The fact that Sarah Jane, once a companion of the Doctor, is now defending the Earth, recruiting companions, and making the world a better place with kindness and ingenuity rather than weapons - talk about Character Development! She had big shoes to fill, and she did it admirably.
One for the series as well: Proving that a show aimed at younger audiences didn't have to be shallow or fluffy-it took a few episodes, but once it began Growing the Beard, it proved itself equally capable of taking on darker issues as Doctor Who, but still with an optimistic approach that showed that not every modern-day hero needs to be Darker and Edgier.
A lot of the time, once a character is Put on a Bus, they're pretty much gone forever aside from maybe the occasional mention. Here, Maria and Alan get to befriend Rani, Jo and the Brigadier return to work with Sarah Jane again, and Luke gets to go on (at least one) adventure with Sky. It's just wonderful to see that just because the characters we love are no longer regular parts of the show, that doesn't mean they've disappeared forever, and that they can still befriend newer characters.
Any time Luke and Sarah Jane are reunited. Hell, just the entirety of Luke and Sarah Jane's relationship, period.
The occasions where Sarah Jane and K9 reunite. There are feels all around.
The "Goodbye Sarah Jane" video, released on the 9th anniversary of Elisabeth Sladen's death as part of Doctor Who: Lockdown features. It has cast members coming back with Classic series problems, showing what they did with their life and giving a tribute to one of the most beloved figures in show's history.
Sladen's daughter then released a video of her own in thanks for this.
While everyone else gathers to celebrate her funeral, Rani tells Mr. Smith that she thinks Sarah Jane isn't actually dead—she slipped away quietly and went off traveling time and space with the Doctor. Mr. Smith quietly agrees. The story really does go on...forever.
Season 1
"Invasion of the Bane": Seeing Sarah Jane open herself up to Luke and Maria is just lovely. Already, she's becoming the mentor and Team Mom that we love.
Watching Sarah Jane interact with the alien poet and direct her back home. It's a moment almost as wondrous for the audience as for Maria. Seeing as most of the aliens we meet are out for revenge/conquest/destruction/unlimited rice puddingnote As per "Remembrance of the Daleks", it's just so sweet knowing that not all of them are vicious; sometimes, even aliens just need a bit of direction to get back home.
In "Revenge of the Slitheen", Sarah Jane is off on a ramble about Slitheen and then, suddenly, remembers: "Slitheen in Downing Street". When queried on it, she says it's "something a friend told me once". She and Rose have met once (a meeting which was at first overshadowed by Rose being a jealous jerk) and they're already friends.
From "Eye of the Gorgon", Bea getting to hear the voice of her deceased husband, one last time. She also gets to help Maria save the world!
In general, Alan being a genuinely good dad throughout the series. He goes through a lot, but he's seldom anything but kind and patient to his daughter, even putting up with his flighty ex-wife for Maria's sake.
When the Trickster shows up, Alan looks ready to charge him barehanded.
Although it's also a Tearjerker, Andrea agreeing to give up her own life for Sarah Jane, Luke, and the world. Sarah Jane promises that she has never forgotten her, and saves lives in her name.
How much has having Luke for a son and Clyde and Maria as friends changed Sarah Jane? She actually takes food and tea around to the Chandra house when they move in. A stark contrast to her somewhat prickly greeting to Maria on her arrival. Even if her primary motive is to double-check that Maria hasn't left any alien stuff lying around, she still at least makes the effort to appear truly welcoming.
Sarah Jane counsels Luke that things changing don't always have to be bad. In turn, he listens to her when she recounts why she's so afraid of clowns.
Rani's awe at the universe and its wonders, not to mention Sarah Jane's attic, is just lovely to see. Such a marked change from Kelsey.
Sarah Jane is very vocal in her desire to give Luke a cake, party and attention after they decide on a birthday for him. The Mama Bear is literally throwing herself into being a mother!
Luke not having a birthday, at first something he's disappointed about, ends up saving the world.
Rani gets to make friends with them, even at one point gently making fun of Alan. It's just so lovely to see them connecting with each other.
Luke clearly still looks up to Alan: "You can hack into any computer, can't you, Mr. Jackson?"
Sarah Jane trusting Clyde to make the right decision.
Clyde:(holding the pendant in his hand) What about this?
Sarah Jane: (already walking away) You know what to do!
The final scene between Sarah Jane and Clyde when they have a heart to heart moment. Sarah Jane creates a space where Clyde feels comfortable to talk and open up about his feelings and emotions after all the events that happened in the episode. Sarah Jane's role is to understand and listen to him. When she tells that Clyde that he doesn't have to be cool all the time and says that he underestimates himself, it really tugs the heartstrings. So beautifully heartwarming. She's such a great surrogate mum to her young peers.
