<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Sarah Jane Smith is a character who appeared regularly on Seasons 11 through 14 of the long-running series Doctor Who and in subsequent spin-off materials.

Actress Elisabeth Sladen played Sarah Jane as an intelligent and confident reporter with a decidedly feminist slant. The character remained with the Doctor for three and a half seasons of the program, longer than most of the other companions and is still one of the most popular of their number.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Travels with the Doctor

A persistent investigative reporter, Sarah posed as her Aunt Lavinia, a famous virologist, while trying to sneak into a high security research facility (in 1973's "The Time Warrior"). The Doctor (in his third incarnation played by Jon Pertwee) happened to be investigating the disappearances of several scientists at the same facility. Attempting to follow the path of the latest missing scientist in his TARDIS, the Doctor traveled to the Middle Ages, only discovering later that Sarah had stowed away for the journey. This was the beginning of a long period of Sarah's traveling with the Doctor.

Sarah witnessed the Doctor's regeneration into his fourth incarnation (played by Tom Baker) and remained with him until he was summoned home to Gallifrey at the end of 1976's "The Hand of Fear." The Doctor explained that it would be impossible to take her with him. He offered to drop a decidedly disappointed Sarah off at her home in South Croyden (a suburb south of London). As is frequently the case with the Doctor, however, he didn't quite get it right. As the TARDIS dematerialized, audiences saw Sarah looking around puzzled, saying, "This isn't South Croyden," and then breaking into laughter and walking off, giggling, "He blew it!"

Later Adventures

Sarah's appearances as a regular cast member on Doctor Who were not the last audiences were to see of the character. Sarah and her fellow superstar companion K-9 were given their own show in 1981, K-9 and Company. In the pilot, titled "A Girl's Best Friend," it was revealed that the Doctor had constructed a new K-9 and sent him to former traveling companion Sarah Jane Smith as a gift. Although the series was intended to follow the sleuthlike adventures of Sarah Jane and K-9, the pilot was not successful enough to merit the commissioning of additional episodes.

Sarah and K-9 also appeared in the Doctor Who 20th anniversary special, "The Five Doctors," and again in the 2006 episode "School Reunion." She is also scheduled to make an appearance in the 2008 season of the show.

Sarah has also appeared in a number of Doctor Who–related spinoff materials, including a Sarah Jane Smith series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions.

January 1, 2007 saw the 60-minute UK premier of The Sarah Jane Adventures, another spinoff created by current Doctor Who producer Russell T. Davies. Ten further half-hour episodes were broadcast later in the year and the BBC appears to be considering producing another 24. The show appears to be targeted at a very young audience and teams Sarah Jane with a 13 year old neighbor named Maria and a boy of apparently alien origins that Sarah ends up adopting. K-9 appeared for a brief cameo in the series premier and in its season finale, but does not appear regularly in the series (most likely due to licensing conflicts with the new K-9 series in development).