The Sarah Jane Adventures

Spin-off of Doctor Who, starring former companion Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), and created by Russell T. Davies.

This is the second attempt (after K-9 and Company) to create a spin-off for Sarah Jane.

Only one episode, the hour-long pilot titled "Invasion of the Bane", has aired so far.

Although its parent series was originally conceived as a family programme itself, The Sarah Jane Adventures is noticeably different from the current incarnation of Doctor Who in that it is very obviously aimed at children specifically.

The series's co-stars are preadolescents, and the story of "Invasion of the Bane" is largely told from the point of view of Sarah Jane's new 13-year-old neighbour, Maria (Yasmin Paige).

When put in relationship to its parent series, the marked juvenilisation and gendering of the spin-off create an extremely sexist effect, since the implications of making The Sarah Jane Adventures "girly" are that Doctor Who can only be considered more "boyish" and implicitly more mature as a default. This sexist effect further is enhanced by comparison with Torchwood, the other recent Doctor Who spin-off, containing lots of sex, violence and other "adult" content (although it cannot be said to be especially "mature" in its handling of this content, most of the time), whose carry-over lead character is male.

Aimed at Children

Quotes from Russell T. Davies:

Are you spreading yourself too thin with Dr Who, Torchwood and now the Sarah Jane Adventures?

No, it’s not like the Star Trek franchise when there were three series on at the same time that were practically identical. Torchwood is clearly for adults and Sarah Jane is clearly for children. We worked hard to keep them distinct but I think three will be our limit.