Invasion of the Bane ( TV story ) Invasion of the Bane was the first episode of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " , but it wasn ' t a pilot of any kind , since the whole of series 1 was commissioned simultaneously . ( DWMSE 23 ) Indeed , the BBC One continuity announcement immediately following transmission proclaimed , " That was a taster for a brand new series that comes to CBBC later this year . " Even so , it is frequently called " the pilot " in the fan community , and even occasionally in the " Doctor Who Magazine " . The production team also occasionally think of it as something " other " than series 1 , since it comprised a production block of its own , several months prior to principal photography on the rest of the series . ( DWMSE 23 ) The episode re - introduced Sarah Jane Smith , then - familiar to BBC Wales audiences after her appearance on " Doctor Who " a few months earlier in " School Reunion " . Simultaneously , it wrote " out " K9 Mark IV , whom audiences would have expected to see with Sarah because of his appearance in the precedent " Doctor Who " story . Bob Baker , co - creator and owner of the concept of K9 , was interested in getting K9 a show of his own , and so didn ' t want to dilute enthusiasm for the character by allowing his heavy use in " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . Free from the somewhat artificial friendship with K9 that had been lumbered on her thanks to 1981 ' s " A Girl ' s Best Friend " , Sarah was now able to build a new cast of supporting , and mostly human , characters . Chief amongst these was Maria Jackson , who played a teenaged girl from across the road , who effectively became Sarah ' s chief " companion " . Her divorced parents , Alan and Chrissie Jackson , were also introduced , as was the more mysterious " Luke Smith " , a boy who had been " born " at the apparent age of a teenager , and whom Sarah was more - or - less forced to adopt in order to keep his super - human qualities hidden from prying eyes . Also original to this story was Mr Smith , a super - computer installed in Sarah ' s attic . The main villain , the Bane , were also original to this series , although their shape - shifting qualities allowed for easy comparison to the Zygon s . From a production point of view , this was the second time a spin - off starring Elisabeth Sladen had been produced , the first being " A Girl ' s Best Friend " in 1981 . It was the first time that two writers were credited on an episode of any DWU television story since Pip and Jane Baker ' s " Time and the Rani " . Davies would go on to share another credit with Roberts on " Planet of the Dead " and with Phil Ford on " The Waters of Mars " . The story had a unique runtime , being an hour long . For the rest of the series , each story was comprised of two 25 - minute episodes . Synopsis . Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith teams up with her new , thirteen - year - old neighbour , Maria Jackson , to face the scheming Mrs Wormwood , the head of a company producing a popular and addictive soft drink called " Bubble Shock ! " Plot . Maria Jackson and her father , Alan , are moving into a house opposite Sarah Jane Smith on Bannerman Road . As her father sorts boxes , Maria watches a television commercial for the popular new soft drink called " Bubble Shock ! " , which contains Bane . Maria ' s mother Chrissie helps out and pesters her former husband for money before leaving . That night Maria is awakened by a bright light . She follows it to Sarah ' s house and finds a glowing alien . As it disappears into the night sky , a terrified Maria runs home and locks the front door . The next morning a local girl , Kelsey Hooper , arrives to welcome the new family . She at first seems somewhat overbearing and pushy , feeling entitled to take advantage of the new family ' s internet and television and feeling free to complain about their lack of music channels . Nevertheless , she is friendly and invites Maria to spend the afternoon with her , offering to take her into town . When Maria says she has no money , Kelsey tells her about the free Bubble Shock ! bus . It takes visitors for a guided tour of the Bubble Shock ! factory . As they leave , Mr Jackson follows to say goodbye and they all spot Sarah next door . Kelsey dismisses her as a madwoman and claims she caused the prior neighbours to go insane as well ; they ' d starting talking of seeing aliens . Ignoring Kelsey , Mr Jackson tries to introduce himself . Sarah meets his overtures with a declaration that she doesn ' t like to be bothered , but as he makes it clear his feelings are hurt , she attempts a modicum of small talk . This abruptly stops when she overhears the girls ' plans and hurries to give chase in her car . On the bus , Maria questions Kelsey about the secret ingredient in Bubble Shock ! known only as Bane . Kelsey echoes the claims made by the television adverts that Bane is organic and that makes it good . Maria is not convinced enough to drink any of it . Kelsey informs her she must be part of the official 2 % of the population that doesn ' t like the drink . After the bus reaches the factory , all the guests go through a security scanner and have to turn off their mobile phones . Unknown to them , the scanner collects their DNA . A boy , the Archetype , lies in a medical chamber with a breathing mask over his mouth . A worker informs his supervisor , Mrs Wormwood , that the DNA of the children has been transmitted . Mrs Wormwood is delighted and believes " mother " will be equally pleased . The guests are led by PR agent Davey , who offers everyone numerous free samples of the drink whilst dully providing a pre - written PR statement on the virtues of the drink . He notices Maria has not taken a sample and insists she does . She says that she doesn ' t care for it , and is in the 2 % of the population who feel likewise . Davey cryptically replies that the factory is working on a way to make sure 100 % of the population