The Diary of River Song, Series 5

The Diary of River Song

by Jonathan Morris, Scott Handcock, Eddie Robson

The Doctor isn’t the only Time Lord River runs into on her travels up and down the timeline.

The Master, in all of his - or her - guises, also has a chequered history with Professor Song. And whenever they meet, it’s a close call as to who comes out on top...

It’s something River must get used to: there are three people in her marriage – at the very least!

5.1 The Bekdel Test by Jonathan Morris

Back at the start of her imprisonment, Doctor Song becomes a guinea pig for an innovative new security system.

But it’s her fellow prisoners she needs to be most wary of.

Because it’s early days for Missy, too. The Doctor is dead, and she is outraged that somebody else killed him first...

5.2 Animal Instinct by Roy Gill

On a world where vicious beasts stalk ancient ruins, Professor Song teaches a student the finer points of archaeology.

But then she meets an incarnation of the Master who is desperate to survive.

And if they are going to escape this place alive, they all must work together.

5.3 The Lifeboat and the Deathboat by Eddie Robson

Stranded in the Vortex, a father and daughter do their best to survive, living on salvage in a ramshackle vessel.

Elsewhere, an obsessive ship’s captain hunts down a vengeful monster, whatever the cost.

And River is caught between them, uncovering an old enemy in the most unexpected new guise.

5.4 Concealed Weapon by Scott Handcock

A deep space exploration mission nears its end – when suddenly, the crew start to die.

River must try to protect her colleagues and work out what else is on board their ship.

Something is stalking them, and the deadliest Master of all has his own plans for River Song...

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

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Jonathan Morris is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Doctor Who books, including the highly-regarded novels 'Festival of Death' and 'Touched by an Angel' and the recent guide to monsters, 'The Monster Vault'. He has also written numerous comic strips, most of which were collected in 'The Child of Time', and audios for BBC Audio and Big Finish, including the highly-regarded comedies 'Max Warp' and 'The Auntie Matter', as well as the adaptation of Russell T Davies’ 'Damaged Goods'.

Recently he has started his own audio production company, Average Romp. Releases include a full-cast adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Chimes', an original play, 'When Michael Met Benny', and three episodes of a SF sitcom, 'Dick Dixon in the 21st Century'.

For details visit www.averageromp.com

He also originated his own series, Vienna and script-edited the Nigel Planer series 'Jeremiah Bourne in Time'. He’s also written documentaries and for TV sketch shows.

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm copying the first part of my review for the latest war doctor review because OH LOOK IT'S TRUE AGAIN!!!! Big Finish yet again contributing to #killyourgays!

PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS! PLEASE STOP KILLING LESBIANS!

If you are a writer and you can only think of a way to include queer women is to kill them off just don't bother! I used to be SO happy when queer women would appear in things, FINALLY I'd think someone like me! In the world I love! But now they show up and it's like, Great how long before they die??? It is the WORST of all tropes. Worst because it was started in the age of homophobia when the only way that queer characters were allowed was if they were killed off at the end to punish them for their sinful ways. Now with equal marriage, with a world that supposedly accepts women WHY is this STILL happening to 99.9 percent of queer women in media? Oddly enough when queer women write queer women THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN! Maybe it's because they can think of more experiences beyond simply dying! But somehow the male writers don't. (And no being a male gay writer doesn't give you a card blanche to kill off queer women any more than being a straight male writer lets you use rape as a perfectly valid plot device!)

So we have four stories about River and the Master (all written by men). The first one is the Bekdel test where she meets Missy. Now River and Missy are VERY good together. It is almost like they shouldn't have put this one first because the others all pale in comparison. They were funny and delightful and a shade evil together. The irony was that the Bekdel test WAS about a man! Now I'm sure that was intentional, but it's the kind of irony I'm not sure a male writer can get away with as it does seem like they might be slightly missing the point!

The second story was my second favourite as Geoffrey Beevers is just SOO delightful. The story of River on the jungle planet doing archaeology was quite fun. And the two together were wonderful.

The third story was where it all fell apart. After the glory of Michelle and Geoffrey Eric Roberts just couldn't compare. His master had no interesting plan. And random teenager from a vhs was a bit erm uninspired.

