The Diary of River Song S6 review: River likes older men. And also a man in uniform
The series inspired by a pitch about placing River in situations on the “fringes” of Classic Who stories.1 River finds herself in situations starting just before or during the Classic Who serials An Unearthly Child, The Abominable Snowmen, Carnival of Monsters, and The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Don’t worry-there are River/Doctor meetings just like the other seasons before this one. (Hint: not Four.)
The one before An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Woman
Someone has put a bounty on the First Doctor and Susan’s heads. River goes to London and becomes a teacher at Coal Hill School by day and a constable by night to protect them and make sure they eventually meet Ian and Barbara in the TARDIS. Along the way, River meets Ian and Barbara, gets help from Susan, and swears to make the (Eleventh) Doctor pay for an interaction with the (First) Doctor. The First Doctor has been played by David Bradley for Big Finish for a while now (aside from An Adventure in Space in Time and the main series) and, as a first time listener of the new Big Finish First Doctor, I couldn’t shake that I was listening to any number of other David Bradley characters.
(Pictured: Abraham Setrakian from The Strain, Walder Frey from Game of Thrones, Gillenormand from the BBC’s version of Les Miserables. Not pictured that I’ve seen: his role in Broadchurch, his role in Captain America: The First Avenger. No I haven’t seen Harry Potter movies or most of Series 10 of the main series in any capacity so don’t ask)
It’s a reversal of me knowing Alex Kingston mostly from Doctor Who, really.
Other than this, this is a pretty decent audio in terms of story and content, as not only River takes on the Big Bad in this episode, there are themes of prejudice (albeit accidental, as it’s tied into the First Doctor’s misanthropy) mentioned as well.
The one happening before The Web of Fear: The Web of Time
What should’ve been a simple time heist of an artwork leads into a genuinely creepy tale set before the mostly lost serial The Web of Fear. River arrives as London is being evacuated because of the Yeti threat, seeking a painting. She instead has to take on a mother/daughter team of thieves, Captain Knight, and the Great Intelligence. Unlike in the TV series (especially during Eleven’s tenure), the Great Intelligence is genuinely terrifying and adds depth to a story that’s partly on the run and partially about keeping Knight alive before he does die during The Web of Fear. There is one thing I didn’t like about this story, and that’s the ending for a character in this particular story. But this is easily my favorite of the four episodes.
The one happening during Carnival of Monsters: Peepshow
River gets trapped in a Miniscope while trying to extract a battery from one. She faces off against a couple of Sontarans, Ogrons, and a Drashig, and helps a human security guard escape to safety. If anything, the truncated run time (this episode is around 50 minutes and most episodes have been around 60), the recreation of the Third Doctor’s voice (of all the vocal recreations-and there are a lot in this audio, including but not limited to the First Doctor TARDIS crew and several characters from The Talons of Weng-Chiang, excluding Henry Jago-this was my least favorite), and Carnival of Monsters is probably the least-memorable serial referenced in this set of audios, don’t help the break-neck pace of this particular episode. It’s not a bad audio, but it’s my least favorite of the bunch. I did like how this particular episode seems to agree with the fanon idea that the Doctor was involved with some of his companions, though.
The one happening before The Talons of Weng-Chiang: The Talents of Greel
In order to avoid debtor’s court, Henry Jago decides to start a Moulin Rogue-inspired chorus line, at the suggestion of an Angus Peel. Meanwhile, River arrives during this time period to find some tech. When she sees a monkey take a chorus girl off the streets of London, she decides to figure out why this is happening. (That last bit is not a Freudian slip.)
First off: Mercifully this story doesn’t swim in all the troublesome racial elements that plague The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Li H'sen Chang and Mr Sin, a character influenced by Chinese culture, aren’t portrayed or demeaned in terrible ways. And while this audio has its moments-a brief song between River and Jago, Greel chewing the scenery towards the end of the audio-I was disappointed in the plot; it’s just a variation of what Greel was after in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
The more I think about it, the more I feel the apex of these River Song audios, at least for me, was in Series 3. It was that added touch of something personal in River’s life, in this case her relationship with Madame Kovarian, that really made that audio for me. There’s nothing really close to River’s life (especially without the Doctor) appearing (and not referenced) in these audios, but this series is close to the what I feel were the highs of Series 3. But there are a few things that keep this audio from being truly great in my opinion.
