The Man Who Never Was ( TV story ) The Man Who Never Was was the final story of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . It was therefore viewers ' farewell to Sarah , Luke , Sky , Mr Smith , Clyde and Rani . After the passing of Elisabeth Sladen , this story became the unexpected series finale as it was the last for which production was sufficiently complete . As such , it was also the final story to feature the behind - the - scenes talents of many other individuals , perhaps most notably producer Brian Minchin , director Ashley Way and writer Gareth Roberts . Had the series not been truncated , it would have likely been more notable for containing the first onscreen meeting between Sarah ' s two adopted children , Luke and Sky . It also significantly enshrined the fan term " Clani " into the show ' s narrative and featured a non - Sontaran role for Dan Starkey . Furthermore , it featured journalism to a higher degree than most episodes of the series , with both Sarah and Rani acting as reporters . For Sarah , the story gave a rare glimpse of her career as it was before she met the Doctor . For Rani , it was the most significant onscreen evidence viewers had that she might become a journalist since her introduction in " The Day of the Clown " . Synopsis . Joseph Serf has launched his new SerfBoard , the must - have computer that no one can resist owning . Everyone wants the brand new device — and why not ? What could be so dangerous about a computer ? Plot . Part one . At the offices of Serf Systems , a cleaner hears strange noises coming from a nearby lift ; when she goes to investigate , something small and nasty grabs her and then drags her inside . At No . 13 , Bannerman Road , Sarah , Clyde and Rani prepare for the return of Luke , while a nervous Sky worries about meeting her new " brother " . Downstairs , Luke checks out his bedroom , only to find that it now belongs to Sky . Heading upstairs , he enjoys a happy reunion with his mum and his two friends – collectively nicknamed “ Clani ” – before meeting Sky for the first time . Their first encounter is awkward . Sky feels guilty for taking his room . Luke says he left K9 back at university , busy backing up the entire Bodleian Library . Mr Smith voices his delight . Sarah tells them the top three journalists in the country are invited to a launch rehearsal for the " SerfBoard " , the new must - have computer that is going to be launched that afternoon . Clyde and Rani are oblivious to Sarah Jane ' s status as one of the three , leaving her slightly offended . Sarah says she will be able to take two guests to the launch : Sky and Luke – much to Clyde and Rani ' s disappointment . Later that morning , Sarah , Luke and Sky arrive at Serf Systems . They are asked to complete non - disclosure agreements and meet Lionel Carson , Sarah ' s former editor and one of her oldest and dearest friends . After exchanging pleasantries , Lionel confesses that he is personally not fond of technology , but came to impress his grandchildren . The gang are joined by public relations manager John Harrison , who shows them to their seats in the main auditorium . As they walk in , Sky tells Luke that she can feel a strange build - up of electricity in the area . As the rehearsal begins , Harrison introduces Joseph Serf . The handsome , charismatic man himself bounds onto the stage and begins running through his presentation . Each audience member is given a free SerfBoard . Yet something else grabs Sky and Luke ' s attention : As Joseph is explaining the SerfBoard and it ' s benefits , his face suddenly turns to pixels and than back to a normal human face . He glitched ! After the rehearsal ends , the gang head out to the foyer . While Lionel is suddenly enthralled by his new device , Luke and Sky explain what they saw and fill Sarah in on their suspicions . Leaving Luke behind to investigate , she and Sky take the SerfBoard home for analysis . Joining Clyde and Rani in the attic , Sarah instructs Mr Smith to access Serf Systems ' CCTV recordings . As the Xylok computer plays back the rehearsal , Sky locates the point where Serf glitched . Studying the freeze - frame , the gang can clearly see that only Serf is affected by the distortion . The rest of the picture remains undisturbed . Immediately suspecting alien holographic technology at work , Sarah orders Mr Smith to search the company records . They learn Joseph Samuel Serf founded Serf Systems but withdrew from public life several years ago after an almost - fatal skiing accident , since then only showing up in publicity photographs and at events since then . Noticing that in all his appearances Serf has never been seen touching anything or anyone , Sarah deduces that Serf died in the accident and has long since been replaced by an advanced hologram allowing an unknown party to take control of the company . The gang consider whether the SerfBoard has any hypnotic properties to encourage buyers . While Mr Smith begins a deep scan of the device , Sarah phones Serf Systems to arrange an interview with Serf . Speaking to Mr Harrison , she drops enough hints about her suspicions to make the PR manager agree to a meeting immediately . Sarah knows she is walking into a trap , but needs to find out what is going on . She heads back to Serf Systems , leaving Rani and Clyde to supervise the SerfBoard . Sarah and Sky return to Serf Systems and rejoin Luke , who has had no success with his snooping . Instructing her children to remain out of harm ' s way , Sarah meets Harrison , who escorts her to Serf ' s office but then refuses to leave . During the interview , Sarah tries every trick she knows to expose Serf . She notices the businessman refuses to shake her hand due to an “ allergy ” , and her deliberately - dropped pen is swiftly replaced with a new one from Harrison . Back at the attic , Mr Smith informs Clyde and Rani the