Doctor Who’s Fifteenth Doctor era was obsessed with the Pantheon, but the show forgot that a Pantheon baby was already introduced to the Whoniverse over 14 years ago. Ncuti Gatwa’sDoctor Whoera featured a lot of discussion about babies and their parentage, fromthe identity of Ruby Sunday’s motherto how Poppy existed.
This eventually all led to the revelation ofthe Rani’s plan inDoctor Whoseason 15’s finale, which involved using baby Desiderium, the God of Wishes, and Conrad to help bring back Gallifrey. In the build-up to this, though, the Doctor crossed paths with several ofDoctor Who’s Pantheon Gods.
However, there was a notable absence of one Pantheon God: The Trickster. The villain was a notable figure in the spinoffThe Sarah Jane Adventures, and the first Pantheon God to ever be established inDoctor Who’s modern era, making it seem like Russell T Davies forgot about him in seasons 14 and 15.
Sarah Jane Smith’s Daughter, Sky, Was The Child Of A Pantheon God
Sarah Jane Smith’s Youngest Child Was Also The Daughter Of The Trickster
ADoctor WhoTV spinoff,The Sarah Jane Adventurescentered on Sarah Jane Smith becoming a mother to Luke and having adventures with him and his friends. Luke left to go to Oxford in season 4, andalthough Rani and Clyde were still around, 13 Bannerman Road was rather quiet.In the final season, Sarah Jane’s daughter, Sky, was introduced.
As a baby,Sky was dropped on Sarah Jane’s doorstep out of nowhere.However, this didn’t last for long. Sky was artificially created by a woman named Miss Myers as part of the war between the Metalkind and Fleshkind, whose later appearance on Earth made the baby transform into her preadolescent form.
Sarah Jane adopted Sky, and she became a part ofThe Sarah Jane Adventuresgangfor three two-part episodes. Unfortunately, Sky wasn’t really remembered well by audiences. However, considering Luke appeared inDoctor Whomultiple times, and the fact that Sky joinedThe Sarah Jane Adventuresso last minute, it made sense.
John Leeson
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The Sarah Jane Adventuresseason 5 was cut short, sadly, too. This played a major part in Sky not becoming a prominent member of the Whoniverse, and perhapsif season 5’s finale, “The Battle of Bannerman Road” had aired, viewers would know Sarah Jane’s daughter was also the child of the villainous Trickster.
Doctor Who Seasons 14 & 15 Were Obsessed With The Pantheon, But Forgot Sky & The Trickster
The Fifteenth Doctor’s Era Features Many Pantheon Gods, But Not The Trickster
We now know thatDoctor Who’s Pantheon Gods are powerfulin different ways, and no two act the same way. Still,for years, allDoctor Whoviewers had to judge the Pantheon on was the Trickster(at least, those who had only seen the show after the 2005 reboot and weren’t familiar with the classic era).
As the God of Traps,Sarah Jane and her kids were frequently caught in the firing line of the Trickster’s destruction.In theory, this made him a great villain for the overarching storyline of the Fifteenth Doctor’s arc, but alas,Doctor Whoforgot about the towering, cloak-wearing god.
Doctor Who’s Pantheon of the Discord Godslater introduced the likes of Maestro, Mr. Ring-a-Ding, and Desiderium. However,it was strange that Russell T Davies failed to utilize the Trickster in these stories,let alone not even mention him properly. Although Davies didn’t write the Trickster’s debut episode, he was the showrunner and so would’ve signed off on the character.
Considering Davies brought back Clyde Langer inDoctor Who’sTales of the TARDIS, it seemed like a natural setup for reintroducing the Trickster. However,instead, all we got was a reference to Clyde’s lingering feelings for Rani and a mention of Lukeworking with Sanjay at UNIT.
InThe Sarah Jane Adventuresseason 5, Luke was supposed to come home from university and introduce his friend, Sanjay, as his boyfriend to his mother, sister, and friends. However, this episode never made it to air.
That’s whyit was so odd that the Trickster and Sky weren’t mentioned,especially as there were things that suggested this part of the Whoniverse’s canon hadn’t been retconned or disregarded.The Sarah Jane Adventuresseason 5 may have been left unfinished, but this didn’t make Sky’s story irrelevant.
Only Half Of The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 5 Was Filmed
The Sarah Jane Adventuresseason 5 only aired three out of its six two-part adventures: “Sky,” “The Curse of Clyde Langer,” and “The Man Who Never Was.” This was becauseElisabeth Sladen, who portrayed Sarah Jane Smith, sadly passed away prior to the second half of the season being completed.
However,a special edition of theDoctor Who Magazinerevealed information about the episodes that were never filmed.This included details about unfinished storylines, as well as concept images of what production hoped certain scenes would look like.
One of the concept images of “The Battle of Bannerman Road” fromDoctor Who Magazinespecial editionnumber 32 (The Sarah Jane Companion Volume Three) depicted what Sky would’ve looked like with the Trickster part of her emerging.
It was explained thatthe season 5 finale, “The Battle of Bannerman Road,” would reveal that Sky was the Trickster’s daughter,and he had manipulated events so that the child would end up with Sarah Jane. Half of Sky’s soul was “Trickster,” and the villain activated it to essentially use her as a weapon, resulting in a fight over her fate.
Eventually,Sky would’ve learned how to banish the Trickster from reality.She would’ve guarded the Trickster forever as a dimensional entity herself, but she would’ve been graced with the wisdom and kindness of Sarah Jane, too, cementing herself as a hero.
TheDoctor Whowebcast “Farewell, Sarah Jane,”which focused on Sarah Jane’s funeral, implied that the events of “The Battle of Bannerman Road” still occurred, anyway. However,even inDoctor Who’s more recent mentions ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures’ characters, Sky’s name never cropped up.
Perhaps Davies realized trying to implement Sky intoNcuti Gatwa’sDoctor Whoerawould be too complicated, especially as the character wasn’t as established as Luke or Sarah Jane herself. Still, it would’ve been nice forDoctor Whoto at least explain the Trickster’s absence in the Patheon storyline, even if it didn’t involve reminding audiences of Sky.
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Doctor Who: Released on July 16, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC. Launched in 2007, it is a spin-off of Doctor Who, created by Russell T Davies. The series follows Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist with a history of time-traveling adventures.
