Elisabeth Sladen

E
lisabeth Sladen, the actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who, is dead. She was 63.

Her sudden death - from cancer - is shocking and unexpected. Six episodes from the fifth season of The Sarah Jane Adventures - a Doctor Who spin-off - had been completed at the time of her death.

Sladen's portrayal of Sarah Jane Smith is often cited as one of the best-loved Doctor Who girls, and the only one in nearly fifty years to gain her own spin-off show. Sladen played Sarah Jane from 1973-76, and returned in 1981, 1983, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

The huge affection for Sladen - and Sarah Jane - can be seen in the headlines on multiple news outlets. The story is the number 1 most read at BBC News. A quick Google search throws up a thread at JLS Forums, of all places, where young fans of the boyband have posted messages demonstrating that the actress' death has touched people of all ages.

Former Doctor Who lead Colin Baker wrote on Twitter, "Very sad to hear of the death of Lis Sladen. Great sympathy for her husband and daughter. She was far too young to be lost to them."

Stephen Fry wrote, "What terribly sad news about Elisabeth Sladen - her Sarah Jane was part of my childhood. Deepest sympathy to her family."

Noel Clarke wrote, "SARAHJANESMITHLIVES because Elisabeth Sladen made her Great. Liz, you were awesome and will be missed."

Former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies said this: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith, the world was lucky to have Lis."

All that I got is you

DISCOGRAPHIC

Ghostface Killah - All That I Got Is You (1996)
From the album Ironman

In just four minutes, All That I Got Is You paints a picture The Wire took 5 years to.

I never knew poverty like this. My mother, however, grew up in a huge Catholic family presided over by parents who were both alcoholic messes, in a '60s and '70s Belfast ripped apart by "the Troubles". My upbringing was informed by the knowledge that life like this was just a stroke of bad luck away.

"Sometimes I look up at the stars and analyse the sky, and ask myself was I meant to be here? Why?" Oh yeah, All That I Got Is You is a glimpse into a life most of us are lucky enough not to know.

Next time you wonder about what you don't have, think about everything you do. And keep the tissues handy: All That I Got Is You might just bring a tear to your eye.


Tired old queen at the movies

review
The Lady Eve

I
t's hi-jinks on the high seas as Barbara Stanwyck and Charles Coburn play a pair of father and daughter card sharks out to swindle millionaire Henry Fonda out of his millions in Preston Sturges' classic romantic comedy The Lady Eve.

Filled with a stellar collection of character actors including Sturges regulars: William Demarest, Eric Blore and Eugene Pallette, with brilliant dialogue, fast pacing and masterful direction, The Lady Eve is one of the classic comedies of the Golden Age. Stanwyck proves she was a master at subtle comedy and Fonda the king of the prat falls as she pulls switcheroo after switcheroo in order to land her man. It's Sturges, Stanwyck and Fonda at their very best and one of the comedies that every director has borrowed something from at sometime or other... if they're smart.

Steve Hayes


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Five

don't
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This is 15-year-old Negus McClean, the fifth London teenager to be murdered in the city in 2011.

On Sunday evening, he was chased by up to nine other boys in Edmonton, North London, after he tried to stop them stealing his younger brother's phone. He was then cornered and stabbed repeatedly.

The Metropolitan Police say, "He's being chased it would appear by seven, eight, nine young men, all on mountain bikes, it would appear as well. He turns up into Westminster Road, where he is actually attacked. He's stabbed a number of times."

In January, Wing Ho (18), Kasey Gordon (15), and Daniel Graham-Thompson (18) were all stabbed to death. Also that month, Ezekiel Amosu (17) was pushed under a TfL bus.

In 2010, 19 teenagers were murdered in London.

Note: Don't Die Before You've Lived is a series of ongoing entries recording the murders of teenagers in London. Although not necessarily GBLT-related, the desperately premature loss of these young boys deserves our full attention. Please take a minute to remember their names, their faces, and spare a thought for these kids who really did die before they lived.

ka-os|theory is a London-based blog.

Tired old queen at the movies

review
Notorious

C
ary Grant and Ingrid Bergman find themselves in a web of intrigue and a nest of Nazis led by Claude Rains in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic, Notorious (1946).

With a script by Ben Hect and a superb supporting cast including Louis Calhern and the wonderful Madame Konstantin as the meanest mother that ever raised a Nazi, this is Hitchcock at his absolute best. Bergman has never been more radiant and Cary Grant never more gorgeous...or visa versa. The cinematography shimmers and so do their love scenes. You'll be at the edge of your seat, swept up in the glamour, romance and suspense of Notorious.

Steve Hayes


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Blue

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British boyband Blue are back - and naked! The only problem is deciding who's hotter: bisexual Duncan, or the boy from Brum, Simon. Be sure to check out the video from their Attitude cover shoot, after the jump...
 
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