Time in a Bottle

"How can Time be removed?"

Writers: Emma Reeves & Matt Fitton
Format: Audio
Released: September 2018
Series: The Diary of River Song 4.01

Featuring: River Song

Synopsis

River is recruited by a rival to explore a star system where time no longer exists.

Professor Jemima Still has picked up a signal from an impossible source and takes an expert team to investigate.

But their mission is about to unleash hell upon the universe.

Verdict

Time in a Bottle was an excellent way to kick off the fourth series of The Diary of River Song! I have been a huge fan of this spinoff range since the start and I'm glad I'll now get to hear River Song meet the Fourth Doctor, but that is yet to come. For now, River Song had a brilliant tale of her own. The Doctor was used as a way to lure her in, but that was his only feature in the story which worked very well. Revisiting some of her past by having an old archaeologist who was on the same course as her was great and Jemima was a really good character. I thought she was failing to offer much as the story went on but then the plot twist occurred in tremendous fashion and it turned out she had planned the whole thing. I really didn't see that coming so I was a big fan. Gammarae was another intriguing character and that wasn't just because she was far from being human. She reminded me a little of the Racnoss with her shape and voice but alas she wasn't to be. The respect she earned off River Song was very good though and I like the idea of River revelling in her reputation. She did get a little miffed when her status became almost mythical though! That was a pretty humorous moment. Spod joined them on their voyage and him being a warborg was very interesting. He was also quite modern and hip with his "amazeballs" thrown in and whilst that isn't something I'm usually a big fan of, I thought it worked well here and was suited to the story. The four of them made quite a quartet and their heading to Lyparia was really fascinating. That system intrigued me massively as it was a place without Time. Trying to comprehend that is a struggle but one I love exploring. River was needed to use Gallifreyan technology to get to the place and use a time bubble that would transfer them through their timeless surroundings. It was a concept and plot basis that sounds bonkers but worked tremendously well. I was a big fan. The conflict that ensued from the clashing of personalities there was very good, with Jemima and Gammarae particularly disagreeing once the former's true intentions were revealed. Her threatening to literally stamp on the one remaining hatchling of her species was horrific and even River seemed a little surprised. She's usually so assured of herself so that was testament to how awful the threat was. The mentions of the Time Lords were good and I like the idea of them also being thought of as mythical, especially since the Time War. The enemies for this adventure, and presumably the boxset as a whole, were the Discordia and I thought they were fantastic. They go back in time to reengineer it so that they always win and whilst they may get caught up in a paradox, they would still be victorious. They were pretty formidable and they took on the DNA and extended the gene pool of those they conquered. They were like extreme Krillitanes! I thought the shift in expecting the husband sending the signal to be the Doctor to actually be Melak, Jemima's husband, was tremendous and I really liked how well she played everyone. I didn't see why though as she hardly seemed to love him! She just wanted credit for his research. She really was horrible. But she met her fate as it was revealed that Melak was Discordia all along! River managed to get the others and the hatchling to safety, and the Discordia were still a scourge that needed defeating, and all that will come. Overall, a fine opener!

Rating: 9/10