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Doctor Who spin-off review: The Diary of River Song – Series Four

By James Aggas

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Before she faces her husband’s arch-enemy later this month, we review the fourth series of Doctor Who spin-off The Diary of River Song – when River meets the Fourth Doctor!

Big Finish Productions have served River Song very well over the past few years. Along with appearing alongside the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who audio series Doom Coalition, and meeting UNIT later this year, she’s also had her very own successful spin-off series.

Interestingly, throughout The Diary of River Song, her husband has appeared at least once per series. But never the right incarnations. While she’s more used to the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, in this series, her adventures keep leading her to meet earlier incarnations.

As I’m sure you know, this is tricky for River, as she’s aware that no incarnation of her husband should know her before his Tenth self. So, of course, there’s always an explanation as to why he doesn’t remember meeting her.

Sometimes, it’s because she meets him from a distance, sometimes, she ensures that he forgets…and sometimes, there’s something much bigger and much stranger than that. And that’s we get with the Discordia.

But who are the Discordia? What makes them such a dangerous enemy, not just for River, but for the Doctor, too? And how can they possibly be stopped? Let’s find out.

The Diary of River Song: Series Four kicks off when River meets an old rival from her university days in Time in a Bottle.

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Time in a Bottle

Time in a Bottle gets the fourth box set of The Diary of River Song to a really great start. It presents us with an intriguing idea – a world without time. An entire planet frozen in a single moment. But why? What’s caused it? And if the entire planet really is frozen, then who is sending a distress signal?

Along with presenting such an intriguing mystery, we’re also introduced to some great characters. There’s Spod, the student war-borg who’s obsessed with everything Time Lord; Gammarae, one of the last survivors of a race who’s now a bailiff, and Professor Jemima Still. This last one is a particularly intriguing character, as she’s an old rival of River’s.

It’s clear that for Jemima at least, her priorities are usually more focused on making money than on actual archaeology. River doesn’t think much of her, and it’s not hard to see why.

A character who’s a rival to someone like River needs a great, strong actress to play her. So Big Finish cast very well when they got Fenella Woolgar in the role. Woolgar will be already familiar to Doctor Who fans as Agatha Christie in The Unicorn and the Wasp, and she’s worked with Big Finish before in Nevermore.

Woolgar is fantastic to hear opposite Kingston’s River. You can really imagine the two being genuine rivals at university. Partially, because of their differences, particularly in terms of morality. Jemima is certainly more focused on money than River is, for example, and cares less about how she gets it. But it’s also because of their similarities, too.

This episode also does a great job of introducing the Big Bad of series four: the Discordia. They’re a fantastic idea for an enemy, which I’ll go into more detail on for the next episode.

As for Time in a Bottle, it’s a really strong episode for this box set. It introduces a lot of interesting ideas and some great characters, while kicking off the main plot of the box set off in style. A fantastic opening episode.

With the Discordia on her tail, River Song does everything she can to escape them in Kings of Infinite Space.

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Kings of Infinite Space

Kings of Infinite Space is very reminiscent of many classic Doctor Who stories. The one that it reminds me of the most is definitely The Chase. In this episode, River and her friends are on the run from the Discordia. They travel across so many times and places just to escape their considerable reach. But how long can they keep running?

This is an enjoyable episode. It’s not quite as strong as the previous one, and that’s partially due to its structure. I’ve mentioned that this is essentially a chase story. The problem with telling these kinds of stories is that it can be a bit risky. Especially when you try to include a little story or threat with every location visited, as Kings of Infinite Space does. So it does come across as trying to do too much at times, but overall, that’s the only serious flaw I’d say this episode really has.

Fun and dramatic

Kings of Infinite Space does a very good job of balancing the comedic and the fun with the dramatic. Especially as the episode goes on and River starts to lose friends along the way.

The Discordia are also a perfect enemy for River. Not a single race of beings, but a very dangerous group who ensure they always win by going back in time and changing the outcome, they come across as an incredibly dangerous threat for River. In fact, they’re probably my favorite enemy in The Diary of River Song yet.

It all leads to quite an impressive climax. One that resolves the episode while also showing that the battle for River has just begun…

River finds herself at the heart of a very strange mystery in Whodunnit?

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

 Whodunnit?

Out of all the episodes in series four, Whodunnit? is definitely the strangest. For one thing, it feels almost entirely different compared to the other three episodes of this box set. A few months after first listening to this box set, and I’m still not sure how I feel about that, quite honestly.

The story focuses on “Melody Malone” arriving at a castle. One by one, the guests are being murdered. But who is killing them? What is their motive? And, more importantly, where is Melody’s husband?

On its own, while it is very strange, I definitely really enjoy this story. There’s a very strong meta aspect to it, and that only increases as the episode goes on. The “whodunnit?” aspect comes across as a little basic, but then again, that’s definitely intentional.

The episode unfolds like a real puzzle box story, with the “whodunnit?” element being only a very small part of it. It definitely keeps a few surprises up its sleeve, and overall, it’s a really satisfying and subversive mystery.

The only aspect of it that I’m not sure about is when this story is told – in the middle of series four. Now, series four has a genuinely great arc and a great villain with the Discordia, and this episode seems to take a break from that. While it is connected, I can’t help but wonder if the episode would’ve been better suited in another series, or at least, at a different point.

The reason why the story is connected does work, and like I’ve said, on its own, Whodunnit? is a great…erm…whodunnit. But, with both an interesting arc, and a great villain with the Discordia, I can’t help but feel that it may have worked better elsewhere.

The Fourth Doctor meets the Discordia in Someone I Once Knew. Can even he stop a race that changes history to ensure the best possible outcome for them?

(Image credit: The Diary of River Song/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Someone I Once Knew

And so we come to the finale of series four, and indeed, arguably, the biggest draw. Because it’s in Someone I Once Knew that River’s husband shows up. Of course, like in previous series, not in the right body. This time, the incarnation she meets is the Fourth, as played by the legendary Tom Baker.

I know what you’re wondering. How come the Doctor doesn’t remember meeting her this time? Well, the answer is not only really simple, since there’s a force that’s constantly re-writing history anyway. But we’re also given one of the best “Hello, Sweetie!” moments ever. And I mean ever. Because it happens in a way that you may not expect.

How is the pairing of the Fourth Doctor and River? Really wonderful to hear, I’d say. Baker and Kingston share wonderful chemistry throughout this story. Their characters do work well together, and we get to hear a very different side to Tom’s Doctor without compromising what made him so brilliant.

A fitting finale

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This story is also a great finale to the previous three episodes. John Dorney writes the Discordia at their very best here. Not only do we really get the best sense of just how dangerous they are when it comes to re-writing history. He also fleshes them out, particularly with General Dante and the Emperor.

But more than just writing about time travel shenanigans and evil devils, Dorney also writes a story that’s very romantic. He explores love in all its forms. Not just being in love with someone, but also being in love at them. He also explores the mistakes a person can make out of love, and even how you can’t force people to love you. You can give them everything, even change the whole of history. But you can’t change how someone feels.

Someone I Once Knew is a great ending to another strong series of The Diary of River Song. It balances the epic with the romantic, and it provides a nice and tidy resolution to the ongoing story. Overall, another box set that highlights why River is so fantastic.

UNIT’s suspension – a move too far?. dark. Next

Have you listened to the fourth series of The Diary of River Song? Are you excited about series five, where she meets the Master for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.

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