Sarah Jane Smith
Encyclopedia
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character
played by Elisabeth Sladen
in the long-running British
BBC Television
science-fiction
series Doctor Who
and its spin-offs K-9 and Company
and The Sarah Jane Adventures
.
An investigative journalist
, Sarah Jane is a regular companion
of the Third
and Fourth
incarnations of the Doctor
, on the programme from 1973 to 1976 (seasons 11 – 14), and returns in the Fifth Doctor
story The Five Doctors
(1983), the 30th-anniversary story Dimensions In Time
(1993), and most recently in the episodes "School Reunion
" (2006), "The Stolen Earth
" / "Journey's End
" (2008) and The End of Time
(2010) alongside the Tenth Doctor
, played by David Tennant
, and other companions of his era. Her final meeting with the Doctor was with the Eleventh Doctor
in Death of the Doctor
.
One of the Doctor's longest serving companions, she appears as a regular in 18 stories over four seasons of the classic series and four episodes of the revived series, and is (alongside robotic dog K-9
) the first companion to appear in a spin-off
, the 1981 television pilot K-9 and Company
. She is the central character of the series The Sarah Jane Adventures
.
Sarah Jane Smith has been regularly voted the most popular Doctor Who companion, although in recent times the character has vied in popularity with Rose Tyler
. Ace
has also been a previous winner.
serial The Time Warrior
(1973), where she has managed to infiltrate a top secret research facility by posing as her aunt, Lavinia Smith, a famous virologist
. Introduced as an ardent feminist
, Sarah Jane sneaks aboard the TARDIS
and becomes embroiled in a battle against the militaristic alien Sontaran
s in the Middle Ages. Subsequently, she accompanies the Doctor
(Jon Pertwee
) on several journeys in the TARDIS, and she also assists the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
(Nicholas Courtney
) on a number of occasions. After Pertwee's departure, Sladen remains following Season 11 finale Planet of the Spiders
(1974), in which the Doctor regenerates
for the third time
. In season 12's consecutive 1975 serials The Sontaran Experiment
, Genesis of the Daleks
and Revenge of the Cybermen
, Sarah and male companion Harry Sullivan
(Ian Marter
) face against the series' three iconic recurring creatures, the Sontarans, hateful alien Dalek
s and the calculating cyborg Cybermen. In Genesis, Sarah is present at the creation of the Daleks, and meets their creator Davros
(Michael Wisher
). Sarah Jane departs in the Season 14 serial The Hand of Fear
(1976) after the Doctor receives a summons to his home planet of Gallifrey
. With regards to her characterisation in this period, Sladen described Sarah as "a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Each week it used to be, 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor'..." The character's tenure alongside Baker, the long-time "favourite Doctor" in the series, earned her a similar accolade of being "the favourite companion" amongst fans
.
Following her tenure as de jour companion, Sladen reprised the role of Sarah Jane in an unsuccessful pilot episode for an Earth-based spin-off series, K-9 and Company
. In the pilot episode, "A Girl's Best Friend", Sarah Jane receives the robot dog K-9 Mark III
(John Leeson
) as a Christmas present from the Doctor. The character next appears in Doctor Who
for the 1983 anniversary episode The Five Doctors
, in which she is transported to Gallifrey by Lord President Borusa (Philip Latham
) to take part in the Game of Rassilon in The Death Zone devised by Time Lord founder Rassilon
(Richard Mathews). Here, Sarah is reunited with the Third Doctor, and also meets the First
, Second
and Fifth
. The Five Doctors shows that Sarah Jane still owns and is working with K-9. The character made an appearance in the non-canonical Children in Need
special crossover
with long-running British soap EastEnders
, Dimensions in Time
(1993), wherein various Doctors and companions are teleported to Albert Square
as part of a plot by the Rani
(Kate O'Mara
). Though Sladen would not make more official Doctor Who television appearances until 2006, the actress reprised her role as Sarah Jane in audio dramas and the unofficial direct-to-video
spin-off film Downtime
(1995) alongside the Brigadier and Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield
(Deborah Watling
).
, Sladen returned to the show in the Series 2
episode "School Reunion
" (2006). "School Reunion" revisits Sarah Jane, still working alongside K-9 since The Five Doctors, when she encounters the Tenth Doctor
(David Tennant
) while they both investigate mysterious goings on at a school run by Headmaster Lucas Finch (Anthony Head
). Exposition
in the episode reveals that, having waited years for the Doctor to return to her, Sarah assumed he had died, though later came to suspect his involvement when witnessing the alien spaceship above London in Doctor Who Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion
". On meeting Sarah Jane, current companion Rose
(Billie Piper
) reflects on her future after the Doctor. Though K-9 Mark III still assists Sarah Jane, he has fallen into disrepair; after K-9 Mark III sacrifices himself to save Sarah and the Doctor, the Doctor leaves Sarah a new K-9 model, K-9 Mark IV, and takes her advice by inviting Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith
(Noel Clarke
) aboard the TARDIS
as his second companion. The success of "School Reunion" led to the development of The Sarah Jane Adventures
, starring Sladen as Sarah Jane, produced by BBC Wales
for CBBC
.
