Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography Book Launch At The Doctor Who Experience

Hi, I’m Emrys and I’m a new writer for Sarah-Jane.tv and I’m thrilled to be here.

At 2:30 on 26^th November I attended the official launch of Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography. A select few who purchased a ticket for the Doctor Who Experience, currently housed at Kensington’s Olympia II, between 12:30-2:00 were offered a free ticket and invited to both celebrate the publication of the book and the memory of this much-loved actress, Elisabeth Sladen. I’ve visited the Doctor Who Experience twice before, but still very much enjoyed it the third time around.

After a brief wander around the fantastic exhibition we took our seats in the minute, dimly-lit, and somewhat balmy screening room, alongside the Face of Boe, as well as a Pig Slave and a Scarecrow [I think!] We then watched a short tribute to Sarah Jane. The homage included clips from Elisabeth’s first story The Time Warrior, Planet of the Spiders, Robot, The Mask of Mandragora, her two returns to the show in 25^th Anniversary special The Five Doctors and the 2006 episode School Reunion.

TV Choice magazine’s Ben Lawrence was there to interview Doctor Who writer and script editor Terrance Dicks, the fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker and Elisabeth’s daughter, Sadie Miller, who all came to share their fond memories of Elisabeth.

Terrance told us of his involvement with creating the character of Sarah Jane, reminding us that each companion grows out of the last. In Elisabeth’s case this was from Katy Manning’s Jo Grant. While Jo was a sassy, girlish foil for the Doctor as “someone to pass you your test tubes and tell you how brilliant you are,” Sarah Jane was created not as an “assistant” but as an independent female with a career as a journalist. He shared that he would always remember the way that Lis would call him, “Terránce.”

Tom then went on to share with us the massive amount of gratitude he feels he owes to Elisabeth Sladen, who guided him through the early days of his time on the show by helping him form a kind of comic/jokey persona to counteract his self-admitted self-doubt. He told us that in the time he spent with Elisabeth he changed and has remained that way ever since. That juncture with Elisabeth gave him a new lease on life, of enjoyment and confidence, which is why, he says, he stayed on the show as long as he did. He admitted to being devastated when Elisabeth decided to leave the show, due to the fact that she believed she would not be wanted when Barry Letts announced his leaving and Phillip Hinchcliffe and a new regime were to take over. Tom also shared the irony that Hinchcliffe later stated that he was actually very happy with their partnership as Doctor and Companion.

Sadie, who, along with her father wrote a beautiful coda to the book, spoke more about Elisabeth Sladen herself, as Sadie’s mother and not just as her character Sarah Jane. Quite understandably she didn’t share too much with us, as her mother’s passing is still quite fresh. She said she was yet to watch the recently aired episodes of the Fifth Series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, wanting to save them to watch on a special day and enjoy as an undiscovered part of her mother’s work. She also showed us the necklace that originally belonged to Liza Minnelli, who gave it to Katy Manning who imparted it to Elisabeth [while they worked on Death of the Doctor] who in turn gave it to Sadie. Listen to Sadie talking about the necklace here on BBC Breakfast.

Afterwards Terrance and Sadie, joined by her father and Elisabeth’s husband Brian Miller kindly stayed behind to sign copies of the book, with Tom having pre-signed some in advance.

I sadly never had the honour of meeting Elisabeth Sladen, but I find it amazing and wonderful that someone who myself, and millions of others alike, never met can have had such a profound effect on ones life.

Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography has a foreword by David Tennant and is published by Aurum Press. It’s available now RRP £18.99 and I highly recommend it.

Check out my epic pilgrimage through every single episode of Doctor Who at: www.wonderingsinthefourthdimension.blogspot.com

Sadie Miller talks on BBC Breakfast

Elisabeth Sladen's daughter, Sadie Miller, appeared on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning talking about the autobiography. For those of you outside the UK, you can view it here on SJ.tv.

Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography

The cover of her book has now been released, and might I say how truly wonderful it is. I may need lots of tissues when reading this one!

Never Fear, Sarah Jane is Here!

