Doctor Who: Why River Song meeting the Master is incredibly exciting
By James Aggas
Later this month, River Song will meet not one but four incarnations of the Master in her very own series. And we couldn’t be more excited about that at Doctor Who Watch.
River Song versus the Master. It’s the kind of idea that should have happened in the TV series, but somehow never did. Fortunately, Big Finish will soon change that in the fifth series of her own Doctor Who spin-off, The Diary of River Song.
I must admit, I’m a big fan of The Diary of River Song. While featuring past Doctors has been a major selling point for the series, getting to have plenty of adventures of River on her own has been a joy to listen to. In the TV series, River was fun. But in her own series, she’s brilliant.
What The Diary of River Song has been great at exploring is River as her own character. Yes, she’s very close to her husband (even when he doesn’t know it). But she has her own sense of morality, one more pragmatic than the Doctor’s used to. She’s not afraid of letting the villains die or even directly causing their deaths, if that’s what it takes to save others.
So what would the Master make of River? How would the Doctor’s arch-enemy deal with her? Or even vice versa?
Later this month, River Song will meet several incarnations of the Master – including Michelle Gomez’s Missy!
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
Two psychopaths
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
The Master is one of my favorite villains in Doctor Who. It’s not just that they’re the Doctor’s equal. It’s also that they have that old childhood connection, too. Once upon a time, they used to be friends. Perhaps the best of friends, even. So when that little part of their history gets explored, it makes the conflict feel that much more personal.
As such, River and the Master have a very strong personal connection already. They both have rather unusual ties to the Doctor. So hearing what the Master makes of the idea of the Doctor having a wife is going to be interesting. Just as River meeting a childhood friend of the Doctor’s should be significant for her.
One more reason I’m excited about River meeting the Master? We’ll get to hear her meet four incarnations. Not all at once, and not even consecutively, at least from River’s perspective. But it’ll be fascinating to hear how she reacts to each incarnation.
Gomez. Beevers. Roberts. Jacobi. Each of these actors have given very different performances and interpretations as the Doctor’s arch-enemy. I can’t wait to hear just how different each of these adventures will turn out.
Next. The Sirens of Time – looking back at the first ever Big Finish audio. dark
Are you excited about the Doctor’s wife meeting the Doctor’s arch-enemy? Which incarnation of the Master are you most excited for River to face? Do you think they should have met on-screen? Let us know in the comments below.