Sarah Jane has a photo of her parents with the words "Mr Smith, I need you" on the back...the same phrase she uses for her computer. Every time she summons Mr Smith to help save the world, she's honouring the memory of her dead parents.
Her parents pulling a Heroic Sacrifice, and Sarah Jane getting to share a hug and a few precious words with them.
Seeing the Brigadier in "Enemy of the Bane" after so many years. The looks on Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen's faces must be seen to be believed. Sladen and Courtney had seen each other somewhat regularly at conventions, but it's entirely possible that the last time we saw Sarah Jane and the Brigadier onscreen together was the last time Sarah Jane and the Brigadier saw each other. Moves into heartbreaking Tear Jerker territory, though, after 2011... and yet how fitting that it's these two who were reunited so shortly before we lost them both for good...
The Brigadier: (reverently) Sarah Jane Smith.
Sarah Jane: (warmly) Hello, Sir Alistair.
Crossing over with Moment of Awesome: For all of those who grew up watching the Brig during the classic era, seeing him as a Cool Old Guy reminds you that just because he's old, he's not out of action.
Even more heartwarming? The last time Sarah Jane saw the Brigadier he was not a "Sir". This means she's kept tabs on him over the years, heard of it in the news, or, most likely, they've still met up occasionally. No matter how you spin it, it's clear this a friendship never forgotten.
Also, she doesn't greet him as "Brigadier"; it's "Sir Alistair" - she's greeting him by name, as a friend. Similarly, in the old days he always called her "Ms. Smith," here, it's by her full name.
The Brigadier reveals he'd almost be "disappointed" if Sarah Jane was making a social call to him. Even after all these years, they're both still kicking all of the arse.
In Enemy of the Bane, Luke stands up to Mrs Wormwood; Kaagh has a gun pointed at him. Declaring that Luke is "such a brave boy", Mrs Wormwood moves the gun away from Luke's chest. Despite it all, he is something she cares about.
Kaagh, of all people, sacrificing himself to save the galaxy.
It's mentioned that Maria has been hiding aliens from the US government (presumably with Alan's help). Even without Sarah Jane, they're still fighting the good fight.
Sarah Jane Smith: No one's ever going to forget you.
The look on Sarah Jane's face as Peter renounces his agreement with The Trickster is both this and a Tear Jerker.
The first thing K-9 does when the Doctor turns up? He rolls towards his beloved master and attempts to warn Sarah Jane when danger occurs.
Normally, when the TARDIS lands, it sends papers and leaves etc into the air. When it materialises in Sarah Jane's attic, there isn't so much as a flap of paper. The TARDIS usually shows off when landing. This time, she has no need to show off because Sarah Jane is worthy of a calm, gentle arrival.
While it's somewhat Played for Laughs, Clyde's suspicion of Peter—because Sarah Jane is essentially his second mum, and no one messes with her.
When the Trickster shows up, the Doctor immediately puts himself in front of Clyde, Rani, and Luke.
Overall, just how proud the Doctor is, not just of his beloved Sarah Jane, but also of the kids. When the Doctor says you're doing a great job saving the world...
In the novelization of the episode, Clyde Skypes the Brigadier, asking for advice. The Brigadier tells him that things change, that's part of life, and all we can do is accept them. It's doubly sweet given Clyde's lack of a father figure for most of his life.
The fact that the Brigadier has Skype implies that one of his numerous grandkids taught him how to use it. Given that he once had a less than good relationship with Kate, it's good to see he's kept in close touch with her and his grandkids as the years have gone on.
The kids getting to marvel at the inside of the TARDIS.
Sarah Jane: You came all this way, just for me.
The Doctor: (as if were completely obvious) You're so important.
When the teens ask the Doctor if they can take a trip with him, he looks like he's on the verge of agreeing! Also heartwarming that he respects Sarah Jane enough that when she puts her foot down, he doesn't even think of arguing with her.
Sarah Jane Smith: There’s a woman called Tegan in Australia, fighting for Aboriginal rights. There’s Ben and Polly, in India, running an orphanage there. There was Harry... oh, I loved Harry. He was a doctor, he did such good work with vaccines. He saved thousands of lives. There was a Dorothy something. She runs that company, A Charitable Earth. She’s raised billions. And this couple in Cambridge. Both professors. Ian and Barbara Chesterton. Rumour has it, they’ve never aged. Not since the sixties. I wonder... echoes of the Doctor, all over the world. With friends like us, he’s never going to die, is he?
This means that Ian asked Barbara to marry him and she said yes. All their snarking to each other meant nothing; it was their flirting.
