The Nightmare Man (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

19 – The Nightmare Man
The Sarah Jane Adventures story
Official Poster from the BBC Website.
Cast
Starring Elisabeth Sladen – Sarah Jane Smith Tommy Knight – Luke Smith Daniel Anthony – Clyde Langer Anjli Mohindra – Rani Chandra Alexander Armstrong – Mr Smith John Leeson – K-9 Mark IV
Others Julian Bleach – The Nightmare Man Doon Mackichan – Louise Marlowe Paul Kasey – Slitheen Toby Longworth – Slitheen Voice
Production
Directed by	Joss Agnew
Written by	Joseph Lidster
Script editor	Gary Russell
Produced by	Brian Minchin Phil Ford (co-producer)
Executive producer(s)	Russell T Davies Nikki Wilson
Production code	4.1 and 4.2
Series	Series 4
Length	2 episodes, 25 minutes each
Originally broadcast	11 & 12 October 2010
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → The Gift The Vault of Secrets
List of The Sarah Jane Adventures serials

The Nightmare Man is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which broadcast on CBBC on 11 and 12 October 2010. It is the first story of the fourth series. It marks the departure of Luke Smith from the regular cast.

The story starts with Luke Smith recording a message - he is frightened that somebody is coming. The story then flashes back a year, to show Luke telling Sarah Jane that he is planning to go the University a year early. It is then revealed that they are handcuffed to a bomb set by a Slitheen - however Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra come in with K-9. K-9 deactivates the bomb, and Clyde throws some vinegar at the Slitheen to kill it.

The story then goes back to 4 days before Luke goes to Oxford University, and shows him revealing that he got the right grades to get in. He starts planning his trip to Oxford. However, he starts having nightmares of his friends saying nasty things. First, Sarah Jane and K-9 say how glad they will be to get rid of him, and then Rani and Clyde mock him for showing off by going a year early. Luke realises in the second one that it is not just a nightmare but something more - however, he is unable to say anything about it.

With two days to go, Clyde throws a going away party with some of his school friends. Luke has a third nightmare there - finally seeing the Nightmare Man of the title, who tells Luke that he is unable to tell anyone else about him - and sure enough, when Rani asks him, he is unable to say the name of the person. He then tries to tell his former friend Maria Jackson via Facebook but falls asleep, and has another nightmare. The Nightmare Man shows him a vision of Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani replacing him with someone else, and burning all his photos. He tells Luke that he feeds off nightmares, and that one more will allow him to come into his world. On his last night, Clyde and Rani stay over and he tries to keep them awake - however as he starts to feel tired, he realises that he cannot stop the Nightmare Man, and records the message seen at the beginning. He then falls asleep - and sure enough, the Nightmare Man materialises in the room, where he adjusts to being real. The final shot of the first part is of Luke stuck in a completely black place shouting for help.