The fourth story was aforementioned KILLYOURGAYS. River on a spaceship of women, where they all kept dying, trying to be a bit like alien, or 2001 but kinda not as interesting. Jacobi wasn't as sinister as I was hoping. Also River's attitude of, Don't worry ladies the man will be here soon and save us all! Was not quite the feminist archeologist's attiude we have all come to know and love.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, I was never not going to love two of my favourite Doctor Who ladies finally meeting, but this was fab. Not necessarily the most complex plot, but I love that the script allowed for such quick and witty dialogue.

On a much nerdier note, listening to this has sent my brain on a big old tangent about how Michelle Gomez uses accents to show Missy's character development. For most of this audio, which I think is pretty early in her incarnation, Missy is using her almost-RP English accent plus a handful of comedic accents/voices - she uses this when she's the one in control, when she's at her most cruel, or when the Doctor is not there to stop her. In her later TV appearances, Michelle Gomez uses her natural accent - Glaswegian, the same as Peter Capaldi - which aligns her with the Doctor. Their shared accent underlines the fact that they are childhood friends, the last members of their species, and that for the most part they are incredibly alike.

Tldr: I never thought I'd hear someone use a Glaswegian accent to symbolise utter vulnerability but damn it Michelle you did it.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, the narrative itself isn’t all that clever or fun, the chemistry between River Song and The Master (aka Missy) is pure gold. Two great actors. Two great characters. Two tons of fun.

[Radka · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Taksya · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.1 The Bekdel Test by Jonathan Morris
Per motivi "pubblicitari" River viene portata in una nuova prigione, che deve dimostrare di essere a prova di fuga. Con l'arrivo di una nuova prigioniera le cose iniziano a sembrare più complesse di quel che sembra... soprattutto se la nuova arrivata è Missy.
5.2 Animal Instinct by Roy Gill
River nell'inedita veste di archeologa, alla scoperta di un misterioso manufatto che si rivela essere il Maestro... nella sua versione "crispy". Incarnazione poco sfruttata in video, presenta un Master in formissima in questo duetto con River.
5.3 The Lifeboat and the Deathboat by Eddie Robson
La presenza del Maestro, interpretato da Eric Roberts, è del tutto accessoria nei confronti della trama. Poteva essere un villain qualunque e le cose non sarebbero cambiate.
5.4 Concealed Weapon by Scott Handcock
Ultimo episodio, con il War Master in cerca di una nuova arma, se per suo divertimento o in missione per conto dei Time Lords non è specificato. Come per gli altri tre Maestri, il duetto con River è ben giocato e le battute tra i due sono al vetriolo. Finale amaro, ma ogni tanto serve.

L'esperimento River vs The Master(s) è perfettamente riuscito, anche considerando l'episodio con Roberts che, come Maestro, ha avuto poco modo di esercitarsi.
Con Missy all'inizio della sua rigenerazione, nonostate il tema dell'episodio, non si infrange la continuity. Gli altri sono comparsi così poco che non vanno a intaccare quanto visto in video.
Ottimamente interpretati e con un quartetto di storie interessanti, anche se non eccelse.
La serie di River si conferma di qualità.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun boxset. One of the best crossovers in the Doctor Who Universe is River Song meeting the Doctor, and here it is done extremely well.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this boxset. The weakest story for me was the lifeboat and the deathboat, but that felt like more of a filler story than anything.


River Song and the Master is one of the best crossovers big finish has done. Both can just be as chaotic as each other, but at least River has a sense of Right and wrong, but still not afraid to use a gun when needed.

Their relationship throughout Series 5 of the Diary of River Song is wonderful to see develop.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, just finished it and it was utterly brilliant.
What a fun ride!
I am not even sure which one of the stories was my favorite.
They were all great and certainly met my high expectations!
Maybe I liked "The Lifeboat and the Deathboat" a bit less than the rest, just because it felt a bit jumpy and inconsistent in places, but you certainly cannot fault the actors.
"The Bekdeltest", "Animal Instinct" and "Concealed Weapon" all were fitting to their respective Masters.
River's chemistry especially with Missy and the Beevers Master was palpable.
It was also great to actually meet some of River's students, since she is suppoed to be a professor after all.
I do not want to write too much to not to spoil anything, though. Best for you to go in there blindly- and get taken by surprise.
I promise you won't regret it!

[Lachlan McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A

[Neveah]

Stand out episode is Missy and River having to do a prison break. I was less invested in the other Masters as mainly their stories just aren’t as good - but how can you come down after that first flex?

[Felecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. I love the interaction between River and Missy.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je n'ai pas écouté les autres coffrets, je l'ai définitivement juste acheté pour Missy ;) Ce coffret suit les aventures de River Song après son assassinat du Docteur alors qu'elle rencontre, toujours par accident, différentes incarnations du Master. Un coffret très inégal en terme de scénario, mais les Master et River Song sont bien fidèle à leurs origines et les relations entre les deux protagonistes bien exploités.

The Bekdel Test par Jonathan Morris
La lecture du pamphlet qui vient avec le DC (que je lis toujours avant d'écouter l'épisode) m'a fait pas mal sourciller... Un homme qui se vante d'écrire un épisode avec deux femmes qui parlent d'un homme et de l'intituler Bekdel test (une allusion au test de Bechdel), c'est un peu insultant pour utiliser un euphémisme.
L'épisode est toutefois vraiment meilleur que ce que le pamphlet laisse suggérer et ne semble même pas aller dans la direction du livret! River et Missy se retrouvent enfermées dans la même prison et doivent trouver un moyen de s'en échapper (ou encore, pour Missy, de tuer River Song). Un épisode qui se veut assez comique, plein d'allusions aux épisodes télévisés, et avec une trame narrative linéaire assez bien construite sans trop de lieux communs pour le genre des évasions de prison (notons les tentatives de créer une émeute, s'en prendre au directeur de la prison, transformer des objets en armes, etc. rapidement mise de côté ou subvertit). Alex Kingston et Michelle Gomez ont une bonne dynamique et le scénario arrive à justement bien ne pas leur faire parler que du Docteur, mais vraiment interagir ensemble.

Animal Instinct par Roy Gill
Je dois avouer que je ne m'attendais pas à autant de comédie de l'épisode avec le Master de Geoffrey Beavers. Oui, il y a un peu de drame et de cruauté, mais l'épisode commence de manière assez burlesque et pendant un moment, on assiste à des répliques, des actions, etc. qui tiennent beaucoup plus de la comédie que du drame. C'est assez bien fait, mais ce n'est clairement pas le Master que je voyais dans des situations comiques.
Sinon, c'est un très bon épisode dans l'ensemble, River et le Master joue bien l'une avec l'autre, la paire fonctionne bien ensemble et explore bien les côtés sombres et moins sombre de la personnalité de River Song (ce que le premier épisode ne faisait pas du tout). Un épisode qui m'a donc bien divertit dans l'ensemble!

The Lifeboat and the Deathboat par Eddie Robson
Quand même un épisode correct. Dès que la capitaine du vaisseau à trouvé la cassette VHS, j'ai tout de suite compris le dénouement toutefois. Intéressant de voir le Master élever une enfant et voir jusqu'où c'est amené.

Concealed Weapon
Probablement la plus grosse déception du coffret, du sadisme très gratuit, une intrigue qui ne mène nul part, un intertexte stérile qui ne fait que donner un pseudo-sens à l'action du Master, une postface plutôt inutile.
SPOILER Je me serais gardé une grosse gène de ne pas tuer les deux lesbiennes en plus de les torturer pas mal plus que tous les autres personnages... Pour une fois que les actrices ont une très bonne diversité, tous les massacrer, ce n'est pas du sadisme du Master (ce n'est pas dans la fiction), mais une obsession malsaine du scénariste.

Ce coffret donne malheureusement l'impression d'avoir été un peu précipité dans l'attribution des scénarios ou des histoires. Autant j'ai apprécié les deux premiers épisodes (surtout le deuxième), que j'ai complètement perdu intérêt avec les épisodes 3 & 4. Je n'ai pas eu envie d'écouter le behind de scene que j'écoute habituellement d'une oreille inattentive pendant que je fais autre chose. Ce coffret ne me donne malheureusement pas envie de poursuivre avec la série et d'aller voir les précédents (ou les suivants), à moins vraiment que les scénarios soient de meilleurs qualités. Ou engager des femmes peut-être de temps à autre pour les écrire?

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a change from the previous format of this series, this release consists of four separate stories, unconnected except for the fact that this time, having already met all the available Doctors in the earlier releases, River instead meets the Master. Each story features a different incarnation of the villain, two of whom are appearing for their first time on audio.

• The Bekdel Test – It’s this episode which is the one that fans of the new series alone are most likely to be interested in, because it’s here that River Song meets Missy. It’s a prison caper, set during the period of River’s incarceration in the Storm Cage. The pair are separately transferred to the same “escape-proof” prison and, naturally enough, the focus is on them trying to escape it. It’s interesting to note that, while the episode does (of course) pass the semi-eponymous test, it does so less than one might think, given that the conversations between the two main characters are often about the Doctor. Gomez is a delight, beautifully written and acted and, to be honest, upstaging the nominal star more than once. It’s a fun story, with a few twists along the way, that fits well into this period of the TV show. 4 stars.

• Animal Instinct – Next up is the “Crispy Master” as portrayed by Geoffrey Beevers. As in the previous episode, River is forced to team up with the Master, in this case to survive on a jungle planet full of deadly predators. In terms of the interaction between the two main characters, the story presents a contrast between their different brands of ruthlessness, and River doesn’t come out of it entirely well. It’s also not really clear why they’re cooperating as much as they are – both do have ulterior motives that are eventually explained, but River’s is a little weak. That aside, it’s a decent enough adventure story and Beever’s purring evil is a strong contrast with Missy, but the episode by itself is nothing really special. 3.5 stars.

• The Lifeboat and the Deathboat – The gimmick of this story is that it features, not one of the regular Masters, but the one from the TV movie, played by Eric Roberts. (Or ‘Eric brother-of-Julia Roberts’ as the UK press insisted on calling him at the time, as if that was actually a part of his name). The story itself features a drifting habitat stuck inside the Vortex as various pieces of time-travelling junk float past. There are some decent mystery elements in it and, yes, if anyone really cares, it explains how the Master got out of the Eye of Harmony, but it’s let down by a couple of major points. Firstly, there’s the secondary villain who just seems to kill people for the sake of it and has no development of explanation behind her at all. But also, it fails to develop this particular Master or show us anything much about him other than the fact that he doesn’t care about other people. What makes this Master different, beyond the fact that he’s the one with an American accent? No idea, and that feels like a missed opportunity. 3 stars.

• Concealed Weapon – After three stories in which River has to, however reluctantly, team up with the main villain for a while, we finally get one in which the Master is clearly the antagonist throughout. It’s set on a spaceship returning from a biological survey mission and owes more than a tip of the hat to Alien. But it’s the Master who is clearly the real threat, even though it takes a while for him to turn up. In this case, it’s the War Master and he’s at his most politely menacing. This has some real tension as the Master’s plan slowly comes into focus and River, for once, appears out of her depth against a foe who really has thought it all through in advance. 5 stars.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Diary of River Song is by far one of the most accessible and enjoyable spin-offs Big Finish has ever made, despite its complicated storylines. It's a shame the range is coming to an end but hopefully, it will do so with a bang. Series 5 for very obvious reasons has been one I've been looking forward to for a long time, so without further ado, let's dive in!

The Bekdel Test:
River Song has been imprisoned in The Bekdel Insistute supposedly the one prison in the entire universe that not even she can escape from. It seems she'll need help from The Doctor's oldest friend, but can Missy really be trusted?

Jonathan Morris has written an incredibly funny story that just oozes personality and charisma. Alex Kingston and Michelle Gomez get on like a house on fire, their banter is absolutely hilarious. The ideas in this story are really solid and I like how it ties back to the Wedding of River Song which I found pretty neat. 10/10

Animal Instinct:
Professor Song teaching a student the finer points of archaelogy ends up uncovering a trap setup for The Doctor. But it seems The Master has overstayed his welcome and now he needs River Song's help to get back to his Tardis on another world, one which he used to rule over and it seems its inhabitants aren't happy with their god.

Roy Gill's script is a fun one, nothing too amazing but Alex Kingston and Geoffrey Beevers make it well worth a listen, the banter between our characters is brilliant with some really funny lines. It does have its occasional darker moment which took me by surprise but overall, a decent but fun listen. 8/10

The Lifeboat and The Deathboat:
A Father and Daughter trapped in the vortex do all they can to survive. A ship's captain is hellbent on destroying a creature in the vortex that murdered her crew. Meanwhile River Song is about to be reunited with an old enemy of The Doctor's...

Eddie Robson has written a terrific story that's imaginative, heartfelt, and full of action. It's a story about family and freedom. By far probably my favorite story written by Robson, it's a truly amazing tale. Alex Kingston and Eric Roberts bounce off one another brilliantly. 10/10

Concealed Weapon:
As a deep space exploration mission nears its end, the crew begins to die. River Song finds herself in the midst of a murder mystery but if none of the crew members are the culprit then who is? River Song is about to yet again meet The Master and possibly for the last time.

Scott Handcock's script is a solid one with some really good twists. River Song and Derek Jacobi are great together and it's interesting to see yet another fan-favorite character become horrified by this Master's actions. I do think this story lacked a sense of atmosphere somewhat, but I enjoyed it. 8/10

Overall: 36/40

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

I really love River and The Master going toe-to-toe but also being put in situations where they have to collaborate with each other even if they hate each other's guts. You think The Doctor and The Master have the most frenemies vibe? Wrong! This audio collection have more frenemies vibe than the entirety of the new who series.

501. The Bekdel Test: 5 out of 5 stars.

Absolute chef's kiss. I downloaded this whole collection especially for this story and it did not disappoint. Missy is fantastic. River is amazing. The plot? The name? The way it passed both the Bechdel test and the Bekdel test?

Anyway, it was so interesting and I really loved the way Missy and River bounced off each other. Brilliant. Can't wait to listen to this again sometime.

502. The Animal Insticnt: 4 out of 5 stars.

I admit I'm not familiar with The Master's storyline. So I don't particularly like his character here but I liked it enough. I actually liked the side character (River's student) better than The Master though.

503. The Life Boat and The Death Boat: 3 out of 5 stars.

This was pretty meh. But it's still better than about half the audio Doctor Who stories I've heard.

504. Concealed Weapons: 4 out of 5 stars.

All you need to know about this story is that first 70% of the story was just like "Ugh, I wish these characters aren't this dumb" but then I went OHMYFUCKINGGOD at the plot twist. Take the goddamn 4 stars. Idk.

Also, just because I saw another review talking about Lesbians being killed in the fourth story: Particularly in that last story, everyone BUT River and The Master dies. Bury Your Gays trope is problematic, yes, but in a story where no one lives but two people who can't be killed due to their canonical timelines? C'mon.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

While previous volumes take River through the lives of the Doctor(s), this time variations of the Master run chaotically through River’s life.

(5.1) The Bekdel Test: Well, the narrative itself isn’t all that clever or fun, the chemistry between River Song and The Master (aka Missy) is pure gold. Two great actors. Two great characters. Two tons of fun.

(5.2) Animal Instinct: Fun. Fun. Fun. This isn't my favorite of the Master’s incarnations, but this was still a fun romp. And Luke certainly qualifies as another of River’s adorkable companions. Another solidly entertaining chapter from the insanely complicated epic of River Song.

(5.3) The Lifeboat and the Deathboat: Surreal time travel. Wasn’t sure quite what to make of this one as it was running, but the kooky folds work around pretty well in the end.

(5.4) Concealed Weapon: Another delightful mystery for River Song to reveal and unravel, and again, she’s got the Master to deal with. Except this time around it’s the “War Master” that’s causing all the trouble.

While I thought this would be a slam dunk 5-Star review, but while I enjoyed each and every one of these stories, each story didn’t quite live up to my expectations. But perhaps I was just expecting too much, and it could never quite fulfill what I was expecting.
This set includes a wonderful collection of interviews with cast members and production staff from across the stories included in this volume.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The River Song audios have generally been pretty excellent across the range so far, although it's becoming a little lame to manufacture yet more circumstances for the previous Doctors to not remember her. Bit of a change of tack for these four audioplays, where rather than the Doctor, it's different incarnations of the Master. The result is that River is more of a supporting character in most of these stories rather than the title role. That's not neccesarily a bad thing - Alex Kingston is good in all of these and Geoffrey Beevers and Derek Jacobi in the Master roles are excellent. Michelle Gomez as Missy as well is worth the sparks between the two. The odd one out is the story with Eric Roberts as the Master, a role I never expected to be reprised from the TV Movie. He's a bit more restrained than the earlier production, but it's a bit below the rest of the set. Not bad by any means, just not as good as the other three stories.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 out of 5);
The Diary of River Song: Series 5 is another great installment in The Diary of River Song series. It's one of the only box sets in the River Song line to feature four completely stand-alone stories; there is no overarching plotline that links these stories together. They really are just four, completely separate adventures featuring River and four different incarnations of the Master. It's a lot of fun hearing Alex Kingston's River Song interact with four of the most iconic Masters currently working with Big Finish Productions, and each of those actors perfectly recreates their incarnation of the villain in adventures that are perfectly suited for them. I thoroughly enjoyed this box set and I'm looking forward to the next releases from Missy, River Song, and the War Master.

[Marcel Driel · Rating 3 out of 5]

River Song 5

The Blekdel test

Genius, just genius on every level. Very meta, very funny and the actors obviously had a blast too. Five stars

Animal instinct

Decent story but way too long. Could have been better if it was tighter written and edited. Two and a half stars

The Lifeboat and the Deathboat

There’s a good idea at the core of the story with Allison, but there’s a subplot with an assassin that goes nowhere and Roberts isn’t just that good of an actor (although he has an amazing voice). Two and a half stars.

Concealed Weapon

Stupid people doing stupid things in a stupid story. Tedious and boring. Two stars.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent installment. The Bekdel Test is the real stand-out. I could listen to Alex Kingston and Michelle Gomez snarking at each other all day. The other three stories were all good as well, though none of them had me nearly spitting my tea all over my dash on the way to work the way The Bekdel Test did. I particularly liked the reference to The Curse of the Fatal Death. Do I really have to wait until August for Series 6?

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the last series. I'm not going to lie, the biggest selling point for me in this series was putting River and Missy together. I have long been looking forward to them crossing paths, and I was not disappointed. I'd have loved a whole series of just these two, but including other incarnations of the Master was cool, too. The final story in this set didn't hold my interest as well as the others, but overall, the series was really good.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty surprising that Steven Moffat never had River Song meet Missy on the TV show. Their meeting here is hilarious, as River goes through pretty much every name that fans had speculated Missy would end up being when she was first introduced. The other Master stories pale a bit in comparison. So it starts off great and then decreases a little.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collections like this are why I started listening to Big Finish, lets you get encounters the Doctor Who show didn't have time/resources to do. The ones with Eric Roberts and Derek Jacobi's Masters were good but far and away the best one was when River meets Michelle Gomez's Missy. That's a combo we desperately needed on TV.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly adore all incarnations of the Master and I love River, so this was like my dream boxset. Each had wonderful chemistry with River and all were really fun, engaging stories. I hope they all cross paths again!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly enjoyed the first episode/chapter- I mean it’s River and Missy how can you not enjoy that. The others were good and enjoyable; they story’s had quite simple plots so don’t have much to say apart from enjoyed it.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm almost hoping we crash so I can regenerate and wake up next to your body!"

This Master-filled Diary of River Song set has some very funny moments. Really loved this.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still not as good as Series 2 but I need more River and Missy stories.

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

River fights the master in four adventures

[Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong and even all around!

[Shaun Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story, “The Bekdel Test” was one of the best Big Finish audios I’ve heard so far!

[Morandia · Rating 5 out of 5]

River Song and the Master. What wonderful stories. Seeing River Song away from the Doctor on her own adventures is such fun!