10 Best Doctor Who Characters Only In One Episode
2. Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan) - Blink
As Series 2's Love & Monsters proved, Doctor-lite episodes don't always work too well. When we watch Doctor Who, we want to see the Doctor solving a mystery, doing something clever, or defeating the aliens, so no matter how good the characters in these episodes might be, they can easily seem underwhelming when compared to the title character.
But Blink... Blink just works. With the introduction of the now-iconic Weeping Angels and an entertaining timey-wimey narrative, there would be a lot to love here even if the Doctor was the main attraction, but in his place we got Sally Sparrow instead, and thankfully, she's a resourceful, brave and intelligent young woman who the Doctor would've been proud to call one of his companions.
The episode would've fallen to bits had the character failed to resonate with viewers, since Mulligan does pretty much all the heavy lifting during her investigation of the Weeping Angels and the creepy old house. But Sally is so down-to-earth that you just can't help but like her, and Mulligan's strong performance provides a firm anchor point to help us navigate quite a complex and twisty story.
The actress went on to have a lucrative movie career after Blink aired, proving how terrific her work in the episode was.