Sarah Jane Embarks on her Final Adventure

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

Elisabeth Sladen, who portrayed Sarah Jane Smith–arguably the most popular “Doctor Who” companion of all time (certainly the only one ever to get her own ongoing TV series)–passed away today of cancer.

People tend to say that one Doctor or another was “their” Doctor, but Sarah Jane was always my companion. She was the one accompanying the Doctor when I first encountered him, and she was the standard against which all the others were measured. I just adored Sarah Jane and always hoped to have a chance to meet the woman who incarnated her. Never had the chance. I hear tell she was wonderful with the fans at conventions. She will be missed. To quote the Doctor’s last line in “School Reunion,” “Good-bye…my Sarah Jane.”

PAD

50 comments on “Sarah Jane Embarks on her Final Adventure”

  1. I could be wrong but wasn’t there another season of Sarah Jane which hasn’t yet been shown in the US?

    1. I haven’t been keeping track of when SJA has aired in the US. Did they get through season 3 in the States?
      .
      Series 4 and 5 were given the greenlight at the same time, and I thought they were filmed back to back, with series 4 on CBBC last fall and series 5 this fall.

      1. Only the first season of SJA was shown on SciFi (as it was known then). The ratings apparently weren’t great. As far as I know, seasons 2 and three are only available in the US on DVD. I’d love for someone to pick it up. There are a few episodes that I would like to see. As for season 5, the reports that I’ve read indicated that some, but not all of the episodes were filmed. Hopefully that is wrong. It would be a shame for the series not to have a proper ending.

      2. I’m seeing it mentioned that 3 of the 6 stories for Series 5 were filmed.
        .
        I thought I had read at one point that part of Series 5 was to be filmed along with Series 4, with the intent of filming the rest of Series 5 later. If 3 stories were in fact filmed, then this must have happened.
        .
        The final story of Series 4 was titled “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith”. Considering the upbeat note that the series ended on, I’d be content if those episodes from Series 5 were never seen.
        .
        But it sounds like the DW production team plans on doing something last minute for the season premier this weekend. Hopefully it’s for both her and the Brig.

  2. .
    I just saw the news about 30 minutes ago. Hers was a fun character to watch; especially early on when the writers were still trying to make her a more headstrong companion who would question or argue with the Doctor or head off and do her own thing.
    .
    And, dámņ, she was just so much fun to see again in the last few years taking the character on again. Lousy news to see.
    .
    She was 63 and passed after fighting with cancer. Really hating that word these days.

  3. I watched her when I was 3 years old. Too little was I to know I watched reruns from the UK, and she had already departed the show a couple years prior.
    She reminded me of my mother(she was about my Mom’s age), but she was the magical world of TV and Doctor Who the most magical of all.
    I always bother me when she left. Especially so as the Doctor left Sarah in Croydon instead of her home. Anyplace away from home felt miles away and felt as though home could never be reached again. I learned better later, but it stuck with me.
    When she returned in School Reunion, she annoyingly scolded the Doctor for leaving her in Croydon, and my inner child jumped and laughed as the unresolved Croydon incident was addressed 25 years later.
    Today–today was a shock. 63 isn’t young, but nor is it old. I think very few knew she was ill, and I think the nights are now just a little bit darker for me.

  4. That’s very sad; and so soon after Nicholas Courtney, too.
    .
    And 63 is much too young.
    .
    I’ve been watching Doctor Who daily since about Labor Day, a “chapter” a day, and today will be episode 2 of “Genesis of the Daleks.” So I’m currently in the middle of the Sarah Jane era.
    .
    Rick

  5. Your words mirror my own feelings, Mr. David. I had a friend call me to tell me the sad news, and I am unbelievably sad right now. Her work truly was impactful on so many levels. I was fortunate to have had the chance to meet her at Chicago TARDIS a few years ago and she was truly a lady, a class act, kind in every sense. Is there not one of her fans who can say they couldn’t totally relate to David Tennant’s Doctor upon seeing Sarah Jane again after so many years in “School Reunion”?

  6. Very sad news. I don’t know that she was always “my” companion, but I certainly admired both Sarah Jane and Liz Sladen.
    .
    We were planning a bit of Who-viewing this weekend anyway for the new season; I think a little bit of old Sarah-Jane Who might be in order as well.
    .
    Safe travels, Ms. Sladen.

