Doctor Who: the Sixth Doctor and Charley overview

Now that we’ve finished reviewing their journey together, just how well did the unique pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Charlotte Pollard work?

The Girl Who Never Was looked set to be the perfect ending for Charley. With Eight believing she never wanted to see him again, despite her forgiveness by the end, it looked set to be a beautifully bittersweet exit for the character. And it was. From the Doctor’s perspective, at least.

But the moment you heard the Sixth Doctor’s theme kick in, you knew that Charley’s story wasn’t over. And for the Doctor, his journey with her really was just beginning.

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It has to be said, this was an incredibly risky move for Big Finish to make. It’s one thing for a companion to travel with another Doctor. With regeneration, it’s practically expected.

But giving a popular companion a really solid exit story, and immediately setting her up with an earlier Doctor? Like I said, definitely a risky move. If it didn’t work, it could have ruined her earlier exit and just dragged her story out much longer than it needed to be. At worst, it could’ve come across as a real “jump the shark” moment for Big Finish.

Thankfully, that wasn’t what happened. From the very start, Six and Charley were a team that worked. In fact, it really revitalized the latter character.

While she had developed really well with Eight, especially in her first couple of seasons, there was arguably less development of her character as time went on. The chemistry was still there, but the character’s journey had seemed to run out of steam.

A unique relationship

Pairing her with the Sixth Doctor changed all of that. From the very start, it was a different relationship to the one she shared with Eight.

In fact, it was virtually different to every other Doctor/companion relationship. Even River Song, while meeting the Doctor out of order, seemed to be upfront that she was from the Doctor’s future. Charley, on the other hand, had to keep secret about it. (Of course, River has now met other Doctors that she really shouldn’t have. Naturally, this is also due to Big Finish.)

This made her relationship with Six so compelling to listen to. Especially due to the wonderful chemistry between Colin Baker and India Fisher. They seem like a perfect combination. Completely different to the original dynamic that Charley shared with Eight, but still brilliant.

The fact that Six clearly liked Charley made the relationship more complicated and more unique. Because, right from the very start, he knows that she’s lying. He doesn’t know what she’s lying about or why, but his suspicion of her is definitely there. And that suspicion only grows with time. It’s really refreshing to hear a Doctor act so suspicious of someone that the audience trusts by this point, but he doesn’t.

The stories

Along with a brilliant dynamic between the two, the stories with Six and Charley are consistently strong. Many stories feature not only engrossing plots, but use this particular pairing really effectively.

The Doomwood Curse is a wonderful romp that has fun with both characters. Patient Zero is a big epic story that has a huge impact on the Big Finish mythology. And Blue Forgotten Planet is an incredibly emotional finale.

But I think it’s The Condemned that will always be my favorite. The story has a wonderful mix of different genres, including urban crime and science-fiction. It feels completely modern, and yet remains faithful to both characters. Plus, it also introduces one of my favorite recurring characters ever, DI Menzies.

But most important of all, it kicked off the Six and Charley arc brilliantly. Eddie Robson established their unique and completely new relationship really effectively. From the very start, we were shown just how well their relationship could work.

And it worked brilliantly. To be honest, the run Charley had with Six might have been the strongest she had since her second season with Eight. And that’s definitely saying something.

With this pairing, Big Finish took a major risk and, rather than ruining the exit Charley got with Eight, managed to make that original ending keep its original impact, while giving Charley an even more emotional exit with Six. Honestly, the pairing of Six and Charley remains an incredibly brilliant decision on Big Finish’s part, and remains one of my favourite Doctor/companion relationships.

Next: Big Finish Review: Doctor Who: ‘Blue Forgotten Planet’ (Sixth Doctor audio)

Have you listened to stories featuring this pair? Did you think their relationship worked? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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