detention Girl |
Jessica Lewis |
Detention Boy |
Andrew Phillips |
Maria Jackson |
Yasmin Paige (bio) |
Alan Jackson |
Joseph Millson (bio) |
Car Salesman |
Prasanna Puwanarajah |
Crew
Written by |
Joseph Lidster (bio) |
Directed by |
Joss Agnew (bio) |
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Created by |
Russell T Davies (bio) |
Producer |
Nikki Smith |
Co-producer |
Phil Ford (bio) |
1st Assistant Director |
Simon Morris |
2nd Assistant Director |
Anna Evans |
3rd Assistant Director |
Sarah Davies |
Location Manager |
Jonathan Allott |
Production Co-ordinator |
Clare Rutteman |
Continuity |
Llinos Wyn Jones |
Script Editor |
Gary Russell |
Focus Puller |
Steve Rees |
Grip |
Clive Baldwin |
Boom Operator |
Jeff Welch |
Gaffer |
Mark Hutchings |
Stunt Co-ordinator |
Abbi Collins |
Supervising Art Director |
James North |
Standby Art Director |
Alexandra Merchant |
Standby Props |
Phill Shellard |
Graphics |
BBC Wales Graphics |
Costume Supervisor |
Arabella Rhodes |
Assistant Editor |
Lee Bhogal |
Post Production Supervisor |
Nerys Davies |
Post Production Co-ordinator |
Marie Brown |
Colourist |
Jon Everett |
Sound Editing |
Bang Post Production |
Dubbing Mixer |
Mark Ferda |
Title Music |
Murray Gold |
Music |
Sam Watts |
Casting Directors |
Andy Pryor CDG |
Andy Brierley |
Production Executive |
Julie Scott |
Production Accountant |
Dyfed Thomas |
Sound Recordist |
Julian Howarth |
Costume Designer |
Stewart Meachem |
Make Up Designer |
Emma Bailey |
Visual Effects |
Craig Higgins |
Special Effects |
Any Effects |
Prosthetics |
Millennium FX |
Editor |
Will Oswald |
Production Designer |
Arwel Wyn Jones |
Director of Photography |
Rory Taylor |
Production Manager |
Phillipa Cole |
Associate Producer |
Debbi Slater |
Series Producer |
Matthew Bouch |
Executive Producers for BBC Wales |
Russell T Davies (bio) |
Julie Gardner |
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