Honestly, if you ask any fan who the most iconic person to ever step foot in the TARDIS was, they won't say a Time Lord. They'll say Sarah Jane Smith.
It’s been decades since Elisabeth Sladen first walked onto that set in 1973, but her shadow over the franchise is basically a mountain at this point. She wasn't just a "companion" in the sense of being a damsel who screamed at rubber monsters—though, let’s be real, she did her fair share of screaming. She was a shift in the tectonic plates of British sci-fi.
Sarah Jane was a journalist. She had a job, a life, and a massive amount of skepticism. When she first met Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor in The Time Warrior, she wasn't looking for a magical trip through the stars. She was trying to break a story. She snuck into a top-secret research facility by posing as her aunt, Lavinia Smith. That’s pure Sarah. She was scrappy, kinda nosy, and refused to be told "no" by men in suits.
The Chemistry That Changed Everything
Most people point to the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, when they talk about Sarah Jane Smith. And yeah, that pairing is the gold standard. They had this frantic, "best friends against the world" energy that felt completely authentic.
But it’s easy to forget she started with Jon Pertwee.
Coming after Jo Grant, who was lovely but very much the "dutiful assistant," Sarah Jane was a shock to the system. She challenged the Doctor. She argued. She was a self-proclaimed feminist in an era where the show was still figuring out how to write women who weren't just there to ask, "What is it, Doctor?"
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Then Tom Baker happened.
The two of them together created a "golden age" for the show. Think about Genesis of the Daleks or The Pyramids of Mars. These aren't just good episodes; they are the pillars of the entire Doctor Who mythos. Sarah Jane wasn't just a sidekick; she was the audience's heartbeat. When she looked terrified, you were terrified. When she laughed at the Doctor’s eccentricities, you felt like you were in on the joke too.
The Heartbreak in Aberdeen
We have to talk about the exit. It’s one of the most famous scenes in television history for a reason.
In The Hand of Fear (1976), the Doctor gets a summons to Gallifrey. Humans aren't allowed. He has to leave her behind. The tragedy isn't that she dies—Elisabeth Sladen specifically insisted Sarah should never be killed off or married off—it’s the abruptness.
The Doctor drops her off, she gives this speech about how she's going to be fine, and then... he’s gone.
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"Don't forget me," she says.
"Oh, Sarah. As if I could."
But the kicker? He didn't even drop her off in the right place. She thought she was in South Croydon. She was actually in Aberdeen. That mix of pathos and classic Doctor incompetence defined their relationship. It left a wound in the fanbase that didn't heal for thirty years.
The Return and the Sonic Lipstick
When Russell T. Davies brought the show back in 2005, he knew he needed a bridge. He needed something to prove that this "New Who" was the same show your parents watched in the seventies.
Enter School Reunion in 2006.
Seeing Sarah Jane Smith walk around the corner and see the TARDIS again—and then seeing her face when she realized David Tennant was the same man she’d traveled with—is genuinely one of the most emotional moments in the series. It wasn't just fanservice. It explored the "left-behind" syndrome. What happens when the most exciting person in the universe leaves you in a parking lot and never comes back?
Sarah Jane had grown up. She was still a journalist, still fighting aliens, but she was doing it on her own terms. She had a robot dog (K9, of course) and a sense of purpose that didn't depend on a Time Lord.
This guest spot was so successful it birthed The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Most spin-offs feel like a cash grab. This didn't. For five seasons on CBBC, Sarah Jane became the Doctor for a new generation. She adopted a son, Luke, gathered a group of kids from Bannerman Road, and fought the Slitheen and the Sontarans from her attic. She traded the sonic screwdriver for a sonic lipstick. It was brilliant because it treated kids with respect, never talking down to them, just like the original show did in its prime.
Elisabeth Sladen’s Legacy
The reason Sarah Jane worked isn't just the writing. It was Lis Sladen.
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She had this incredible warmth that felt like home. Even when she was facing down Davros or the Wire, there was a core of human decency in her performance that was unshakable. When she passed away in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, the production of The Sarah Jane Adventures stopped. You couldn't replace her. There was no "regenerating" Sarah Jane Smith.
She remains the only companion to have met at least seven versions of the Doctor on screen (Third, Fourth, Fifth, Tenth, Eleventh, plus the First and Second in The Five Doctors).
Why She Still Ranks #1
Even in 2026, when we've had dozens of companions and multiple new Eras, Sarah Jane Smith is the benchmark. Why?
- She evolved: She wasn't a static character. She went from a headstrong young reporter to a seasoned, slightly lonely investigator, to a surrogate mother and mentor.
- She was capable: She didn't wait to be rescued. Most of the time, she was the one figuring out the clues while the Doctor was busy being "brilliant."
- The chemistry was real: Whether it was the paternal vibe of Pertwee, the bohemian madness of Baker, or the romantic tragedy of Tennant, Sladen made you believe every word.
If you’re looking to dive back into her history, don’t just stick to the modern stuff. Go back and watch The Ark in Space. Look at her face when she’s crawling through those ventilation shafts. That’s the grit that made her a legend.
Next Steps for the Sarah Jane Superfan:
- Watch "The Time Warrior": This is her debut. See how she manages to infiltrate a medieval castle and a spaceship in the same afternoon.
- Binge "The Sarah Jane Adventures": Specifically the episode The Death of the Doctor. It features Matt Smith and Jo Grant (Katy Manning). It’s a beautiful tribute to the show’s history.
- Check out the Big Finish Audios: If you want more, Lis Sladen recorded several audio dramas that expand on her life between her 1976 departure and her 2006 return.
Sarah Jane Smith proved that you don't need two hearts or a TARDIS to be the hero of the story. You just need a press pass, a bit of courage, and a very good dog.