Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who was Sarah Jane Smith on “Doctor Who” and the spin off children’s show, “The Sarah Jane Adventures”, passed away on Wednesday the 20th, at 63 from cancer.
I could probably write quite a bit about the effect that Doctor Who had on me as a kid, on late night public television, and her role in that was substantial. Back then, and growing up into my twenties, other than my brother and a few friends, it seemed like such a cult thing. You either knew about Doctor Who, and Sarah Jane Smith, or you didn’t. And the numbers of those who knew were few and far between.
These days, with the debut of the latest series happening same day with London, well, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The news of her passing was talked about from many corners of the web, resulting in tributes, shared stories, and more. Here are some that caught my eye.
Metafilter conversation
Twitter: search: Elisabeth Sladen
Reddit conversation
Slashdot.org: conversation
Tom Baker’s tribute to her
Talis Kimberley wrote a great song, from her perspective talking to her daughter, about her passing, named Goodnight, Sarah-Jane
NPR.org: story about her
Boing Boing: Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) dies
BBC: Tributes paid to Elisabeth Sladen
BBC: Children share their thoughts and memories
Tor.com: My Sarah Jane: Remembering Elisabeth Sladen
Leanne Hannah:Elisabeth Sladen
YouTube: Doctor Who – The Time Warrior – Meet Sarah Jane
YouTube: The Third Doctor regenerates
YouTube: Doctor Who Farewells – Sarah Jane
YouTube: Best of School Reunion
YouTube: The return of Sarah Jane – Dr Who Confidential – BBC sci-fi
YouTube: Sarah Jane and Davros in “Journey’s End”
YouTube: Say goodbye
YouTube: Sarah Jane Says Goodbye to The Doctor on Sarah Jane’s Adventures
“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.” – Sarah Jane Smith
I’m not sure anything ends Sarah Jane. In many ways, you’re going to live forever.