N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

After a story that widened The Sarah Jane Adventures‘ cast to include once again the main character from the parent show and another of his former companions as well as name-dropping a bunch of others, here we have a story that pares it back so much we barely see its own eponymous character.

The Empty Planet is very much a Clyde and Rani adventure.

“Score one up for the hangers-on”

Clyde, The Empty Planet, Part Twp

What’s more, it’s excellent.

That empty pushchair on Bannermen Road is a nice touch, and it sets the scene for an atmospheric runaround as Clyde and Rani try to figure out where the hell everybody has disappeared to.

It’s also abundantly clear that Clyde has a bit of a thing for Rani. For one, he keeps banging on about Adam and Eve. He also gets to do ye olde pretending to be a mannequin routine to fool the robots.

But it’s Rani who manages to clear up the confusion.

Which is a rather clever use of homophones, all things considered.