Why You Need to be Listening to The Diary of River Song
Big Finish are currently offering a number of stories free from their back catalogue to enjoy. So, over the next few weeks, I'll give you a review of the individual episode in question, as well as some reasons why you should be listening to the range or series the story hails from in full. We continue with - The Diary of River Song...
"Five Twenty-Nine" is the second story in the second series of The Diary of River Song, and sees River arrive in a small, isolated community in the future, just as quite possibly the quietest apocalypse ever begins to sweep the world... Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of series 2 of The Diary of River Song, however "Five Twenty-Nine" is an absolutely standout story, bringing together a really clever and unnerving science fiction concept, and some beautifully intimate character drama in a synthesis that makes for a powerful and moving hour long audio story. For the first twenty minutes, the listener is kind of left in the dark, not quite sure where this story is even going. We see the life of the Till family: ordinary, simple lives on an isolated island away from the world. There's discussions about food, the weather and jigsaws. It's all pretty ordinary, and you start to wonder what the point of all these conversations are, and whether or not the story is going to get started. And then, about twenty-nine minutes in (and I'm not making that up for ironic effect, it literally is about then), the blackout starts, and the domestic humdrum is swept away. And suddenly, innocuous phrases and offhand comments earlier in the piece take on a darker, more sinister meaning, as the true nature of what faces our characters becomes clear. This story pushes River as far away from the Doctor as possible: there's no chance that she can save everyone, she understands that, but she is desperate to save someone, anyone even. However, as time slowly ticks on, the list of people she can save gets smaller and smaller, until she realises that she can only save one person. Alex Kingston gives an impassioned performance, and you really get the chance to see the cracks beneath the amour of flirty fun and big hair. In many ways, River is too like the Doctor, and that is her downfall. The guest cast are equally as incredible: Ann Bell, Robert Pugh and Salome Hartel (Alex Kingston's real-life daughter) make a wonderful family unit, and Hartel's performance as Rachel is sympathetic and understated, which you'll understand if you listen to the story. Honestly, I could write so much about "Five Twenty-Nine", as it is such a profound story that will definitely affect you emotionally with its powerful drama and potent characters. While part of the larger story that forms the second box-set of The Diary of River Song, you don't need to listen to the rest of the series to get the context (although the mystery of what is going on is naturally left unexplained), as this very much works on its own terms. One of the best things to ever feature River, "Five Twenty-Nine" is powerful, emotionally challenging and definitely one of the richest character driven stories Big Finish have ever produced. I will say that, at this moment in time, with everything going on in the world, this might hit a little too close for home for some listeners with its dark subject matter (I was actually bowled away, and I've heard this story before). It might be worth hanging onto this one for a bit, until the situation in the world improves, as this is definitely not one you can just stick on in the background while doing the dishes. But, if you do save it, you will be rewarded with something really powerful, really affecting and something that transcends good or great Doctor Who, and just becomes amazing drama. This is one of those stories.
1. Developing River:
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| The CD cover for "Five Twenty-Nine", designed by Tom Webster. |
The Diary of River Song has quickly become one of the mainstay, flagship ranges in The Worlds of Doctor Who line. Despite only starting at the very end of 2015, at the point when Big Finish were just launching their range of stories from the New Series of Doctor Who, The Diary of River Song currently stands at 7 series, a special release in "The Eighth of March" box set, and River herself has crossed into numerous series like "Doom Coalition", "Ravenous" and UNIT. River has quickly embedded herself in the fabric of Big Finish, and it is all thanks to the original strengths of Steven Moffat's creation, Alex Kingston's performance, and the new direction the writers and producers have taken River in her own series.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 2", designed by Tom Webster. |
And if you enjoyed "Five-Twenty Nine", then here is a list of 5 reasons why you need to be listening to the rest of The Diary of River Song:
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 1", designed by Tom Webster. |
River Song had lots of time to shine in the TV series, and Alex Kingston had plenty of chances to show off how talented and multi-faceted she was. So, you would expect Big Finish to not have that many new directions open to take the character in. However, one of the successes of this range has been the vast array of areas they have been able to take River's character in, and the vast amount of stories they have been able to tell. Moving the character away from the Doctor has, in many ways, opened up River to different types of adventures, and the storytelling can go to darker and more morally ambiguous territory. After all, River was originally created as the Doctor's assassin, and, while she is now on the side of the angels, that doesn't mean she is one of them. She ruthlessly disposes of the Rulers of the Universe from the first series, and leaves Madame Kovarian in a prison of her own making upon the conclusion of series 3. The writers really tap into River's more ruthless style, as well as allowing her to indulge in comedy and lighter moments too. There's a lot of variety in the series, and that helps the storytelling to feel broad and open to everyone. Sometimes, it can stray a little too much into 'Doctor Who stories with River Song' territory, but, for the most part, this broad format allows for all kind of stories to be told, and helps to give River's series its own identity.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 4", designed by Tom Webster. |
2. River and the Doctor(s):
