Actress Elisabeth Sladen Dies at 63

It’s a very sad day for fans of Doctor Who as the actress who played the beloved companion Sarah Jane Smith is lost to cancer


Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith on both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, died of cancer on April 19, 2011. She was 63. Best known for her time with Tom Baker in the 70’s, the tough-talking, strong-willed journalist was companion to five Doctors over the years. She was by far the fans’ favorite.

I’m a fairly new convert to Doctor Who. I didn’t seek it out on public television as a kid in the 70s and 80s. But when I got sucked in to the myth and drama of the redux series in 2006, I was addicted. Recently, I’ve been digging into the early years of the series and learning about it’s history.

As coincidence would have it, just yesterday I was talking to someone about The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s a spinoff from Doctor Who that began in 2007 and has been sitting in my Netflix queue for months. I think now I’ll bump it up to the top spot.

In what has to be the saddest of all tributes on the web, this cartoon from Dork Tower finds the quirky and at times annoying metal dog K9 mourning his loss. It chokes me up every time I see it.

See Also:
Doctor Who
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Dork Tower


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