will consume the drink . Sarah is sneaking around the factory when she notices a door . Using her sonic lipstick , she opens it , before being captured by guards who take her to Mrs Wormwood ' s office . Sarah comments that Wormwood was described in the Bible as a star that would fall to Earth and taint the world ' s water supply . Wormwood recognises Sarah ' s name from e - mails and phone calls the company received , all of which went unanswered . She agrees to grant Sarah an interview . Sarah asks how they obtained a license to make food and drink in two weeks . Mrs Wormwood replies that they are only satisfying the Western world ' s need for food . Sarah presses her on the nature of the mysterious Bane ingredient . Every test she has had run on the drink has failed to reveal anything — almost as if the drink had a form of intelligence and was hiding its contents . Mrs Wormwood insists that she drink some Bubble Shock ! Sarah refuses and suggests that Wormwood comes from space . Mrs Wormwood mocks such an idea as crazy talk and has her secretary Lesley escort Sarah out of the factory . Once in the lift , Wormwood orders her secretary to kill Sarah , but she foils the attack and escapes further into the factory . Kelsey tries to phone her friend Suki and wanders into a restricted area . Her mobile phone disturbs an unknown beast and sets off an emergency alarm , causing the factory to be evacuated . Davey finds her huddled in a corner , screaming for someone to get " that thing " away from her . Davey angrily responds that the creature is not " a thing " , Kelsey is ; the creature is his mother . Mrs Wormwood dispatches guards to locate and kill Sarah . She demands the alarms be switched off for the Bane Mother ' s sake . Maria tries to find Kelsey but she sets off the alarm again and prompts a system overload that allows the Archetype to escape . Mrs Wormwood and Davey lead teams in an attempt to find the source of the alarm . Soon , Maria bumps into the Archetype . She tries to introduce herself , while the Archetype just repeats what she says back to her . They hide in a cubicle in the women ' s toilets and are soon joined by Sarah , with both parties surprised to see one another . Just outside , Davey reports they have searched everywhere and have found no sign of the intruders . Mrs Wormwood asks him if he has checked inside the women ' s toilets . Somewhat shocked , he replies that his training on human culture had stated it was strictly forbidden for males to enter . Frustrated at his stupidity , Wormwood storms into the toilets and slams open all the cubicles but finds no one there . Davey points out the window has been opened , and Wormwood realises Sarah and the children have escaped . Outside they flee to Sarah ' s car . Maria protests that they left Kelsey behind . Sarah uses her sonic lipstick to get out of the factory grounds . In Mrs Wormwood ' s office , Kelsey rants about the treatment she has received . Unable to make sense of her tirade , Wormwood decides to change into her natural form in order to scan the girl ' s mind . She deactivates her image translator , causing Kelsey to scream . Some time later , Kelsey lies unconscious in the office . Davey notes Wormwood held back , to which she replies that children have parents who would cause them trouble by asking questions . She attempts to make sense of Kelsey ' s thoughts and finds most of them to be no use , focusing on boys and pop culture . She eventually discovers Kelsey knows of Sarah and lives on the same street . She dispatches Davey to take Kelsey home with his true objective being to kill Sarah and retrieve the Archetype . Upon arriving back at Bannerman Road , Sarah tells Maria to go home and not get involved . Maria replies that it is too late for that and reveals she saw the alien from the previous night , which shocks Sarah . However , Sarah puts her foot down and tells Maria her life is dangerous ; she does not want anyone else getting hurt for the decisions she has made . A furious Maria runs home and her father attempts to comfort her . Sarah questions the Archetype on his origins . She finds that despite his appearance he lacks a navel or any common - sense knowledge . Most surprisingly , Sarah ' s alien watch reveals him to be only hours old . When she asks him who he is he only replies , " I am everyone " . A male voice calls out to Sarah . The Archetype asks what it is but Sarah quickly responds that it is nothing and that he is not allowed to go upstairs . Soon after , Davey ' s car pulls up on the street . Kelsey attempts to flirt with him , but he just tells her to get out . Kelsey enters the Jacksons ' house and a relieved Maria asks her what happened . Kelsey remembers nothing , instead believing Maria abandoned her for no reason and that she had to get a lift home from Davey . Realising this means he is on their street , an alarmed Maria runs to Sarah ' s house to warn her . Sarah initially mistakes her intent and shuts the door on her but quickly opens it when Kelsey screams — Davey has revealed his true Bane form and is crawling along the side of the house . Sarah quickly rushes both girls inside , but Davey easily knocks the front door off its hinges and chases them up the stairs . Sarah tells the children to wait as she dashes into a room she declares off limits and returns with a mysterious spray with which she attacks Davey . The spray works and he is successfully repulsed , regaining his human appearance before running away . As Sarah unhappily notes that she has just used up the last of her spray on Davey , Kelsey slips away into the mysterious room and loudly declares her amazement . Sarah and the others follow , revealing a room filled with mementos of past adventures and also a talking computer , Mr Smith . One of the mementos is a transmitting device given to Sarah by the glowing alien Maria had seen earlier ; that alien was a Star Poet who had gotten lost , and Sarah had helped her find her way home . In gratitude , the Star