In The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah Jane investigates alien activity covertly from her manor house in Bannerman Road in Ealing
, driving an emerald green Nissan Figaro
and with the help of her sentient supercomputer Mr Smith
(voice of comedian Alexander Armstrong
), as well as an alien activity scanner and sonic lipstick device
(both gifts from the Doctor). In the special première episode "Invasion of the Bane
" (2007), Sarah adopts a son: Bane creation, genetic archetype and boy genius Luke Smith (Tommy Knight
), and befriends her neighbour Maria Jackson
(Yasmin Paige
) during her investigation of Bane leader Mrs Wormwood (Samantha Bond). Sarah remarks that since meeting them she is no longer content to live alone; she discloses she never married after parting from the Doctor
, to whom no one could ever compare. Sometime between "School Reunion" and "Invasion of the Bane", K-9 has left Sarah Jane to close off a black hole
, occasionally passing close enough to contact her; due to the concurrent development of the K-9 television series, to which creator Bob Baker
owns the rights, K-9 only appears in two episodes of the first series. In series one, Sarah learns how to be a mother to Luke, the while strengthening her friendship with teenage neighbour Maria, the person Sarah "trusts the most". Along with Luke and his friend Clyde Langer
(Daniel Anthony
) they defeat and repel various threats to the contemporary Earth. Amongst these threats, series one introduces the Trickster (Paul Marc Davis
), a cosmic being who makes alterations to the timeline to cause chaos and destruction; he becomes a recurring adversary for Sarah Jane. Sarah finds a new enemy in the Slitheen
, a family of criminal aliens originally seen in Doctor Who, and an ally in alien research scientist Professor Rivers (Floella Benjamin). Time travel scenes also depict 13-year-old Sarah Jane (Jessica Ashworth
), for whom the death of her best friend Andrea Yates (Jane Asher
) gave Sarah her resolve to fight against loss of life.
Sarah Jane crosses back over to Doctor Who in the two-part fourth series
finale episodes "The Stolen Earth
" and "Journey's End
" (2008), a crossover with Torchwood and Sarah Jane episode. When Daleks invade Earth, Sarah is summoned along with UNIT
officer Martha Jones
(Freema Agyeman
) and Torchwood
leader Captain Jack Harkness
(John Barrowman
) by former PM Harriet Jones
(Penelope Wilton
) to help the Doctor save the universe; Davros (Julian Bleach
) recognises Sarah from their encounter in Genesis of the Daleks. In Sarah Jane Adventures series two (2008), Maria moves away to America in The Last Sontaran
, and Sarah befriends new neighbour Rani Chandra
(Anjli Mohindra
) in The Day of the Clown
; the same episode features Flashbacks
to Sarah's (Jessica Mogridge) childhood in her Aunt Lavinia's home. When Sarah saves the lives of her parents, Eddie (Christopher Pizzey
) and Barbara (Rosanna Lavelle
) in 1951, she plays into the Trickster's hands; her parents choose to die, becoming heroes. In series two finale Enemy of the Bane
, Sarah is assisted by old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) against united adversaries Mrs Wormwood and Sontaran
Commander Kaagh (Anthony O'Donnell
); Sarah feels threatened on a personal level by Wormwood's claim to, in a sense, being Luke's mother. Sladen has relatively scarce screen-time in 'Sarah-lite' serial The Mark of the Berserker
due to back-to-back filming. Though K-9 makes no appearances in series two, he appears to assist Sarah Jane in a mini-episode for Comic Relief (2009) against Ambassador Ranius (Ronnie Corbett
).
Series three (2009), Sarah makes a new enemy in the body stealing alien Androvax (Mark Goldthorp) and an ally in the interplanetary police force, the Judoon
(from Doctor Who). In the second two-parter
, Sarah Jane is able to recover K-9 full-time (reflecting a real-world deal struck with the creators of K9). In a crossover with the parent series, Sarah reveals her intention to marry her secret fiancé, barrister Peter Dalton, in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
. However, Dalton's involvement in Sarah's life proves to be a scheme of the Trickster. The Tenth Doctor (Tennant) wedding-crashes
to foil the Trickster's plot to make Sarah give up on alien hunting, and explains to Sarah that the Trickster is a powerful former member of the extra-dimensional so-called Pantheon of Discord. The serial clarifies that Sarah owes her independent wealth to her Aunt Lavina's will. In 'Sarah-lite' two-parter Mona Lisa's Revenge
, Sarah and Luke have their first argument as he progresses into his teenage years; they argue about the cleanliness of Luke's room. In series finale The Gift
, though she is reluctant to use weapons or cause harm, when Luke falls deathly sick for the first time ever to Slitheen cousins the Blathereen, Sarah takes up arms to confront them. In the episode's conclusion, she regretfully is forced to kill them using Mr Smith. Sarah Jane next appears in the Tenth Doctor two-part Doctor Who finale, The End of Time
, in 2010. When the Doctor is slowly dying from radiation poisoning
, he makes timely visits to his close friends and companions; the Doctor saves Luke's life from an oncoming car on Bannerman Road, and bids a silent farewell to Luke and to Sarah Jane.
In the fourth season (2010) of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah sees Luke off to university in the first two-parter
of the series, but continues her adventures alongside Rani and Clyde. The trio encounter the Eleventh Doctor
(Matt Smith), as well as Sarah's immediate predecessor as the Doctor's companion, Jo Grant
(Katy Manning
), in Death of the Doctor
; aliens fake the Doctor's death as part of a plot to gain access to the TARDIS using Jo and Sarah Jane's memories. The Empty Planet
is this series' 'Sarah-lite' serial; with the rest of the population, Sarah Jane mysteriously vanishes, leaving Rani and Clyde to investigate without her. In Lost in Time
, Sarah is sent back in time on a mission from the mysterious Shopkeeper (Cyril Nri
). Sarah is convinced to retire by an alien plot in the series finale
, earning a new nemesis and doppelgänger in Ruby White (Julie Graham
); she is saved from Ruby when Luke drives down from university to her rescue. The fifth and final series of the show, airing in 2011, was cut short due to Sladen's death. In its premiere story
, Sarah adopts a new child in the form of Sky Smith
(Sinead Michael
), a genetically-engineered alien girl with abilities relating to electromagnetism; the Shopkeeper arranged for their encounter, but declines to explain his motives to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane's final broadcast appearance comes in series five finale The Man Who Never Was
. The final story ends with a short montage of archive footage and audio recordings celebrating Sarah Jane's journey from lone investigator to mother of two surrounded by friends. The series ends with the final caption: "And the story goes on... forever."
