QUICKIE REVIEW: “The Diary of River Song: Friend of the Family”

This is an absolutely gorgeous listen. There’s simply no other way to describe it. It’s the kind of story that’s so good it makes you wonder why they haven’t been doing stories like this the whole time. It’s like River was made for this story. A multi-generational mystery exploring the depths of love, loss, familial drama, and hope in the face of all of that. It’s funny, it’s adventurous, it’s touching, and it’s heartbreaking. One of the behind-the-scenes interviews suggests this story’s like “This is Us” with time travel, and that’s an incredibly accurate statement.

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January 2023 Book Roundup

In any given month, there’s a lot of stuff I read or watch that I don’t feel the need to review in full. So, in lieu of reviews, I’ve decided to do little monthly recaps of what I’ve read, complete with smaller, mini-reviews of each title. So, without further adieu, here’s a look back at the month of January.

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REVIEW: The Diary of River Song – Series 5

drs05_slipcase_1417sqOver the years, River Song (Alex Kingston) has had adventures with every (living) Doctor from the classic run of Doctor Who and those adventures have been a whole lot of fun. With that in mind, it was only a matter of time until she started meeting some of the Doctor’s biggest enemies. And now, she meets, perhaps, the Doctor’s greatest enemy. And several incarnations of them, to boot. Namely, Missy (Michelle Gomez), the Burnt Master (Geoffrey Beevers), the War Master (Derek Jacobi), and the Master from the TV movie (Eric Roberts). With this lineup of actors and characters, you’d expect quite the exciting set of adventures and I’m happy to report that this box set is every bit as good as you’d hope it would be.

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!

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REVIEW – “The Diary of River Song – Series 4”

drs04_slipcase_1417sq_coverI am really enjoying these Diary of River Song box sets from Big Finish Production. River Song is one of my favorite characters that Steven Moffat created for Doctor Who. I love how her story ended up in the show and I love getting to see (or hear) more from her via these box sets. It’s a lot of fun hearing her interact with Doctors from the classic era, and her interactions with the Fourth Doctor in The Diary of River Song – Series 4 is no exception. But before we get to hear her meet the Fourth Doctor, she must first travel through time and space to escape the Discordia – a race of time traveling aliens who look like the common image of the Devil and are bent on ruling all of time and space. So, basically another Tuesday for River Song.

When River Song (Alex Kingston) visits a place where time has vanished, a genie escapes its bottle… the Discordia are freed – nihilistic time pirates, in devilish form, altering the past to make sure they never lose.

This time, River may have met her match. And involving the Doctor (Tom Baker) can only make things worse…

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