NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was devastated to hear this....Like others have mentioned on this board....She was my first companion along with Harry Sullivan, and while some had a crush on Pincess Lea I had a crush on Sarah Jane. Not only did I have a crush on her but it was as if she was my friend. I could see myself going to talk to her about the most important things in my life. She was absolutely beautiful then and she ONLY GOT BETTER with age. Such a beautiful woman who was taken from us much to soon. 63 yrs is far too young of a age to go... She was THE perfect companion and WILL never be forgotten. It was through her eyes that I experienced the joy of what it was like to travel in the TARDIS with the Doctor. I am so so so glad that she was brought back to the new series for her to reprise her role. Just image the pain we as fans would be feeling now if we would have never seen her again. For me it would be unbearable (not that it already isn't) to know that someone so dear to me and the world of Doctor Who was never brought back to the show again. ART definitely imitated life because as an actress she brought so much power into the role of her character Sarah Jane. But in her character she was only portraying the dedicated, strong, and friendly woman that she was in real life. I never met her personally but from what many have said...She was just as charming in real life as SJS was in Doctor Who. I have only seen the first season of the SJA, and although it was geared more towards children I still liked the show. In considering that she very well may have been sick during the filming of SJA and she had the strength to persevere for something she believed in, I believe that she would want the remaining episodes to be broadcasted. My DEEPEST condolences go out to her family and friends. Elizabeth Sladen..Rest in peace my beautiful friend and dear companion....You will never be forgotten and sorely missed. Till we meet again.....
Well I for one will not argue with you on that point....Its a very good one....Weather SJA should or should not go on? Who knows,one thing is for sure....Doctor Who as a series IS INCREDIBLY successful even though its lead character has now changed 11 times...So I see no reason if there was to be a trend where a show is based off of former Who companions that decided to take matters into their own hands and make the world they live in a better place to live.
I'd attribute that to 2 factors: A: The Doctor regenerating. This sort of normalizes the replacement of the title characters. Although this is due to specific story elements but that might not matter much to the kids. B:Normalization of reboots If the kids are young then they've pretty much grown up with reboots and off-hand knowledge that other people played the roles in the past. (Even if they haven't seen them -- a parent saying, "Oh, I saw the old movies when I was your age!", and what not.) As beloved as Liz was, though, I think people should respectfully avoid the topic of recasting for awhile...
Really good post A short period of respectful tribute and mourning is good and unavoidable. But as Lis herself would probably say (in great showbiz tradition), show must go on and she probably would want children to still enjoy what she and rest of team gave to them, even if right now not time to discuss that. But I think your observances on kid fans having sense of character regeneration (even if understand actress has passed on) and reboots really interesting.
Thanks so much...I have never seen these pics either. Just cant get over the fact that she is no longer with us.....Cant imagine what her family and friends must be going through.
Given the children's reaction on CBBC's website, I find myself hoping that even if The Sarah Jane Adventures proper ends, Clyde and Rani will get their own show on CBBC to continue in the same vein.
The BBC has confirmed that a 15-minute tribute to Lis will air on CBBC after Doctor Who ends and before Confidential airs on BBC Three. DWM has reported that there will be an on-screen text dedication to Lis at the start of the episode, which is as much as we could hope for in such short notice. No word as to whether any such dedication was or is planned for Nicholas Courtney. Alex
I'm actually rather impressed. I don't recall there ever being quite this much an outpouring of emotions from the fans and the media for any other Who actors death.
Probably because of her role in the SJA and still had the very current performances in Doctor Who. When William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton passd away we didn't have the internet and both weren't involved with Doctor Who at the time. When Pertwee died, the show has been off the air for 8 years. Though I thought there might of been a bit more for Nicholas Courtney though - his passing didn't make media outlets in Australia but it was on the the Australian ABC's newsite that I read about Lis Sladen, though it has a vested in interested as it's the broadcaster for Doctor Who.
NPR (National Public Radio, that is) even mentioned Sladen's death on Twitter yesterday. I was actually kind of amazed that Sladen would merit the notice by an American radio network.
Marc's answers notwithstanding, I think Sladen is rare in entertainment today in spanning multiple generations and being at the forefront of a highly popular current children's show with international appeal. Those factors combined, I'm not surprised at impact of her death. I do think Baker will be sorely missed as and when (though hopefully not for many years to come)
And here in America, in Chicago at least, we saw so many repeats of the Tom Baker years, Liz was THE companion, even if her actual time on the show wasn't as long as it seemed. That and the cuteness factor.
Another thing is that the Brig didn't die that long ago. We got kicked while we were down in an emotional sense -- two super iconic Doctor Who people lost in such a short span of time. Also, the Internet wasn't around in the way it is today when #2 died and Pertwee died. (Sorry, I seriously don't trust myself to spell half of these actors' names today.) Information spreads much faster and and is more accessible.
Well, many of us American 30 and 40-somethings fell in love with Lis during DWs debut on PBS in the 70s (as Ar-Pharazon noted), so I suppose there's some linkage there.
You'll like this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJnD3TVs3Z8 I think that the show should not continue filming, especially not with Katy Manning, who is far too old for this. The only companion that I can possibly see is Ace, who has a lot in common with Clyde. If they wanted to be really great, I think that Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra should be offered jobs on DW if they want, starting with Series 8 as 7 is likely being planned/written now. I exclude Tommy Knight because he has retired from acting already.