A fond farewell.

[Dirk Gently]

I'm in shock right now, the news of Liz Sladen passing has hit me as if a close friend has died. It has surprised me how much this has affected me.

So before the screen mists over again I thought it would be nice to collect the thoughts, memories & favourite moments of the PS faithful about the actress Elizabeth Sladen & the character we all love, Sarah Jane Smith.


My favourite moment came when David Tennant first saw Sarah Jane Smith in School reunion. His face lit up as did mine. And then when he met Sarah Jane & he said "My Sarah Jane!" and I thought "that's my line!". Lovely moments.

[SiHart]

My very favourite Sarah Jane scene is in School Reunion where she first meets the Doctor, without realising it. It's the breathy way she says "Hello!" to him and the lovely little wistful, "He was a must uncommon man." before she moves on from this strange new teacher that does it. It's just magical.

[Jason Thompson]

So many to choose from.

The Time Warrior: While preparing the castle for Irongron's attack, the Doctor tells her he's a Time Lord, a 'galactic ticket inspector'. Sarah's response to all this: 'Oh, I could murder a cup of tea.' Such a delightful moment as she desperately casts around for something ordinary in this extraordinary situation.

The Seeds of Doom: The Doctor, Sarah and Scorby are trapped in a cottage by the Krynoid. Sarah has had enough of Scorby and rounds on him, and in the middle of their argument the Doctor quietly asks 'do you mind if I say something now?'. Sarah immediately snaps back at Scorby: 'and you'd better listen because nobody else knows how to deal with that thing!'. She's not in a position of power over him, he hasn't suddenly lost his gun or turned chicken, he's still a good foot taller than her and considerably stronger physically, she's not gloating, she's just had enough and lets him have it.

School Reunion: it has to be the scene in which Rose and Sarah argue, then compare notes on the Doctor's behaviour and laugh hysterically at him when he enters. Laughing convincingly is something not all actors can do, but that scene is played beautifully, and Tennant's plaintive 'stop it' just adds the icing to the cake.

And can anyone watch the final scene of that episode without welling up? They say a proper goodbye, she turns to see the TARDIS dematerialising, and as it fades it reveals he's left her with a final gift. So beautiful.

[Anthony Williams]

I'm usually the first one to slate The End of Time and the Doctor's "lap of honour", but that scene where he rescues Luke from the path of an oncoming car is now justified in my mind.

It's all in the look that Sarah gives him. It says it all. She knows that that's the last time she'll ever see the Tenth Doctor. It doesn't need words. Just a look. Beautifully played.

Christ, I'm welling up as I type this.

Ant x

[SiHart]

And can anyone watch the final scene of that episode without welling up? They say a proper goodbye, she turns to see the TARDIS dematerialising, and as it fades it reveals he's left her with a final gift. So beautiful.

Oh definitely Jason. Walking off into the sunset with her robot dog at her side, ready to start living her life again. If that had been the end of Sarah Jane it would have been perfect, but the fact that it lead to her becoming an icon to yet another generation of kids makes it even better.

[Si Hunt]

It has to be the perfectly played end of "The Hand of Fear". The Doctor is a real rotter, but Sarah still carries herself with dignity. How appropriate that her last shot (for the long forseeable future) was glancing up at the sky...

Si.

[Junkyard]

There are so many it's difficult to choose but....

School Reunion. Creeping round the school at night, SJ finds the TARDIS. Her reaction is perfect; she rushes through the door and then turns...there's the Doctor. Her expression as she realises that her best friend is back is magical.

I will miss her so much.

[duncan]

Sarah was involved in one of my all time favourite cliffhangers when she fell from the rocket gantry at the end of part two of Genesis of the Daleks.

[Larry]

It has to be the perfectly played end of "The Hand of Fear". The Doctor is a real rotter, but Sarah still carries herself with dignity. How appropriate that her last shot (for the long forseeable future) was glancing up at the sky...

Si.

think i'd have to agree with that , but in truth Sarah, has always been my favourite companion and I have so many fond memories of her I couldn't possibaly chose any one or three paticular favourites.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I just love in Genesis of the Daleks how she delivers the line ...

Sarah: We are talking about the Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented.

[Perry Vale]

I watched The Five Doctors yesterday in tribute and realised what one of my favourite SJ moments was for the first time. It's not a line of dialogue, but it's that moment when she's picked up by the timescoop at the bus stop and she throws her handbag out of shot just at the moment it picks her up. I'd always thought it was a bad mistake but yesterday realised she does it on purpose, so she can strike the right pose for the post-edit fx. What a pro!

And of course, she somehow manages to make "falling down a slight incline" much better than it reasonably should be.

[Rob McCow]

'The genius of Liz Sladen was making that awful Sarah-Jane character bearable.' (Tom Baker).

Though of course, she did far more than that!

[Antony Cox]

I watched The Five Doctors yesterday in tribute and realised what one of my favourite SJ moments was for the first time. It's not a line of dialogue, but it's that moment when she's picked up by the timescoop at the bus stop and she throws her handbag out of shot just at the moment it picks her up. I'd always thought it was a bad mistake but yesterday realised she does it on purpose, so she can strike the right pose for the post-edit fx. What a pro!

And of course, she somehow manages to make "falling down a slight incline" much better than it reasonably should be.

How odd - I was going to post almost exactly the same thing!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I've always been rather fond of the "Your shoes need repairing!" line in Pyramids of Mars just after the Doctor has accused her of "standing there and admiring the scenery"

[Jon Masters]

Too many story moments to mention, but have just finished The Ark in Space commentary - Philip, Tom and Lis, long before her resurgence in New Hoo and SJA, but just as passionate about her work and career of DW after all those years. She may never have been such a public advocate as other Who stars, but clearly she always kept her love for the time she shared with us.

[Andrew Curnow]

Was it on Thirty Years in the TARDIS that she said, in summary of Sarah Jane, that she always acted as if the Doctor was her best friend and you would do anything for your best friend? I particularly liked the quite modest way she said that that was her "motivation" for the performance.

[Dino]

It was ingrained from the start given I can remember picking up my brothers Sontaran Experiment book even though I couldn't read it.
It was them and BBC Videos such as Revenge Of The Cybermen. I also thought the third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures was the strongest of the whole run. Although the last series had Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith and Death Of The Doctor. I think the Jane Asher story was stronger than David Tennant. The writing of the characters had altered by the last series. The dark edge wasn't so much there.
And best of love Liz, of course it's never your fault, but thank you for having the skills that made "Lost In Time" watchable!
So:

Brain Of Morbius.

The Temptation Of Sarah Jane.

Death To The Daleks. Because Sarah Jane, nuWho aside, has been in two classic Dalek stories.