  7. I’m a 7th Doctor / Ace product myself, but I always enjoyed Sladen’s work on Doctor Who. Whether it was the show itself, the audios for Big Finish, or even Sarah Jane Adventures, Sladen was always at her best.
    .
    With Courtney’s passing only 2 months ago, and now Sladen’s, I’m even more thankful that as silly as the Brig’s appearance on SJA was that it happened at all.
    .
    We just lost actor Trevor Bannister, of Are You Being Served?, a few days ago as well. And man, has that cast gone in a hurry the last few years. 🙁

    1. Bannister was apparently only a year younger that “Mr. Humphires” who died a few years back and only two younger than “Mr. Rumbold” who is still alive and who appeared on a Dr. Who episode in the 60s.

      1. Yeah, when I looked up the cast the other day, I was surprised at how young (relatively speaking) Nicholas Smith is. I thought he was older when doing AYBS? than he is.
        .
        But it’s sad how quickly it has come to pass that only he and Frank Thornton are left of that show’s cast. 🙁

    2. I didn’t know about Bannister. And Jon Inman died, too? I only knew about Wendy Richard and Molley Sugden.
      It’s so strange that they all went so close together.

    3. .
      Another good actor. While he was far, far better known for his role as “Mr. Lucas” in Are You Being Served?, I’ll always remember him (being the geek I am) for harrassing the Tomorrow People.

      1. I had to go look that one up, Jerry. Colonel Masters — I remember him well. Agreed — another good actor.

  8. My wife always tells a wonderful story of being a makeup assistant at the BBC and working on Planet of Spiders where she and Lis both had a huge fear of spiders. Hoping to use one of the prop spiders to help get over it, Sheelagh went to pick it up, not realizing that one of the special FX guys was nearby and he made it move unexpectedly, scaring the hëll out of both women. Ironically, Sheelagh was makeup designer on the new Doctor Who when Lis came back to do School Reunion, so I heard plenty of stories about what was going on behind the scenes. I was lucky enough to interview Lis a couple of times, most recently after School Reunion when there was first talk about a possible Sarah Jane spin-off. I remember pointing out that since the BBC was looking for her to star in the new series, she not sell herself short and let the Beeb convince her that there wasn’t much money in the budget and all the other nonsense they spout when they try to low-ball an actor into a crappy deal. I need not have worried. There were plenty of people, especially in Doctor Who fandom that tried to take advantage of Lis Sladen over the years, but she was a sharp cookie and knew when she was being taken advantage of. That’s why, if momory serves, she stopped doing the Doctor Who DVD commentaries after a while.
    .
    And one final note, just to show the kind of woman she was, Lis actually injured her ankle quite badly on School Reunion, the rest of having to run around in heels, which was always an occupational hazard for Doctor Who companions. But I would challenge anybody to figure out which scenes she did before the injury and which were done after. She was a class act.

    1. They didn’t come classier, Joe. Lis and The Late Jon Pertwee were part of my introduction to Dr. Who fandome back in the early ’80’s when I met them both at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. When one of the fans asked them what other SF shows were popular in the UK, they both said at the same time “Blake’s 7.” Lis had to burst a few male bubbles by saying that her husband, Brian Miller, made a guest appearance on that show! The episode was “Horizon” where he played a disposable Federation lackey who was offed by Blake. I’ve never met her husband, but my heart goes out to him and their daughter who is also an actress. The Grim Reaper has been very busy in the world of SF fandom lately and he’s ticking me off!!

  9. This news is so sad. The Doctor said in “School Reunion” that she was his Sarah Jane, but that is wrong. She was OUR Sarah Jane. I don’t remember much of her time on the original show but from “School Reunion” onward, I just fell in love with her.

    Word is that she had filmed half of the 5th season of The Sarah Jane Adventures but the BBC hasn’t given any indication about whether or not they will air these as a tribute to her or not.

    And even worse, with her tied in so tightly to the current Doctor Who continuity, it will be hard NOT to do something to acknowledge her passing with the main DW program.

  10. I didn’t even know she was sick.
    .
    The very first Doctor I saw was Tom Baker, and Sarah Jane was with him at the time. Although I think I liked the combination of Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan the best, Sarah Jane was always the most memorable single companion.

  11. Still processing the news even though I just finished writing up my tribute on my blog. I keep thinking of these other lines from “School Reunion”…

    “The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world, or a relationship…Everything has its time…and everything ends.”

