The Diary of River Song: New Recruit

The River Song audios started off with the titular character going backwards through the Doctor's timeline in each release, ending with Tom Baker as the oldest living actor. Now that they're confident enough with their replacement actors, Big Finish here continues that trend with a Third Doctor crossover – four stories in which River turns up at UNIT to act as Liz Shaw's assistant while the Doctor is away for an unknown reason.

The Blood Woods – The first story inevitably has to carry the burden of setting up the scene for the others, with River arriving and having to overcome Liz's suspicions and her understandable impression that the Brigadier doesn't trust her to work as scientific advisor on her own. This results in the central plot, about a man who died under circumstances that imply alien involvement, moving slowly at times, as the interaction between the leads has to take centre stage. Having said which, it's actually quite a good plot building in more elements in than one might expect under the circumstances, albeit never with the sort of folk horror feel that it's probably going for.

Liz gets quite a bit to do here, and the chance to show off some of her abilities – she is nominally River's boss in this, after all. But it remains River's story, keeping her as the main focus, playing off against both Liz and the Brigadier. The latter has a comparatively minor role, albeit a crucial one to the resolution, which, in all honesty is pretty straightforward and almost anticlimactic. But the characters make up for it, and the pairing works well, the two main characters both contrasting with and complementing each other. 4.5 stars

Terror of the Suburbs – This is a Stepford Wives pastiche, with a dash of The Prisoner. Unfortunately, it's somewhat weakened by the fact that Big Finish has used much the same premise twice before with Jack Harkness (and some German accents that even I can recognise as bad). The explanation for what's going on is different from those outings, but beyond the ‘70s setting and its accompanying digs at fondue parties and the music of Demis Roussos, the setup is essentially the same. I will say that the villain's identity is clear from early on, although their motives are not, and the sense of mystery is underplayed possibly because River (but not the audience) already knows what's going on.

Elements of physical danger through the story feel thrown in at random, and there seems surprisingly little urgency about dealing with them, even allowing for the fact that most of the characters are either brainwashed or complicit in what's happening. Furthermore, exactly how the villain is supposed to have set all this up in the first place is something that perhaps doesn't bear too close an examination. So its not the strongest story, and feels like it's been done before without too much change, although some will doubtless appreciate the almost entirely female cast even if the characters, by the nature of the setting, come across as rather bland. 3 stars.

Never Alone – The first story is, in some respects, a typical Third Doctor story, except for River and Liz taking the lead – and it's all the better for it. It begins with UNIT investigating an unusual death and then being drawn into the machinations of a mysterious tech company that, among other things, has invented a basic iPod a few decades early. What we get is a good investigatory story, giving Liz and River roughly equal roles that eventually takes a slightly surreal turn as the true nature of the threat becomes apparent.

Although they're mentioned, UNIT isn't really in this one, leaving the leads to solve the problems on their own and giving them an opponent that men with guns would be of even less use against than usual. True, the motivations of the monster aren't especially interesting, but there are some good supporting characters and some nice ideas that pull this distinctly above the average. 4 stars.

Rivers of Light – In the final story, it's revealed what River has really been doing on Earth, as the Doctor turns up and takes exception to what she's been up to in his absence. (Understandably so, in fairness to him). Almost immediately, UNIT receives a call about unusual events at a Yorkshire coal mine. River is trying to keep the Doctor out of it, and, while she isn't entirely successful and Liz and the Brigadier also have significant roles, it's once again primarily her story.

The explanation for what's happening – all tied in with River's presence in this time period – is bonkers but does fit in with the show's larger mythology. A scene at the end tying things further in to the Third Doctor era feels superfluous and was perhaps included only as a test run for something coming in later releases for this Doctor, rather than River. There's also a thread about the relationship between two of the guest characters that seems significant but is never followed up on.

However, the plot isn't really the point here; it's more about seeing River interact with the Third Doctor and having fun with UNIT dating. (For instance, the story is set during the miners' strike... but even some of the characters are actively unclear as to whether this is the big one from the '80s or one of the shorter ones from the preceding decade). Because of all that, it's a big and dramatic conclusion to the box set, even if the underlying plot isn't always the strongest. 4.5 stars.