Line #23 Creator/ElisabethSladen


1	[[quoteright:336:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sladen_elisabeth_1_6940.jpg]]
2
3	->''"What a legacy! That wonderful woman... the quintessential ''Series/DoctorWho'' girl. I give her that title with absolutely no qualms at all."''
4	-->-- '''Creator/KatyManning'''
5
6	Elisabeth Clara Heath Sladen (1 February 1946 -- 19 April 2011), frequently and fondly called "Lis", was a widely beloved English actress best known for her role as perennial favourite ''Series/DoctorWho'' companion Sarah Jane Smith.
7
8	She got her start in primary school, although at the time her interest was ballet; in fact, she danced in one production with the famed Royal Ballet. Eventually, however, her sights turned to acting, and she made her first stage appearance as a corpse at the UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}} Playhouse. She was subsequently scolded for [[{{Corpsing}} giggling while onstage]] because the actor playing a doctor - one Brian Miller - [[MeetCute whispered "respiration nil, Aston Villa two" in her ear]]. Incidentally, she [[RomanceOnTheSet married]] that young actor in 1968; they had one daughter, Sadie Miller.
9
10	Sladen joined ''Doctor Who'' in 1973 as the new companion to Third Doctor Creator/JonPertwee, following the departure of Creator/KatyManning as Jo Grant. She remained with the programme for three and a half seasons, finally leaving two years into Creator/TomBaker's run as the Fourth Doctor at the end of the serial ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E2TheHandOfFear The Hand of Fear]]''. Her departure made front-page news; this was unprecedented, as until Sladen only a change of Doctors was announced in such a way.
11
12	After her departure from ''Who'', Sladen made several one-off appearances as Sarah Jane, including charity specials, ''Series/K9AndCompany'' (a pilot for proposed series) and the Creator/BigFinish audio series ''Sarah Jane Smith''. She also did a considerable amount of theatre work, but went into semi-retirement following the birth of her daughter, restricting her work to occasional guest appearances on various television programmes.
13
14	In 2006, ''Doctor Who'' showrunner Creator/RussellTDavies made Sladen an offer she couldn't refuse, and Sarah Jane Smith at long last returned to ''Doctor Who'' proper in the episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion "School Reunion"]]. (PromotedFanboy Creator/DavidTennant, who had grown up loving Sarah Jane, ''could hardly contain his glee at working with her''.) Sarah Jane was given the proper "goodbye" she had been waiting three decades for, and as fanboys and fangirls everywhere wept, the episode was paving the way for yet another generation of children to adore Lis Sladen. Her appearance alongside K-9 in the episode served to end speculation that had divided fandom as to whether or not the revived series was indeed a continuation of the original show. The success of the episode all but singlehandedly spawned ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', an ostensibly LighterAndSofter SpinOff centered on Sarah Jane as she protects the world from an attic located in a rather lovely house on 13 Bannerman Road, [[UsefulNotes/OneLondonThirtyThreeBoroughs Ealing]], London, with the help of a gang of intrepid [[RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude teenagers]]. The show managed to gain incredible critical and commercial success -- and not just among its target audience.
15
16	That same show would see her meet not just the Tenth Doctor again (in "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith"), but the [[Creator/MattSmith Eleventh]] (in "The Death of the Doctor"); she also made a return to DW proper in the two-parter [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]], which was the first and only major three-way crossover between ''Doctor Who'', ''Sarah Jane'' and ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. And "Enemy of the Bane" would see her reunited with good friend and fellow ''Who'' co-star Creator/NicholasCourtney, the dear old [[TheBrigadier Brigadier]] himself, Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, in that wonderful man's last appearance as his iconic and still-beloved character. Sladen made her final appearance on ''Doctor Who'' in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time Part 2"]] in 2010 as she made a cameo appearance to say goodbye to Tennant's Doctor.
17
18	''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' earned critical raves and draws much the same audience as its parent programme; in fact, it regularly draws viewing figures almost unheard of for its time slot. Thank you, Creator/RussellTDavies.
19
20	Sladen has said that, although she greatly enjoyed working with Creator/TomBaker, Creator/JonPertwee was "her" Doctor; when he died in 1996, she is reported to have [[TearJerker cried inconsolably]] for weeks.
21
22	It should also be noted that Sladen was quite attractive. Sarah Jane is a fixture on "Sexiest Companion" lists (in addition to "Best Companion" lists, of course), and she only seemed to get more attractive with each passing year.
23
24	[[TearJerker The fandom's collective hearts were almost audibly broken when, after fighting cancer, she died suddenly on 19 April 2011,]] barely two months after Creator/NicholasCourtney fell to the same disease. She is survived by her husband and her daughter, and will be missed by millions of fans worldwide. The BBC dedicated the premiere of Series 6 of ''Doctor Who'' to her, and produced a special tribute to her: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycxBiGX8T64 My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen]]''. Tom Baker, a man who does not often cry, cried muchly at the announcement of her death and has openly cried just ''mentioning her'' in interviews since then.
25
26	At the time of her death, Sladen had completed filming of the first half of Series 5 of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. The production hiatus was ''not'' (as originally reported) due to her health issues as these were not known (even by Sladen) at the time, but due to budget. Upon her death, UK media reported that the BBC was considering continuing the series without her, like how ''Series/{{Taggart}}'' continued on without Taggart himself, but it was rapidly realized this was unacceptable and the BBC announced soon after that ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' was cancelled. The six episodes Sladen completed aired in October 2011, bringing the series to a close. Ironically, the last episode to air during Sladen's lifetime was titled "Goodbye Sarah Jane Smith".
