Doctor Who Review: Eighth Doctor audio ‘The Girl Who Never Was’
By James Aggas
It’s the end of an era, as the Eighth Doctor parts ways with Charley Pollard in ‘The Girl Who Never Was’.
And so, we come to their final adventure together. Nine months after I started my re-listen of the Eighth Doctor and Charley from their Big Finish debut Storm Warning, I once again find myself at the end, with The Girl Who Never Was.
And despite knowing what comes next, (for both of them,) I still find myself a little emotional about reaching this point. Even more surprising is the fact that, for a while, I knew that their best stories together were long behind them. After the Divergent Universe and the end of their adventures as “seasons”, their stories seemed to lack direction for a while.
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And then, of course, came their final stories. Absolution was the beginning of the end, with C’Rizz’s epic exit. Charley’s final story with Eight begins immediately after, in The Girl Who Never Was.
It’s very fitting that this story was written by Alan Barnes. Not only did he create Charley and write her first story. He also wrote two of the biggest stories of her arc, Neverland and Zagreus. (The last example co-written with Gary Russell.) It fits that he would write the end of her story, too.
And it’s everything you can expect from a great Eight and Charley story. It’s funny, it’s fun, it’s adventurous and, last but not least, it’s very emotional. Once again, we’re reminded of why the pair were so brilliant in the first place. It only adds to the huge tragedy knowing that this is the story of how the Doctor is forever separated from her.
A focus on drama
As for the story itself? I really like it. In some ways, it’s kind of low-key. It’s not a big, save the universe epic, but that’s ok. It means that the story can focus on the drama of Charley leaving, which it very nicely does.
There’s a lot to like about the plot, too. The Cybermen return, for the first time chronologically since Sword of Orion, the second story Eight and Charley were in. (It should be noted that, production wise, another Eighth Doctor and Cybermen story had been released earlier in the same year, but took place at a much later point. I’ll be reviewing that one, along with many other Eighth Doctor stories, very soon.)
The TARDIS even arrives in Singapore – exactly where Charley wanted to get to when she first met the Doctor. I really appreciated that, while this story wasn’t overloaded with references of the pair’s travels together, the references included helped to add to the drama, rather than detract from it.
I really enjoyed The Girl Who Never Was. It was a great finale to tell with these two characters. A simple (if slightly timey-wimey) story that was more focused on the emotional content rather than the epic stakes. By the end, I was sad that the story of these two was over.
By the real ending, of course, I was hugely ecstatic. Seriously, no matter how many times I listen to it, the end theme still makes me feel so much joy. Without giving too much away (at least, right now), this story, while it wraps everything up, also leaves the listener with one of the Best. Cliffhangers. Ever. Seriously, it’s the kind of ending that only Big Finish could get away with.
You’ll see what I mean very, very soon…
Next: Review: Eighth Doctor audio ‘Absolution’