The Diary of River Song: Series 2

Following her encounter with the Eighth Doctor in the first release, this second one reflects the theme of River (mostly) meeting him in reverse order by having her first interact with Seven, and then Six. Even more so than last time, it's a single story in four parts, although each episode has a different setting and author, as River tries to avert a temporal catastrophe.

• The Unknown – The first episode is set on a spaceship trapped in a temporospatial anomaly, and is mostly about the skeleton crew's attempts to regain control. This is the story in which Seven appears and it could probably have worked as a regular Doctor Who story. However, the focus is more on River than the Doctor, as befits her being the title character, although the memory distorting effects of the anomaly mean that she fails to recognise him (although, in honesty, this more a plot device to ensure he doesn't remember the encounter than anything otherwise integral to the story). It's a decent run-around, but perhaps not too outstanding taken on its own. 3.5 stars.

• Five Twenty-Nine – The second episode is the strongest of the set, despite being more of a character piece without any real action. The setting is a little strange, seemingly being written as mid-20th century (e.g. they have rotary dial telephones), but actually being 22nd century (there's also an android). That aside, though, the story is about an elderly couple and their adopted daughter living on an island as the catastrophe of the main plot arc approaches. There's a building sense of doom contrasted with touches of domesticity as we wonder whether River is really doing the right thing here. It's the only Doctor-less story of the set, relying on his absence to make the threat feel more insurmountable. 4.5 stars.

• World Enough and Time –The same title (taken from a poem quoted at some length in the episode) was used later for a TV episode, but this has nothing to do with that. It's the Sixth Doctor's time to meet River, in which both are investigating the same unusual events on a space station. While the explanation for what's going on, once we get to it, is clear enough, quite how it's dealt with is less so, with the narrative apparently jumping about in a few places, and so perhaps missing some necessary exposition. While there's a bit of fun poked at corporate business meetings and the like, it's the least effective story of the set. 3 stars.

• The Eye of the Storm –The finale is an action-packed story with both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors trying to solve the same problem at the same time as River - and largely working at cross-purposes. It's the historical episode of this collection, being set in London in 1703, prior to and during the Great Storm of that year, although the historical detail is largely incidental to the plot. The strongest element of it is the contrast between Six and Seven and their respective relationships with River, who is very much showing her serious side here, while still discernably the same character as on TV. Her flirting with Six is particularly notable in this regard, and makes up for any muddle in the plot. 4 stars.