With most celebrity deaths, I usually feel a little sad and move on after a short period, usually minutes or an hour, tops.

But for some reason, the death of Elisabeth Sladen affected me more than I thought it would.  I actually quietly wept a bit at my cubicle.  It’s not like losing a family member.  It’s losing a part of your youth.

While she wasn’t the first companion that I saw with the Doctor (Logopolis, my first series that I watched), she was certainly one of my favorites. The local PBS station showed a lot of the older episodes from the 70s, so I believe I have seen all if not most of the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker episodes, and Sarah Jane featured prominently in both Doctor’s runs in the TARDIS.  I remember how sad it was when she left the series, with Tom Baker having to leave her behind after getting the Call from Gallifrey.

This isn’t Hillview Road. I bet it isn’t even South Croydon.

When I heard that she was going to appear in an episode in the newer series, I was excited, and ‘School Reunion’ is one of my favorite David Tennant episodes, partly for guest star Anthony Stewart Head, but mostly for the reintroduction of Sarah Jane Smith to the Whoniverse.  And her appearances in later episodes were great, too.

I haven’t watched a lot of episodes of ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’, the few I saw were okay, but friends say that it gets better by the 3rd and now final series.

I watched a bit of ‘School Reunion’ on my iPod touch at work, and felt sad while watching her scenes with Tennant, expressing her feelings of abandonment because the Doctor never came back for her, and then the Doctor later explaining to Rose why he never stays too long with any companion.  I love the episode, but scenes like these, under the circumstances, are just that much sadder.

It took me most of the afternoon to shake myself out of this feeling.  And it isn’t completely gone.

As others online have said, the stars are a little dimmer tonight.

Rest in Peace, Ms. Sladen.  You’ll be missed beyond words, especially mine.