Doctor Who: Big Finish celebrate Elisabeth Sladen’s birthday with Sarah Jane Smith sale
By James Aggas
On what would have been her 74th birthday, Big Finish remember Elisabeth Sladen with a sale of her own Doctor Who audio spin-off, Sarah Jane Smith.
We all remember Elisabeth Sladen. We all remember how perfect she was as the iconic Sarah Jane Smith. Along with being one of the most popular companions of the Classic Series, Sladen even appeared in the New Series of Doctor Who back in 2006. The Tenth Doctor story School Reunion was a wonderful piece of nostalgia for older fans. But even better, it introduced both her and K9 to a brand new generation of viewers.
Even better, she was given her own TV spin-off series just a short while later. While Captain Jack’s adventures in Torchwood were decidedly darker and aimed at a more mature (or at least, older) audience than Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures took the opposite route. A series aimed at a younger audience than either Torchwood or even Doctor Who, the series focused on the adventures of Sarah Jane, her adopted son Luke and several of their friends.
While the spin-off has been a little overlooked in comparison to both its parent series and Torchwood, it still proved to be a successful series in its own right. But did you know that, several years prior, Sarah Jane had another spin-off series entirely?
For the first time ever, all nine stories in Sarah Jane Smith are available on download.
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
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Sarah Jane Smith: The Complete Series 1-2
Back in 2002 – three years before Doctor Who came back – Big Finish Productions created their own audio spin-off for our favorite journalist. Simply titled Sarah Jane Smith, this particular series was darker and more grounded than her later TV series. It was also aimed at an older audience, too.
This weekend, from midday until 23:59 (UK time) on Feb 3, Sarah Jane Smith: The Complete Series 1-2 will be on sale from Big Finish’s website at £19.99, exclusively on download. This will include all nine stories released in the spin-off – including opening episode Comeback by Terrance Dicks.
What’s particularly significant about this story is that, up until now, it had only ever been available on CD, and even that has gone out of print. Its brand new release on download will help to bring the story to a brand new audience.
Sarah Jane Smith: The Complete Series 1-2 is available now from Big Finish, exclusively on download. It is currently priced at £19.99, before increasing to £24.99 on Feb 4.
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Have you listened to Sarah Jane Smith? Are you a fan of the series? Did you watch her later spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures? Let us know in the comments below.