Eye of the Gorgon ( TV story ) Eye of the Gorgon was the third story in the first series of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . It consisted of episodes 3 and 4 of the series . Alan Jackson had his first encounter with alien life in this episode , but at Sarah Jane Smith ' s insistence he was made to believe he dreamt the whole thing up . Synopsis . A haunted nursing home leads Sarah to a mysterious order of nuns with an ancient — and alien — secret . . . Plot . Part 1 . At the local nursing home , Lavender Lawns , elderly women claim they have seen a mysterious nun who appears and vanishes like a ghost . Clyde informs Sarah of the story and she , Clyde and Luke investigate . Meanwhile , Chrissie Jackson moves back into her ex - husband ' s house , but only makes more trouble for the family . Chrissie tries to catch up with her daughter , but the touchy subject of how she abandoned the family comes up and Maria calls out her mother for being thoughtless , only thinking about how divorce would affect her . Maria turns angry at Chrissie and yells at her mother , telling her to leave . Some of this anger later gravitates towards Alan , and she runs off to Sarah ' s house to avoid any more uncomfortable conversations with her parents . Back at Lavender Lawns , Luke encounters an old lady who peers at him through a window . He learns that her name is Bea Nelson - Stanley , and she is suffering from Alzheimer ' s disease . Luke finds Bea outside , where she gives him an ancient talisman , but has trouble explaining to him her reasons for doing so due to her condition . It is really the key to a portal in space and time . An order of nuns are hiding an ancient creature , the Gorgon . Meanwhile , Clyde is stuck doing favours for Mrs . Randall . He , Luke , and Sarah leave Lavender Lawns to figure out the mystery of the apparent nun hauntings . As Maria arrives at Sarah ' s residence , Luke , Clyde and Sarah are upstairs . Sarah asks Mr Smith about any evidence of ghosts at Lavender Lawns . He disproves her concerns quickly , but instantly detects the talisman and reveals Luke has brought an alien device into her house , causing Sarah to confront him . Luke explains he had to keep it a secret to avoid breaking a promise with Bea . Sarah takes the talisman and holds onto it for safekeeping from the nuns . Mrs Gribbins , one of the caregivers at Lavender Lawns , is involved in the fishy activities , and after Sarah and the gang leave , she speaks with the nun who has been stalking the nursing home , Sister Helena . Gribbins tells Helena that the talisman they have been searching for has been passed on to the boy who just visited the nursing home by Bea . Annoyed by Mrs Gribbins ' s oversight , when she had previously described Bea as barely knowing her own name , Helena turns against Mrs Gribbins . She has Gribbins escorted to a room where a hooded woman sits in a wheelchair , with gnarled fingernails and wrinkled , orange skin . The woman lifts up her hood , causing Mrs Gribbins to scream in terror at her countenance . A blue light fills the room . When it fades , Mrs Gribbins is revealed to have petrified into a statue . The next day , Sarah Jane and Maria go back to Lavender Lawns to speak with Miss Nelson - Stanley about where she got the talisman . However , this proves difficult , as Bea ' s Alzheimer ' s hinders their success . Bea does mention a past where she was an archaeologist with her late husband Edgar , who found and gave her the talisman . Sarah also perks up when Bea speaks of Sontaran s , going as far to make a remark about their potato - like appearance and use of ray guns , which proves she has knowledge about alien life despite a cloudy memory . While Sarah and Maria are gone , the nuns track down Luke and Clyde , arriving at Sarah Jane ' s house . Luke , not knowing he shouldn ' t speak about the talisman , attracts Sister Helena ' s full attention . Alan encounters Sister Helena , thinking her to be an ordinary nun , and donates to their cause . However , when he leaves , Helena and the other nuns kidnap Luke by force and put him in a hearse . Clyde chases after the hearse in vain as it charges down the street . He immediately calls Sarah and warns her about what just happened , making her and Maria depart Lavender Lawns and come back home . Sarah , Clyde , and Maria concoct a plan to rescue Luke from Saint Agnes Abbey . At the entrance gate to the abbey , Sarah Jane poses as a reporter wanting to get a story about religious information concerning the nuns , and she is permitted inside — though the nuns have already prepared for her arrival and trap her in the abbey . She finds Luke , but is soon confronted by Sister Helena , who reveals Luke was never in any danger ; Helena tries to coax her into giving up the talisman . Sarah Jane does not comply . Meanwhile , Clyde and Maria sneak out of Sarah Jane ' s car and infiltrate the