DVD: The Sarah Jane Adventures – Season Four

The fourth season of the CBBC sci-fi series The Sarah Jane Adventures, starring the late Elisabeth Sladen, is out now on DVD.

The fourth season – aired in 2010 – saw Matt Smith crossover to the Doctor Who spin-off series as the 11th Doctor for Death. The same story saw actress Katy Manning reprise her role of Jo Grant for the first time on-screen since departing Doctor Who in 1973 – the actress starred opposite Jon Pertwee in the title role. The episode was well received by fans of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The fourth season was the last full season to be produced before the death of lead actress Elisabeth Sladen. Filming for three stories of the fifth season took place immediately after production wrapped on the fourth. Filming on the remaining season five stories was due to take place in Easter 2011 but actress Elisabeth Sladen passed away in April from cancer before filming could resume.

It was reported in September that the fourth season boxset of The Sarah Jane Adventures would also include the Doctor Who story Pyramids of Mars as a tribute to Sladen. The 1975 story stars Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor and is set in 1911 drawing heavily upon  ancient Egyptian influences – it is one of Doctor Who’s most popular stories of the original series and is part of the shows “gothic horror” era under producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes.