The Diary of River Song, Series 3

The Diary of River Song

by Nev Fountain, Jacqueline Rayner, John Dorney

When River Song goes shopping for a whole load of unclaimed loyalty points, she uncovers secrets linked to her tangled past.

The Doctor arrives, and the mystery deepens. He is already exploring the universe with another companion – someone River knows nothing about.

Madame Kovarian has been busy, and this time she will not accept failure…

3.1 The Lady in the Lake by Nev Fountain

On Terminus Prime, clients choose their own means of demise. Something exciting, meaningful, or heroic to end it all.

But when River discovers that there are repeat customers, she knows something more is going on.

She begins to uncover a cult with worrying abilities. Its members can apparently cheat death, and that’s not all they have in common with River…

3.2 A Requiem for the Doctor by Jac Rayner

River has joined the Doctor and his friend Brooke on their travels, and they stop off in 18th century Vienna.

Brooke thinks history is dull. Until people start dying.

Mozart’s legacy is not just his music. River has more than one mystery to solve before a killer is let loose on the people of Vienna – and on the Doctor.

3.3 My Dinner with Andrew by John Dorney

Welcome, Mesdames et Messieurs, to The Bumptious Gastropod.

The most exclusive, most discreet dining experience outside the universe. For the restaurant exists beyond spacetime itself, and the usual rules of causality do not apply. Anything could happen.

It is here that the Doctor has a date. With River Song. And with death.

3.4 The Furies by Matt Fitton

Stories of the Furies abound across the cosmos: vengeful spirits hounding guilty souls to death. Madame Kovarian taught them to a child raised in fear, trained to kill, and placed inside a spacesuit.

Kovarian knows the universe’s greatest threat, the Doctor must be eliminated. An assassin was created for that purpose.

But if Melody Pond has failed, Kovarian will simply have to try again…

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, British Literature, Time Travel, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain, is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme 'Dead Ringers'.

He is currently writing for Dead Ringers and the satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.

He has written three humorous murder-mystery novels, collectively called 'The Mervyn Stone Mysteries', and a serious thriller called 'Painkiller'.

His latest book, 'The Fan Who Knew Too Much' was released in July this year.

Nev was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire and now resides in Surrey.

Reviews

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as series 2. Still enjoyable listen and the Furies just hit in the River Song feels.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story by Nev Fountain didn't really ring true to me. The setting, a planet with zones like disneyland where people could go to kill themselves, just was too absurd for a River story. Perhaps 80s who could have gotten away with it. Here she was just a woman looking for a family none of her skills or profession were involved. Besides her catch phrases there was little personality there. I wasn't that fond of the idea of Kavorkian creating an army of clone River time lords. I think River is really unique and doing that kinda lost some of her magic.

The 2nd story I enjoyed more. It was a nice period piece about women killing their abusive husbands, though perhaps some weren't as abusive as others. It was a good mystery and River and the Doctor worked really well together. I did wonder exactly WHY River was able to work so easily with the doctor however, when every other River story has her going to elaborate lengths to keep her identity hidden from him, and here she was just Hi I'm River I'm travelling with you! That and Brooke the Doctor's companion was SUPER obnoxious! Do we really need a youth that says OMG? As letters!

The third story by Dorney was my favourite. It had the right mixture of absurd and humour and River being clever. The Maitre d' was very funny. Peter was superb as Andrew. It all worked really well.

The fourth story was good, though I'm still not sold on all the River clones idea. Especially when they were also so different. I would have preferred to see River and Kovorkian go head to head without that addition as they just felt like a distraction. Also it would have been good to have Kovorkian's motives explained a bit better. Why did she make the clone army and keep them going? She's just kinda evil for the sake of evil, which is a bit dull. Still it was nice to see a less flirty River and one that was in a story full of women.

Overall I think this is the weakest of the River Song box sets. But I think that's just because the main theme didn't jive with me. Each story had enjoyable moments, there was good gender balance, and the cast were superb as you'd expect.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★★ The Lady in the Lake by Nev Fountain

A story that is challenging in its complexity (intriguingly rather than dishearteningly so) and mischievous in its characterisation, with artful twists and generally just a very clever execution. Fountain brings a creativity that Big Finish would do well to embrace more often.


★★★☆☆ A Requiem for the Doctor by Jacqueline Rayner

A somewhat predictable story overlaid onto its historical setting (rather than using it to any intrinsic purpose). Alex Kingston and Peter Davison work well together but cannot mitigate the feeling of treading water. The Doctor’s new companion is presented without any explication.


★★★★☆ My Dinner with Andrew by John Dorney

A diverting timey-wimey story spoilt only by the cod-French maître d’ (British actor Jonathan Coote). Given modern-day cognizance of ethnic and cultural representation, is this casting choice any less offensive than John Bennett’s playing Li H’Sen Chang in The Talons of Weng-Chiang?


★★★☆☆ The Furies by Matt Fitton

Audially a bit chaotic and not much of a story in its own right, though sufficiently holistic to tie up the third series. Peter Davison has a small role but the true strength of this production lies in its otherwise all-female cast.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.1 – The Lady in the Lake by Nev Fountain
Come sempre il primo capitoli della serie mette nel calderone molte informazioni, vari riferimenti a fatti conosciuti (in questo caso Demons Run) e un senso di incompletezza.
Quello che sappiamo è che ci sono vari individui che tendono a non morire su un pianeta dedicato ai suicidi.
La relazione tra loro e il passato/futuro di River lo scopriremo nei prossimi capitoli.
3.2 - A Requiem for the Doctor by Jac Rayner
River, il quinto Dottore e Brooke (nuova compagna del Dottore) sono nella Vienna di fine 18mo secolo, sulla scia di una strana traccia aliena.
Rispetto ai precedenti incontri con il Dottore pre 11, River non cerca di mimetizzarsi o passare inosservata e la cosa stona un po'.
Buona storia, con varie frizioni tra River e Brooke... situazione che potrà solo peggiorare...
3.3 - My Dinner with Andrew by John Dorney
Prendete un ristorante al di fuori del tempo e metteteci il Dottore, River, Madame Kovarian e l'ex companion Brooke... tutti in più versioni temporali di loro stessi.
Cosa potrebbe mai andare storto?
Nonostante i vari incastri prima, dopo, durante e appena di fianco lo stesso momento temporale, tutto è gestito brillantemente.
3.4 – The Furies by Matt Fitton
Dopo la disfatta di Demons Run (ma appena prima di Amsterdam) Madame Kovarian e River Song hanno la loro resa dei conti.
Pur essendo stata abbandonata da tutti i suoi alleati, la Kovarian ancora persegue il suo scopo principe: uccidere il Dottore.
Modificare un punto fisso può solo creare guai e il sistema ideato è tutto fuorché sicuro.
Fino alla fine non c'è certezza sul vero svolgimento degli eventi e, prima della conclusione, il fatto che River si è prsentata al quinto Dottore con il suo vero nome e aspetto perde di rilevanza.

Molte le citazioni degli eventi collegati al capitolo del Mainframe Papale guidato da Madame Kovarian, ai fatti di Demons Run e ad Amy e Rory, per la prima volta nominati in zona Big Finish.
Nel complesso un buon cofanetto. Tutti sono in parte e gli eventi non stridono con quanto abbiamo già visto (o vedremo).

Qualche mese e scopriremo in quali altri guai si caccierà (e con chi) la nostra River nel quarto boxset della serie.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.1) The Lady in the Lake: Not one of the strongest episodes in the series, but still quite good. This is certainly one of those stories they would probably only work, or at least works best, as an audio-drama. So at least in that sense, it’s perfect. But it relies just a bit too heavily on the notion that the audience doesn’t see what is happening to progress the plot.

(3.2) A Requiem for the Doctor: The good guys are the bad guys, and the bad are good? History not the way it’s supposed to be. Spouses murdering each other. Unexpected companions. Who loves who? Who hates who? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This episode has almost everything. Oh River, sweetie, you’re one of a kind.

(3.3) My Dinner with Andrew: Well, that was ... interesting. If you’re ever confused by the “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” stuff in Doctor Who, don’t bother with this one. It’s whack. (Actually reminds me of a fanfic story I wrote for a friend about Doctor Beverly Crusher from Star Trek the Next Generation. But that’s all besides the point.) Fun. Crazy. Confusing. Silly. And all rather pointless.

(3.4) The Furies: After all the crazy of the previous three episodes, the crazy all culminate in this one. But that certainly doesn’t mean that this is sans crazy. Nope, it’s pretty much as crazy as the other ones, well, maybe not quite as crazy, but the crazy is there. Sure it’s not all nuts, as it’s got to wrap up all the crazy from the those three episodes, and they were absolutely crazy, so sure there’s less crazy but it’s really just a shade less crazy, maybe merely just a different kind of crazy. Oh heck, it’s crazy. I mean it’s River Song, how can it not be crazy? It’s a wrap up, let’s leave it at that.

There is also the usual collection of interviews with cast and crew as a bonus feature.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked hearing more about Madame Kovarian and River's "sisters".

[Clara Therrien-Gros-Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favorite Diary of River Song Series! It was fantastic to see Madam Kovarian again and her dynamic with River Song!

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it's been a long time since I've last listened to The Diary of River Song. Series 1 was fun if not anything special, whereas Series 2 was an exceptional epic concluding with a very interesting multi-Doctor story of sorts. I've been meaning to give the third series a try since I've always thought it looked very good, despite having mixed feelings on the Series 6 arc, this set is related too.

The Lady in The Lake:
On Terminus Prime, people get to choose their own means of passing away, whether that be meaningful or even meaningless. Kevin, a metaphorical representation of Death is having a hard day. River Song has arrived and she's prepared to do all it takes to save members of a cult that have the ability to regenerate...

Nev Fountain has written a very strange and peculiar story here to do with suicide, a cult with the ability to regenerate, and the aftermath of Demon's Run. It's an enjoyable one-hour episode that whilst clever and funny at points, probably should have taken itself a tad bit more seriously considering the subject matter. 8/10

A Requiem For The Doctor:
River has joined The Doctor and his companion Brooke, they travel to 18th century Vienna to find out how come Mozart's final piece of work is actually complete despite his illness. The husbands of wives are dying and it seems the widows themselves may be responsible.

Jacqueline Rayner has written a really fun story with an interesting Tardis dynamic, River and The Doctor as expected get on famously, whilst Brooke seems to dislike their new friend a great deal. The story is not anything amazing, but I felt the subject matter of husbands abusing their wives was handled sensitively which I give Rayner credit for. It has some really gruesome scenes and a terrific cliffhanger. 8/10

My Dinner With Andrew:
The Doctor, River Song, and Brooke arrive at The Bumptious Gastropod, a restaurant outside of the realms of causality. Madam Kovarian is here as well and she's here to make sure The Doctor is dead for once and for all.

John Dorney has written an incredibly funny script with plenty of timey-wimey shenanigans and a human Doctor doppelganger by the name of Andrew who was an absolute delight. It's a tense little story with a very intriguing cliffhanger. 9/10

The Furies:
Madam Kovarian has won, The Doctor is dead. River Song is out for revenge but in doing so, she must face up to her family, her clones. Time is running out and the furies are coming.

Matt Fitton has written a really solid finale that excellently ties everything up, even those left unfinished in Series 6. The only negative I have for these last two stories is the fact I can't stand a certain actress due to how problematic they are, she really made my blood boil so it kind of took me out of the stories unfortunately 8.5/10

Overall: 33.5/40

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having met the Eighth, Seventh, and Sixth Doctors (in that order) it’s naturally time for River to encounter the Fifth Doctor in this, the third collection in the series. It’s essentially a single story, although the first episode, while linked to the others, is comparatively standalone. Although it does tie in to events in the TV series, however, it does not require knowledge of the prior volumes in its own series.

• The Lady in the Lake – River visits a euthanasia clinic where the clients can choose to die while living out a fantasy. The story is not told in strict chronological order, with a number of flashbacks, and a flash-forward as the opening teaser, but it isn’t really hard to follow, despite a bit of timey-wimeyness here and there. This helps to build the suspense as we slowly uncover what brought River to this world. That turns out to have a connection to her backstory and involves an interesting depiction of a religious leader driven more by cowardice than faith. 4.5 stars.

• A Requiem for the Doctor – And then we’re off to 18th century Vienna where River and the Doctor try to unravel the mystery of why Mozart appears to have completed his Requiem in D Minor when historically, he didn’t. They are soon diverted by a locked-room murder mystery that forms the main core of the story. There’s also an effective subplot involving the Doctor’s teenage companion resenting River’s rapport with the Doctor, which leads to a suitably dramatic conclusion leading directly into the next story. 4 stars.

• My Dinner with Andrew – River and the Doctor visit an extra-dimensional restaurant in an effort to resolve the fallout of the previous episode. At which point, they run into an old enemy and things get complicated fast. There’s a lot of jumping backward and forward in time, while River struggles to keep the overall timeline consistent, meaning that it’s probably not one to listen to casually. There’s plenty of humour in amongst the time travel shenanigans, helping to keep this fun, even if the Doctor isn’t in it much. 5 stars.

• The Furies – The final part is what really makes this a sequel to the TV story A Good Man Goes to War. After the cliffhanger ending of the previous episode, River returns to her childhood home to see what Madame Kovarian has been up to since. There’s even a surprise return for an actor from another episode of Eleven’s run, playing a clone of her original character. Oddly, however, I found this one harder to follow than the previous episode, despite its linear narrative, with the motivations of some of the characters a little unclear. But it works as a big dramatic conclusion and does wrap it all up. 3.5 stars.

[Dilos · Rating 5 out of 5]

3. seri bana ilk ikisinden daha çok hitap etti. River’ın oradan oraya gidip maceralar yaşamasındansa kişisel hayatına dair bir şeyler duymak daha çok hoşuma gidiyor. Audiodrama serilerinde her bölüm bir villan belirleyip onu yakalamaya çalışıyoruz ve hangi karakterin serisi olursa olsun bu böyle. Bunu da hiçbir derinliği olmayan hikayelerle yapıyorlar. Ben artık bu karakterlerin birlikte vakit geçirmelerini, yaşamlarına dair bir şeyler okumayı, dinlemeyi de istiyorum. Dizide boşluk kalan ve doldurulmayı bekleyen o kadar nokta var ki bu hikayeler biraz da o noktaları doldurmak için kullanılsın istiyorum.
Bu audiodrama en azından biraz olsun bunu başarabilmiş. Evet hikayeler yine yeterince derin değil. Zaten bu tip kitaplarda özenilmiş bir hikaye anlatıcılığı görme umudumu bırakmış durumdayım. Bunu herhangi bir bilim kurgu kitabı olarak okusaydım puanım çok daha düşük olurdu. Ama var olan Doctor Who kitapları içerisinde değerlendirdiğimde bence başarılı kalıyor.
Zaten Alex Kingston’ın kendi sesinden River Song’u dinleyip de keyif almamam pek mümkün olmuyor.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.1 The Lady in the Lake

Madam Kovarian’ın River’ın dnasını yeni zaman lordları yapmak için kullanması fikri çok mantıklıydı. Hatta bunun dizide işlenmemiş olması bile çok tuhaf aslında.
Burada bu yeni zaman lordlarının River’ın kardeşleri olarak anılması çok hoşuma gitti. River’ın bir ailesi olmasına rağmen asla gerçek bir aile deneyimi yaşayamaması beni üzüyor. Birilerinden sadece kardeşim diye bahsetmesi bile kulağa çok güzel geliyor.
Gittikleri tema parkı gibi olan kişisel ötenazi merkezi bence absürtlüğü gayet yerinde, son derece Doctor Who tarzı bir mekandı. Kevin karakterini sevdim. River’ın Seventh Seal temalı bir simülasyondan ölüm metaforunun karakterize edilmiş halini alıp onunla dolaşması tam bir River hareketi.
Hikayedeki zaman döngüleri de bence güzeldi. Başının sonuna bağlanması ve hikayenin kendi içinde tam bir döngüye sahip olması güzeldi.
Great Lake’in Lily’ye dönüşmesi kısmı etkileyiciydi bence. Ben bu birinci hikayenin sonunu gerçekten sevdim. Lily bu kadar kısa süre durmasına rağmen ona nasıl bu kadar hızlı ısınabildim bilmiyorum. Ama bana Master Missy ikilisinin birbirlerini öldürdükleri sahneyi hatırlattı.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ 3.2 A Requiem for the Doctor

Bu hikayeden çok keyif almadım. Yine sıradan bir macera hikayesiydi. Sanki sadece bölüm doldurmak için oraya konulmuş gibiydi. Zaman yolcuğu diyince ilk akla gelen şeyin sadece geçmişte bir tarihe gidip dedektifçilik yapmak olması hiç hoşuma gitmiyor. Hani onu da güzel yapsalar bir şey demeyeceğim.
Çok vasat bir hikayeydi. Bu hikayenin tek amacı bizi Brook karakteriyle tanıştırmaktı. Ama böyle bir şeye gerek bile yoktu.
Brook River’ın kız kardeşlerinden biri ve Madam Kovarian tarafından doktoru öldürmek için görevlendirilmiş. Doktorun yol arkadaşı ve onunla birlikte seyahat ediyor. Doktoru öldürmek için milyon kere şansı olmuştur. Ama tüm bu zaman boyunca onu öldürmeye bile çalışmayıp tam River ortaya çıkınca doktora büyü yapmaya çalışıyor. Ne?

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 3.3 My Dinner with Andrew

Ortalama bir hikayeydi. Madam Kovarian’ın bütün bir bölüm boyunca yaptığı tek şeyin bir masada oturmak olması biraz hikaye israfı gibi hissettirdi. Ama dördüncü bölümü dinledikten sonra bu detaya kızgınlığım azaldı.
Garson karakterini sevdim. Fransız aksanıyla İngilizce konuşan robot sesli garsonu dinlemek çok keyifli ve eğlenceliydi. River’ın sürekli olarak restoranda elinde silahla dolaşıp, insanlara ateş edip, baygın insanların kıyafetlerini çıkarıp, onları sürükleyip odalara kilitlemesi gibi şeylere bakıp ‘Bunlar çok normal şeyler madam.’ diyerek yardım etmesi vs. çok keyifliydi.
River sürekli zamanda geriye gitmesine rağmen, her gelişinde garsonun onu ‘Tekrardan hoş geldiniz madam.’ diye karşılamasının ardından River’ın ‘Bu da mı ilk gelişim değil?’ diye hayıflanmaları eğlenceliydi. En sonunda ilk geldiği ana ulaştığımızda garsonun Fransız aksanının aslında olmadığını, en absürt şeylere bile uyumlanan şapşal Fransız garsonun yerine, ukala ve yukarıdan bakan İngiliz bir garson tiplemesinde olduğunu görüyoruz. Hikaye boyunca duyduğumuz o komik aksanın sebebinin River olmasına gerçekten güldüm.
Ama tabi bu bölümün yazılmasının asıl amacı Brook’un doktoru öldürme sahnesiydi. 2. hikayede yapamadığı görevini burada tamamlıyor.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.4 The Furies

Bu hikaye benim bir River Song hikayesinde olmasını isteyeceğim çok şeye sahipti. Dört hikayenin içinde en sevdiğim bu oldu. 3. hikaye ne kadar eğlenceliyse bu hikaye de o kadar dramatikti.
Madam Kovarian’ın River’ın dnasından yapılma bir kız suikastçi grubuna annelik adı altında diktatörlük etme hikayesi hiç karşılaşmayı hayal etmediğim bir şeydi. Bu kızlar Madam Kovarian’ı anneleri olarak görseler de biz biliyoruz ki onlar Kovarian için sadece birer silahlar. Genetik mühendislikle üretilmiş birer araçlar. Her birinin isim yerine birer kod adı var.
Kod adı mevzusunda Brook’un klonlarından biriyle tartışması kısmı da güzel bir sahneydi. Kızlar ancak göreve çıkacakları zaman bir isme sahip olabiliyorlar. Ama Brook doktoru öldürdüğüne göre artık görev yok. O zaman hiç birinin bir daha bir ismi olmayacak. Bunun da ötesinde hiç birinin yaşamasına da gerek olmayacak.
Ayrıca River’ın Brook’a doktoru öldürdüğü için nasıl bir ödül aldığını sorduğu kısım da önemli bir sahneydi. Brook’un mutlu olması gerekirdi ama hayatında hiçbir şey ilerlememiş gibiydi. Aslında River onlara hepsinin birer mahkum olduğunu hatırlattı.
River’ın kız kardeşleri üzerinden kendi deneyimlerini hatırlamasını görüyoruz. Aslında kız kardeşleri sadece onun farklı versiyonları o kadar. Aynı şeyleri o da yaşadı, deneyimledi. Aynı duyguları o da hissetti. Kendisinin bir gemi dolusu farklı versiyonuyla bir arada. Kendisi de bir gün doktoru öldürmüştü. O gün onu yaptıklarından pişman eden ve doktoru kurtarmaya ikna eden güç yine kendisiydi. Doktor ona gelecekte olacağı River’ı göstermişti. O River’ı görmek onu başka biri yaptı. Bugün Brook, River’ın o gün olduğu noktada. Adı henüz River olmamış River, Brook, doktoru öldürdü. Ama karşısında duran River’ı görmek onu doktoru kurtarmaya yöneltti.
Bu kısımda gördüğümüz Demon’s Run için verdikleri anlam da hikayeye ilginç bir yaklaşım katıyor. ‘All the demons run when a good man goes to war.’ Biz burada hep doktoru ‘good man’, Madam Kovarian ve adamalarını da ‘demons’ olarak adlandırdık. Ama bu kızlara ‘demon’ doktor olarak öğretilmiş. Silents ve Başsız Keşişlerle çalışmış biri Kovarian. Din bu hikayede hep vardı. Sanki bu kızlarla kurulan bu sistem de bir tarikat gibi. Doktoru öldürülmesi gereken biri olarak görüyorlar çünkü o evrene kötülük saçan iblis.
Silents da artık yok belki ama Furies onlardan kalan anıların yerini doldurmuş gibi. Sonuçta hiç kimse Silentsı hatırlayamaz. Ama bir fikir olarak hala zihinlerindeler. Sanki Kovarian, Furies hikayeleriyle, bu dipte kalan, kendilerinin bile varlığını bilip de ulaşamadıkları korkularına dokunmaya çalışıyor gibi.

[Peer Lenné · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.1 The Lady in the Lake von Nev Fountain
The Lady in the Lake bietet eine interessante Grundidee, mit einer guten, kurzweiligen Umsetzung, die zum Ende hin immer interessanter wird. Die überraschende Auflösung und guter Cliffhanger tun ihr übriges und es gibt eine nette zugabe zur persönlichen Geschichte Rivers, die direkt an den Geschehnissen auf Demons Run anknüpfen.

3.2 A Requiem for the Doctor von Jacqueline Rayner
River stellt sich hier schon ziemlich ungewöhnlich dämlich an. Selbst nachdem man ihr praktisch schon die Funktionsweise des Giftes erklärt hat, kommt sie einfach nicht drauf. Insgesamt ist Requiem for the Doctor schon eine ganz nette Geschichte, aber das Ende ist wirklich 08/15 und so oder ähnlich schon hunderte Male in Big Finish Hörspielen durchgekaut worden. Auf 57 Minuten geht das aber okay. Jedenfalls besser, als hätte man die Story für die Main Range auf zwei Stunden gestreckt.

3.3 My Dinner with Andrew von John Dorney
John Dorney entwickelt sich langsam aber sicher zu meinem aktuellen Lieblingsautor bei Big Finish. Auch wenn der Anschluss an den Cliffhanger des vorhergehenden Teils etwas zu wünschen übrig lässt, und ich nicht genau weiß, wie ich die beiden miteinander verknüpfen kann, hat man hier ein schönes Zeitreiseverwechslungsspiel im Stil von Pandorica/Big Bang. Dazu kommen die grandiosen Dialoge von Mr. Dorney, so dass dieser Teil so richtig Spaß macht.

3.4 The Furies von Matt Fitton
Mit The Furies präsentiert Matt Fitton dann letztendlich eine ziemlich generische, wenn auch emotionale Auflösung um den Status Quo wiederherzustellen, den die zwei Teile davor durcheinandergebracht haben.

Auch wenn der Schluss etwas durchschnittlich war, entwickelt sich River Song langsam zu meinem Lieblings-Spin-Of. Vor allem auch, weil Kingston sich mittlerweile etwas mit ihrem Overacting zurück hält. Für Fans von River ist diese Box auf jeden Fall Pflicht, trägt sie doch sehr viel zu ihrer persönlichen Geschichte bei. Nicht zu vergessen, die (meines Wissens nach) erste BiFi Erwähnung von Rory und Amy!

[AJ Foiret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Series 1 & 2 of The Diaries of River Song were absolutely fantastic. Some of my all time favourite Big Finish releases. So my heart sank when I saw that Madam Kovarian was making an appearance this time round. That storyline was interesting-ish in Doctor Who but I've never felt any desire to revisit it. The joys of Doctor Who audio is that there are fewer budget constraints so they can literally make a drama about anything...so I always feel frustrated when they dust off old characters and plots and rework them into something subpar.

And clones of River was not an enjoyable thing to listen to at all. I couldn't bring myself to care about a single one of them. By the end I had pretty much stopped paying attention as I was so bored.

The supporting characters were all a weird combination of forgettable and completely annoying. Can't remember anything about Brooke other than I want to throttle her. I hope Big Finish put these storylines and characters to bed and get back to adventure-filled River-style romps in the next series.

It was nice to see a female writer on board the male dominated company and I appreciated the difference it made to the stories. (Eg raising the issue of domestic abuse vs a man being whisked of his feet to a restaurant by a beautiful lady whilst her storyline was being dictated to her by a male maitre'd with a grating 'French' accent.)

Still I have great hopes for the next series if there is one. I did see a tweet with a photo of Alex Kingston and Tom Baker but he wasn't in this one so maybe they've already recorded the fourth with The Fourth..?

[Cat Randle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is more like it. The writing is improving. Finally, a woman writer, Jacqueline Rayner, who wrote The Stone Rose, one of the first of the BBC novellas with Rose Tyler and Dr No. 14 starring David Tennant.

The story arc is better fleshed out and has a very satisfying ending with a villain who could have but wasn't used much in the Moffatt era. I enjoyed exploring River Songs' brothers and sisters. The writing took more risks and was much more gripping and satisfying.

My favourite of this set is John Dorney's Dinner with Andrew.
Andrew is someone who looks like the Dr but doesn't sound like him. River finds him one day and then decides she needs his help, which leads her back to a very famous restaurant, which reminds one of Douglas Adams. But this one is right out of time and space so a lot of shenanigans happen including the Dr in his underpants and a pyscotic robot who encourages people to "feel the wrath of the dr" The structure of the story isn't the usual Whovian tale and it takes a lot of risk with time travel which is pulled off wonderfully.

All the stories are of a high standard and worth listening to again.
Again, the extra CD with insights from the writers was fab.

[ava · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.1 The Lady in the Lake - 4/5
I am BEGGING 🙏🙏 for an Amy/Rory mention, especially Amy!! Let River mention her mother !!!!! But anyways I really liked this episode and appreciate what it tried to add to Demons Run and River’s story. Hated Lake, loved Lily…that hurt.

3.2 A Requiem for the Doctor - 3.5/5
A nice historical with a simple but interesting and gruesome mystery. Brooke was a little annoying icl but I liked River and Five together. Ending was a bit cringe. River talking about her parents is still not a want but a need !

3.3 My Dinner with Andrew - 3/5
I enjoyed the setting and the time travel elements. Also loved the classic man-who-looks-exactly-like-the-doctor-for-some-reason trope. I’m not really feeling this overall plot though and throwing K*varian into it really doesn’t help.

3.4 The Furies - 3/5
“My parents are Amy and Rory. You will never replace them.”

I definitely liked hearing that woman being tortured but idk I wasn’t really a fan of the overall story. The exploration of River’s past and trauma could have been done way better I think.

[Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not enjoy this series as much as I hoped to (2nd & 4th eps didn't quite click for me - tho I do appreciate the intention of exploring the tragedy of River's childhood), but it was still an above-average listen overall.
I especially liked the first episode, and kind of wish the story could have been stretched over multiple episodes.
Not sure if River works quite as well with Five as with some of the more bonkers Doctors, but I really did enjoy Peter Davison's turn as a mere mortal. I'm sure creating two distinct characters who look and sound almost identical is no easy feat on audio.

[Ashley Beery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the big finish lines are going downhill. Not sure why but this was just lacking the punch the previous River Song series had. Though I will admit the first CD with her punching Death and telling him to take a pee break was pretty funny and that was the River I like. Maybe it was the Doctor as he didn't seem very Doctorish, or maybe it was all the clones of a clone of a clone of a clone. Either way..it just didn't seem right.

[Nea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't get the time to finish this sooner, which as it turns out, is a pity. I again very much enjoyed it. River and the 5th Doctor are great together, especially in Requiem for the Doctor, and the humour in A Dinner with Andrew was right up my alley. It was also nice to revisit and work through some of River's childhood trauma. All in all, another excellent audio adventure I'd highly recommend.

[H.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! River's chemistry with the Fifth Doctor was adorable, even more so with Andrew.
Also, it was really cool to see more details into Madam Kovarian and River's terrible childhood. Frances Barber did a fabulous job here!
I definitely recommend this audio story!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sassy River and feelings!

[Joseph S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love River Song!

[Anne Barwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very time wimey. Loved the way it linked back to the TV series.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

River tries to stop her "mother" and sisters from Demon's Run from killing the doctor in his 5th form.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

My least favorite so far.

[Idamus]

Well, I finished, it took me ages, I don’t think River is for me.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I just haven’t listened to enough more recent Fifth Doctor audios, but Peter Davison sounds different here from what I would expect.

[Morandia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I really loved how these all tied together. Fantastic stories and amazing casts. My favorite in the River Song series so far

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Jurgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.1 'The Lady in the Lake' by Nev Fountain: 5*
3.2 'A Requiem for the Doctor' by Jac Rayner: 5*
3.3 'My Dinner with Andrew' by John Dorney: 3*
3.4 'The Furies' by Matt Fitton: 3*

[Marcel Driel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story is fantastic, the third one is a weird and wonderful time farce, and the other two are good but not very memorable. All in all a pretty good boxset.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved the 5th doctor being there sm!! side note: kovarian and tecteun are the same person in different fonts (and i despise them both) - 4/5