RIP Elisabeth Sladen.

“The actor Elisabeth Sladen best known for her role as Doctor Who‘s time travelling companion, has died of cancer, aged 63. Sladen played many roles over the years, but was defined by her portrayal of tough-talking journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the BBC series, and later went on to star in her own spin-off programme, The Sarah Jane Adventures.”

I’m not new to Doctor Who, but the whole Whoniverse has a LOT of history. The Sarah Jane Adventures were never aired here, or at least I never caught them and last time I checked Netflix was lax on the subject as well. Anyhow, a Companion of old, and an adventurer all on her own as passed away.

“Her character was introduced in 1973 alongside Jon Pertwee’s Doctor as a feminist antidote to the traditional “Who girl” who asks dumb questions and screams a lot. Sladen ran with the role and helped pioneer a new genre of female hero in British drama – the feisty yet vulnerable female. She stayed with the show for two years after Tom Baker replaced Pertwee, and returned for the the 20th anniversary reunion show The Five Doctors and a short-lived spin-off, K-9 and Company.

But while after that, Sladen thought her time with Doctor Who was done, that was not to be the case. When Russell T Davies relaunched Doctor Who, Sladen was top of the list of old friends to return, and was reunited with David Tennant’s Doctor in the 2006 story.”

You can read more from this article here (though if you Google her, there’s a ton of sites, fan and otherwise, with information on her).