If you're feeling a little down in the dumps about the ever nearing end of The Sarah Jane Adventures, then perhaps I can put a smile on your face.

Due to be released November 24th, two new SJA audio books go on sale! Judgement Day is written by Scott Gray and read by Anjli Mohindra and Children of Steel is written by Martin Day and read by Daniel Anthony.

With the current lack of any official blurb at the moment, I managed to catch up with Martin Day, who gave me a little information about Children of Steel. It sounds like a cracking story!

"Clyde can’t believe he’s let himself be dragged along to a boring old auction of antiques, but one particular lot has caught Sarah Jane’s attention. It’s listed as an anatomical sculpture of a human face, in brass, but to Sarah’s eyes it looks more like the head of a robot – from a time before the word ‘robot’ was even coined. Sarah Jane is convinced it’s part of the famed ‘Difference Golem’, a steam-powered ‘autonomous man’ from the Victorian era... "

Now, the die hard fans among us will have heard about these books at the end of last year. It was assumed at that point that Elisabeth Sladen would be reading them, as she had done with the previous SJA audios, but due to her sad passing earlier this year and no word on what would happen with the stories, we feared the worse.

"The intention had always been for Lis to read it [Children of Steel]" said Martin. "Indeed, I was at Chessington with the family, mulling over various possible titles [it was originally named The Difference Golem] (in this case, the last step before a formal commission) when I heard she had died.

"I wasn’t sure for a while if the book would go ahead, but that didn’t matter in the slightest – it was such terrible and sad news. Anyway, after a while, and much thought by AudioGO and the production team, I was told to write it in the third person, and just get on with it...!

"I only knew it was Daniel [Anthony] doing the reading when I spoke to him at the BFI screening a few weeks back. It was great to meet him afterwards – he said if I didn’t like his reading, I should let him know. As if!"

I will be talking to Martin a little bit more about his story in a few weeks time, so stay tuned! I hope this will make up for my lack of posts in the past few weeks and I should be keeping things up to date from now on.

Series 5 to Air in October

The BBC have today confirmed with the episode synopsis, that series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures will air on Monday 3rd October with part one of "Sky" followed by part two on Tuesday.

Part One: In today's episode, Sarah Jane finds a baby girl on her doorstep and tries to find out who abandoned her.

At a nearby nuclear power station, a beautiful woman appears out of thin air and uses alien powers to take control. She's looking for something – and realises that Sarah Jane may just have it...

Part Two: Sky has undergone an amazing transformation, but in doing so has triggered a countdown that no one can stop.

As Sarah Jane and Sky find themselves trapped between the alien war fought by Metalkind and Fleshkind, Clyde and Rani face a race against time to stop the biggest bang in history...

Don't forget you can still book tickets for the London screening of Sky at the BFI tomorrow here

Sky's the Limit

So... It's been a while since my last regular post. How's everybody been?

This coming Friday sees the BFI screening of Sky - the first adventure of the SJA's final season. I'll be in attendence - and seeing as though this will likely be one of the last screenings of its type, it'd be great to see as many SARAH-JANE.tv readers there as possible.

Can anybody think of an appropriate way for us all to celebrate the occasion?

Of course, several recognisable faces are confirmed as going. Yep, for Tommy Knight, Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra will all be there to support the screening, and answer audience questions afterwards. On top of that co-producer and head writer for the series Phil Ford will be joing them... along with new girl, child star Sinead Michael!

It's still strange to think it's been a full year since we all sat down to watch the BFI screening of Death of the Doctor - with Lis Sladen in the audience along with us. I still remember waiting back afterwards with fellow fans - including the likes of Nabu San and Ian Levine - for a glimpse of her leaving the venue. We weren't to know it'd turn out to be her final public appearence for the show.

Let's do our best to honour her this Friday night, hey?

***

For those that can't make it the CBBC SJA site is offering fans the chance to quiz the young stars of the series here.

***

Once series 5 has concluded its run on CBBC, SARAH-JANE.tv will look back and celebrate the entire history of the show, and Lis' involvement in Doctor Who (old and new) with one final "Readers Awards".

Check back for more details on when and how you can get involved.