novels Interference: Book One
and Interference: Book Two
by Lawrence Miles
; and the Past Doctor Adventures
novel Bullet Time
by David A. McIntee
, all taking place after she stops travelling with the Doctor. She appears in Ian Marter's Harry Sullivan's War published by Target Books; Marter played companion Harry Sullivan in seven television serials. Different accounts of Sarah Jane's life have been given in the Doctor Who literature. Interference and the Virgin New Adventures
novel Christmas on a Rational Planet
, also by Miles, suggest that Sarah Jane married someone named Paul Morley sometime between 1996 and 1998 and took his name. In the short story Lily by Jackie Marshall, in Big Finish's Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury
, the Fifth Doctor
pays a visit to an older Sarah Jane, who has a daughter, Lauren, and an autistic
granddaughter, Lily; Lauren's father is named Will. In the Past Doctor Adventure Bullet Time, Sarah Jane is apparently killed- although the story is ambiguous about whether she actually dies- in 1997 when she sacrifices herself so that she cannot be used as a hostage to stop the Seventh Doctor
from taking action to aid an escaping alien ship, contradicting her other spin-off appearances. However, the novel takes place during a story arc where enemies of the Doctor were attempting to eliminate his companions from the timeline- revealed in the later novel Sometime Never...
-, and Sarah Jane's death may have been reversed when those enemies are defeated. In any case, other stories have shown her alive after 1997. Sarah Jane was mentioned in the prologue of the Virgin Publishing novelisation of The Power of the Daleks
by John Peel. It revealed that Sarah Jane was working as UNIT
's official chronicler and that in "1996" she covered the aftermath of the Cybermen's failed attempt to drain Earth
of its energy and the technology left behind in their wake (The Tenth Planet
, which was actually set in 1986).
Stories written as in-universe articles in Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special
1991 (subtitled "UNIT Exposed"), made statements about Sarah Jane's life after leaving the Fourth Doctor. She wrote a history of UNIT, Fighting for Humankind ("heavily vetted and evidently subjected to considerable censorship"), as well as a series of science fiction novels. These featured an extraterrestrial called the Doctor and his companion Nicola Jones, who frequently encountered WIN (World Investigative Network), commanded by General Lutwidge-Douglas. Titles included Day of the Dinosaurs, Sutekh the Destroyer and The North Sea Monster.
Though there are as yet no original Sarah Jane Adventures novels, many of the television episodes have been novelised.
(1976). She appeared with Baker in "The Time Machine", episode three of the BBC Radio series Exploration Earth
on 4 October 1976. Sarah Jane (played by Sladen) appeared in two Radio Plays starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor in the 1990s: The Paradise of Death
and The Ghosts of N-Space
. (BBC)
The canonicity of Sarah Jane's appearances in the audio dramas is, like all Doctor Who spin-off
media, unclear, and they may not even take place in the same continuity as one another. For example, the novels' mention of Sarah Jane as having been married is contradicted by the later Sarah Jane Smith audio play Dreamland, and the Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Invasion of the Bane".
Sarah Jane appears in two audiobook stories based on The Sarah Jane Adventures (released in November 2007) on CD: The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole
and The Thirteenth Stone by Justin Richards
, with both stories read by series star Elisabeth Sladen
. This is the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio. Two new audio stories ("Ghost House" and "Time Capsule") were released in November 2008, both read again by Sladen.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
in the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
science-fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and its spin-offs K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
and The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
.
An investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, Sarah Jane is a regular companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
of the Third
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
and Fourth
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
incarnations of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, on the programme from 1973 to 1976 (seasons 11 – 14), and returns in the Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
story The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
(1983), the 30th-anniversary story Dimensions In Time
Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...
(1993), and most recently in the episodes "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
" (2006), "The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
" / "Journey's End
Journey's End (Doctor Who)
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
" (2008) and The End of Time
The End of Time
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
(2010) alongside the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
, played by David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, and other companions of his era. Her final meeting with the Doctor was with the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
in Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 25 and 26 October 2010. It is the third story of the fourth series. This episode features the return of Katy Manning to the role of Jo Grant and a guest appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor...
.
One of the Doctor's longest serving companions, she appears as a regular in 18 stories over four seasons of the classic series and four episodes of the revived series, and is (alongside robotic dog K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
) the first companion to appear in a spin-off
Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, the 1981 television pilot K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
. She is the central character of the series The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
.
Sarah Jane Smith has been regularly voted the most popular Doctor Who companion, although in recent times the character has vied in popularity with Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
. Ace
Ace (Doctor Who)
Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
has also been a previous winner.
1973–1976, 1981, 1983; introduction and classic run
Sarah Jane first appears in the Third DoctorThird Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
serial The Time Warrior
The Time Warrior
The Time Warrior is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from December 15, 1973 to January 5, 1974. This serial introduced Elisabeth Sladen as new companion Sarah Jane Smith. It also marked the debut of the Sontarans...
(1973), where she has managed to infiltrate a top secret research facility by posing as her aunt, Lavinia Smith, a famous virologist
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
. Introduced as an ardent feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, Sarah Jane sneaks aboard the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
and becomes embroiled in a battle against the militaristic alien Sontaran
Sontaran
The Sontarans are a fictional extraterrestrial race of humanoids from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and also seen in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. They were created by writer Robert Holmes.-Culture:...
s in the Middle Ages. Subsequently, she accompanies the Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
(Jon Pertwee
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
) on several journeys in the TARDIS, and she also assists the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
(Nicholas Courtney
Nicholas Courtney
William Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
) on a number of occasions. After Pertwee's departure, Sladen remains following Season 11 finale Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
(1974), in which the Doctor regenerates
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
for the third time
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
. In season 12's consecutive 1975 serials The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on 22 February and 1 March 1975.-Synopsis:...
, Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
and Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 19 April to 10 May 1975.-Synopsis:...
, Sarah and male companion Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor...
(Ian Marter
Ian Marter
Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
) face against the series' three iconic recurring creatures, the Sontarans, hateful alien Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s and the calculating cyborg Cybermen. In Genesis, Sarah is present at the creation of the Daleks, and meets their creator Davros
Davros
Davros is a character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Davros is an archenemy of the Doctor and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks...
(Michael Wisher
Michael Wisher
Michael Wisher was a British actor.He is probably best remembered for having played Davros, the wheelchair-using scientific mastermind and creator of the Daleks, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
). Sarah Jane departs in the Season 14 serial The Hand of Fear
The Hand of Fear
The Hand of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 October to 23 October 1976...
(1976) after the Doctor receives a summons to his home planet of Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
. With regards to her characterisation in this period, Sladen described Sarah as "a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Each week it used to be, 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor'..." The character's tenure alongside Baker, the long-time "favourite Doctor" in the series, earned her a similar accolade of being "the favourite companion" amongst fans
Doctor Who fandom
The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has developed a large fan base over the years.Doctor Who fans are sometimes referred to as Whovians, most often by the American press. The usage was more common among fans in the United States during the 1980s, when the Doctor...
.
Following her tenure as de jour companion, Sladen reprised the role of Sarah Jane in an unsuccessful pilot episode for an Earth-based spin-off series, K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
. In the pilot episode, "A Girl's Best Friend", Sarah Jane receives the robot dog K-9 Mark III
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
(John Leeson
John Leeson
John Leeson is a British actor who is best known for voicing K-9 on the television series Doctor Who from 1977 to 1979, and again in the 1980–1981 season. He was called back to do the voice of K-9 again for the 2006 episode "School Reunion" and again for the 2008 Doctor Who episode "Journey's End"...
) as a Christmas present from the Doctor. The character next appears in Doctor Who
for the 1983 anniversary episode The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
, in which she is transported to Gallifrey by Lord President Borusa (Philip Latham
Philip Latham
Philip Latham is a British actor. He was educated at Felsted School.In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well known to British TV viewers for his portrayal of chief accountant Willy Izard, the "conscience" to hard-nosed oil company industrialist Brian Stead in the BBC series The Troubleshooters...
) to take part in the Game of Rassilon in The Death Zone devised by Time Lord founder Rassilon
Rassilon
Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey...
(Richard Mathews). Here, Sarah is reunited with the Third Doctor, and also meets the First
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
, Second
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
and Fifth
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
. The Five Doctors shows that Sarah Jane still owns and is working with K-9. The character made an appearance in the non-canonical Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
special crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
with long-running British soap EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...
(1993), wherein various Doctors and companions are teleported to Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
as part of a plot by the Rani
Rani (Doctor Who)
The Rani is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was played by Kate O'Mara. The word "Rani" means "queen" in the Urdu and Hindi languages and "The Rani" follows the naming convention for other renegade timelords, "The Doctor," "The Monk," "The War...
(Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara
Kate O'Mara is an English film, stage and television actress. She is perhaps most widely known for her role as Caress Morell, the scheming sister of Alexis Colby in the 1980s American primetime soap opera Dynasty, though is also known for playing other villains such as The Rani in Doctor Who and...
). Though Sladen would not make more official Doctor Who television appearances until 2006, the actress reprised her role as Sarah Jane in audio dramas and the unofficial direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
spin-off film Downtime
Downtime (Doctor Who)
Downtime is a direct-to-video spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released direct-to-video and produced by the independent production company Reeltime Pictures...
(1995) alongside the Brigadier and Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield
Victoria Waterfield
Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968.-Character history:Victoria first...
(Deborah Watling
Deborah Watling
Deborah Watling is a British actress best known for her role as Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series Doctor Who....
).
2006–2011; revived series and spin-off
Following Russell T Davies' 2005 Doctor Who revivalDoctor Who (series 1)
The new first series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 26 March 2005 with the episode "Rose", which marked the end of the programme's 16-year absence from episodic television following its cancellation in 1989, and aired its finale episode "The Parting of the Ways" on 18 June 2005...
, Sladen returned to the show in the Series 2
Doctor Who (series 2)
The second series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April 2006...
episode "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
" (2006). "School Reunion" revisits Sarah Jane, still working alongside K-9 since The Five Doctors, when she encounters the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
(David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
) while they both investigate mysterious goings on at a school run by Headmaster Lucas Finch (Anthony Head
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
). Exposition
Exposition
Exposition may refer to:*Exposition *Exposition *Trade fair*Exposition , the debut album by the band Wax on Radio...
in the episode reveals that, having waited years for the Doctor to return to her, Sarah assumed he had died, though later came to suspect his involvement when witnessing the alien spaceship above London in Doctor Who Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion
The Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
". On meeting Sarah Jane, current companion Rose
Rose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
(Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
) reflects on her future after the Doctor. Though K-9 Mark III still assists Sarah Jane, he has fallen into disrepair; after K-9 Mark III sacrifices himself to save Sarah and the Doctor, the Doctor leaves Sarah a new K-9 model, K-9 Mark IV, and takes her advice by inviting Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
(Noel Clarke
Noel Clarke
Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
) aboard the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
as his second companion. The success of "School Reunion" led to the development of The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
, starring Sladen as Sarah Jane, produced by BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
for CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
.
In The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah Jane investigates alien activity covertly from her manor house in Bannerman Road in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, driving an emerald green Nissan Figaro
Nissan Figaro
The Nissan Figaro is a small retro car manufactured by Nissan. The car was originally sold only in Japan. Despite this, the Nissan Figaro has become popular with owners in the UK and Ireland, given the popularity of second-hand Japanese import cars...
and with the help of her sentient supercomputer Mr Smith
Mr Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Mr Smith is a fictional extraterrestrial computer voiced by Alexander Armstrong which appears in the British children's science fiction television series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, with further minor appearances in the final two episodes of the fourth series of Doctor Who...
