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

Haresh’s cooking gets another bashing in The Mark of the Berserker. With Gita away, Rani pushes for ordering in a take-away rather than having to suffer Dad’s cuisine. At first, unaware of the power of the Berserker pendant, she then proceeds to make him act like a fool before a careless choice of words — ‘You’d die if you could see yourself!’ — causes her to realise the danger in what she’s doing.

“Of course you’re going to try and work it out yourself.”

Haresh, The Mark of the Berserker, Part One

Gita isn’t the only Mum missing: Sarah Jane is conspicuous by her absence, although this doesn’t stop her riding in to save the day. (Well, it is her show after all.)

It being Sarah Jane-lite, The Mark of the Berserker instead becomes very much Clyde’s story. We get to meet his Mum and long-absent Dad and for the second story in a row Clyde finds himself under someone’s spell. This time around it’s said Dad, who pilfers the pendant from Sarah Jane’s attic and proceeds to use its Jedi mind trick-like powers at every opportunity.

The story also gives Daniel Anthony a chance to shine as he shows us Clyde is not just everybody’s favourite cheeky chappy; he’s been deeply affected by his parents’ separation, even if he doesn’t reveal it much. It also seems Clyde also has a bit of flair for drawing.

His heart to heart with Sarah Jane at the end of the story is rather wonderful, and judging by the Next Time trailer, her ‘sometimes I think I’d do anything to see them again’ line, about the parents she does not remember, sets up the next episode quite nicely too.