Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Rani Chandra (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

Oh, how I love to watch Whoniverse characters being smart and being brave.  Here are five scenes I adore from my girl Rani.

Investigating Odd Bob (Series 2, Episode 3 – “The Day of the Clown:  Part 1”)

Upon seeing a strange clown that pops out of nowhere and seemingly disappears at will, what does Rani do?  Investigate, of course!  She doesn’t try to rationalize it or fret that she’s going crazy.  Alien-wise, she hits the ground running, poking into the peculiar and searching for answers, no matter how bizarre they may be.

Stopping the Nanoforms (Series 3, Episode 2 – “Prisoner of the Judoon:  Part 2”)

This one’s a tag-team with Clyde, but who doesn’t love a weaponized fire extinguisher?  Trapped a lab with the nanoforms closing in, Clyde bemoans the fact that they’re without Luke, who normally does the science stuff, but Rani isn’t ready to throw in the towel.  She urges him to keep his head in the game, and when he remembers that they don’t react well to cold temperatures, Rani’s ready to lock and load.

Taking on Androvax (Series 4, Episode 4 – “Vault of Secrets:  Part 2”)

I think all the non-Smith kids on the show feel guilty from time to time about keeping their parents in the dark about what they do, but when those parents are in trouble, the kids will do anything to keep them safe.  Here, Rani confronts an alien convicted of multiple counts of genocide who’s stolen her mother’s body and is using it to hide from the authorities.  Rani both risks the danger of confronting Androvax and offers her own body up for possession instead, getting him out of her mom.  Now that’s love – better than breakfast in bed any day!

Staying with Jane (Series 4, Episode 10 – “Lost in Time:  Part 2”)

Pretty much everyone is great throughout this entire story, and Rani is no exception.  Not only does she successfully navigate social mores in the 16^th century and thwart an assassination attempt on Jane Grey, I love that she also stays to help Jane face her impending arrest at the hands of Queen Mary.  Rani knows she has to let history play out the way it’s supposed to, so she can’t save Jane, but she’s there as a friend, offering Jane comfort during her final hours of freedom.  Really lovely.

Sneaking into Serf Systems (Series 5, Episode 6 – “The Man Who Never Was:  Part 2”)

Rani is so great here.  After her (adorable) insistence that she and Clyde take “precautions” before investigating the SerfBoard, she manages to get them on site for the big launch, making press passes for her and Clyde after figuring out which reporters from the list of invitees aren’t coming.  Nice work on her part, and the result of her and Clyde passing themselves off as a pair of (married) journalists from Twilight Years Magazine is one of my favorite “undercover” scenarios on the show.