8. Storm Warning
"A million planets circling a million suns Charley, where the starlight makes colours the human eyes have never seen." The first Big Finish audio adventure to feature the 8th Doctor introduces his companion "Edwardian Adventuress" Charley Pollard. Set on the doomed R101 Airship (A real life Titanic of the air) in 1930, The Doctor must deal with the inevitable crash, a spy on a secret mission, the unexpected arrival of a flying saucer and a ravenous vortisaur escaped from the time vortex! The Doctor and his new companion escape, but to protect the time stream, at some point Charley must return and take her place among the dead of R101. This time paradox story arc would haunt them until Charley and The Doctor eventually part company in "The Girl Who Never Was." India Fisher's Charley is a worthy addition to the ranks of companions, fearless, tough and smart. Any person who describes themselves as an adventuress better live up to it and she is more than equal to the task. Before meeting The Doctor, she drank an airman under the table, stole his uniform and ran away from her manor house in Hampshire for a life of adventure. Charley Pollard is a perfect companion for McGann's Doctor matching his exhuberance and zest for life. Charley isn't there just to scream and ask questions as a viewer identification character, she's a heroine in her own right. She eventually becomes the first companion to admit to having feelings for the Doctor and the first to be told that she was loved by the Time Lord. She is also the first companion to face the wrath of a Tardis unsettled by a living time paradox. Paul McGann doesn't miss a beat and despite the 5 year break since he had played the role in the television movie, he is immediately a Doctor that you wish had been given a chance to be seen and not just heard.