Our Sarah Jane

Actress Elisabeth Sladen who played perhaps the most iconic of all the Doctor's traveling companions, Sarah Jane Smith, would have been 67 today. Back in 2008 I remember watching the episode Turn Left, which depicted an alternate timeline where Sarah-Jane died saving the lives that the Doctor wasn't around to save. Even though I knew she'd be back at some point, when the Doctor Who universe returned to its normal state of fiction, it still made me sad. When Sladen died a couple years ago, it was of course sadder because it meant that Sarah Jane would never be back. For fans of my generation, I think that's even worse than Patrick Troughton or Jon Pertwee who we never knew as anything but past Doctors. Sladen was always Sarah-Jane, and one of the nicest things about the resurrection of Doctor Who several years back is that she remained a key part of the show's history. As the show's 50th year rolls along, it's unfortunate that Sladen and Sarah Jane are now only part of its past.