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Sad news. Elizabeth Sladen, who played companion Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who, has died of cancer at age 63, the BBC reports.
Sladen played intrepid reporter Sarah Jane Smith from 1973 to 1976, first traveling with the third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, then tagging along with the fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker.
The character of Sarah Jane was so beloved she was given a spinoff show not once but twice: the first time in 1981 with K-9 and Company and in 2006-2010 with The Sarah Jane Adventures. (As Torchwood is like Doctor Who with adult content, The Sarah Jane Adventures is like Doctor Who for the pre-teen set.)
Here are just a few of the things we loved about Sarah Jane Smith and the wonderful Lis Sladen, who brought her to life.
Her time as a companion
In "Genesis of the Daleks," the Doctor and Sarah Jane, along with their friend Harry, were sent back in time to confront Davros, whose nacent experiments to mutate the race of Kaleds into Dalek killing machines was becoming a grim reality.
Sarah Jane urged the Doctor to kill the Daleks, all of them, in one shot: "We're talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You must destroy them."
And then the Doctor asked, as emotional as the fourth Doctor ever got, "Do I have the right?" It's a question that's haunted the Doctor throughout all of his travels, even to the present day, and Sarah Jane was there to make him ask it.
Leaving the Doctor
After doing battle with Eldrad in "The Hand of Fear," Sarah Jane, in a fit of frustration, decides on the spur of the moment to leave the Doctor. ("I'm going to pack my goodies, and I'm going home!") In that moment, the Doctor receives a message from Gallifrey and learns he has to leave her behind. And suddenly she doesn't want to go. But she has no choice.
Clutching a stuffed owl, a flower pot and a tennis racket while wearing a ridiculous romper, she's obviously trying hard to be optimistic. She walks away from the TARDIS, whistling a happy little tune. But then, she can't help but look up at the sky. A devastating moment.
Leaving the Doctor ... for the second time
The tenth Doctor runs into Sarah Jane in "School Reunion," and instead of a happy little "gee-ain't-it-great-to-see-her-again" episode, what we got was a slap of raw emotion: Sarah Jane couldn't move on from her time with the Doctor, and she had always waited for him. We didn't expect that kind of honesty from a Doctor Who episode. It hurt so good.
At the end of the episode, the Doctor and Sarah Jane part for real this time, the tenth Doctor giving her something that Baker's Doctor never gave her: closure.
Her own adventures
In this episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, "Death of the Doctor," Sarah Jane meets another former companion from the Pertwee era, Jo Grant (played by Katy Manning), as well as the 11th Doctor (played by Matt Smith), who is enjoying some time alone during Rory and Amy's honeymoon.
The episode shows Matt Smith as his wacky best. But the moment worth the price of admission comes at the end (start at 8:47), when Sarah Jane talks to her young friends about the Doctor's other companions and what became of them.
It was important for Sarah Jane to have closure in "School Reunion." Here, we get it with many other of the Doctor's 20th century Earth-based companions, and what they've gone on to do with their lives.
"With friends like us," she said, "he's never going to die."
Cheers to you, Sarah Jane Smith, and rest in peace, Elizabeth Sladen.
Full Bio http://sharetv.org/person/elisabeth_sladen
A very sad loss, she was by far my favourite of the doctors companions for many years.
RIP Elisabeth Sladen.
Oh wow! This is sad news. She will be missed dearly.
Very sad indeed. Much too young of an age to pass.
Dr Who stars pay tribute to Sladen
Thursday, April 21, 2011 09:17am
Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Tom Baker have paid tribute to late actress Elisabeth Sladen.
Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Tom Baker have paid tribute to late actress Elisabeth Sladen, who played the show's feisty heroine Sarah Jane Smith, praising her 'grace and kindness' and branding her death a tragic loss for fans of the cult sci-fi show.
Smith starred alongside Sladen last year as a special guest in a two-part episode of her spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures.
And Smith, the current Doctor Who, has fond memories of his time working with Sladen.
Smith says, 'What struck me about Lis was her grace. She welcomed me, educated me, and delighted me with her tales and adventures on Doctor Who.
'And she also seemed to have a quality of youth that not many people retain as they go through life.
'Her grace and kindness will stay with me because she had such qualities in abundance and shared them freely... I will miss her, as will the world of Doctor Who and all the Doctors that had the good pleasure to work with Lis Sladen and travel the universe with Sarah Jane.'
And Baker, who appeared in the show with Sladen when he played the Doctor between 1974 and 1981, writes on his website, 'Sarah Jane dead? No, impossible! Impossible... She can't be dead. But she is, she died yesterday morning. Cancer. I had no idea she was ill; she was so private, never wanted any fuss, and now, gone.
'A terrible blow to her friends and a shattering blow for all those fans of the programme whose lives were touched every Saturday evening by her lovely heroic character, Sarah-Jane Smith... It is so consoling when one is sad and bereft to remember the good times, the laughter, the glamour.
'Those sweet memories of happy days with Lis Sladen, the lovely, witty, kind and so talented Lis Sladen. I am consoled by the memories. I was there, I knew her, she was good to me and I shall always be grateful, and I shall miss her.'
Sladen died on Tuesday at the age of 63 after losing her battle against cancer.
Let me tell you the news of Liz's death brought me as close to tears as one can get, I grew up watching the original Dr.s and to me she will always be sweet Sarah Jane Smith. I was so happy when she appeared in some of the new series, she hadn't changed much in eye but I was still seeing her as 17 year lad she is 5 years older than me I fell love with her. As a 17 yr old is prone to do:) I have nothing but wonderful memories of her and I believe she was one of the last of the original series left, what I call the original series at least the first 4 doctors. I will miss her show and her more than anyone can comprehend
Rest in Peace Sarah Jane Smith on your last great adventure into the unknown
My Sarah Jane – A Tribute To Elisabeth Sladen will be broadcast on CBBC on Saturday 23 April at 6.45pm. Contributors include David Tennant and Matt Smith.
I would be there in person if I was back home
Perhaps there will be a torrent.
If I can find one I will post a link here.
Found it on The Box
"My Sarah Jane - A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen"
Sorry cannot link as this is a members only site.
However suggest use the torrent title as it may have been lodged on other torrent sites.
Available here:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6339420/My.Sarah.Jane.A.Tribute.To.Elizabet
h.Sladen.WS.PDTV.XviD-BiA
cheers Quark
here also iptorrents
My Sarah Jane A Tribute To Elizabeth Sladen WS PDTV XviD-BiA
http://www.iptorrents.ru/details.php?id=454931
I want to write about how sad this is for my children and me, but the words don't seem to come. We have .....
I'm not a Dr Who fan so I am not familiar with Elizabeth's character. I find it very strange that her last episode of The Sarah adeventures was called "GOODBYE SARAH JANE SMITH"
Vale Sarah Jane Smith... thank you for being an intelligent and adventurous companion and also being able to wear jumpsuits with boots through time and space.
yeah a good tribute to sarah jane
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