River Song: happy tenth anniversary!

Today marks ten years since River Song’s introduction in Doctor Who. And we couldn’t be happier to celebrate at Doctor Who Watch!

Ten years ago, Silence in the Library was broadcast. We’ll be reviewing the episode itself very shortly. But first, we wanted to take a spotlight on who that episode introduced to Doctor Who: River Song.

It’s very easy to overlook how things could’ve been different with River. When she was introduced, she was a mystery. The audience knew hardly anything about her, although they knew what she was implied to be, at least: the Doctor’s future wife.

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It would’ve been easy for this character to have been quietly ignored. Especially considering how much the show seemed to ignore the Doctor’s family, ever since Susan left. (After all, look at what happened to Jenny. Or, more accurately, what didn’t happen.)

But Moffat didn’t ignore her. In fact, her first two episodes essentially became a prelude to Matt Smith’s entire era, at least. From Moffat’s first full season as showrunner, he made sure to give River Song a key role in the series. Even more so in series six, which really explored her origins.

A life off-screen

While her appearances gradually became smaller, with just two appearances in series seven and one Christmas special with Capaldi’s Doctor, the character has still been developed considerably off the screen.

Whether it’s in books, comics, or even her own audio spinoff series, River Song has continually proven to be a popular character across various media.

Starting today and for the next few weeks, we’ll be covering a great deal about River. We’ll look at how well her story arc developed over the series. We’ll also be reviewing some of her various TV appearances, and even her own spin-off series, The Diary of River Song.

For now, though, we just wanted to celebrate a character who’s had a significant impact on Doctor Who. This is partly due to the writing, but also due to Alex Kingston’s performance.

Kingston’s excellent performance really helped to sell the character, particularly the fact that she was meeting someone she loved completely out of order. She also added plenty of charm and cheekiness to the role, too.

So happy birthday (or, considering what happened at the end of her first story, would that be deathday?) to River Song, and for reaching ten years. While the character may not appear in the TV series again, she will have an enduring appeal to fans for a long time to come.

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Are you a fan of River Song? What do you enjoy about the character? Which is your favourite episode featuring River? Let us know in the comments below.