Doctor Who: The Girl Who Never Was

This is the final regular 8th Doctor story in Big Finish's main range of DW audio plays, wrapping up six years' worth of stories, prior to launching his own series with a clean slate. Mainly, of course, this means explaining what happened to Charley, and the story stands or falls on whether or not you care about the answer.

Fortunately, I did, but it does mean that you have to have some familiarity and investment with the character and her adventures for this play to work. This is about as far from a ‘leaping in' point for the series as it's possible to get - and rightly so.

The story itself takes place in three different time zones, and works surprisingly well given that, for much of it, the two main characters are apart. It's an involving tale, with a reasonably complex plot that nonetheless manages to avoid becoming confusing.

But the core is Charley's fate, and that's certainly played upon here, with multiple red herrings recognising that, since it's the final instalment, there's no reason that she can't be killed off or have something equally unpleasant happen to her. Assuming that, at this many year's remove from the release date, you've somehow managed to avoid spoilers for the ending, you're probably going to be kept guessing throughout.

But I will say: do keep listening after the closing theme tune.