Doctor Who review: The Diary of River Song: Series Six features a clash of Classic and New eras
By James Aggas
The sixth series of The Diary of River Song has the Doctor’s wife journeying to the events of several classic Doctor Who stories. How well does this idea work for the whole series?
Back in August, Big Finish released the sixth series of Doctor Who spin-off The Diary of River Song. With the seventh series out next month, I thought it was long overdue for me to finally check out the earlier box set.
Just like the fifth series, Series Six features less of an arc and more of an overall theme. Across the box set, River gets involved in four stories that are very closely linked to classic Doctor Who stories. Most of these are prequels, but one of them even runs parallel to the original story!
I must admit, I was initially rather cautious about this release. River Song has worked well with earlier incarnations of her husband before (something that the first four series were very focused on). In fact, she even worked well with the Eighth Doctor in his own series Doom Coalition.
But all of these were completely original stories. Stories that suited River better than they did the Doctor, at least in her own series. Would involving River in classic stories that never needed her be overkill?
River Song meets the original TARDIS team in An Unearthly Woman – but knows not to get too involved.
(Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)
River Song: the ultimate fangirl?
As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The sixth series of Diary works extremely well overall because of one major detail: River actually knows all about the original stories herself. Like a hardcore fan, she knows how each of the major adventures are meant to turn out, and more importantly, she knows that she can’t get too involved. She’s even had peeks at her husband’s diary, so she knows what the important events are and who needs to survive by the time she’s finished.
This is a pretty simple idea, but it’s key to making this box set work. River trying not to get too involved in events adds an extra layer to the overall box set. Previous volumes have focused on her saving the day as best she can, so it’s actually refreshing that she’s doing her best to hold herself back.
For example, she knows she doesn’t need to direct teachers Ian and Barbara to their strange student Susan in An Unearthly Woman, or work out a way of saving her husband from the Drashigs in Peepshow. Like many Classic fans, she knows all about it, and just tries to focus on her own personal goals, which range from finding a bounty hunter trying to change history to trying to recover a valuable piece of artwork.
While the box set features mainly prequels, some stories may require knowing the original stories themselves, such as The Web of Time.
(Image Courtesy: Big Finish Productions.)
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Required knowledge?
The one thing I will say is that this is just a little less accessible than previous volumes for newer fans. While almost all of the stories featured are prequels to serials from the Classic Series, the fact that River knows exactly how those stories turn out slightly implies that the audience do, too. While River usually knew about future events in Doctor Who, that was when she was more of a mysterious figure. In her own series, she’s the lead, and the audience is expected to keep up with her as a result.
It’s not completely essential to watch the relevant stories first before listening to Series Six. But it would definitely help – especially with The Web of Time, where knowing a character’s tragic fate adds extra weight to the story.
The sixth series of The Diary of River Song is an enjoyable one, and surprisingly successful in what it sets out to do. It’s not my favorite series of River (currently, that’s Series Five, where she meets several Masters). And to be honest, I’m extremely looking forward to Series Seven, which seems to be more focused on telling completely original stories with the character (except for the finale, but that’s understandable, at least).
But Series Six still works well on its own terms, and it is fun to hear River meeting characters as iconic as the original TARDIS team or Henry Gordon Jago. A rather fun box set for Classic Series fans to enjoy.
Do you think River works well in earlier eras? Should she crossover into other Classic Series adventures, or should she instead have more of her own completely original stories? Let us know in the comments below.