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Elisabeth Sladen, who played the Sarah Jane Smith on the long-running science-fiction series Doctor Who, died on Tuesday at age 63 from cancer.
Sladen joined the show in 1973 as an investigative journalist who joins the Doctor on his time traveling adventures. She was the first of the "Companions" not to let the Doctor treat her like a doormat, and the first of the female Companions not to be merely breasts and hips designed to attract young male viewers. She displayed intense energy on screen, and often delivered her lines tongue-in-cheek.
For decades, fans consistently voted her their favorite Companion.
Sladen followed her work on Doctor Who with a series of successful plays and television work. She returned to Doctor Who in 2006 for the episode "School Reunion", in which she was reunited with her long-time friend, the robotic dog K-9. The episode (which featured Anthony Stewart Head's return to British television after an eight-year run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the U.S.) was the second-highest-rated episode of the new series (beaten only by "Dalek" in 2005).
In 2007, Sladen was given her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. In the series, Sarah Jane adopts a teenage alien boy, and she, her son, and two of her son's friends battle alien invaders on Earth. The show was nominated for a prestigious Royal Television Society award. Aimed at a teenage audience, The Sarah Jane Adventures won consistently high ratings. A fourth season aired in October 2010.
Sladen appeared in Doctor Who’s 2008 two-part series finale, "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." She was given star billing in the title sequence of both episodes. She also had a cameo in the concluding part of "The End of Time", David Tennant's last episode as the Doctor.
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In "School Reunion," the Doctor is standing in the parking lot of an English middle school. He and his current companion, Rose Tyler, have been investigating the school and why its children are such geniuses. As he watches the school, the Doctor sees Sarah Jane Smith arrive and sneak into the building.
Sarah Jane quickly discovers the TARDIS in a closet in the school, and realizes the Doctor has returned.
When the Doctor finally meets with her, he wistfully sighs: "My Sarah Jane..."
My sentiments exactly.