Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter II - out now!

The second volume of Roving Reporter, Pencil Tip Publishing's collection of short stories, comic strips and critical essays on all things Sarah Jane is now in print. You can order a copy from Lulu, for the sum of £20/£36 (CAD). All proceeds go towards the British Columbia Cancer Foundation.

The volume includes some excellent new fiction starring Sarah Jane, rounded off with my own story "Remembrance."

Order here now!

Pencil Tip Publishing: Sarah Jane and Space: 1999!

Good news from Pencil Tip Publishing: Roving Reporter II, the second collection of new adventures for Sarah Jane Smith will be available before the end of the year. This will feature my story "Remembrance" as well as a host of prose and graphic stories, such as Russell McGee's "The Cocoon of Despair," which you can now explore in this timelapse artwork video.

In the meantime, the original Roving Reporter (featuring my story "Exposure") is available for a short time again via Lulu. A full library of PTP fiction and non-fiction books are also available, such as the recent What the Fans Think - Space: 1999, for which I had the dubious honour of reviewing "Space Warp."

 

It's out! The new charity anthology Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter, featuring my story "Exposure." 

It's can be ordered now for £16.99 via Lulu, with all proceeds to the British Columbia Cancer Foundation. The full press release follows:

Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter

It’s all about Sarah Jane Smith.

Sarah Jane Smith – without a doubt, the most popular Doctor Who travelling companion of all time. An investigative journalist – confident, courageous, compassionate, inquisitive – possessing a sharp mind and tongue, and unabashedly feminist.

Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter is a celebration of the lives of Sarah Jane Smith and Elisabeth Sladen and features:

• Twelve exciting short stories by authors Nick Walters, Paul Magrs, Simon Bucher-Jones, Rick Cross, Rob Nisbet, Tony Jones, Daniel Tessier, Russell McGee, Kevin Mason, Nick Krohn, Steve Ince and Matthew Kresal
• Two exclusive comic strips with story and artwork by Jon Huff and Ken Holtzhouser
• Essays by Jessica Chaleff, Sam Maleski, David Johnson, Niki Haringsma, Aidan C Matear, David McAllister, Thomas Spychalski, Claire Chaplin and Gary Phillips
• Selected Artwork by Russell McGee, Ken Holtzhouser, Jon Huff, Brian Gorman, Jessica Chaleff, Faiz Rehman, Anne-Laure Tuduri, Lee Hamill, John Monaco, Mark Hyland, Robert Hammond and Steve Ince
• A special foreword by Sadie Miller

All net proceeds from this publication will be donated in support of the British Columbia Cancer Foundation, the fundraising partner of the BC Cancer Agency and the largest charitable funder of cancer research in this province. The BCCF enables donors to make contributions to leading-edge research that has a direct impact on improvements to cancer care for patients in British Columbia.

COMING SOON: Sarah Jane Smith - Roving Reporter

 Coming soon from Pencil Tip Publishing... Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter, a new unofficial anthology celebrating the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith, as played by the late Elisabeth Sladen on Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. 

Roving Reporter features a selection of short stories starring Sarah Jane by Paul Magrs, Nick Walters, Simon Bucher-Jones and more... including one by me. There are comic strips, essays and tributes by a selection of great writers, including a foreward by Sadie Miller - Sladen's daughter and the new Sarah Jane for Big Finish in their new release Return of the Cybermen.

Check back soon for details of ordering the collection, which will raise money for the British Columbia Cancer Foundation.

Doctor Who Lockdown: "Farewell, Sarah Jane Smith"

This one brought tears to my eyes. With the lockdown fan rewatch of "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" coincided with the ninth anniversary of the death of Elisabeth Sladen. So Russell T. Davies gave us a brand new short story about her funeral, some undisclosed time after the end of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

I can't begin to cover how much this means to us as Doctor Who fans. Liz Sladen was probably the single most beloved companion actor in the classic series, and bringing her back in the revived series made her beloved by a whole new generation of fans. A kid who started watching SJA when they were five would be eighteen now. Even the new kids have grown up now.

Part of me wants these characters to carry on forever after their actors have passed away, and there's no reason they shouldn't. There can still be endless stories set in years past for Sarah Jane (and years future, this is a time travel show).  But giving the character an end like this, and a heartfelt send-off, is a beautiful way to pay tribute to not only the impact of the character but the actor behind them.

Jacob Dudman is as excellent as ever in his reading (is that his studio? Does he have that at his home?) just like he was in RTD's last video story. But what really sets this apart is the inclusion of other actors paying tribute. Katy Manning and Mina Anwar appeared alongside Sladen during SJA, while Sophie Aldred would have made an appearance in the fifth season had it been completed. It's nice to know that their story together still "happened" in the Whoniverse.

It's a pity Yasmin Paige doesn't appear as Maria, but Daniel Anthony and Tommy Knight are back as Clyde and Luke, and blimey, it's like they haven't aged. The beautiful Anjli Mohindra appeared on Doctor Who itself this year as the Skithra Queen, but it's wonderful to have her appear without the latex. There's no mistaking the emotion they show here, it's so moving.

The story itself is slight, of course, but it's there to hang the emotions on. When Katy Manning appeared as Jo back on SJA, RTD couldn't help but throw around new fates for every companion he could had time to mention. He does the same here, dropping little snippets of character development and new adventures. Luke's married to Sanjay - his best friend mentioned in the series who would have been revealed as his boyfriend had it not been cancelled - and it turns out Nyssa and Tegan are a couple, because of course they are. I can't wait to hear how Big Finish try to twist their continuity to fit that in. He even drops a mention of Grace Holloway in there.

It's a pity the Doctor doesn't make an appearance. I can understand why, but a little cameo could have worked. Could Tom Baker have not phoned one in? (Has anyone checked on him, by the way? Is he OK?) It's still utterly beautiful though. I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear (Suz bawled her eyes out).

The song is ending, but the story goes on

A couple of things have come to an end lately, through necessity or choice. The Whoniverse has got a little smaller. Sadly, The Sarah Jane Adventures have finally reached their end. Of course, there is very little that could have been done about this. It is fortunate for fans of the character and the series that the first half of the proposed fifth season was filmed at the end of the fourth. Plans for further episodes were halted by Elisabeth Sladen's tragic death. I understand that there may have been talk of continuing the series in an amended format, although this is probably just the work of the Internet rumour mill. Perhaps Katy Manning could take over - The Jo Jones Adventures? Perhaps the 'kids' could continue, carrying the series on their own. Perhaps there might be a way, but it could never be a true continuation. The show belong to Sladen, and it's right that it ended with her. I hope that perhaps one or more of her sidekicks might turn up on Doctor Who one day, but otherwise, it's quite right that the series has ended.