Good Bye Sarah Jane

Elisabeth Sladen was associated with Doctor Who for more decades than any writer, any Producer or any actor who played the Doctor. She became a symbol of "Doctor Who."

Something evolved out of the merely commercial desires to make a spin-off of Doctor Who. Starting with "K-9 and Company" and continuing through her work on the Big Finish audio dramas of Sarah Jane, Lis Sladen made Sarah Jane a three-dimensional character who was part of the "Doctor Who" world - but was not bound to the Doctor. When Russel T. Davis invited her back into the TV world of "Doctor Who" in "School Reunion" and the "The Sarah Jane Adventures" Sladen's force of will showed the world that a companion could "grow up" to become someone worthy of the Doctor's respect. No other companion could have made that transition.

Sarah Jane, a diminutive women -- especially when standing next to Pertwee or Baker or Tennant, looked like a little girl during her days as the Doctor's companion. She was adorable (especially in her Andy Pandy outfit in "The Hand of Fear") - but also feisty, argumentative and not a fainting damsel in distress. Sladen took the character and imbued her with a heart and a humanity that came from within the actress. She showed the Doctor and the world that she, Elisabeth Slade and Sarah Jane Smith was bigger on the inside than she was on the outside.

—William Alan Ritch

Kevin McCarthy

Remembered

January 29, 2010

Captain Phil Harris on the dock in front of the Cornelia Marie.
Harris died on January 29, 2010. He was 53 years old.

Captain Phil Harris

Fishing Boat Captain and Reality TV Star

I never miss Discovery's Deadliest Catch, the reality TV show which chronicles the adventures and mis-adventures of the fleet of fishing boats out of Dutch Harbor in Alaska. The captains and crews of this fleet face ridiculous weather and deck conditions as they pursue and catch the crab that we enjoy on our dinner plates here in the lower 48 and all over the world.

From the first time I watched the show, I fell for Cap'n Phil as he piloted his 128-foot vessel Cornelia Marie through the harsh trials of the Bering Sea. This morning while watching the news, it was reported that the man I have thought of as 'my' captain these past few years died of a stroke on January 29 while in port and offloading his boat.

I couldn't help but cry over hearing this news. I never knew him but such was the power of his personality. My sincere condolences to his sons, the fleet and all the people who knew and loved Phil Harris. He'll be missed here in Santa Cruz, CA as he will be missed by the millions of viewers of The Deadliest Catch.

Fair winds to you Captain.

— Jessie Lilley

November 16, 2009

Edward Woodward

Sad news to report this day, veteran character actor of television, stage and screen Edward Woodward has died. Woodward is known to Mondo Cult fans for his portrayal of Sergeant Howie in 1973's The Wicker Man. His brilliant turn in Breaker Morant stunned audiences when it opened and this writer fell for him, hook, line and sinker when she saw him in 1964 on Broadway in High Spirits, the musical adaptation of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit. RIP Mr. Woodward. You are missed.

—Jessie Lilley

December 10, 2009

Gene Barry

Gene Barry, star of television's Bat Masterson, hero in the George Pal version of War of the Worlds with Ann Robinson, and dapper leading man in television's The Name of the Game and Burke's Law, died Thursday, December 10, 2009, in Los Angeles. Mr. Barry was 90 years old.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Barry, only briefly, at Lance Allspaugh's Vista Theatre in Hollywood on the 30th Anniversary showing of Pal's War of the Worlds. He and Ann Robinson were in attendance. It was a wonderful night and Mr. Barry was a delight.