The Unknown

"We're all alone in a vanishing universe."

Writer: Guy Adams
Format: Audio
Released: December 2016
Series: Diary of River Song Series 2.01

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, River

Synopsis 

A planetary anomaly. A scientific impossibility. A mystery to be solved.

Of course, River Song expects to be consulted. She expects her valuable knowledge and experience will help the crew of the Saturnius unlock the strange phenomenon that has appeared in Earth's solar system.

But what River doesn't expect is a stowaway. An infuriating little man, calling himself the Doctor.

Verdict

The Unknown was an excellent audio adventure and a superb start to the second series of The Diary of River Song! I really enjoyed listening to the first series last year so purchasing the second installment of the series really was a no brainer. Especially once I found out that River Song would be meeting two past incarnations of the Doctor! In the first series she of course interacted with the Eighth Doctor but here we actually had her meeting the Seventh Doctor. The idea of River Song meeting past Doctors is simply wonderful but it can also prove to be a little difficult when it comes to the dialogue of Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. That story was clearly the first time the Doctor, in his tenth embodiment of the Time Lord, had met River so past meetings can prove difficult. I thought the way Guy Adams got around that issue here was very clever with the temporal anomaly idea and the way the memories of those on the Saturnius were being somewhat altered and tampered with due to the problem of the shield and its position in real space. Some of the audio's dialogue was a bit scientific but River's simple explanation was very good and certainly cleared any issues up. I really liked how the story immediately went with the Seventh Doctor and River Song meeting before the opening titles and I liked the familiarity between the pair despite them not knowing each other. Her memory was suffering from the effects of the ship's position in space but when this presumed stowaway mention he was called the Doctor, things started to come back for River. I loved how she mentioned Gallifrey and the TARDIS being a Type-40. I also was intrigued how this story would appear to take place after The Husbands of River Song for River as she had her very own sonic screwdriver, something the Doctor noticed. The image of River entering the Classic era TARDIS was a wonderful one in my head and I loved how once she was inside, things became familiar for her and she was able to pilot it through the telepathic circuits. Of course, River and the Doctor weren't the only ones to feature in this story and I must say that the guest cast were superb. Captain Maddie Bower was a brilliant character and I really did like how seriously she took her job. Her relationships with both River and Ellen were terrific. Ellen was a wonderful character and I must say that I really did like her. She was just a very likeable character and that is definitely something you want in a Doctor Who story. Robert Murphy was another good character and his whole story was great with the multiple forms that emerged from him being at the focal point of the engine room. The way the resolution was achieved was exciting and I liked how the memories of the Doctor and River weren't precise as the only thing they really remembered was a crash. River had entered the TARDIS and the Doctor had met his future wife but they wouldn't know it. The innuendo regarding the Doctor and the TARDIS seemed a bit strange but it definitely tied in with the raunchiness of River's character. The lead in for the next audio in the boxset was excellent and it seems that we have both androids and a future Earth that has been ravaged in the future to contend with. Things have been set up very nicely but for now this was a brilliant start to the new series!

Rating: 9/10