Poet had told Sarah that she could use the device to contact the Star Poet if she ever needed help with poetry . Maria and the Archetype show particular interest in the device , but Sarah discourages them from touching her possessions . When asked about how she got interested in aliens , Sarah explains that years ago , she met a man unlike any other who took her on adventures in time and space . Then , their time together ended , and she was " back to a normal life of electric bills , burst pipes , bus tickets and rain " . She continues that while at first she tried to forget their time together , she eventually met him again years later and had an epiphany : she could continue her work on Earth , finding aliens who come to Earth and helping the friendly ones . She contrasts herself with other groups who approach alien visitors with " guns blazing . " Also , K9 is introduced to Maria , the Archetype and Kelsey when Sarah communicates with him via a long - distance visual interface facilitated by Mr Smith , as he is not currently at home with her . Sarah reveals that he is closing off a black hole that is threatening Earth and has been in there for " a year and a half now , plugging the distortion " . He does not know how long he will have to remain there . After he signs off , Sarah admits that his absence makes her feel even more isolated than before . As Sarah has been talking to Maria and the Archetype , her scanner watch which detects alien life forms has been going off unnoticed . After the Archetype points it out , Sarah uses the watch to find the alien life form : it is in Kelsey ' s Bubble Shock ! drink . They realise with horror that the " organic bane " ingredient is literally a living Bane , and the drinkers of the highly popular soda are now Bane hosts . Earth is being primed for a Bane takeover . Comprehending the need for immediate action , Sarah uses Mr Smith to patch into the Bubble Shock ! factory communication systems . In order to do so , Mr Smith determines the Banes ' communication frequency and reads its numbers aloud as he displays them . Sarah is able to contact Mrs Wormwood when Mr Smith " dials " the frequency . She offers Wormwood an ultimatum should the Bane not leave Earth : if they do not leave , she will " do something " to stop them . Mrs Wormwood scornfully challenges her to " bring it on " and discontinues the conversation . She then declares that the Bane must begin their takeover immediately and exercises mind control over all the Bubble Shock ! drinkers , including Alan and Kelsey . Sarah is able to stop Kelsey , but all the other drinkers begin marching , chanting , " Drink it " . They are commanded to " convert " those who have not imbibed ; Mrs Wormwood plans to kill those who cannot be converted . Harried by mind - controlled Bubble Shock ! drinkers , the group heads to the factory . After gaining access to the factory grounds , the group finds themselves trapped between the Bubble Shock ! mob at the factory gates and a deadlock sealed door to the factory itself . Having cast about for a solution , Sarah drives through the factory wall in the Bubble Shock ! bus . The surprise entrance doesn ' t phase Mrs Wormwood . She appears rather pleased that Sarah has delivered herself to their doorstep , and brought the Archetype along as a bonus . Revealing that the Archetype was created to deal with the " 2 % " , Wormwood declares he is no longer needed as plans have been sped up and disables the Archetype by manipulating her ring . Cornered and about to be eaten by the Bane Mother , Maria uses her mobile phone to try to hold off the Bane . While the Bane Mother is momentarily affected , she is not incapacitated . Mrs Wormwood dismisses the attempt and informs Maria that her mobile is too small ; she has only made the Bane Mother angry . The Bane Mother descends , but the Archetype reveals that he has a much more powerful communications device with him : the one given to Sarah by the Star Poet . When Mrs Wormwood taunts that it is useless without the frequency number , the Archetype declares that he can use the memory capacity of 10 , 000 humans that the Bane gave him in order to recall the frequency numbers that Mr Smith had said aloud earlier . He quickly programs the transmitter device with the Bane frequency to destroy the monstrous Bane Mother ; as the device transmits , the Bane all recoil with pain . Mrs Wormwood screams that the Bane mother is dying ; subsequently , their control over the populace ends and the Bubble Shock ! factory is destroyed . The Bane either die or flee . At least Mrs Wormwood appears to escape , swearing revenge . Back at the Jackson home , Maria reunites with her father and Sarah tries to introduce herself properly , deciding on the spur of the moment to introduce the Archetype as her adopted son . When asked his name , the Archetype replies that he has none . Sarah hurriedly explains that he ' s joking , but is spared trying to think of a name on the spot when Maria ' s obnoxious mother barges in . She hustles them out the door amidst tacky statements about neighbours inviting themselves over , promoting the Archetype to identify her out loud as " rude . " Maria ' s father is mortified , but Maria seems accustomed to such displays and steps back as her parents squabble over money . That evening , the gang try to think up a name for the Archetype and decide on Luke ( after Sarah considers Harry and Alistair after Harry Sullivan and Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge - Stewart ) . Mr Smith is able to create adoption papers for Luke , so there will be no issues with paperwork . That night , the trio sit together in Sarah ' s garden , looking up at the stars . Sarah proclaims that there are many adventures to be had on Earth , hinting at things to come . Story notes . Unproduced script ideas . DWMSE 23 gave readers an insight into some of the abandoned script ideas for " Invasion of the Bane " and " The Sarah Jane Adventures " in general . Some ideas were :