(voice of comedian Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
), as well as an alien activity scanner and sonic lipstick device
Sonic screwdriver
The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...
(both gifts from the Doctor). In the special première episode "Invasion of the Bane
Invasion of the Bane
-Sladen and Doctor Who:Elisabeth Sladen, who previously played Sarah Jane between 1973 and 1976. In 1981, she was offered the role again to ease the transition between the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, which she declined, but agreed to star in the pilot for the spin-off series K-9 and Company, which...
" (2007), Sarah adopts a son: Bane creation, genetic archetype and boy genius Luke Smith (Tommy Knight
Tommy Knight
Thomas 'Tommy' Lawrence Knight is an English actor best known for playing Luke Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures.-Personal life:...
), and befriends her neighbour Maria Jackson
Maria Jackson
Maria Jackson is a fictional character played by Yasmin Paige in the British children's science fiction television programme The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. She is a 14-year-old girl who discovers that her new neighbour, Sarah Jane Smith, is aware of...
(Yasmin Paige
Yasmin Paige
Yasmin Paige is an English actress who is best known for her role as Maria in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Having acted and modelled since the age of four, she made her screen debut in the 2003 film Wondrous Oblivion...
) during her investigation of Bane leader Mrs Wormwood (Samantha Bond). Sarah remarks that since meeting them she is no longer content to live alone; she discloses she never married after parting from the Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
, to whom no one could ever compare. Sometime between "School Reunion" and "Invasion of the Bane", K-9 has left Sarah Jane to close off a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
, occasionally passing close enough to contact her; due to the concurrent development of the K-9 television series, to which creator Bob Baker
Bob Baker
-External links:...
owns the rights, K-9 only appears in two episodes of the first series. In series one, Sarah learns how to be a mother to Luke, the while strengthening her friendship with teenage neighbour Maria, the person Sarah "trusts the most". Along with Luke and his friend Clyde Langer
Clyde Langer
Clyde Langer is a fictional character played by Daniel Anthony in the British children's science fiction television programme The Sarah Jane Adventures...
(Daniel Anthony
Daniel Anthony (actor)
Daniel Jevoughn Anthony is a British television, musical theatre and voice actor. He has appeared in several television shows as minor recurring or regular roles and is known for his role as Clyde Langer in the Doctor Who spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures.-Biography:Daniel Anthony was...
) they defeat and repel various threats to the contemporary Earth. Amongst these threats, series one introduces the Trickster (Paul Marc Davis
Paul Marc Davis
Paul Marc Davis is a British actor who has appeared on Doctor Who and two of its spin-off series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures .-Biography:...
), a cosmic being who makes alterations to the timeline to cause chaos and destruction; he becomes a recurring adversary for Sarah Jane. Sarah finds a new enemy in the Slitheen
Slitheen
The Slitheen are a family of massive, bipedal extraterrestrials from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and they are adversaries of the Doctor. They first appeared in the 2005 series episodes "Aliens of London" and "World War Three", and subsequently recur in later episodes of...
, a family of criminal aliens originally seen in Doctor Who, and an ally in alien research scientist Professor Rivers (Floella Benjamin). Time travel scenes also depict 13-year-old Sarah Jane (Jessica Ashworth
Jessica Ashworth
Jessica Ashworth is a British actress.She attended the Angels Theatre School in Godalming. Her theatrical agency is Wings Agency. She portrayed Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who as a child. Ashworth has a recurring role in British sit-com Genie in the House...
), for whom the death of her best friend Andrea Yates (Jane Asher
Jane Asher
Jane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
) gave Sarah her resolve to fight against loss of life.
Sarah Jane crosses back over to Doctor Who in the two-part fourth series
Doctor Who (series 4)
The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...
finale episodes "The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
" and "Journey's End
Journey's End (Doctor Who)
"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
" (2008), a crossover with Torchwood and Sarah Jane episode. When Daleks invade Earth, Sarah is summoned along with UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
officer Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
(Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
) and Torchwood
Torchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
leader Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
(John Barrowman
John Barrowman
John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
) by former PM Harriet Jones
Harriet Jones
Harriet Jones MP is a recurring fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Jones was introduced in the two-part story "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as an MP who aids the...
(Penelope Wilton
Penelope Wilton
Penelope Alice Wilton, OBE is an English actress.-Life and career:Penelope Alice Wilton was born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, to a former actress mother and a businessman father. She is a niece of actors Bill Travers and Linden Travers and a cousin of the actor Richard Morant...
) to help the Doctor save the universe; Davros (Julian Bleach
Julian Bleach
Julian Bleach is an English actor who is best known as co-creator and "M. C." of Shockheaded Peter, a musical entertainment based on the works of Heinrich Hoffmann, which won the 2002 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.Bleach trained at LAMDA...
) recognises Sarah from their encounter in Genesis of the Daleks. In Sarah Jane Adventures series two (2008), Maria moves away to America in The Last Sontaran
The Last Sontaran
The Last Sontaran is the first story of Series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures and is a continuation of events from Doctor Who two-part story "The Sontaran Strategem" and "The Poison Sky"...
, and Sarah befriends new neighbour Rani Chandra
Rani Chandra (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Rani Chandra is a fictional character played by Anjli Mohindra in the British children's science fiction television programme The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who...
(Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra is an English actress from West Bridgford, Nottingham, best known for her role in The Sarah Jane Adventures as Rani Chandra.-Biography:...
) in The Day of the Clown
The Day of the Clown
The Day of the Clown is the second story of Series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures The two-part serial was broadcast on 6 October and 13 October 2008; "Part One" on the CBBC Channel at 5.15 p.m. on 6 October; "Part Two" on the CBBC Channel at 5.15 p.m. on 13 October...
