River Song and the Classic Doctors – how well does it work?
By James Aggas
River Song has met many incarnations of her husband. But how well does her meeting earlier incarnations work?
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Across many audios, River Song has been meeting earlier incarnations of the Doctor. But how well does that work? Especially since Ten didn’t recognize her in her first TV appearance?
For the past couple of years, Big Finish have been telling stories of River Song meeting some of the Classic Doctors from Doctor Who. In her own series, she’s met the Eighth, Seventh, Sixth and Fifth incarnations already (in that order). She’s due to meet the Fourth in September.
But should she really be meeting these incarnations? For one thing, when we saw Ten meet River in Silence in the Library, he had absolutely no clue who she was. However, this can be explained away with amnesia, particularly when it’s induced by River.
However, there’s also River’s reaction when she realizes that Ten doesn’t recognize her. She’s genuinely hurt by this. Considering how many previous Doctors she would have met before then, wouldn’t she have become used to this?
Fortunately, Big Finish have handled both her character and her meetings with the Classic Doctors well enough to explain this nicely. While meeting Ten was a big deal for her, she’s also aware that Ten should know her. So River is fully aware of which Doctors should know about her and which ones shouldn’t.
The audios provide a very simple explanation: the Doctor himself told her at one point. Perhaps as Twelve, but more likely as Eleven. So it’s easy to picture The Diary of River Song, with River’s many encounters of her husband’s earlier incarnations, generally taking place before The Husbands of River Song.
Hints of earlier meetings?
Speaking of her last TV episode, that actually provides a bit of key evidence of River meeting earlier incarnations of her husband. At one point, she gets out photos of every single one of the Doctor’s incarnations. (Except, of course, Twelve, Thirteen, and any future incarnations.)
Now, her having these photos could just mean that she has a convenient way of avoiding his earlier incarnations. But she didn’t seem too worried about that happening. More importantly: those photos had to come from somewhere, didn’t they?
So at the very least, it’s implied that River knows the Doctor’s earlier incarnations, even when he doesn’t remember those meetings happening. More than that: she’s confident she can find ways of making sure that he doesn’t remember meeting her afterwards.
As for the audios, how well has each meeting with the Doctor’s earlier selves been handled? Overall, very well. Each story seems suited to that particular Doctor. But at the same time, they never take over the story. In River’s own series, she’s always the main character.
There are also good reasons for River meeting those particular Doctors, too. Either to do something necessary, something more morally grey that the Doctor himself couldn’t do. Or, in the case of Series Three, to save his life.
River Song first shows up in Doom Coalition during its second volume. But that’s only the beginning…
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Doom Coalition
As much as I love River’s own series though, it’s how well she fits the Eighth Doctor’s own audio series Doom Coalition that I’m considerably impressed with. She has a much larger role in that, and as she knows just how important this huge adventure is to the Doctor, she knows he can’t forget a second of it.
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So River keeps her distance. She gets help from Helen, one of the Doctor’s companions, and even uses a disguise. She has a great part to play in the story.
In particular, her last episode in the series, Songs of Love, is a fantastic listen. Not only does she get to visit Gallifrey, something she was never able to do in the TV series. But her goodbye to the Eighth Doctor is wonderfully emotional. It also ties in very nicely to both The Husbands of River Song and Silence in the Library, too.
Having River meet earlier Doctors was always going to be a risky idea. But its paid off, particularly with Big Finish. Her encounters with earlier Doctors have helped to add a great deal more to her character. We’re given fresh perspectives on the relationship between her and her husband.
But perhaps best of all: none of it undoes the tragedy of her first TV appearance. It ensures that when she’s virtually heartbroken by the fact that Ten doesn’t recognize her, there’s a good reason for it. It not only maintains the impact of Silence in the Library. If anything, it helps to give it so much more weight.
Next. Could an untrustworthy companion work in the New Series?. dark
What do you think? Do you think River meeting earlier incarnations is a good idea? Have you listened to her meeting a few of them in her Big Finish audio stories? Let us know in the comments below.