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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

6 Comments

  1. Anton
    April 20, 2011 @ 5:16 am

    I was hoping you'd write something today and I knew it would be everything I'd wanted to express. But more, you also managed to balance the sadness with positivity by including in it your own personal 'back story'. A friend and fellow Whovian rang me last night to tell me Lis Sladen had died and I haven't stopped thinking about her since. It's like I'm mourning two people – the actress, Elisabeth Sladen and the character, Sarah Jane Smith. Because unlike the Doctor she can't regenerate. There will be no more Sarah Jane Adventures (on TV at least). No-one could take on that role because Lis WAS Sarah Jane Smith. Note her surname – SMITH. disregard all that River Song/Mrs. Pond palaver there's only one woman who could have been the Doctor's wife and now she's dead. thankyou Philip for sharing your story about her.

    Reply

  2. Bill Reed
    April 20, 2011 @ 2:22 pm

    Thanks for writing this.

    Reply

  3. Alphapenguin
    June 24, 2012 @ 2:38 pm

    Over a year later and it still hasn't gotten any easier to accept that she's gone. I'd say something here, but you've said damn near anything I could say, and said it better. Thank you.

    Reply

  4. Heather
    July 3, 2013 @ 8:47 pm

    How much of The Sarah Jane Adventures will you be covering when you talk about the new series? The series in general deserves at least an entry, and I can see reason to discuss each of the stories where the Doctor appears (The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith and Death of the Doctor) in their own separate entries since, in a way, they are as much part of the Doctor's story as any of the novelizations and audio stories.

    And I share your sorrow. It was hard watching SJA knowing that it ended as a result of her death. After the final moment of the series, I found myself unable to hold back tears. To borrow from a much better writer than myself (aka Joss Whedon), "I wish that Liz Sladen didn't die… because she was nice, and now we all hurt."

    Reply

  5. Davem
    August 19, 2015 @ 4:25 am

    Hey. I normally abhor necroposting, but yeah, I've got something I need to to say here. In my life I've had things I wished I could have done, and one of these was meeting Elizabeth Sladen and thanking her for introducing me to Doctor Who. The very first scene of Doctor Who I ever saw was Sarah Jane Smith dressed in a brown flared pantsuit stepping out of the Tardis and encountering a 10th-12 century bowman attempting an assassination. Yeah, my first doctor was John Pertwee, my first companion was Sarah Jane Smith, and my first Alien was the Sontatans. No wonder I became an instant fan. When I first encountered "regeneration" I kept watching because even though the Doctor had changed (into something I initially despised [yes, I know it was Tom Baker, but he's a total a***ole in robot]), I could rely on Sarah to provide continuity. Let's face it she had some horrible scripts that relied on her doing stupid things and screaming, but dammit she could make it believable. The first moment I said "No how can this still be Doctor Who" wasn't when the doctor regenerated, it was when Sarah left. Vale Elizabeth Sladen, you were a subtle and better actress than any of your roles required,

    Reply

  6. Amelia
    March 22, 2024 @ 8:20 am

    “I could say all of the obvious things. That she was the first truly feminist companion. That she was literally, genuinely, an inspiration to a generation of little girls. That she taught them that girls could have amazing adventures and be brilliant. That she taught them that a girl could stand up to any boy on the planet, or, for that matter, any one off of it. That there was such a thing as a girl even the Doctor looked up to.“ this part feels really special in hindsight reading Tardis eruditorum for the first time here in 2024 on Elizabeth Sandifer’s website 🥹. She was a special person💖

    Reply

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