Today Michael sent me a text that said it has been one year since Elisabeth Sladen passed away. My response was that it seemed like it was only yesterday, it really doesn't feel like a full year has passed by.
This got me thinking a lot about her. As Michael and I both stated Sarah Jane Smith was one of the first companions that we actively remember from our youth. She was one of the voices that helped to introduce us into the strange adventures through space and time in the TARDIS with the Doctor.
What makes her hands down one of the best companions, if not THE best companion ever?
I don't know if I can answer that one completely. I only know what I feel about her.
I can say this hands down, if I ever got to go along for adventures in the TARDIS, I would have wanted to do so with Sarah Jane Smith, investigative reporter.
She was plucky, she was sweet, she was independent, she stood up for herself and she didn't always need rescuing. Most importantly of all, she was the Doctor's best friend, this especially became true when the Doctor regenerated into his 4th incarnation(played by Tom Baker). You could believe their relationship was genuine, even though she was human and he was a Time Lord. You knew that they cared about each other. I will admit that sometimes the writers didn't treat the character as well as they could have, she started out very strong and then later was written weaker..but that never mattered. The reason it never mattered was that Elisabeth Sladen was a class act. She was a great actress, you loved her, you just couldn't help it. So, if the situation or writing was a bit sketchy or the very independent journalist sometimes screamed a lot and needed to be saved, well, you just didn't care, it was Sarah Jane. You were along for the ride with her.
When Sarah Jane Smith left the Doctor and the TARDIS on that street corner that clearly was not in South Croydon, in her Andy Pandy jumper and the goodies she had packed( her stuffed owl and a potted plant) it was the end of an era.
We were able to see Sarah Jane again in the 5th Doctor story The Five Doctors and even though her coat was a bit silly and her part was a bit silly too, it just didn't matter. Once again it was Sarah.
Not being in England, we missed the pilot of K-9 and company which sees Sarah Jane getting a K-9 mark III robot dog from the Doctor as a Christmas present(the Doctor was referenced and not in the actual show) I saw this show much later on and was probably in my early 20's. Was it good?
nahhh, not really. It was great to see the character again but the story line just didn't work as a pilot episode. It dealt with local residents practicing in witchcraft where Sarah lived. It might have made a decent episode in the middle of a series, but not as a pilot
After that, it was always a treat to go back and watch episodes with Sarah in them on tape. We got to read about her adventures with the 7th Doctor in the Virgin published novel Bullet Time and then in the Missing and Lost Adventures novels.
Big Finish Audio did two series of audio adventures solely about Sarah Jane in the present day and those were even better than reading about her, we got to have the character and hear Lis Sladen voice her, what a treat.
Seeing her come back in School Reunion with David Tennant was magical and amazing and she looked stunning and beautiful. It was just a breathtaking moment to see her in action again. Apparently that thought was not just ours because Sarah/Lis made another appearance on Who and then got her own spin off show The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Sadly, plans for her and Tom Baker to do some 4th Doctor audios for Big Finish were on the table when she passed away, so we will never get to see what could have been...
I like to try to look at it though as not what could have been...but as what we have. Elisabeth Sladen made the character of Sarah Jane Smith a real person, a person that millions of people loved, and continue to love. We still have all of her episodes and audios to watch and listen to...and most importantly of all, we have our memories.
I know that I have rambled on a whole lot Michael, so I will end this one now, but before I go, I am going to ask you a few questions to answer, once you do, I will do the same.
What is your favorite Sarah Jane story?
What is the first Sarah Jane memory from childhood that comes to mind?
-Bill
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