One of the main appeals of The Diary of River Song series is River's various meetings with the Classic Series Doctors. In fact, this was Steven Moffat's idea, so we can thank him for this, as this is one of the great appeals of the range. Starting in series 1 with Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, and working her way back through the living classic Doctors (Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker in series 2, Peter Davison in series 3 and Tom Baker in series 4), this has opened up River's complex relationship with the Doctor even more, and given her different dynamics to play off with each different Doctor. From her fun and bouncy relationship with the Eighth Doctor, to her slightly antagonistic and fractious relationship with the Seventh Doctor, to her downright romantic and flirtatious relationship with the Sixth and Fourth Doctors, each dynamic is fully-formed and fleshed out, and offers a chance to see a different side of River. The stories also tread the fine line between giving River plenty to do and not demeaning the Doctor, and the results mean that the series still retains its identity, while featuring two leading characters in the same story. This is so important, and part of the reason why these sets work so well. Later series have expanded the range of Doctor Who characters River has bumped into to include four incarnations of the Master, Susan, Ian and Barbara, Captain Knight, Henry Gordon Jago, Sontarans, Ogrons, Weeping Angels, Drashings and even the robot Yeti! They expand River's world, and connect her deeply to the past history of the show in ways the TV series could never accomplish.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 5", designed by Tom Webster. |
3. Arc-Driven Series:
Each series of The Diary of River Song has a broad linking theme or series arc running through the stories, with multiple characters appearing in multiple episodes throughout a series. These arcs are usually brilliantly conceived, and often give the episodes themselves added thrust and drive. From the first series' arc about the so-called 'Rulers of the Universe', these arcs get bigger and bigger each time, and they keep the listener engaged with their twists and turns. The degree to which this is implemented is different in each set: some maintain individual episodes with a strong linking thread, while some (namely series 3) feel more like one long story, broken up with cliffhangers and revelations to separate the chapters. It all depends of the requirements of the stories, and each one feels well-served and fully developed. Sometimes this approach doesn't quite work, but you always feel like the writers have tried, and they want to tell involved stories that reward repeated listenings. Later series has, like with the Doctors, taken a different tact, opting instead for stories with a linking theme, like River hopping into various key stories for the classics Doctors or being involved in a number of different crime dramas and murder mysteries, and this different approach has kept things fresh and interesting. Rather than being an ongoing story line, it's gives the episodes a similar tone without locking them into the same ongoing plot threads or even characters.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 3", designed by Tom Webster. |
4. Emotional Storytelling:
One of the things that modern Doctor Who does so well is its emotional story-lines, and this is no exception in Big Finish' approach to The Diary of River Song. The stories all have a strong, emotional core to them, whether that is through the character of River, the Doctor or the guest cast, and this gives off the same feeling as the era of the show they hail from. Some notable examples of this technique working well are "Signs" from series 1, which is simply a two-hander between River and who she believes is a future incarnation of the Doctor, the aforementioned "Five Twenty-Nine", "The Lady in the Lake" from series 3, which gives River an emotional rollercoaster journey from start to finish, and "Someone I Once Knew" from series 4, which features possibly one of the deepest examinations of the Doctor/River relationship since her inception. Even the key resolution to the second series, "The Eye of the Storm", relies on us being invested in the emotional fates of two key guest characters. Big Finish build on what the New Series offers, however, in that the audio format is a much more intimate medium than the TV show, and so the emotional moments can be even larger and driven more by the characters and the dialogue than the action, cinematography and music of the series itself. This approach changes the nature of these moments as well: on the TV series, I can sometimes find these mawkish and overdone. However, on audio, that calibration of emotion is perfect, because you only have half the story anyway. You get the opportunity to fill in the other half, and can decide to tailor the story to however you feel.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 6", designed by Tom Webster. |
5. The Cast:
Well, well, well, this crops up again. But it keeps needing to be said, because the casts are honestly fantastic, and are a clear demonstration of the talent Big Finish are working with. The guest casts for these sets are phenomenal: huge names like Paul McGann, Alexander Siddig, Alexander Vlahos, Samuel West, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Ann Bell, Jessie Buckley, Alan Cox, Anna Maxwell Martin, Dan Starkey, Peter Davison, Frances Barber, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Ian Conningham, Nina Toussaint-White, Tom Baker, Nicholas Asbury, Timothy Bentinck, Josh Bolt, Nathalie Buscombe, Adele Lynch, Fenella Woolgar, Michelle Gomez, Geoffrey Beevers, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Blore, Jacqueline King, Tom Price, Claudia Grant, Jamie Glover, Jemma Powell, Ralph Watson, Christopher Benjamin, Nicholas Goh, Clive Wood, Angus Wright, Annette Badland, Jaye Griffiths and Janet Henfrey, amongst others. But, in these sets, there's only one actor who would stand out the most (although Tom Baker does pretty much equal her in series 4), and that's Alex Kingston. Alex (and River Song) was always interesting in the TV series, but, freed from the constraints of having to play second fiddle to the Doctor, Kingston absolutely lets rip here. She gives an impassioned, tour-du-force performance, and it is clear that she is really committed to the character and to the world Big Finish have created for her. The acting is the cherry on the cake for these wonderful sets, and shows, once again, how talented the people who work for Big Finish are.
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| The box-set cover for "The Diary of River Song: Series 7", designed by Tom Webster. |
The Diary of River Song is one of the best things to come out of Big Finish's acquisition of the New Series licence, without a doubt. Taking an already interesting character and giving her her own spin-off was a no-brainer. However, the quality of the series is something that no one could have expected, and it is testament to everyone involved in the series that it is one of the most fun and well-produced in Big Finish's vast discography. The Diary of River Song is the spin-off River deserves, and it is well worth your time and investment.
Until the 29th of June 2020, you can get "Five Twenty-Nine", the second episode from "The Diary of River Song: Series 2", from Big Finish completely free. You can find it here:
You can also save up to 50% on The Diary of River Song Series 1-3 until the 29th of June too. You can find a full list of the titles here:
Happy listening! And I'll see you next week for our last look at a free Big Finish title!
All pictures copyright to the BBC/Big Finish Productions. Thank you very much for reading.
All pictures copyright to the BBC/Big Finish Productions. Thank you very much for reading.
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