Series 4 Box Set

The DVD box set for series 4 of The Sarah Jane adventures, due to be released October 31st by 2|entertain, will include the classic Doctor Who story, Pyramids of Mars, in the extras as a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen.

Pyramids of Mars sees Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor arrive at an old priory in the year 1911 where the owner, Marcus Scarman, has been excavating ancient tombs and soon becomes possessed by the spirit of Sutekh, bringer of 'the gift of death to all mankind'. Will Sutekh the all-powerful be freed from his bonds and destroy the world, or will the Doctor manage to bring about his destruction?

If that's got you excited, then hold your breath, CBBC have been showing a sneaky little preview of series 5 to whet your appetite! Series 5 will air some time in October, although dates are still to be confirmed.

Elisabeth Sladen's Autobiography

Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography will be published on Monday 7^th November 2011 at £20 from Aurum Press.

Prior to her death in April this year, Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who entertained millions of children and their parents as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, had been working on a memoir. An account of her career on stage and screen and an insider’s view of the world’s longest-running science fiction series, the book had been completed in draft form but illness prevented Elisabeth from finishing it.

With the support of her husband, Brian Miller, and daughter, Sadie, Aurum will now publish Elisabeth’s memoir in November this year. A tribute to an actress whose most famous character became a hero and a role model for generations of young fans, the book traces Elisabeth’s story from humble beginnings in post-war Liverpool, through a joyful career in the theatre, to unexpected fame alongside Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. In the process it explores the far from glamorous realities of filming in TV’s golden age, the strange and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom, and what it was like to return to the show over thirty years after Sarah Jane first set foot in the TARDIS.

Elisabeth’s editor at Aurum, Sam Harrison said: ‘I remember my first meeting with Elisabeth - the hilarious and eye-opening stories she had to tell and my feeling of elation that she wanted to turn them into a book. Having grown up watching her as Sarah Jane Smith it was a personal dream come true. She was a fantastic person to work with - fun but utterly professional - and it’s incredibly sad that she’s no longer with us. I’m glad he had a chance to share some of her memories in this book. I hope it will make a fitting tribute to a great actress and a wonderful woman.’

BFI Screening: The Sarah Jane Adventures

[This event is now open to everyone! You can book tickets online here]

BFI Southbank will be holding a special screening of the new Sarah Jane Adventures, September 16th at 6:30. This will be followed by a questions and answers panel with the cast and and writers, and I have to say from previous experience, it is a night not to be missed.

Intrepid investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith and her gang of young sidekicks are back as the final six episodes of the hugely successful The Sarah Jane Adventures air on CBBC this Autumn. In the first adventure Sarah Jane discovers a mystery baby on her doorstep. But with explosions, power surges and reports of a Metal man falling from the sky, Sarah Jane is convinced that there's more to the baby than there first seemed.

Created by Russell T Davies, The Sarah Jane Adventures is made by BBC Cymru Wales and has been a huge hit since its debut on CBBC in 2007. These final episodes were filmed before the untimely death of actress Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane, earlier this year.

Courtesy of CBBC and BBC Wales.

Walk For Lis

This autumn, Senior Doctor Who Executive, Edward Russell is going on a 160 mile trek from Cardiff to London!

Russell is taking on this challenge to raise money for Meadow House Hospice, the NHS-funded facility which cared for Lis earlier this year.

From Edward:

"Like many of her fans and friends, I was deeply saddened by Lis' death in April 2011 and I hope to raise as much money as possible for this wonderful cause.

Starting on Saturday 3 September, I will walk from the BBC's Upper Boat studios in Cardiff (where The Sarah Jane Adventures was filmed), aiming to arrive at the BBC Television Centre (where Lis first filmed Doctor Who) in London the following Friday. I will largely be following the National Cycling Route No. 4 - walking the equivalent of a marathan every day!"

'

(Edward Russell with Elisabeth Sladen)

You can donate to this wonderful cause at Just Giving- Walk for Lis and follow his progress from his blog, walkforlis.

From all of us here at SarahJane.tv: Good luck, Mr. Russell!!!