abbey through an open window , soon reuniting with Luke and Sarah Jane . However , Helena is no longer willing to be so passive and makes Sarah Jane return to her house to get the talisman , keeping the kids in her possession as insurance . Luke and Clyde have to remain at the abbey while Maria is taken back to Bannerman Road with Sarah , with the Gorgon in tow . When she gets back home Sarah Jane quickly fetches her sonic liptstick and the talisman while Maria remains with the unwelcome guests . When Helena reveals that the Abbess does not speak , Maria deduces that the Gorgon must be exerting telepathic control over the sisters , since looking after a Gorgon " isn ' t exactly normal for a bunch of nuns " . Helena advises her to shut her mouth or the Abbess might demonstrate her idea of " solving a problem like Maria " ( paraphrasing " The Sound of Music " ) When Sarah enters with the talisman , Helena reaches for it only for Sarah to demand the release of Luke and Clyde or she will destroy the talisman with sonic disruption . Unfortunately , the Gorgon has other ideas and begins to unveil her face ; distracted , Sarah has the talisman snatched from her . Unaware of the Gorgon ' s presence , Alan walks into the living room and gazes upon the Abbess ' s exposed face . Several blue streams of light in the form of serpents surge out of her glowing mouth and eyes , surround Alan , and turn him to stone , terrifying his daughter Maria . Part 2 . Having gotten what they came for , the nuns and Gorgon leave . Maria is distraught to see her father petrified and falls to tears , wishing she ' d never met Sarah with the alien in her yard . Sarah consoles Maria and gets her to accept that it was in her favour to learn about the truth , promising they can find a way to rescue Alan before he dies . Sarah Jane and Maria talk with Mr Smith to see if there is any chance to save Alan ' s life . Mr Smith tells Maria and Sarah that Alan ' s body is undergoing a slow molecular conversion into stone , but the process will not be complete until 4 : 00 PM ; the time is 2 : 30 PM , giving them ninety minutes to undo the petrification . They conjecture that the talisman may be able to reverse Alan ' s molecules back to flesh if they can reclaim it from the nuns . Sarah returns to the abbey to take it back . On the way there , she drops off Maria at Lavender Lawns so that she may get Bea to break through her Alzheimer ' s and divulge answers about the talisman ' s alien properties . Back at the abbey , Luke and Clyde ponder their escape . At first , Luke throws out a few facts about the history surrounding the abbey , making Clyde think he ' s getting off track with useless facts , until it becomes clear Luke ' s thoughts are leading him to an answer : he remembers that the abbey they are trapped inside was built during a time of refuge . It could have secret passages hidden away . He finds a bust of a Gorgon ' s head and twists it to the side , unlocking a hidden chamber . The boys escape via a secret passage . As Luke and Clyde sneak out of the abbey , they see the Gorgon stumble . Continuing their escape , they find the gardens in the courtyard filled to the brim with statues of the victims that were permanently petrified by the Gorgon ' s gaze , ushering them to make haste to save Sarah . While Sarah and the others are gone , Chrissie arrives at her house and spies her petrified husband in the window , not aware that it is him . She barges into Sarah ' s house to get a better look at this " statue " that her obsessed neighbour made in his likeness . Chrissie , thinking she can speak in private , feels compelled to open up to the statue and say what she hasn ' t told Alan face - to - face . She regrets that she ' s screwed up the Jacksons ' family life , berating herself over her mistakes , believing she ' s going to make more . She apologises and walks away . One of Alan ' s petrified eyes sheds a tear , a sliver of him still possibly conscious . Sister Helena places the talisman in the side of a stone altar , joined by nuns chanting , " Serve the Gorgon . Serve the Gorgon . " A green energy begins to swirl out of the altar , which is really a portal , beginning the process of joining the Gorgon homeworld with Earth . The Gorgon is a parasite inside the Abbess , a woman who has had her lifespan prolonged by its influence , though robbed of her free will and appearance . Her body is dying , and the Gorgon needs a new vessel — it chooses Sarah as its next host . Chatting with Bea , Maria struggles to get a breakthrough as the elderly woman ' s Alzheimer ' s disrupts her ability to think straight . Maria sees the clock on her bedroom wall reads 3 : 00 PM , warning her she has an hour left before Alan is lost forever . Desperate , Maria realises Bea is enamoured with thoughts of her passed on husband Edgar . She begins to ask Bea questions about Edgar , which proves to be the catalyst