R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen

British actress Elisabeth Sladen, the real-world alter ego of plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith, one of the best companions to renegade Time Lord known as The Doctor, has passed away at age 63 from cancer.

Sladen joined Doctor Who in the 1973 serial, "The Time Warrior," as the new companion of the Third Doctor, played by John Pertwee. She stayed in that role for three years, tagging along as the Third Doctor became the Fourth (Tom Baker). So beloved by fans - and producers - of Doctor Who, she returned to the franchise numerous times: first in the 1981 spin-off "pilot," K-9 & Company, and then in the same year's anniversary special, The Five Doctors. In 2006, she returned to the revived series in the acclaimed "School Reunion" episode, which led to the BBC green lighting her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She was shooting the fifth season of that series when she passed away.

I'm pretty sure that the first full episode of Doctor Who I ever saw was "Robot," on PBS back when I was in art school, around 1983 or 84. Sladen co-starred with Tom Baker in that story, and I think I fell in love with her right then and there. Sarah Jane Smith is still my favorite Doctor Who "companion," and proved herself a formidable heroine in her own right. Smart, brave, cute-as-a-button and prickly as a cactus, Sarah Jane - and by extension, the actress who portrayed her so well - was my kind of woman.

Rest in Peace, Ms. Sladen... and so long, Sarah Jane - the finest companion a time traveler could ever hope for.

Into 2009 With The Doctor

Well, Brandi and I rolled into the New Year with a Doctor Who marathon. Over the last few days, we finished watching Year Four of the "new" Who show on DVD, and it was an exhilarating ride, with the biggest, most explosive season finale yet – and considering that every one of the last three series have had huge conclusions, that's saying something.

Hell, the last hour was a giant Whovian orgy of guest stars, references and fan serving moments, and still, somehow, managed to carry a tremendous amount of dramatic weight and emotional resonance. Russell T. Davies delivered his best script ever, and David Tennant cemented his position as my second-favorite Doctor, with a bravura performance as the last Time Lord.

I wasn't a big fan of Catherine Tate's "Donna Noble" when she made her first appearance in Year Three's Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride," but over the course of Year Four, she grew on me very quickly, becoming one of my favorite "companions" ever. She deserved a better farewell than she got, but knowing the Who team and their reluctance to let any character go, I suspect we'll be seeing her again.

Aside from the epic season finale, other high points of Year Four included the two-part Sontaran story, which not only brought back one of my personal favorite alien menaces, but also briefly returned to the style of story prominent during the Jon Pertwee (my favorite Doctor) era – with The Doctor fending off an alien invasion of Earth alongside the forces of UNIT – a multinational paramilitary task force. And then there was the delightful meeting with author Agatha Christie in an amusing parody of her drawing room mystery novels.

On New Year's Eve, we watched two "classic" Doctor Who episodes: "Warriors of The Deep" with Peter Davison and "Timelash" with Colin Baker. Neither of them are among the original series' best productions, but both were fun.

So... 2009 began well.

Here's hoping that the year is an improvement over '08 for everyone. The world's in rough shape, pretty much everyone's having a rough time of things these days (well, everyone except the CEOs), and the only things I'm good at aren't in much demand in this economy... still, I'm trying to remain hopeful. I do have a few things on the table that might see daylight in '09, and I've got good friends, a few fans, and an inexplicably supportive spouse who believes in me and my talents. Things could be worse. ;)

Happy New Year, everyone.

Dr Who Christmas Special

Since you guys seem to like the Who posts, here's the trailer for this year's Christmas Special, "Voyage of the Damned:"

In Brief...

Hey, guys. Been struggling with various projects and winter ennui, trying to get some things wrapped up before New Year. My sciatica's been flaring up a bit, too, which doesn't help.

Man, this is the coldest, whitest December I can remember in a long time. This old farmhouse isn't as cozy as it could be – for example, the kitchen was a later addition and has no basement, insulation (to speak of) or central heat. The last few weeks, it's been very much like a walk-in freezer, so we haven't spent a lot of time on meal preparation.

Finished the third series of Doctor Who with David Tennant, Really fantastic stuff, with writing that makes me feel really... untalented.

More soon.

Doctor Who: Timecrash

I don't know how many readers of this blog are Doctor Who fans, or have been following the current series with David Tennant, but here's a 7 min. "minisode" done for British charity wherein the current Doctor encounters one of his previous incarnations. If you're not familiar with Doctor Who, this will just be 7 minutes of two Brits spouting technobabble at each other at high speed.

Well, here it is – until the BBC has YouTube delete it:



Hopefully, the BBC will include this on the Series 4 DVDs.

Anyway, I very much like David Tennant in the role, and Peter Davison is probably my second-favorite Doctor (after the late Jon Pertwee), so I enjoyed this a lot. I particularly like the clever way that writer Steven Moffat accounted for Peter Davison's aging and the new interior of the TARDIS.

You know, I really need to get that Five Doctors Special Edition DVD...