The Holy Mother

If Doctor Who was a religion, than Sarah Jane Smith would surely be the Blessed Virgin, if for no other reason than for her incredible staying power.

She burst onto the scene in all her mid-70s-TV-feminist glory, hands on hips, shouting at men with medieval attitudes as companion to Jon Pertwee's Doctor. She morphed into the spunky, endearing best friend of Tom Baker's Doctor. Later after her departure in The Hand of Fear, Elizabeth Sladen was invited back on a couple of occasions (to no avail) to reprise her role as the ever popular journalist (once for the Key to Time season and later to bridge the Baker/Davison transition). An unsuccessful spin-off series, a return for the 20th anniversary, multiple returns in the new series and a second (and successful) spin-off series this time bearing her character's name.

Her place within the Doctor Who mythos is really quite remarkable. Who else holds such a distinctive position? She really does get a great send-off here. It feels completely authentic and just a little work-a-day (in a good way). It plays both ways: you almost feel that Doctor will return to collect her once he's finished with his Gallifrey business, and yet it also has that sense of finality too. Like they both know it, but aren't able to admit it.

Looking back over seasons 12 & 13, I just don't buy Russell T Davies' little bit of retcon, asking us to believe that Sarah had any kind of romantic feelings for the Doctor. But the bond was really strong, and I can certainly see her pain at being left behind. As my friend Graeme points out, there's much more evidence to indicate that there might have been something going on between Sarah and Harry.

The Hand of Fear has a very fresh feel and must have seemed quite contemporary at the time. I love the creepy way Liz Sladen choose to play the possessed Sarah, almost as if Eldrad has misinterpreted the character's spunky/cute attributes (in the same way that animators mistake human attributes in the creep-fest that is The Polar Express).

The simple effects for the hand itself are excellent, resulting in a superb cliffhanger to episode 2 where the silicon appendage suddenly comes to life.

Still love that simple scene where Professor Watson calls home to talk to with wife during the nuclear crisis. Moments like that make me love Doctor Who all the more.

My 13/14-year-old memories: The Hand of Fear will always have a special place in my heart. In a motel room in Kenora, Ontario did I see my first ever episode of Doctor Who. It was probably on TVOntario but it might have been a PBS affiliate, I'll probably never know. My family was driving across Canada from Nova Scotia to BC following our return from a 4 year stint on an air force base in West Germany.

After bugging my mom for some change to get a root beer from the pop machine, I flipped on the TV and started surfing through the channels. Doctor Who caught my attention immediately. I was glued to my seat until the shocking moment that Eldrad was skewered with the poisoned spear. Needless to say I flipped futilely through the channels the next night in Moose Jaw, vainly hoping to find the next part. It would be another year and a half before I agreed with Sarah that "I quite liked her, but couldn't stand him."

Number of times someone proclaims "Eldrad must live!": 22 (almost all of these are in episode 2 spoken primarily by Sarah and Dr. Carter, with the Doctor saying it 3 times in a row as a point of clarification; we also hear "Somebdoy must live" and "Eldrad lives!")

Original viewing date: Episode 3 - August 1982; Full Story - November 27 or December 4, 1983

Spirit: Bombay Sapphire Gin, the choice drink of silicon-based lifeforms everywhere.

Music: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. I have a very distinctive memory of first hearing it at our class Christmas party.