"Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" may be on hiatus in the United Kingdom, but fans of the Whoniverse have something to whet their appetite until the new seasons launch in 2008 with the premiere of the next spin-off series, "The Sarah Jane Adventures."

Starring Elisabeth Sladen (who was also the companion of Tom Bakers Doctor), the series takes a more intimate look into the life of her character as she once again deals with aliens and unexplained events on planet Earth.

The series itself has been aimed at a slightly younger audience, balancing the scales with "Torchwood" (which has a very adult demographic), and so will feature stories that will appeal to younger school children. But just because the show is aimed at a younger audience than its parent series, that doesnt mean there cant be a few tie-ins.

In the original pilot episode, "Invasion of the Bane" Sarah Jane makes contact with an alien entity not too dissimilar to that of "Torchwoods" "Greeks Bearing Gifts" and the opening episode of the full series will feature one of "Doctor Whos" original season one villains -- the Slitheen.

Although her character was originally only intended to return for "School Reunion" in "Doctor Whos" second season but after seeing Sladen on screen again, showrunner Russell T. Davies was inspired to create a show for the character.

"I did that episode, 'School Reunion,' and I thought what a lovely end for my character," Sladen told the Daily Telegraph. "Then, as Torchwoodwas coming out, I got a call saying Russell would like to take me out for lunch to talk about something else. I thought, 'Im going to be in Torchwood.' But he said, 'We want to do a series called The Sarah Jane Adventures,' I absolutely didnt see it coming."

"The Sarah Jane Adventures" pilot episode was first broadcast on New Year's Day in the United Kingdom, and like all pilots the series was re-tooled slightly based on the audience's feedback. Some viewers were less than enthusiastic about one of Sarah Janes sidekicks, Kelsey (played by Porsha Lawrence-Mavour) and as a result the character was removed from the series and a replacement will be introduced early on in the new episodes.

The full series for "The Sarah Jane Adventures" begins on BBC One Sept. 24 with "Revenge of the Slitheen" kicking off the adventure. There are currently no plans as of yet to bring the series to the United States.