The Rulers of the Universe

"This Doctor thought he could run from a war..."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: December 2015

Series: The Diary of River Song 1.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, River

Synopsis 

As shocking secrets are exposed, and a grand plan for the universe is revealed, River decides it's time she took control of events once and for all. 

Out in a deep space, a clandestine society faces off with an ancient and powerful alien force - but, for River, there's an added complication. 

The Eighth Doctor has been caught in the middle, and she must make sure her future husband can arrive at his own destiny with all his memories - not to mention his lives - intact...

Verdict 

The Rulers of the Universe was an excellent finale to what has been a wonderfully good boxset! The Diary of River Song has really impressed me and to be honest I was a little sceptical about what it would produce before I bought it but now in hindsight after listening, I'm so glad I purchased it and I'm already anticipating the release of Series 2 next year! The idea of River Song meeting past incarnations of the Doctor is a brilliant one and I like the fact that the first Classic era Doctor she gets to meet is the Eighth Doctor. There's a lot of modernity with this incarnation and placing him during the Time War was something I wasn't expecting but it definitely ensured that this particular story had a feel of post-revival Doctor Who. I think that's important for the first spinoff boxset for a character created after the revival as now we've had this huge success, we can go and play with other incarnations and that's exactly what will happen in the second series with River set to meet the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. That's for a future blog entry in around a year's time though. For now, let's talk about her meeting the Eighth Doctor. The very idea excites me and I loved how the problem of earlier incarnations not being able to retain memory of River was tackled with the pair only communicating via radio. The Doctor never saw River nor got to know what she looked like and that upholds what the Tenth Doctor thinks is their first meeting in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. Not only did this story see a Classic Doctor and River join together for the first time, but it actually tied up the loose ends of the entire boxset itself in a great way. There were excellent references to all of The Boundless Sea, I Went to a Marvellous Party and Signs and I loved how River was pretty angry with what she had been put through. But that anger was soon heightened by the fact the Rulers had got her husband involved, in an incarnation she couldn't play with. I like how River thinks that way of the Doctor and she definitely likes meddling with him. Bertie's reaction to calling the Doctor and having him arrive was quite surprising but I like how he manipulated the Doctor into doing his bidding by mentioning that ten billion people were at risk on a planet. River's dealing with the SporeShips was humorous in places and I loved how even in her own company she was rather flirtatious. I'm not sure if that's even possible but if anyone could achieve it then it would be River Song. The Sanukuma were an intriguing race and I loved how powerful they were made to sound. That definitely sold the threat they presented. River dropping hints to the Doctor about her identity was excellent and I also liked how Bertie mentioned knowing a lot about the Time Lord's past, particularly during the majority of the First Doctor era where he never knew where the TARDIS would land next. The Doctor was definitely intrigued by the situation but I was actually quite surprised by his lack of curiosity. The Sanukuma wanting a part of the Time War was interesting but I loved how, apart from The Night of the Doctor, this was the first time we got to hear the Eighth Doctor during the days of the Time War. I liked how he wanted no part of it and was simply there to tidy up the mess it created. I liked that Isabella made another appearance as I really liked her in the second story and the whole concept of the Rulers of the Universe was great, but their name was a little laughable to be honest. They didn't exactly rule the universe. The way the Doctor dealt with the Sanukuma was ingenious and I really liked how he returned them to simply being the stuff of legend, by returning them to the beginnings of the universe. The tie in with the SporeShips was great and definitely tied up the whole boxset very nicely. River couldn't let the Doctor come and save her though as they just couldn't meet and risk altering the future. It must've been quite sad for River but using the guise of Spritz, she helped her husband save the day and that was all that really mattered. Overall, a great adventure to finish this brilliantly consistent boxset! A huge thumbs up from me. 

Rating: 9/10