1 “Rivers of Time.” Vortex, no. 125 (July 2019): 10. https://www.bigfinish.com/.
This entry was originally posted at https://merryghoul.dreamwidth.org/397719.html. Comments on either site are fine.
The one before An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Woman
Someone has put a bounty on the First Doctor and Susan’s heads. River goes to London and becomes a teacher at Coal Hill School by day and a constable by night to protect them and make sure they eventually meet Ian and Barbara in the TARDIS. Along the way, River meets Ian and Barbara, gets help from Susan, and swears to make the (Eleventh) Doctor pay for an interaction with the (First) Doctor. The First Doctor has been played by David Bradley for Big Finish for a while now (aside from An Adventure in Space in Time and the main series) and, as a first time listener of the new Big Finish First Doctor, I couldn’t shake that I was listening to any number of other David Bradley characters.
(Pictured: Abraham Setrakian from The Strain, Walder Frey from Game of Thrones, Gillenormand from the BBC’s version of Les Miserables. Not pictured that I’ve seen: his role in Broadchurch, his role in Captain America: The First Avenger. No I haven’t seen Harry Potter movies or most of Series 10 of the main series in any capacity so don’t ask)
It’s a reversal of me knowing Alex Kingston mostly from Doctor Who, really.
Other than this, this is a pretty decent audio in terms of story and content, as not only River takes on the Big Bad in this episode, there are themes of prejudice (albeit accidental, as it’s tied into the First Doctor’s misanthropy) mentioned as well.
The one happening before The Web of Fear: The Web of Time
What should’ve been a simple time heist of an artwork leads into a genuinely creepy tale set before the mostly lost serial The Web of Fear. River arrives as London is being evacuated because of the Yeti threat, seeking a painting. She instead has to take on a mother/daughter team of thieves, Captain Knight, and the Great Intelligence. Unlike in the TV series (especially during Eleven’s tenure), the Great Intelligence is genuinely terrifying and adds depth to a story that’s partly on the run and partially about keeping Knight alive before he does die during The Web of Fear. There is one thing I didn’t like about this story, and that’s the ending for a character in this particular story. But this is easily my favorite of the four episodes.
The one happening during Carnival of Monsters: Peepshow
River gets trapped in a Miniscope while trying to extract a battery from one. She faces off against a couple of Sontarans, Ogrons, and a Drashig, and helps a human security guard escape to safety. If anything, the truncated run time (this episode is around 50 minutes and most episodes have been around 60), the recreation of the Third Doctor’s voice (of all the vocal recreations-and there are a lot in this audio, including but not limited to the First Doctor TARDIS crew and several characters from The Talons of Weng-Chiang, excluding Henry Jago-this was my least favorite), and Carnival of Monsters is probably the least-memorable serial referenced in this set of audios, don’t help the break-neck pace of this particular episode. It’s not a bad audio, but it’s my least favorite of the bunch. I did like how this particular episode seems to agree with the fanon idea that the Doctor was involved with some of his companions, though.
The one happening before The Talons of Weng-Chiang: The Talents of Greel
In order to avoid debtor’s court, Henry Jago decides to start a Moulin Rogue-inspired chorus line, at the suggestion of an Angus Peel. Meanwhile, River arrives during this time period to find some tech. When she sees a monkey take a chorus girl off the streets of London, she decides to figure out why this is happening. (That last bit is not a Freudian slip.)
First off: Mercifully this story doesn’t swim in all the troublesome racial elements that plague The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Li H'sen Chang and Mr Sin, a character influenced by Chinese culture, aren’t portrayed or demeaned in terrible ways. And while this audio has its moments-a brief song between River and Jago, Greel chewing the scenery towards the end of the audio-I was disappointed in the plot; it’s just a variation of what Greel was after in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
The more I think about it, the more I feel the apex of these River Song audios, at least for me, was in Series 3. It was that added touch of something personal in River’s life, in this case her relationship with Madame Kovarian, that really made that audio for me. There’s nothing really close to River’s life (especially without the Doctor) appearing (and not referenced) in these audios, but this series is close to the what I feel were the highs of Series 3. But there are a few things that keep this audio from being truly great in my opinion.
1 “Rivers of Time.” Vortex, no. 125 (July 2019): 10. https://www.bigfinish.com/.
This entry was originally posted at https://merryghoul.dreamwidth.org/397719.html. Comments on either site are fine.