Palindromatic said
Even though she wasn't in it that much, I liked her character during David Tennant's run. There was something real and refreshing about her. I might just jump straight to whichever Doctor she was with instead of starting right from the beginning.
That's actually not a bad idea. Give me a minute to get up off my lazy ass and find my Who-ology book and I can tell you what her first episode is...
(Edit: She first appeared in "The Time Warrior", which is the first episode in season 11. Fair warning though, that season has some of the worst special effects I've seen in the Classics thus far. My roommate came up with the theory that they blew their entire effects budget on the opening sequence, since they re-did the opening for that season alone and it looks surprisingly sharp for its era.
)
What's real nice about Sarah Jane is that, normally, when you think of the typical companion/Doctor dynamic, you picture a delicate female getting herself into danger with the Doctor having to rescue her. But in Sarah Jane's case, half the time it's
the Doctor getting himself into trouble with Sarah rescuing him. It's really awesome watching Sarah Jane brave all sorts of crazy alien dangers in a way that doesn't make her look stupidly reckless, which is kind of impressive. They actually feel like a balanced team, like they really need each other. Especially during Four's run. Cuz I mean, she joined during Three's last season but it was with Four that the two characters really clicked. There's a reason she's such a fan favorite. <3
I really need to re-watch the episodes she was in with Ten. It's been so long since I watched them, and of course that was before I saw the Classics. I bet I'll enjoy the episodes a lot more having seen what those two have been through in the past.