Entertainment For Lively Minds
A tear, Sarah Jane?
Posted by DogFacedBoy on 19 April 2011 - 9:15pm.
Am most shocked to learn that Elisabeth Sladen aka Sarah Jane Smith, one of the Doc's most loved companions has died from cancer.
Was only watching her marvellous performance at end of 'Planet Of The Spiders' last night
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Very sad news.
her first episode with David Tennant was poignant beyond description for a generation of older men that grew up with her as Jon Pertwee's / Tom Baker's companion.
Just seen this myself
wow judging by the amount of comment on Twitter she truly was much loved. Really part of my younger life and now my kids will also be upset.
Very sad to hear the news.
She was a woman I developed a fondness for when I was too young to know why.
Oh no...
She was wonderful. I only really knew her through Doctor Who ('then' and 'now' versions) but she made that character live so much more vividly than many other companions.
Really quite stunned.
Really shocked, really saddened
I finished watching Planet Of The Spiders about ten minutes before hearing this news, and was already feeling emotional because of Nick Courtney's recent passing. I'm pretty sure I even thought to myself "well, at least Lis Sladen's still going strong". Very upset now.
No!
Blimey. That's terrible. :-(
Goodbye Sarah Jayne
Really shocked, I didn't realise she had been ill, sad news indeed.
Was just about to post on this myself
This quote from Lis says more than I can about the love that she inspired in her fans.
“Once I saw these skinheads running toward me, I thought ‘Oh my god!’, but they were all smiles, and said ‘Sarah Jane! We love you!’”
(from http://www.sfx.co.uk/tag/lis-sladen/)
Very sad news.
Very, very sad news.
And only a tiny mention on the 10 o'clock news last night.
I hope the BBC can muster a proper and fitting tribute.
She was an absolute legend to legions of Who fans.
I would like to hope
that the BBC will have time to edit the titles and dedicate Saturday's show to her memory.
I didn't feel able to tell my four-year-old that Sarah Jane was dead this morning. She didn't like The Sarah Jane Adventures because I'd made her watch it, she liked it because, age 3, she saw the Doctor Who prom at her grandma's and decided it was great for herself. I did feel that a lot of Doctor Who was too scary and The Sarah Jane Adventures was the perfect solution. She will be heartbroken.
And so, I think, am I.
Very sad
Saw this news last night and as BigJimBob has said above not only had to deal with it myself but also break it to the kids this morning.
How poignant that it should happen this week as the new series is about to start.
Really sad news.
She was my heroine when I was little. My 5 year old self was always proud that we shared the same name!
Very sad
I've met her on a number of occasions and she was always charm itself, chatty, unstarry, a really lovely woman.
Still one more series of The Sarah Jane Adventures in the can though.
Very sad
Goodbye and God Bless and heartfelt thanks for making my small heart beat faster all those years ago - we are startdust.
Er ... I know it's bad form
Er ...
I know it's bad form to speak ill of the recently departed, and I'm not speaking ill as such since I'm sure she was a lovely person.
But her character in Dr Who was probably my least favourite companion. AND to Jon Pertwee (who was my fav Doctor). Too BBC, too straight. The fact that she was very popular, though, is obviously reflected in her character's longevity.
So, what was it about the character she played that made her so popular?
Yeah it is bad form (so why bother?)
but Sarah Jane was very unusual for 70's TV in that she was a strong female character. If you look at a lot of the Dr Who companions up to that point most of them were just there to get captured, scream and say 'what's going on?' in order to get lines of exposition.
Although they tried before with Liz Shaw, Sarah Jane was the first who questioned things (as a journalist) and was given a more well rounded and intelligent characterisation. This paved the way for characters from Leela n Romana to Donna n Pond.
When she returned in the Tennant story 'School Reunion' it was a brilliant performance playing a side of a Dr Who assistant we had never considered. What happens next? When the Dr goes away, how can life be the same? She played that hurt, rejection and resntment perfectly.
Today its not just nerdy 30 n 40 somethings that will be sad for the passing of one of their heroes but a new generation of kids for whom she became a favourite. And for the same reasons - she was brave, funny, smart and never gave up.
So why bother?
To get an insight perhaps as to why others found the character so appealing, which so far hadn't been so apparent. Which would be a good thing in a tribute thread.
It wasn't like I was dismissing the actor or even the character out of hand, though I could easily have been a little more forthright in my opinion of the character.
Bother or don't bother replying to this, I know I'm not any more. Knock yourself out.
First rule of The Massive
Make sure you opinion is the right one. Otherwise the big boys will put you in your place.
Very shocked to read this in the paper
this morning - a little part of my childhood self dies again. RIP Sarah Jane.
Tom Baker
wrote this today
Rest here...http://www.tom-baker.co.uk/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=159
As if to prove a point Fraser M made above
the BBC Newsround comments page
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_9460000/newsid_9463000/9463099....
South Croydon's finest
I was never a big fan of Dr
I was never a big fan of Dr Who, but something about the Sarah Jane character made me watch her episodes. She was a character I felt that I knew from somewhere, like one of my teachers. Very sad to hear Lis Sladen has died.
Very Sad News
I was just about to dig out my newly-arrived copy of 'Planet of the Spiders' (Jon Pertwee's final story) on DVD last night when I heard the news. After that, I wasn't really in the mood. But I sat down and watched the first couple of episodes tonight, and it's a really fine reminder of why she was so well-loved by generations of viewers. I was intrigued to learn that Lis herself was the catalyst for the DVD commentary being recorded for this release with herself, Nicholas Courtney (the Brig, of course) and Barry Letts (producer), all of whom are now no longer with us.
One thing I was struck by, though - whilst it's very sad that we've lost her, and at a relatively young age, how wonderful that in later years, she was discovered by a whole new generation of children, and became a favourite of theirs, just like she was for their parents' or even grandparents' generations. I saw Newsround's coverage this evening, and it was heartwarming to see the tributes from young viewers.
I got back from Italy last night...
and opened a package from Amazon that had arrived whilst I'd been away. It was the DVD of Planet of the Spiders. "Mmmm... I'll watch that tomorrow night", I thought. I then checked my emails and a friend had sent me a message telling me that Elisabeth Sladen had died.
She was my childhood crush of crushes. I loved her as Sarah Jane Smith. Loved her. Still do.
RIP Elisabeth.
You were missed, Mr Crowther.
See this.
I hope you had a fabulous time in Italy. Looking forward to seeing some photos.
Welcome back PC.
Sorry that it was to sad news. As you see, you're not alone in your feelings about Sarah Jane.
Hope you had a good trip.
Welcome back Patrick
and thanks for bumping this up the list. She died while I was on hols in Indonesia. Been back 2 weeks and until 2 mins ago I was completely unaware she'd gone.
So sad.....as man.of.soup said, there goes another little bit of childhood.