An unusual farewell to arguably the definitive Eighth Doctor companion, Charley Pollard. Again, the guest cast knocks it out of the solar system (Amanda Root!!!). I also like the speaking cadences of the [REDACTED] who sound much more like I always thought they should sound. Bonus for fooling me utterly on someone's identity BTW! ( )

Alan Barnes is always a writer who makes me sit up, so I was looking forward to The Girl Who Never Was. However I was a little disappointed. The elements are great - Anna Massey claiming to be an elderly Charley, Cybermen on an abandoned ship near Singapore, timewarping and decay - but it doesn't quite gel as well as Barnes at his best. ( )