The Bekdel Test

"The Doctor is definitely dead... which is annoying to say the least."

Writer: Jonathan Morris
Format: Audio
Released: January 2019
Series: The Diary of River Song 5.01

Featuring: River Song, Missy

Synopsis

Back at the start of her imprisonment, Dr 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...

Verdict

The Bekdel Test was a brilliant way to kick off the fifth series of The Diary of a River Song! It was a wonderful audio and I certainly was not let down by the meeting of River Song and Missy. That prospect was something I have been longing to hear ever since the release was announced and it did not disappoint. It took a little longer than I wanted for the pair to come face to face, but when they did it was well worth the wait. Placing Missy in a story around the immediate aftermath of the events of The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon was really interesting and I liked the playing with the idea of Missy being annoyed at River for being the one to kill the Doctor. Of course, by the end of the story we knew that Missy knows he isn't quite dead because she's from his future but I was surprised that this was basically told as fact to River at this point in her lifetime. It was that initial meeting that had me in hysterics though with just wonderful writing. With Missy's description described to her, River initially suspected that she was face to face with the Rani. I thought that was just marvellous to include, especially with the hints of the Doctor having a crush at the Academy on Gallifrey. Then River questioned whether Missy was Romana, but the best moment was when she suggested the Monk! Missy's reaction there was just marvellous and from thereon in we had a working relationship between her and River. I didn't quite expect that but they worked really well together. The Bekdel Institute was a good setting and the truth behind it being a way to reveal that the Doctor was actually still alive was very intriguing. I definitely didn't see that being the case but I liked the concept very much. The Director proved to be a pretty decent villain, but I would have liked a tad more on his motive for knowing the Doctor might be alive. Bringing River and Missy together was quite the feat though! That is certainly impressive. Michelle Gomez was just sublime as Missy once again and the character has made a seamless transition onto audio. Her singing and sinisterness were clear to hear throughout which was a big positive, but there was also the obvious signs of her being the Master. The suggestions of going by an anagram and only coming up with Mrs Tea was further excellence. I loved that. The respect between Missy and River was clear throughout the story which was fantastic and I loved that the former knew all about the latter, even including her regenerations. River questioning the personal choice of becoming a woman was interesting, and I liked how Missy just said she feels like me. Why would gender change that? The ending was very good and whilst I wasn't a huge fan of the solidogram concept, it didn't feature too heavily and was actually quite clever when it came to the flashback moment. The cubes were a fun concept and I'd like them to feature again in the boxset and speaking of which, I am intrigued to see if there is anything tying River's encounters with other incarnations of the Master or if they are all just standalone tales. I really hope there isn't a big arc this time around, but regardless, things kicked off in a very good way! Missy providing River with her vortex manipulator but sending her back to Stormcage was a nice ending. Overall, a great audio!

Rating: 9/10