The Diary of River Song: Series 1

River Song is not really my favourite character from Nu Who, seeming in some respects like a knock-off of Bernice Summerfield who manages to be more irritating than interesting. But she certainly has her fans, and here she gets her own series of spin-off tales, with a set of four stories linked by a single plot arc. There's a sense of a struggle here, particularly in the first two episodes, to make this a distinctly ‘River Song' collection, although that does manage to come through by the end. For fans of the character, though, it's probably great to see her taking the lead in her own stories and, in fairness, we do get to see more sides of her than we did on TV. It's enough to make me want to buy the second set of stories, anyway, which at one point I thought I might not.

• The Boundless Sea - An episode that's only peripherally connected with the larger arc, this is a monster story set in 1920s Iraq as archaeologists uncover something terrible in a Mesopotamian tomb. Although River comes across as a little flat here, apparently feeling washed out after (presumably) the events of The Wedding of River Song, Colgan at least makes use of her background to draw parallels with the set-up of the story, as well as including written extracts from her diary. As a result, it's quite effective, with some elements that are definitely in the style of Nu Who, although there's little that's distinctively ‘River' here. 3.5 stars.

• I Went to a Marvellous Party - The action now moves to a spaceship hosting a long-running party, as cover for something altogether more sinister. It's a murder mystery, at least in part, with the solution being an unusual one, and with a decent sub-plot around an obviously innocent suspect. Unfortunately, the end result rather comes across as ‘we wanted to write a DW story but we couldn't get David Tennant.' River takes the role that the Doctor would normally play, and moreover, has to carry the story largely on her own, since there's no effective companion character. This is not to say that Alex Kingston isn't good, but, if you're not already engaged with River's character, there's nothing here that's distinctive enough to make you feel that you really want to know more. 3 stars.

• Signs - Things improve in the third episode, when we actually get a story that really only makes sense for River, rather than being a regular DW episode with a different lead. Here, River is dying from radiation poisoning, travelling in a spaceship with a man claiming to be a future Doctor, saving planets as she goes. At times, it feels a little disjointed, but it turns out that there's a good reason for that, as the mystery of who her fellow traveller really is, and what's actually going on deepens. It's also a two-hander, allowing more focus on River herself, and Kingston does not disappoint as a character apparently nearing the end of her life. 4.5 stars.

• The Rulers of the Universe - The disparate threads of the previous two episodes (and a dangling mystery from the first) come together in the final episode as the Eighth Doctor finally shows up to join the party. The requirements of continuity mean that he and River can never meet in person, but the story still allows for some fun interaction between the two, and River is much more her normal self in this episode than she was in the previous two, which should appeal to fans of her character in the new series – knowledge of the Eighth Doctor isn't really necessary, not least because this is the version seen in Night of the Doctor, with no reference to his other stories. And, because it's her box set, it's River who has the upper hand here, the Doctor's presence, and River's relationship to him, key to events, but not dominating the story. 4 stars.