Colony of Strangers

"We don't really have crime here."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: January 2020

Series: Diary of River Song 7.01

Featuring: River

Synopsis

On the bleak Nordic colony of Bondar, bodies are washing up on the beach.

The Mayor and the police are mystified. But then a prime suspect turns up. A suspect who might be their best hope of solving the case. 

Verdict

Colony of Strangers was a decent start to the seventh series of The Diary of River Song! I am so happy that this spinoff range just keeps on going and having a series seemingly focused on River in detective mode is definitely exciting in my eyes. It seems for the bulk of this seventh volume we won't be too heavy on past continuity or connections with Doctor Who in general until the final story, and that's absolutely fine and an approach that has worked well for other series in the past. It allows River to really take centre stage and shine, and she was certainly the highlight here! I thought the setting of Bondar was a little odd in that it didn't quite feel like a colony but was so clearly not Earth and that uneasiness probably worked in its favour a bit. I think there may have been an attempt to create that popular Nordic feel but in space in almost futuristic version of It Takes You Away, but in my opinion the result was not as strong. I liked the way River arrived just as things were taking shape on the colony and addressing that was amusing in a wider way as when the Doctor or River in this case arrive, things suddenly start to go wrong. I liked the approach of River being sent to this colony by the Doctor and it's nice to know that he trusts her to put things right, especially in a place where he didn't want to go himself! He was getting his wife to do the dirty work and that's quite fun knowing their relationship. I must say, I was not a big fan of Karl as the detective, partly because he was in that role with no experience whatsoever. When an actual crime occurred, he was helpless and that just seemed to defeat the point of there even being a detective! It was a harrowing realisation though when he explained that there was no crime because the people on Bondar had nothing. That was a very powerful line. The way he spoke though seemed odd and I just didn't get on with the performance, it really felt a bit boring and took me out things as far as he was concerned. On the other hand, I was very much a fan of Gudrun as the mayor. She was a really strong character and the twist that she was actually trying to stop the slow invasion of the creatures was something I didn't see coming. I really did anticipate her to be helping them arrive given her position. The concept of the slow invasion and replacing the population one by one is decent but definitely not unique so certain elements did feel repetitive, even if the execution was very well done. River revealing all she knew was a terrific moment and the helplessness of Karl when she commented on him already being replaced last night was fantastic. I love it when River is in control. I thought the conclusion was a little quick in how the threat was prevented from a simple shot, but River doesn't like to leave a mess! It would have been fun for a little cameo of River going back to the Doctor, but alas it's nice to know that this was a successful mission! Overall, a good little start to the series.

Rating: 7/10