So many of my friends are science fiction fans, and so many of us grew up on Doctor Who. It’s no surprise that so many of us were surprised and saddened to hear that Lis Sladen died yesterday.
Sarah Jane, that is.
Today the reminiscences and memorials to a beloved actress appear.
Tom Baker writes of his time with her (Tom Baker is my Doctor, but I also have a great fondness for him as Puddleglum the Marshwiggle).
Dork Tower was just about perfect.
I still have a crush on her after all these years; Baker was my Doctor, too, and Sarah Jane the best companion (though the Romanas came close). When the new series brought her back in, that, more than anything, was what validated the new show for me.
My understanding is that the writers in the ’70s initially considered making the Sarah Jane character a bit spacey until Sladen was cast, at which point they realized they had an actress who was plucky, charming and smart, and not writing those qualities into her character would be wasting them. Apparently, she was just a wonderful woman, and pretty much everybody who knew her loved her. It’s a cliche to say someone who has just passed will be missed, but it’s nonetheless true with Ms. Sladen.
Oh, dear. I hadn’t heard. Thank you for posting.
She was my favorite Companion, as well as the one I always get when I take the “which Companion are you?” quizzes. I loved her relationship with the Doctor (especially Four), and have enjoyed the spinoff eps I have seen with her.
Dork Tower made me cry.