The Hand of Fear

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith to a rock quarry. While they try to piece together where they are, an explosion buries them in rubble. Struggling under the debris, Sarah reaches out for what she believes to be the hand of someone coming to her aid. In actuality, it's the hand of Eldrad, a Kastrian criminal who had been killed in an explosion in space millions of years earlier. Later, in the hospital, Sarah wakes up under the spell of the fossilized hand. Her mission is to revive Eldrad by any means necessary. "Eldrad must live." First stop, the nearest nuclear power plant. The Hand of Fear is a fairly middle of the road serial. It's probably best remembered for being the last serial to feature Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah is often considered to have been one of the best companions from the original series. A fan favorite, for sure. At the end of the last episode, Sarah and the Doctor share a bittersweet goodbye. It seems clear that neither one of them is truly ready to part company. But part they must and so the Doctor lets Sarah out in, what he assures her is her home town, South Croydon. It's not long before Sarah realizes that the Doctor's navigation skills have failed her once again and she is, in fact, not in South Croydon.

Rating: This is intensely interesting%