that jogs her memory . Bea ' s Alzheimer ' s clears up , and Maria is able to explain her plight . Bea reveals that she was once petrified herself , and Edgar saved her long ago , because the talisman can revert those turned to stone back to normal . Maria thanks Bea , who gives the girl a mirror . Maria doesn ' t understand Bea ' s intentions for doing so . As Maria leaves , Bea chides the girl ' s education for not realising it is to reflect the Gorgon ' s face . Clyde distracts the nuns long enough for Luke to grab the talisman , closing the portal . However , Sarah and both boys are recaptured . The boys are locked in the supply cellar , while Sarah is taken and tied next to the portal . Luke sees Clyde standing on a barrel by some old canvas bags . He turns around to find a bucket , dumping out the contents . He fixes on a flat trowel from the supplies . Clyde asks him if he ' s going to dig a tunnel , but Luke has other plans . He improvises a screwdriver , using the flat trowel tip to notch the tool in the screws , turns it delicately , and removes the screws on the lock on the cellar door , letting him pry it off and open the door . Luke and Clyde escape again and join Sarah just as the Gorgon begins to transfer itself . Maria arrives and uses Bea ' s mirror to block the transfer and send the snake entities back at the Gorgon . She tries to block them by raising up her hands , but is too late . They turn the Gorgon — and Abbess — to stone . Almost immediately , the nuns release their captives and stagger back in horror at the sight of the statue ; Helena , more pleasant now , openly demands to know what is going on . Sarah joyfully tells her that the Gorgon has lost its control over them , which goes right over her head . Helena then gasps in horror as the other Gorgons start emerging from the portal , but Maria disconnects the talisman and the portal shuts down , sending the other Gorgons back forever . Sarah then reminds Maria about saving Alan and they immediately run for the car , leaving the very confused sisters to ponder their lack of an Abbess and the sudden appearance of a very ugly statue . The group rushes back to Sarah ' s house . With seconds to spare , Maria hangs the talisman around her father ' s neck . With a shimmering energy , the talisman brings Alan back to flesh and blood . He does not remember his ordeal , but Maria is quick to embrace him in a tight hug . Chrissie returns to Sarah ' s house right after Alan is released from the petrification , none the wiser . However , she protests that Sarah has gotten carried away by making a statue of Alan , but now that he has changed back to normal , she cannot incriminate his neighbour for this , finally giving up . Maria thinks it is better for her mother to remain uninformed about the strange alien happenings surrounding Sarah Jane Smith . As Chrisse ' s stay at Alan and Maria ' s flat comes to an end , Maria apologises at Alan for yelling at him . He forgives her , since it was " only a tiff . " The two hug , but Chrissie wedges herself between them to get in her cab , and return to Ivan . Alan tries to hasten her departure by reminder her the metre ' s running , uncomfortable around his ex . Chrissie ignores him , more concerned about patching things up with her daughter . Maria and Chrissie hug and say their goodbyes , promising to watch after each other . Chrissie hops into her cab , then waves at her family as it drives away . After Maria witnesses the talisman restore her father , she goes back to Sarah and wonders if it will cure Bea of her Alzheimer ' s . Mr Smith implies it is possible . This encourages her to have Sarah take her to see Bea for one more visit , returning her mirror in the process . Bea initially repulses at the sight of the talisman because it has to stay hidden from the Gorgons . Sarah Jane tells Bea that the Gorgons have been vanquished , putting her at ease . Now accepting of the alien artefact , she places the talisman around her neck and hears the voice of her late husband Edgar telling her , " I will always love you , Bea . " Misty - eyed , Bea smiles and remembers her husband , earnestly thanking Sarah and Maria for bringing Edgar back to her . However , her Alzheimer ' s does not subside . As they leave Lavender Lawns , Sarah brightens Maria ' s spirits by letting her know the talisman has still helped Bea by letting her find peace . Maria comments on how lucky Bea was to have Edgar , then asks Sarah if she wished she had someone special to share her experiences with . Sarah assures her that she ' s found one for the second time , looking at Maria . The two rush back into her car to return home in time to watch the Viszeran Royal Fleet pass through the solar system , all 600 ships . Sarah says it " only takes a few seconds , but it is the most magnificent stellar light show this side of the galaxy . " Story notes . Filming locations . " to be added "