Up to eleven when you realize that this is probably true of Victoria, Steven, and all the rest, maybe even Jamie and Zoe. Every one of the Doctor's friends, in their own way, became a hero thanks to his influence. For all the claims that the Doctor is a monster who makes people into weapons, this scene alone is a perfect refutation of that.
The novelisation goes further - Mel works with A Charitable Earth, providing PCs to schools in Africa and Dr. Grace Holloway is looking into new breakthroughs in surgery.
Jo: So you've been watching me? All this time? Eleventh Doctor: No. Because you're right — I don't look back, I can't. But the last time I was dying, I looked back on all of you. Every single one. And I was so proud.
What makes it more heartwarming, is that Jo was somewhat in doubt about him being the Doctor, and that speech confirmed he was indeed her Doctor. What's more, Matt Smith looks a bit like Jon Pertwee (similar nose and eyes), and for that moment he even looks like the Third Doctor.
Even more so: The Doctor mentions some personal details about one of Jo's grandchildren and a few of her adventures, meaning that not only did he just swing by to check on his companions, but he's been keeping a steady eye on her, even visiting her future—and, possibly, the rest of his friends as well.
After spending the most of the first part thinking the Doctor is dead, the reunion between the Doctor and Sarah Jane is extremely heartwarming, especially since everyone else had their doubts on who he was for a few minutes, because most of them were only familiar with the Tenth Doctor not the Eleventh (or in Jo's case just the first three Doctors), except good old Sarah Jane.
Sarah Jane: It's you, isn't it? Oh, you've done it again! Eleventh Doctor: (smiling) Hello, Sarah Jane.
Jo claims her memory is going - yet she has no problem remembering all the important stuff in her life; her grandson, the Doctor, her adventures, her travels, her husband. All the important things, she's never forgotten.
Just Sarah Jane and Jo getting on famously together as the Doctor's old companions. Sarah Jane even grabs her hand as they go to run just like the Third Doctor did.
When we first met Ace she had a problem with authority and lashed out a lot. She's actually made something of her life, and a something that the Doctor would be proud of. Helping people, without having to be violent.
The fact that Sarah Jane gives the same smiles as the flashbacks; she gives Four's huge, wide grin and then it flashbacks to him doing that smile, then she gives Three's gentle smile and it flashbacks to him doing that smile. It's been decades since she saw those incarnations of the Doctor, but she vividly remembers them.
When Clyde is about to climb in to an air vent in Death of the Doctor, he turns to Rani and asks "you coming?" While it's heartwarming enough that he's asking her to come along, he's also giving her the chance to say no if she wants to. He's respecting her enough to let her choose.
Season 5
In "Sky", the Shopkeeper and the Captain chose Sarah Jane, out of all the possible parents on all the worlds, to be Sky's mum. Admittedly, given what was slated to happen later in the series, it's entirely possible that this was more calculated than it appears, but still: They know that Sarah Jane is an absolutely amazing mum, and want her to take care of Sky.
When feeding baby!Sky, Clyde mentions that he's "looked after [his] little cousin a couple of times". Presumably, this is the child his dad had with his aunt, implying that they still keep in touch.
Clyde's first, but brief, meeting with her - Note that this is before he is cursed - he gives her some money for a bacon sandwich because, in his eyes, being a "Scrounger" might not be her fault.
Sky, the only member of the main cast aside from Clyde himself not affected by the curse on his name, constantly works to force them to realize that their rage every time she mentions his name doesn't make any sense.
The interactions between Luke and Sky in "The Man Who Never Was". Despite this being the first time they've met in person, and their initial discomfort around one another, they soon do start acting like siblings, possibly due to their similar circumstances.
Most notably, the end of the episode, when Luke gets Clyde to draw a picture for Sky and pin it up on her wall. Sky is absolutely delighted.
Sky: It's great.
Luke: Nothing's too good for my sister.
The scene where Plark visits Luke and Sky in prison to bring them food and water, even though he'd probably be electrocuted for it is both this and a Tear Jerker. The music playing in the background seals the deal.
After being treated like crap for the entire episode, Plark and the Skullions finally go back home.
The montage at the end—while it's undoubtedly a Tear Jerker, it's also a sweet and heartwarming tribute to Sarah Jane, her gang, and all of the wonderful things she accomplished.
Farewell, Sarah Jane reveals that Luke joined U.N.I.T, Rani became a reporter and Clyde turned his art into successful movies. Imagine how proud Sarah Jane must have been to see her kids make it in life: we all know she went to see every movie Clyde made ever before her death. Imagine how overjoyed she would've felt watching Rani follow in her footsteps, and seeing Luke help defend the world just like his mum.
, released on the 9th anniversary of Elisabeth Sladen's death as part of Doctor Who: Lockdown features. It has cast members coming back with Classic series problems, showing what they did with their life and giving a tribute to one of the most beloved figures in show's history.