; the same episode features Flashbacks
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to Sarah's (Jessica Mogridge) childhood in her Aunt Lavinia's home. When Sarah saves the lives of her parents, Eddie (Christopher Pizzey
Christopher Pizzey
Christopher Pizzey is a British actor. He is best known for playing Stephen on the Children's BBC series The Basil Brush Show from 2002-2006.- Career :...
) and Barbara (Rosanna Lavelle
Rosanna Lavelle
Sally Rosanna Lavelle better known simply as Rosanna Lavelle, is an English actress. She attended the National Student Theatre in 1997 and then studied at Cambridge University....
) in 1951, she plays into the Trickster's hands; her parents choose to die, becoming heroes. In series two finale Enemy of the Bane
Enemy of the Bane
Enemy of the Bane is a two-part story from the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was broadcast on CBBC on 1 and 8 December 2008, and is the final serial of the second series...
, Sarah is assisted by old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) against united adversaries Mrs Wormwood and Sontaran
Sontaran
The Sontarans are a fictional extraterrestrial race of humanoids from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and also seen in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. They were created by writer Robert Holmes.-Culture:...
Commander Kaagh (Anthony O'Donnell
Anthony O'Donnell
Anthony O'Donnell is a Welsh actor. In 1982, he was awarded the London Critic's Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer in the Stratford Season.-Filmography:*Knock for Knock *Nuts in May *The Sweeney...
); Sarah feels threatened on a personal level by Wormwood's claim to, in a sense, being Luke's mother. Sladen has relatively scarce screen-time in 'Sarah-lite' serial The Mark of the Berserker
The Mark of the Berserker
The Mark of the Berserker is a story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 3 and 10 November 2008. It is the fourth serial of the second series...
due to back-to-back filming. Though K-9 makes no appearances in series two, he appears to assist Sarah Jane in a mini-episode for Comic Relief (2009) against Ambassador Ranius (Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Corbett
Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...
).
Series three (2009), Sarah makes a new enemy in the body stealing alien Androvax (Mark Goldthorp) and an ally in the interplanetary police force, the Judoon
Judoon
The Judoon are a fictional extraterrestrial species of mercenary police from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs. They first appeared in the episode Smith and Jones in 2007....
(from Doctor Who). In the second two-parter
The Mad Woman in the Attic
The Mad Woman in the Attic is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 22 and 23 October 2009. It is the second serial of the third series.-Part 1:...
, Sarah Jane is able to recover K-9 full-time (reflecting a real-world deal struck with the creators of K9). In a crossover with the parent series, Sarah reveals her intention to marry her secret fiancé, barrister Peter Dalton, in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 and 30 October 2009. It is the third serial of the third series. It guest stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, marking the first appearance of parent programme Doctor Whos...
. However, Dalton's involvement in Sarah's life proves to be a scheme of the Trickster. The Tenth Doctor (Tennant) wedding-crashes
Gate-crashing
Gate-crashing, gatecrashing or party crashing is the act of attending an invite-only event without invitationThe person doing the gate-crashing is known as a gate-crasher...
to foil the Trickster's plot to make Sarah give up on alien hunting, and explains to Sarah that the Trickster is a powerful former member of the extra-dimensional so-called Pantheon of Discord. The serial clarifies that Sarah owes her independent wealth to her Aunt Lavina's will. In 'Sarah-lite' two-parter Mona Lisa's Revenge
Mona Lisa's Revenge
Mona Lisa's Revenge is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 12 and 13 November 2009. It is the fifth serial of the third series.-Part 1:Luke enters Clyde's painting for a competition and Clyde wins first prize...
, Sarah and Luke have their first argument as he progresses into his teenage years; they argue about the cleanliness of Luke's room. In series finale The Gift
The Gift (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
The Gift is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which broadcast on CBBC on 19 and 20 November 2009. It is the sixth and last serial of the third series. This story features "the Blathereen", a family of Raxacoricofallapatorians distinct from the previously seen Slitheen.-Part 1:The story...
, though she is reluctant to use weapons or cause harm, when Luke falls deathly sick for the first time ever to Slitheen cousins the Blathereen, Sarah takes up arms to confront them. In the episode's conclusion, she regretfully is forced to kill them using Mr Smith. Sarah Jane next appears in the Tenth Doctor two-part Doctor Who finale, The End of Time
The End of Time
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
, in 2010. When the Doctor is slowly dying from radiation poisoning
Radiation poisoning
Acute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
, he makes timely visits to his close friends and companions; the Doctor saves Luke's life from an oncoming car on Bannerman Road, and bids a silent farewell to Luke and to Sarah Jane.
In the fourth season (2010) of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah sees Luke off to university in the first two-parter
The Nightmare Man (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
The Nightmare Man is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which broadcast on CBBC on 11 and 12 October 2010. It is the first story of the fourth series.-Part 1:...
of the series, but continues her adventures alongside Rani and Clyde. The trio encounter the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
(Matt Smith), as well as Sarah's immediate predecessor as the Doctor's companion, Jo Grant
Jo Grant
Josephine "Jo" Grant is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(Katy Manning
Katy Manning
Katy Manning is an English actress best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She has also made many theatre appearances, and is now a citizen of Australia. She is myopic...
), in Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 25 and 26 October 2010. It is the third story of the fourth series. This episode features the return of Katy Manning to the role of Jo Grant and a guest appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor...