  13. Like PAD, Sarah Jane was always “my companion.” And since she’s also been a part of the 21st century incarnation of the show, it’s more than just simple nostalgia. I’m hoping for some kind of dedication before the premiere (or at least before the second episode if its too late to add it to this weeks).
    For a show that’s been around almost 50 years (on and off) its amazing that between Doctors, Companions, and major reoccouring characters, maybe 10 at most are no longer with us.

    1. Ok did a quick Wikipedia check. We’ve lost 3 doctors, 8 companions (besides SJ and the Brig, there’s also the people who played Barbara, Katarina, Ben, Harry, and Kamelion, and the second voice of K-9) plus the two “main” Masters Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley. And of course a large number of actors who played memorable roles over the years including another recent death, Michael Gough.

      1. I think the late Michael Wisher is worth a mention – he appeared in quite a few different roles in DW over the years, most notably as the first, and best, Davros.

        Another testament to the appeal of Sarah Jane was that an Australian author named Dave Franklin wrote a blackly-comic novel entitled “Looking for Sarah Jane Smith” (the protagonist of the novel views SJS as his ideal woman).

    2. David, to put your mind at rest, from the BBC News Website (Full story can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13137674 for any interested parties.)

      “Doctor Who returns on Saturday and a spokeswoman for the show said that “something suitable is being planned” as a tribute to the late actress.”

      Here’s hoping the BBC does us proud.

      I, for one, will be watching this weekend with a glass raised to ‘Our Companion’

  15. I dropped ex-wife Susan an e-mail when i read the news, in case she hadn’t heard, though i’d be surprised if she hadn’t.
    .
    Susan met Lis Sladen a couple times, as i recall, and said she was a real person, as it were.

  16. Wow, I’m completely blindsided — I’ve not heard anything about her being ill. In this day and age, 63 is Way Too Young To Go. 🙁

    Wildcat

  18. Tom Baker has a tribute to her up on his website. Apparently only last week she’s signed a deal with Big Finish to appear in the next bunch of 4th Doctor audios, which suggests that while she may have been sick this wasn’t something that anyone was expecting.

    I guess there’ll be double tribute at the start of the new series this weekend.

  19. I’ve held off posting anything because, until now, I couldn’t express anything but a string of profanity regarding her passing.
    .
    I’ll miss her. She made me smile.

  21. Coincidentally, I saw my first (and so far, my only) Doctor Who serial just a few weeks ago, which was The Ark in Space, the second to feature Tom Baker’s fourth doctor, which also featured Sarah.

  23. I’m not ashamed to admit, what’s on dorktower’s site made me cry.

    As I understand it, Lis knew about her illness for some time, and kept things very quiet. The producers of Sarah Jane Adventures knew as well and one of the 5th season episodes filmed last year was the final episode, as a precaution. I may be wrong though.

  24. I’m not ashamed to admit that as an impressionable teenager way back when, Elisabeth Sladen/Sarah Jane Smith was one of my earliest crushes.
    While I saw the Tom Baker episodes “first run” via PBS, my local station eventually acquired the rights to everything that was available, so eventually I got to see her in action with Jon Pertwee, as well as the 20th anniversary special.
    There is a timelessness to Sladen’s performances that shall always be remembered.
    Sarah Jane was definitely “our” companion.

  26. I wasn’t familiar with Sarah Jane in her original adventures,having only started watching Dr Who with Eccelston, but you hang out around enough comic shops, message boards, and generally geeky friends and you know who she is at a certain point. And when she appeared with Tennant’s crew I Got It very quicky – smart, brave, strong and charming – I was on board as a new fan. When it comes to characters like her the actresses who bring them to life, any age is too soon.

    My sympathies to all of you old school Sarah fans on the loss of a companion and friend.

    1. I also started with the Eccleston run, but even when I first saw her in the David Tennant episode with K-9, I could see what the fuss was about. She still had a natural presence.

  27. Still beautiful and classy even at 63 she will be missed. I am glad she got a chance to shine one last time before cancer took her. If religion is right she is seeing things now that even the Doctor could dream of. RIP…….MY Sarah Jane.

    1. Agreed and she was more beautiful in person when I met her 30 years ago. Ageless beauty is an overused term, but it definitely applied to her. RIP dear Sarah Jane.

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