Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Luke Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)

Who’s up for a bit of Luke and his super-brain?  Definite theme here, with the clever saves.  Although the super-genius’s clever saves are generally way more impressive than that of us regular schmucks, there can be a sense of sameness to it.  However, I like that a lot of Luke’s big wins come when he really needs them, when he’s feeling insecure in his humanness and needs a reminder that he’s just fine the way he is (spoilers.)  Note:  my DVD drive needs replacing, so I can't grab screencaps at the moment.  I'll go back and add pictures when I can.

Destroying the Bane Mother (Series 1, Episode 0 – “Invasion of the Bane”)

The boy who was born running saves the world on his first day properly alive.  Way to show us up, Lukey boy!  Luke’s photographic memory to the rescue, as he recalls the insanely long code needed to defeat the power-hungry aliens who created him for their own unscrupulous profit.

Escaping the Abbey (Series 1, Episode 4 – “Eye of the Gorgon:  Part 2”)

Luke and Clyde are still getting to know each other at this point, and Clyde gets down on Luke sometimes for being a nerd.  Here, though, it pays off – imprisoned at the abbey by acolytes of the Gorgon, Luke reads up on the abbey’s history, leading him to a secret passage to freedom.

Stopping Spellman (Series 2, Episode 4 – “Secrets of the Stars:  Part 2”)

Granted, this isn’t much in terms of what Luke is physically doing, although it obviously has the enormous effect of stopping the mesmeric powers of a guy who can control people through their Zodiac signs (don’t ask.)  But even though Luke only needs to touch someone under Spellman’s thrall to “break the circuit” of the power he has over them, it’s still a great moment.  Luke is able to use something he doesn’t like about himself – the fact that he doesn’t have an actual birthday, making him feel less human as a result – and turn it into an asset.  I love it.

Using the Mona Lisa’s Power against Her (Series 3, Episode 10 – “Mona Lisa’s Revenge:  Part 2”)

As far as Luke’s clever saves go, I like this one a lot.  He puts a number of different threads together – the key the Mona Lisa needs to release the Abomination, her power of bringing artwork to life, the drawing of K9 in Clyde’s sketchbook – to make a pretty savvy plan.  He smashes the real key but tells the Mona Lisa Clyde can draw a copy and she can bring it to life, knowing she’ll accidentally do the same to K9 on the next page, and then everyone’s favorite tin dog can take her out.  Nicely done, Luke!

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

This tagteam with Sky is great fun.  While Sarah Jane helps the enslaved Skullions escape Serf Systems, Luke and Sky buy them time by performing the Skullions’ ordinary task:  operating the real-time hologram of Joseph Serf.  Now, they’re two (admittedly brilliant) kids doing what it takes a whole team of aliens to pull off, so the result is obviously ridiculous, but I love it all the same, and it’s terrific to see the Smith siblings working together.