; aliens fake the Doctor's death as part of a plot to gain access to the TARDIS using Jo and Sarah Jane's memories. The Empty Planet
The Empty Planet
The Empty Planet is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which has been broadcast on CBBC on 1 and 2 November 2010. It is the fourth story of the fourth series.-Part 1:Sarah Jane tells Mr Smith to do a maximum scan...
is this series' 'Sarah-lite' serial; with the rest of the population, Sarah Jane mysteriously vanishes, leaving Rani and Clyde to investigate without her. In Lost in Time
Lost in Time (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Lost in Time is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which has been broadcast on CBBC on 8 and 9 November 2010. It is the fifth story of the fourth series.-Part 1:...
, Sarah is sent back in time on a mission from the mysterious Shopkeeper (Cyril Nri
Cyril Nri
Cyril Nri is a British actor, writer and director. He attended the Young Vic Youth Theatre in Waterloo, London. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and is probably best known for playing the role of Superintendent Adam Okaro, now Chief Superintendent, in the long-running ITV police...
). Sarah is convinced to retire by an alien plot in the series finale
Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 15 and 16 November 2010. It is the sixth and final story of the fourth series.-Part One:...
, earning a new nemesis and doppelgänger in Ruby White (Julie Graham
Julie Graham
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
); she is saved from Ruby when Luke drives down from university to her rescue. The fifth and final series of the show, airing in 2011, was cut short due to Sladen's death. In its premiere story
Sky (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
Sky is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 3 and 4 October 2011. It is the first story of the fifth and last series.-Part One:...
, Sarah adopts a new child in the form of Sky Smith
Sky Smith
Sky Smith is a fictional character in the British children's science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off of the long-running series Doctor Who, played by Sinead Michael. She appears as a regular in the show's final series, first appearing in Sky...
(Sinead Michael
Sinead Michael
Sinead Michael is an English actress best known for playing Sky Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures. She was also one of the main characters in the mini-series 'The Childen' and the TV movie 'Enid'.- Television:-Film:...
), a genetically-engineered alien girl with abilities relating to electromagnetism; the Shopkeeper arranged for their encounter, but declines to explain his motives to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane's final broadcast appearance comes in series five finale The Man Who Never Was
The Man Who Never Was (The Sarah Jane Adventures)
The Man Who Never Was is a two-part series finale of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 17 and 18 October 2011. It is the third and final story of the fifth and final series.-Part One:...
. The final story ends with a short montage of archive footage and audio recordings celebrating Sarah Jane's journey from lone investigator to mother of two surrounded by friends. The series ends with the final caption: "And the story goes on... forever."
Literature
Sarah Jane appears in several Doctor Who novels and short stories, notably in the Eighth Doctor AdventuresEighth Doctor Adventures
The Eighth Doctor Adventures are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. 73 books were published overall...
novels Interference: Book One
Interference: Book One
Interference: Book One is an original novel written by Lawrence Miles and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Interference: Book Two
Interference: Book Two
Interference: Book Two is an original novel written by Lawrence Miles and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by Lawrence Miles
Lawrence Miles
Lawrence Miles is a science fiction author known for his work on original Doctor Who novels and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox...
; and the Past Doctor Adventures
Past Doctor Adventures
The Past Doctor Adventures were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures...
novel Bullet Time
Bullet Time (Doctor Who)
Bullet Time is a BBC Books original novel written by David A. McIntee and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by David A. McIntee
David A. McIntee
-Biography:McIntee has written many spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, as well as one each based on Final Destination and Space: 1999. He has also written a non-fiction book on Star Trek: Voyager and one jointly on the Alien and Predator movie franchises...
, all taking place after she stops travelling with the Doctor. She appears in Ian Marter's Harry Sullivan's War published by Target Books; Marter played companion Harry Sullivan in seven television serials. Different accounts of Sarah Jane's life have been given in the Doctor Who literature. Interference and the Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novel Christmas on a Rational Planet
Christmas on a Rational Planet
Christmas on a Rational Planet is an original novel written by Lawrence Miles and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, also by Miles, suggest that Sarah Jane married someone named Paul Morley sometime between 1996 and 1998 and took his name. In the short story Lily by Jackie Marshall, in Big Finish's Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury
Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury
Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury is a Big Finish original anthology edited by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The collection is the first Christmas book in the Short Trips range....
, the Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
pays a visit to an older Sarah Jane, who has a daughter, Lauren, and an autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
granddaughter, Lily; Lauren's father is named Will. In the Past Doctor Adventure Bullet Time, Sarah Jane is apparently killed- although the story is ambiguous about whether she actually dies- in 1997 when she sacrifices herself so that she cannot be used as a hostage to stop the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
from taking action to aid an escaping alien ship, contradicting her other spin-off appearances. However, the novel takes place during a story arc where enemies of the Doctor were attempting to eliminate his companions from the timeline- revealed in the later novel Sometime Never...
Sometime Never...
Sometime Never... is a BBC Books original novel written by Justin Richards and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
-, and Sarah Jane's death may have been reversed when those enemies are defeated. In any case, other stories have shown her alive after 1997. Sarah Jane was mentioned in the prologue of the Virgin Publishing novelisation of The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks
The Power of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is Patrick Troughton's first full story as the Doctor.-Plot:...
by John Peel. It revealed that Sarah Jane was working as UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
's official chronicler and that in "1996" she covered the aftermath of the Cybermen's failed attempt to drain Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
of its energy and the technology left behind in their wake (The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
, which was actually set in 1986).
Stories written as in-universe articles in Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
1991 (subtitled "UNIT Exposed"), made statements about Sarah Jane's life after leaving the Fourth Doctor. She wrote a history of UNIT, Fighting for Humankind ("heavily vetted and evidently subjected to considerable censorship"), as well as a series of science fiction novels. These featured an extraterrestrial called the Doctor and his companion Nicola Jones, who frequently encountered WIN (World Investigative Network), commanded by General Lutwidge-Douglas. Titles included Day of the Dinosaurs, Sutekh the Destroyer and The North Sea Monster.
Though there are as yet no original Sarah Jane Adventures novels, many of the television episodes have been novelised.
