RIP Lis Sladen

Obviously, I notice the passing of Doctor Who stars. And each one is saddening in their own way. But the death of Elisabeth Sladen combines sadness with shock.

But in death we should celebrate life, and note that Sarah Jane Smith is probably the most iconic of all the Doctor's companions. After all, she was the one who was nearly brought back to ease the transition between Tom Baker and Peter Davison. She was the first one to get her own spin-off series (seriously, she was the star, not the frickin' robot dog). She was the one brought back into modern day Doctor Who. And she was the one who got a second spin-off series - which was one of the best, and most engaging, shows on television.

And the credit for that must go to Lis Sladen. Because on paper, Sarah Jane Smith read like just another attempt to create a new style companion for the Doctor: a feminist journalist. Coming after the co-opted Cambridge professor and the ditzy girl with connections, but before the lyotard wearing savage. Yet Lis Sladen took the material she was given, and created one of the most real people ever to travel with the Doctor. Someone inquisitive, loyal, determined, argumentative and very, very human. And years later, when Sarah Jane Smith came back, Lis Sladen continued to make the character real, changing her from the sparky, spikey, confident young journalist into an often sad figure, who never truly emotionally recovered from travelling with, and then being unceremoniously dumped by, the most amazing man in that fictional universe.

So rest in peace, Lis Sladen. The world is full of celebrated actors who are praised from the rooftops for various performances. And at this moment we should praise Lis Sladen to the hilt. She managed to take a paper-thin characer designed to play second fiddle to Jon Perwee and Tom Baker and turn it into so, so much more. Which is a massive tribute to her formidable skills as an actress.