Farewell, Sarah Jane

[filkertom]

Great sadness. A Companion is gone.

Elisabeth Sladen, our Sarah Jane, the Companion of both the Third and the Fourth Doctor, has passed away at the age of 63.

I feel I am fairly safe in saying that she was the favorite Companion of all time. Her cameo appearance in "School Reunion" in 2006 spurred a spinoff show, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

I loved you, Sarah Jane, and it wasn't the hotcha slightly sleazy love I felt for Julie Newmar as Catwoman or even for Electro Woman and Dyna Girl. You were strong, and you were steadfast, and you were clever, and you were lovely, and I loved you. And I'm far from the only one who will miss you.

Rest well, Ms. Sladen, and thank you.

Comments

[jenrose]

The first link does not go where I think it should go.

But this is just devastating news. So sad.

[kshandra]

Yeah, wrong link.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Whoops. Fixed.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Amen.

[maiac.livejournal.com]

As the Doctor's companion in the 1970s episodes, Elisabeth Sladen was terrific. As investigative journalist, mom, and mentor in The Sarah Jane Adventures, she was totally awesome.

I cried when I heard this news.

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

Best. Companion. Ever. I'd like to think that in the great hereafter, she will be given a K-9 to watch over her, forever... farewell, Sarah Jane.

[kshandra]

I want someone to draw Jon Pertwee standing at the Pearly Gates, arms thrown wide, to welcome her in.

[zellion.livejournal.com]

So I can sob? Go for it.

[kshandra]

I no can art, or I would.

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

That's a great notion... puts me in mind of their appearance together in 5 Doctors:

SARAH-JANE: Wait a moment…it's you.
3rd DOCTOR: Well, of course it's me. Hello, Sarah-Jane.
SARAH-JANE: No, but...it's you you.
3rd DOCTOR: That's right.
SARAH-JANE: No no, you changed remember? You became all…er, erm…
3rd DOCTOR: Teeth and curls?
SARAH-JANE: Yes.
3rd DOCTOR: Yes, well, maybe I did, but I haven't yet.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Jon Pertwee, Ian Marter, and Nick Courtney had better be buying her a round right this minute.

[kshandra]

Jaysus, yes.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

... I hope the Heavenly version doesn't require tile or plywood floors to get around. }:-{D

[doctorpinkerton.livejournal.com]

I have it on good authority that the aetheric version of K-9 can fly like the crappy new one - but he looks and acts like the classic one!

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

I came into Dr Who fairly late, and I don't think I've seen more than 3 or 4 episodes with Sarah Jane.

This still hurts a great deal. RIP, Ms. Sladen.

[cscottd.livejournal.com]

:(

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Sarah Jane was the first companion who could be a true partner, rather than a ward. (Except possibly for Dr. Shaw, who was let down by writers not quite ready to let a female character stand on her own feet.)

Yes, she got hypnotized, and she did the screaming thing, but she was also able to give the Doctor cheek and take care of herself (sometimes). Her performance helped define who Tom Baker's doctor was going to be- I wonder if Baker will admit it? }:-{D

All that Sarah Jane, then and now, and it's still not enough, dammit. Whatever age the good die at is an age too young.

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

Whatever age the good die at is an age too young.

Amen to that.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

[jenrose]

Oh, oh. *sniff*

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

Sad now.

[lizziecrowe.livejournal.com]

This. YES. *lifts a toast*

[joshuwain.livejournal.com]

Sara Jane always taught me: you may stumble and fall while being chased by monsters, but -in the end- you always get up and face them.

I'll miss Elisabeth Sladen; she was my favorite and first of the Doctor's companions.

[kirylyn.livejournal.com]

*bawls* I think she will always be my favorite of "classic" companions. I *loved* School Reunion!!

Glad we were able to have 4 (or was it 3) seasons of SJA.

Like others, I didn't even realize she was ill.

What a remarkable person. I sorrow that I'll never get to met her at a con now.

[hms42]

4 Series (seasons). 3 are available on DVD (in the UK and possibly the US.)

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

To my great regret I've never even seen an episode of Dr. Who but I have heard of the Sarah Jane character and the spin-off series she starred in. It is my sincere hope that her friends and family be comforted in their time of mourning and that her fans and admirers can find the same peace and comfort.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Duuuuuude. We will have to take care of that. Tell you what: let's start you with the Season One cinematic fan trailer (http://youtu.be/RDyynGDlsC4) (Season One being a misnomer, but the BBC is counting them from the reboot -- it's actually the Ninth Doctor). If any of that looks enticing, there are lots of places online to track down episodes.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

I've actually wanted to get into Dr. Who for a long time. Just never got around to looking for the early episodes so I could get a good grasp of things.

The fan trailer definitely looks intriguing and I'd love to see more.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, the whole thing about the reboot is that, except for the one American-made TV movie of the Eight Doctor, there hadn't been any new TV episodes since 1989. When they rebooted it, they figured (I think correctly) that the best way to introduce the Doctor was to have Rose Tyler learn about him on the way. So you can go into Series One cold.

My all-time favorite fan trailer, by the way, is this one (http://youtu.be/Jl6hrasp8wg). Spoilery as hell, I suppose, but so amazingly fun, and the "spoilers" are pretty much out of any context.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

That is a great fan trailer. :)
I'm going to start looking for places to watch Dr. Who now. I'd prefer to join netflix and watch there but money is really tight right now.

[denali1.livejournal.com]

Sarah: Don't forget me.
The Doctor: Oh, Sarah. Don't you forget me.
Sarah: Bye, Doctor. You know, travel really does broaden the mind.
The Doctor: Yes. Until we meet again, Sarah.
--- Dr. Who (Tom Baker), "The Hand of Fear"

[muddlewait.livejournal.com]

I'm... I don't know what.

Sarah was the first companion I met. I was probably seven or eight. For me, she was like that beautiful young elementary school teacher some kids are lucky enough to have their first crushes on -- the one who's kind of heart and always ready to be surprised, who makes every class feel like an adventure, both for herself and for you.

Sarah was proof that grown-ups felt the same kinds of things I did, that they had the same kinds of fears, and she showed me that those feelings were okay to have. In danger, she could put on a brave face, sure, or make a joke. But the break in her voice -- that beautiful, honest break -- always told me the danger was still real, that she didn't know what was going to happen, and so, neither did I. Everything that went on seemed more important with her there.

When she left, I never really forgave the Doctor. In my mind, for the better part of twenty years, Sarah Jane Smith was still standing on that corner he'd left her on in my mind, looking over her shoulder. Wondering.

But then, before she had to say goodbye to the rest of us, Lis Sladen (and Russell Davies) gave us "School Reunion". She even provided a happy ending for the friend I'd made such a long time ago, and had missed for so long.

So thank you, Ms. Sladen. I only knew your work, not you. But I really did love it.

(And thanks for the space, Tom. I'm glad to have a less lonely place to write this out.)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

[hugs] It's always less lonely among friends, m'friend.

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

To Sarah Jane and K-9 - a Girl and Her Dog. (And yes, I'd love to hear this one on the FuMP.)

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Just as Tom Baker was THE Doctor for so many of us Yanks of a certain age, Sarah Jane Smith was THE Doctor's Companion.

First the Brigadier, and now Sarah this year.

And we've all the time in the world. -- Vixy

[austinwolfclaw.livejournal.com]

If Groat knows about Doctor Who, we'll see something about this in WCOTP.
Oh a happier note, Series 2 (of the Matt Smith Doctor Who) will launch this saturday with "The Impossible Astronaut". SQUEEEEEEE!