Audio drama
Between seasons 13 and 14, Sladen appeared as Sarah Jane, with Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, in the audio play LP The PescatonsThe Pescatons
Doctor Who and the Pescatons is an audio play in two episodes based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(1976). She appeared with Baker in "The Time Machine", episode three of the BBC Radio series Exploration Earth
Exploration Earth: The Time Machine
"Exploration Earth: The Time Machine" is an episode of the BBC Schools radio drama series Exploration Earth, a series exploring geography. It was the third episode in this series. As it was an educational programme, it used the Doctor Who format and elements to explore the processes of the creation...
on 4 October 1976. Sarah Jane (played by Sladen) appeared in two Radio Plays starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor in the 1990s: The Paradise of Death
The Paradise of Death
The Paradise of Death is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 5 from 27 August to 24 September 1993. The original radio play was released on CD as part of the BBC...
and The Ghosts of N-Space
The Ghosts of N-Space
The Ghosts of N-Space is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was recorded in 1994 and finally broadcast in six parts on BBC Radio 2 from January 20 to February 24, 1996. This was the second Third Doctor radio play, following The...
. (BBC)
The canonicity of Sarah Jane's appearances in the audio dramas is, like all Doctor Who spin-off
Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
media, unclear, and they may not even take place in the same continuity as one another. For example, the novels' mention of Sarah Jane as having been married is contradicted by the later Sarah Jane Smith audio play Dreamland, and the Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Invasion of the Bane".
Sarah Jane appears in two audiobook stories based on The Sarah Jane Adventures (released in November 2007) on CD: The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole (writer)
Stephen Cole is an author of children's books and science fiction. He was also in charge of BBC Worldwide's merchandising of the BBC Television series Doctor Who between 1997 and 1999: this was a role which found him deciding on which stories should be released on video, commissioning and editing...
and The Thirteenth Stone by Justin Richards
Justin Richards
Justin Richards is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day...
, with both stories read by series star Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
. This is the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio. Two new audio stories ("Ghost House" and "Time Capsule") were released in November 2008, both read again by Sladen.
Reprising the role
Elisabeth Sladen returned to the role of Sarah Jane eleven times after leaving Doctor Who in 1976:- In a 1981 pilot for a proposed spin-offDoctor Who spin-offsDoctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
television series titled K-9 and CompanyK-9 and CompanyK-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
where Sarah Jane was given K-9 Mark III. She was also said to have worked for the ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
news agency. However, the planned series never materialised. - Sladen played Sarah Jane again in the 1983 20th anniversary special The Five DoctorsThe Five DoctorsThe Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
, appearing alongside Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
once more (K-9 also made a brief appearance, directly referring to the events of K-9 and CompanyK-9 and CompanyK-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...
). - Sladen also appeared as Sarah Jane in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in TimeDimensions in TimeDimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...
. - In 1993 Sladen voiced the character of Sarah Jane in BBC RadioBBC RadioBBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
audio playRadio dramaRadio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
The Paradise of DeathThe Paradise of DeathThe Paradise of Death is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced by the BBC and first broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 5 from 27 August to 24 September 1993. The original radio play was released on CD as part of the BBC...
(Radio 5BBC Radio Five LiveBBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
) together with Pertwee as the Doctor and Nicholas CourtneyNicholas CourtneyWilliam Nicholas Stone Courtney was an English television actor, most famous for playing Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as Brigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartBrigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
. - Another BBC Radio drama, The Ghosts of N-SpaceThe Ghosts of N-SpaceThe Ghosts of N-Space is a radio audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was recorded in 1994 and finally broadcast in six parts on BBC Radio 2 from January 20 to February 24, 1996. This was the second Third Doctor radio play, following The...
, was made in 1994 (although not broadcast until 1996, on Radio 2BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
), again featuring Sladen with Jon Pertwee's Doctor and Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier. - In 1995 Sladen appeared as Sarah Jane in the Reeltime PicturesReeltime PicturesReeltime Pictures is a British multimedia film and video production company founded in 1984 by Keith Barnfather.It is known for its many documentaries about the long-running television series Doctor Who and in particular for The Myth Makers, a series of interviews with people associated with the...
' video production DowntimeDowntime (Doctor Who)Downtime is a direct-to-video spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released direct-to-video and produced by the independent production company Reeltime Pictures...
, together with Courtney as the Brigadier and Deborah WatlingDeborah WatlingDeborah Watling is a British actress best known for her role as Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series Doctor Who....
as Victoria WaterfieldVictoria WaterfieldVictoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968.-Character history:Victoria first...
. - Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
has also produced a series of nine Sarah Jane SmithSarah Jane Smith: ComebackSarah Jane Smith: Comeback is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It stars Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith.- Plot :...
audio adventures set in the present day. - In the third episode of the 2006 series of Doctor Who, "School ReunionSchool Reunion (Doctor Who)"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
", Sladen reprised the role of Sarah Jane on television. K-9 also appeared. - In 2007, Sladen received her own series again in The Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
, of which the second, third, fourth and fifth series were broadcast in 2008-2011, respectively. - In 2008, Sladen reappeared in the Doctor Who episodes "The Stolen EarthThe Stolen Earth"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
" and "Journey's EndJourney's End (Doctor Who)"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
", for which she received star billing in the opening titles. - In 2010, Sladen made a brief appearance in the second part of the two-part Doctor Who Christmas special, The End of TimeThe End of TimeThe End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
.
External links
- Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC's Doctor Who website ("New Series")
- Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC's Doctor Who website ("Classic Series")
- Online TV Interview on Liverpool Reporter hosted by Jonathan Thompson with Elisabeth Sladen in 2006
- BBC Norfolk Kids: The Sarah Jane Adventures
- BBC Norfolk: Interview with Elisabeth Sladen regarding Sarah Jane Smith