27
28	It has since been confirmed that, just prior to her death, Sladen had agreed to reunite with Tom Baker for a series of audio dramas for Big Finish Productions, with Davies giving the necessary approval, but her health never recovered. According to ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' there was also a proposal for Baker to appear (as a character other than the Doctor) in a possible Halloween special episode of ''Sarah Jane''.
29
30	Incidentally, after her death two fans known only as Gemma and Karen set up a [=JustGiving=] page to donate to Cancer Research UK in Lis Sladen's name. Within two weeks after her death, donations had topped £6,000 ($10,000).
31
32	The first new companion to be introduced into the series after her death, Clara Oswald, was [[MemorialCharacter named in tribute to the actress]].
33
34	Her autobiography, titled simply ''Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography'', was released on 7 November 2011, with a foreword by Creator/DavidTennant. Sladen was in the final stages of finishing the manuscript when she died and the work was completed by her family.
35
36	Sarah Jane's impact -- and by extension, Sladen's -- on British culture and on ''Doctor Who'' as a series is difficult to overstate. She is, by popular acclaim, the most iconic and beloved Companion in history. In the same way that co-star Creator/TomBaker will always be the archetypal classic Doctor even to those who have never seen an episode in their lives, Sarah Jane Smith will always be the archetypal classic Companion; as seen in the quote above from Katy Manning, even her contemporaries will relinquish that title to her. Her career resurgence is a testament not only to the lasting impact she had on the series and its fans, but to the talent and charm that made her departure headline news. Lis Sladen is gone, and yet never gone. Her legacy lives on forever in the episodes she did, in the mark she made on the series, and in the hearts of all who loved her. We are her legacy. In a quite literal sense, she is ''our'' Sarah Jane.
37
38	Rest in peace, Lis, and Godspeed. Never will you be forgotten.
39
40	''And the story goes on... '''forever.'''''
41
42	!! Works with pages on TV Tropes that she appeared in:
43
44	* ''Series/CoronationStreet'': 6 episodes (1970) -- Anita Reynolds
45	* ''Series/{{Doomwatch}}'': episode "Say Knife, Fat Man" (1972) -- Sarah Collins
46	* ''Series/ZCars'' episodes:
47	** "Who Were You With?": Parts 1 & 2 (1971) -- Valerie Hollingsworth
48	** "Day Trip" (1972) -- Rose Milton
49	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': 86 episodes / 27 stories[[labelnote:show list]]"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E3DeathToTheDaleks Death to the Daleks]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders Planet of the Spiders]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E5RevengeOfTheCybermen Revenge of the Cybermen]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E1TerrorOfTheZygons Terror of the Zygons]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E2PlanetOfEvil Planet of Evil]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion The Android Invasion]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora The Masque of Mandragora]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E2TheHandOfFear The Hand of Fear]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth The Stolen Earth]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd Journey's End]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]"[[/labelnote]](1973-76, 1983, 2006-10) -- Sarah Jane Smith
50	* ''Series/PlayForToday'': episode "Name for the Day" (1980) -- Jo
51	* ''Series/K9AndCompany'': "A Girl's Best Friend" (1981) -- Sarah Jane Smith
52	* ''Series/DempseyAndMakepeace'': episode "Love You to Death" (1985) -- Mrs. Barrett
53	* ''Series/TheBill'': episode "Life and Death" (1989) -- Mrs. Preston
54	* ''Series/ChildrenInNeed'': "[[Recap/DoctorWho30thASDimensionsInTime Dimensions in Time]]" (1993) -- Sarah Jane Smith
55	* ''Series/PeakPractice'': 4 episodes (1996) -- Dr. Pat Hewland
56	* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': 54 episodes / 27 stories[[labelnote:show list]]"[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E1E2RevengeOfTheSlitheen Revenge of the Slitheen]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E3E4EyeOfTheGorgon Eye of the Gorgon]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E5E6WarriorsOfKudlak Warriors of Kudlak]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E7E8WhateverHappenedToSarahJane Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E9E10TheLostBoy The Lost Boy]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E1E2TheLastSontaran The Last Sontaran]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E3E4TheDayOfTheClown The Day of the Clown]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E5E6SecretsOfTheStars Secrets of the Stars]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E7E8TheMarkOfTheBerserker The Mark of the Berserker]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E9E10TheTemptationOfSarahJaneSmith The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E11E12EnemyOfTheBane Enemy of the Bane]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E1E2PrisonerOfTheJudoon Prisoner of the Judoon]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E3E4TheMadWomanInTheAttic The Mad Woman in the Attic]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E5E6TheWeddingOfSarahJaneSmith The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E7E8TheEternityTrap The Eternity Trap]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E9E10MonaLisasRevenge Mona Lisa's Revenge]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E1E2TheNightmareMan The Nightmare Man]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E3E4TheVaultOfSecrets The Vault of Secrets]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E5E6DeathOfTheDoctor Death of the Doctor]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E7E8TheEmptyPlanet The Empty Planet]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E9E10LostInTime Lost in Time]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E11E12GoodbyeSarahJaneSmith Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS5E1E2Sky Sky]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS5E3E4TheCurseOfClydeLanger The Curse of Clyde Langer]]", "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS5E5E6TheManWhoNeverWas The Man Who Never Was]]"[[/labelnote]] (2007-11) -- Sarah Jane Smith

Context Creator / ElisabethSladen