Inspirations - School Reunion

 

School Reunion's main objective was to show what happened after a companion had left the TARDIS. How difficult was it for them to adjust to life back on Earth, if they managed to readjust at all? How does a companion from today compare with one from the past?

Russell T Davies had always wanted to ensure that people knew that the revived series was a continuation of the series which had run from 1963 to 1989. (The semi-autobiographical character of Vince in his Queer As Folk did not regard the 1996 movie as canon - suggesting that he didn't himself).

Dalek had shown the head of a Cyberman from Revenge of the Cybermen, and the same story had seen the Doctor refer to Davros, though not by name. RTD did not want the nods to the past to be too full on, at least for the first series, as it might alienate new viewers.

Doctor Who was now well established in its second series, so these nods could be more up front.

It was decided that a companion from the classic era would be brought back, to act as a comparison with Rose - showing how much they were the same, and how much they were different.

The obvious candidate was the person whom most agreed was the best ever companion - Sarah Jane Smith, as played by Lis Sladen. As well as her own nostalgic presence, she had the added benefit of owning a version of K9.

This had come about in A Girl's Best Friend - pilot for the K9 & Company spin-off series which never happened. Sarah Jane Smith found a box waiting for her when she moved into her aunt's home - a box containing K9 Mark III, which had been left for her as a present from the Doctor.

This spin-off was made canon when The Five Doctors depicted Sarah as owning K9, interacting with it just before being abducted and transported to Gallifrey.

RTD had actually considered having K9 appear in the first series, long before he thought of bringing Sarah back.

Ironically, a problem with School Reunion is that it seems to have forgotten that The Five Doctors ever happened.

The way it is written - and played - more than suggest that this is the very first time that Sarah has met the Doctor since the ending of The Hand of Fear. Sarah talks about the place where the Doctor had left her - how it was Aberdeen rather than South Croydon. (The TARDIS has been to Aberdeen before, according to Underworld). One explanation for this is that all the companions had their memories wiped by Rassilon after he sent them home - except that the Doctor also acts as if this is his first sight of Sarah since leaving Kastria.

Originally the story was not going to have a school setting. Instead, Whithouse went for an army base as the background for what was initially titled "Old Friends" and later "Black Ops".

Aliens were taking over the minds of the local villagers in order that they might build them a weapon.

RTD wanted the Doctor to start off as an investigator - which would bring him into contact with investigative journalist Sarah.

RTD suggested that the location be moved to a school as this was something children could connect with. He loved the idea that they might think their teachers were really disguised aliens. His own 1990's series Dark Season had a school setting.

Mickey Smith was introduced to the narrative as RTD was about to have him temporarily join the TARDIS crew, prior to staying on an alternative Earth.

Before it settled on its final title, Whithouse had renamed it "Friends Reunited" - after the then popular social media platform that allowed people who studied together to reconnect.

There are topical comments about the quality of school meals, which were a big issue championed by chef Jamie Oliver at the time.

One scene sees Rose and Sarah in jealous, combative mood, trying to out impress each other. 

Sarah mentions Daleks (Death to the Daleks and Genesis of the Daleks), mummies (Pyramids of Mars), robots (Robot, The Sontaran Experiment), anti-matter monsters (Planet of Evil) and dinosaurs (Invasion of the Dinosaurs). 

Rose counters with ghosts (The Unquiet Dead), Slitheen in Downing Street (Aliens of London), gas mask zombies (The Empty Child), the Emperor of the Daleks (Parting of the Ways) and werewolves (Tooth and Claw). 

Sarah trumps Rose with the Loch Ness Monster (Terror of the Zygons).

This is the second story in a row in which the Doctor impersonates someone - but then the running order of the first four stories of this series were in constant flux until late in the day. 

Here he is pretending to be teacher John Smith - a name first given to him by the person he impersonated last week, Jamie McCrimmon. Needing a name for his unconscious friend, Jamie took it from a piece of medical equipment in the second episode of The Wheel in Space. The Doctor adopted it for himself from Spearhead From Space onwards. Sarah would have heard him use it in her first story - The Time Warrior.

This week's Torchwood reference comes in the scene of Mickey in a cyber-cafe, when access to certain sites is denied by the organisation. This had featured in the story's "Tardisode".

The Doctor's "Physics, physics, physics... so where were we?" comes from John Cleese's teacher in The Meaning of Life, trying to interest bored schoolboys in learning about sex.

Next time: The Time-Traveller's Mistress...