Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear

Penned by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, The Hand of Fear marks the departure of Elisabeth Sladen from Doctor Who after more than three years as Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah Jane joined the Third Doctor in The Time Warrior at the beginning of Jon Pertwee's last season, and stayed with Tom Baker through two full seasons and part of another.

The original plan was to have Sarah killed off at the end of a Dougles Camfield story about the French Foreign Legion. But that story was scrapped, and much to Sladen's relief (and that of many fans as well) the plan to kill Sarah Jane was also discarded. Sarah Jane Smith was one of the most popular companions in DW history, and there was no way she could be written out of the show without it being a sad event.

The story is well-written, although the last episode is somewhat lacking, as Stephen Thorne (Eldrad) tries to channel Brian Blessed, and the bit with Eldrad tripping over the Doctor's scarf comes off rather lame. Judith Paris gives a show-stealing performance as the female Eldrad, making an excellent villain for this story. But what The Hand of Fear is best remembered for is the last five minutes of the story, as the farewell scene between Sarah and the Doctor is well acted out.

Elisabeth Sladen has made return appearances as Sarah Jane Smith in the pilot episode of K9 & Company and the DW twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors, plus two Doctor Who audio adventures with Jon Pertwee. She also returned to play Sarah in the new DW series episode"School Reunion" with the Tenth Doctor David Tennant (John Leeson also returns as the voice of K9) when Season Two airs in the US. Sladen has also done a series of Sarah Jane Smith audio adventures, and now she is getting an SJS TV series for CBBC-TV. The Sarah Jane Adventures opens with a 60-minute special in early 2007, followed by the first season of the new program later in the year.

On the commentary track, Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen are joined by actress Judith Paris, co-writer Bob Baker and producer Phillip Hincliffe. Other bonus features include a photo gallery and text-only commentary, as well as an 11-minute videoclip of Baker and Sladen appearing on the UK children's show Swap Shop. Also included is a 50-minute documentary, "Changing Time," which sheds a great deal of light on the working relationship between Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, as well as her reasons for leaving DW. The Hand of Fear may not be my favorite story of the Tom Baker era, but it is very good, and it is an important piece of Doctor Who history.