If I'm completely honest, I didn't much like River in the Library episodes - but I tried hard to like her, because I love Alex Kingston!
I felt she was very smug, but I later justified that to myself by the thought that in fact, she was showing us the way that the Doctor probably appears to most of the people he interacts with; he shows up, tells everyone how brilliant he is, demonstrates that fact and then disappears in his mysterious blue box. And because we see things from the Doctor's PoV (mostly) and because he was clearly irritated and somewhat thrown by River and her continual hints at his/their future, then so was the audience. I wrote about that here if you're interested.
Also - I'm someone for whom the Doctor is always the centre of the show, so the fact that River didn't seem to like him (Ten) all that much and kept talking about how he "wasn't finished yet" and how "her Doctor" was so much more fearsome and powerful... well, it didn't endear her to me all that much.
However.
I like her a lot more in S5. I think the "old married couple" vibe that exists between her and Eleven (which was never there with Ten, despite a very clunky signpost in the script) is working very well and the fact that we know that the Doctor knows how River meets her end, does even up the “power” imbalance between them.
I do have to agree with sensiblecat about River being the “ideal mistress figure”. It’s clear that she and the Doctor don’t have a “normal”, linear relationship - he goes off on his own and does stuff, she goes off on her own, and sometimes they meet and have adventures (and possibly sex, but that’s another discussion!). The Doctor is a wanderer and so is River. She’s a feisty, clever, sexy woman who doesn’t appear to want or expect any commitment - and that’s fine. I’m not passing judgement, just making an observation.
ETA: Female, British, same age as AK (47), grew up watching DW!
Also - I'm someone for whom the Doctor is always the centre of the show, so the fact that River didn't seem to like him (Ten) all that much and kept talking about how he "wasn't finished yet" and how "her Doctor" was so much more fearsome and powerful... well, it didn't endear her to me all that much.
I like her a lot more in S5. I think the "old married couple" vibe that exists between her and Eleven (which was never there with Ten, despite a very clunky signpost in the script) is working very well and the fact that we know that the Doctor knows how River meets her end, does even up the “power” imbalance between them.
I felt she was very smug, but I later justified that to myself by the thought that in fact, she was showing us the way that the Doctor probably appears to most of the people he interacts with; he shows up, tells everyone how brilliant he is, demonstrates that fact and then disappears in his mysterious blue box. And because we see things from the Doctor's PoV (mostly) and because he was clearly irritated and somewhat thrown by River and her continual hints at his/their future, then so was the audience. I wrote about that here if you're interested.
Also - I'm someone for whom the Doctor is always the centre of the show, so the fact that River didn't seem to like him (Ten) all that much and kept talking about how he "wasn't finished yet" and how "her Doctor" was so much more fearsome and powerful... well, it didn't endear her to me all that much.
However.
I like her a lot more in S5. I think the "old married couple" vibe that exists between her and Eleven (which was never there with Ten, despite a very clunky signpost in the script) is working very well and the fact that we know that the Doctor knows how River meets her end, does even up the “power” imbalance between them.
I do have to agree with sensiblecat about River being the “ideal mistress figure”. It’s clear that she and the Doctor don’t have a “normal”, linear relationship - he goes off on his own and does stuff, she goes off on her own, and sometimes they meet and have adventures (and possibly sex, but that’s another discussion!). The Doctor is a wanderer and so is River. She’s a feisty, clever, sexy woman who doesn’t appear to want or expect any commitment - and that’s fine. I’m not passing judgement, just making an observation.
ETA: Female, British, same age as AK (47), grew up watching DW!
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I like her a lot more in S5. I think the "old married couple" vibe that exists between her and Eleven (which was never there with Ten, despite a very clunky signpost in the script) is working very well and the fact that we know that the Doctor knows how River meets her end, does even up the “power” imbalance between them.
IA with both of these things.
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