SerfBoard is just a standard , low - tech laptop . Still suspicious , the two don protective gear and prepare to activate the device — only to discover that , despite its attractive appearance and name , the computer is rubbish . Meanwhile , at Serf Systems , Sky tells Luke that she can feel the strange electrical build - up again , coming from below . They take a lift to the basement , but Sky thinks the source lies even further under the building . Figuring out the secret code in the lift , Luke sends them down to the unlabelled sub - basement . While exploring the dark , litter - strewn corridors , Luke and Sky hear Sarah and Serf ' s voices behind a heavy metal door . Stepping into the room beyond , they find themselves in a strange chamber occupied by short , hooded figures , all wearing welding masks and working frantically at controls labelled with such things as " Eyes " , " Arms " , " Bum " , " Expressions " and " Voice " . Upstairs , Sarah notices that Serf has begun to behave oddly , mispronouncing his words and getting stuck mid - expression . When Sarah deliberately spills her water , the effect is astonishing . Serf rises shakily to his feet and the spot on his arm where the water splashed begins glitching . In the control room , the diminutive workers are thrown into a panic as their supervisor , Plark , frantically shouts instructions . Speaking urgently into an earpiece , Harrison orders the supervisor to use " hypno - power " . Back in Serf ' s office , this causes him to act overly charming to Sarah to change her mind . The plucky reporter is having none of it ; she has been put under hypnosis by much better foes . After dismissing this attempt , she shoves her hands through Serf ' s body , disrupting it even further . As the businessman ' s systems go wild , Harrison pulls out an alien - looking taser - like gun and points it at Sarah . Seeing a monitor screen showing his mum in danger , Luke cries out – immediately alerting the aliens to his and Sky ' s presence . As the workers close in on the two unwanted intruders , the supervisor throws back his hood and removes his protective mask – revealing a hideous , one - eyed face . Part two . As the diminutive , one - eyed creatures close in on them , Luke and Sky brace themselves for the worst . To their surprise , the supervisor , Plark , implores them to escape . Sky looks at the monitor and is shocked to see the angry Mr Harrison about to shoot Sarah Jane with the alien - looking gun . Sky leaps for the hologram controls , sending Serf into a frenzy and Harrison ' s shot flying wild . Sarah runs , only to be captured by a security guard , her sonic lipstick confiscated . Harrison is furious at the apparent failure of his workers and activates a pen - like control device that sends a surge of agonising energy through the collars the creatures wear around their necks . Looking at his monitor , Harrison sees that Luke and Sky are in the control room – the " Light Chamber " – and orders their immediate capture . As an alarm blares out , Plark urges the two kids to run , but they swiftly are captured by guards . Sarah rejoins the children and then watches in outrage as Harrison punishes Plark with an even stronger surge of painful energy . She protests , but Harrison ignores her , saying he paid good money for the Skullion s . Sarah is appalled at hearing the aliens are the survivors of a spaceship that crashed in Central Asia . They were sold as slaves on the alien species black market . Harrison doesn ' t care . He only cares about making a profit . He intends to activate the hologram Serf ' s hypnotic power in the upcoming press conference , transmitting it across the world to make everyone buy the SerfBoard . He will then get all the profit , and be a very wealthy man . After locking Luke and Sky in one storeroom and Sarah in another , Harrison heads upstairs to prepare for the press launch . Sarah finds herself locked in with another prisoner , the cleaner at the beginning of the episode , Adriana , who explains she met one of the Skullions who was trying to escape , only for them both to be captured by guards . Back at No . 13 Bannerman road , Clyde and Rani watch a news report on the upcoming launch of the SerfBoard . Worried that their calls to their friends have gone unanswered , Rani comes up with a plan . Elsewhere , Luke and Sky are given food by Plank , the lead Skullion . Luke offers his bottle of water to the supervisor , but the creature refuses : water is harmful and burning to his kind , who can only drink citrus juice . After Plark leaves , Luke and Sky wonder how they can help free the slaves . Sky has an idea : by using the dog - whistle that Luke uses to call K9 , they can send a message to Mr Smith . It works , and Luke rejoices at his smart sister . In the attic , a suited - and - booted Clyde watches as Rani and Mr Smith complete work on two fake press passes : they are now Trevor and Janet Sharp , two journalists from " Twilight Years " , a magazine for the over - 60s – the real couple having been stranded at the airport due to a " computer malfunction " . Mr Smith receives a high - pitched transmission on K9 ' s wavelength , a Morse - code message from Luke : " CLANI GRAB HARRISONS PEN . " Back at Serf Systems , Sarah and Adriana ' s guard investigates the ruckus they are making – and gets sent sprawling by a jury - rigged tripwire created by Adriana , allowing the two prisoners to escape . In the Light Chamber , Harrison informs the Skullions they are now working for their lives . If the press launch is not a success , they will be killed by the torture pen . When Plark asks for a drink , the cruel businessman sprays his slaves with water , burning them , but not killing them . In the meantime , Luke and Sky are freed by Sarah and Adriana . They are informed of Luke ' s Morse code message to Mr Smith . In the control room , they see Clyde and Rani on the monitor screen . The two " journalists " meet Lionel Carson , then edge nearer towards Harrison . Disguised as a cleaner , Sarah goes upstairs and uses a corporate phone to contact Mr Smith and gives him an order . Mr Smith sends a message to the planet Skultos , requesting a rescue mission be sent to the roof of Serf Systems to save the Skullions . Clyde and Rani arrive in the main foyer , uncomfortably acting like a married couple . They dismiss suspicion of their young age as a " new company policy " . They begin their search for Harrison and soon spot him and the " pen " he uses to shock the Skullions . Rani ' s attempts to grab the pen fail dismally , but Clyde does better : by bumping into the PR man , he switches the control device for a real pen . Below , Plark and the others Skullions are overjoyed that their master can no longer shock them . They agree to follow Sarah and Adriana to the roof where the ship will rescue them . Following Lionel and the rest of the journalists into the auditorium , Clyde and Rani take their seats as the video trailer of Serf plays on the main screen . Harrison appears and reclaims his stolen pen from Clyde posing as Trevor . Seeing that the PR man has his control device back , Sky and Luke drive the hologram themselves . As the audience looks on , Joseph Serf stumbles onto the stage and gives a bizarre presentation . Behind the scenes in the Light Chamber , Luke tells Sky to make Serf sound American instead of British , but Sky types in the wrong words and mixes cowboy mannerisms ( like Woody from " Toy Story " ) into Serf ' s performance . Furious and confused , Harrison activates his pen . Up on the roof , the Skullions collapse in the worst agony they have ever experienced . Using the hologram ' s speech and hypno controls , Sky makes Serf compel his audience to grab the pen from Harrison . Lionel leads the rush , and he seizes the device from the astonished PR man and stamps it into pieces . To Harrison ' s further dismay , Serf orders his guests to go away and tell everyone that the SerfBoard is a sham . Clyde and Rani are amused , but wonder why the founder of Serf Systems would say such a thing . The hologram waves and says , " Hi Clani " , and points to the roof , telling them to go up and meet Sarah before shutting off and fading . However , Harrison overhears . He races ahead of the two , appearing before Sarah , Adriana and the terrified Skullions . Sarah reminds Harrison that she told him she would stop him . Harrison asks what army does she have . Sarah points to the Skullion ship as it arrives above the building . Rani grabs a distracted Harrison ' s weapon . The gang holds him at bay as a green teleport beam stabs down and envelops the Skullions . As Plark bids goodbye to Sarah and the gang , Harrison rushes forward to grab them , declaring them as his property . Unfortunately for him , he is teleported aboard the ship with the Skullions . Luke voices the hope that the Skullions will give Harrison a taste of his own medicine and put him to work as Adriana wonders what she will do now that she has lost her job . Eager to help , Sarah recommends that she give UNIT a call and mention who sent her . Some time later , Sarah , Clyde , Rani and Sky watch a news report detailing Joseph Serf ' s sudden unexplained disappearance . Sarah notes how sad it is that the public will never know what happened to the real Serf . Sky finds her brother in her room putting up a picture that Clyde has drawn : it depicts Sky , besides the caption " Sky ' s Room " . Overjoyed , she gives Luke a hug . The Earth is shown from space with the caption : " And the story goes on . . . forever " . Story notes . Series retirement . Part two was the final episode of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " , produced along with the preceding series 4 episodes during the same production block that produced series 4 . Production of the remainder was scheduled for the spring of 2011 , but Sladen ' s sudden illness and death from cancer on 19 April 2011 resulted in the BBC discontinuing further production of the series . Russell T Davies respectfully decided to end " The Sarah Jane Adventures " for good , rather than find someone else to portray her character , which he felt was not a viable choice . A special epilogue was added to the end of part two after the death of Elisabeth Sladen . It featured clips from the series , as well as brief clips from TV : " Journey ' s End " and " The End of Time " with David Tennant ( the fourth on - screen appearance of the Tenth Doctor on " The Sarah Jane Adventures " ) . Because only the first half of series 5 had been produced , all remaining episodes were scrapped , and this episode was slightly altered to provide some amount of closure to the series , much like the " Doctor Who " story " Survival " was given a closing monologue in anticipation that the classic series would be cancelled . The episode and " The Sarah Jane Adventures " as a whole ends with a farewell montage . The last episode closes to the sound of Sarah ' s narration from the very first episode , over clips of her adventures with the Third , Fourth , Tenth and Eleventh Doctor s , as well as her adventures on Bannerman Road . She states : " I ' ve seen amazing things out there in space . But strange things can happen wherever you are . I ' ve learned that life on Earth can be an adventure , too . But , in all the universe , I never expected to find a family . " In response to Elisabeth Sladen ' s passing , the first episode of Series 6 of " Doctor Who " , TV : " The Impossible Astronaut " , was given a dedication card to open the episode . Sladen had died four days before the story premiered , making the memorial an eleventh hour addition to the broadcast . Ratings . " to be added " Filming locations . " to be added " Home video releases . " to be added "