New Recruit: The Blood Woods

"I'm your new assistant!"

Writer: Lizbeth Myles

Format: Audio 

Released: October 2021

Series: Diary of River Song 9.01

Featuring: River, Liz, Brigadier

Synopsis

With the Doctor indisposed, Liz is a little put out to find that the Brigadier has brought in another scientific advisor to take his place.

But when Liz and River investigate otherworldly goings-on in an English village, they soon find themselves relying on each other to survive.

Verdict

The Blood Woods was a very strong start to the New Recruit ninth series of The Diary of River Song! This is a release I have been anticipating for a very long time and listening today on my birthday I was delighted to receive this as a present. It's the Big Finish release I would have picked out of all that I am yet to cover or don't have, and it started very well. I think it's a clever move to start by having River join in as part of UNIT whilst the Doctor is away on unknown business, and the dynamic she has with Liz in particular is essentially what most of the episode covers. I think the concept of just throwing River into the mix during the era of Season 7 is brilliant and the way that time was captured in audio was really impressive. It didn't just feel very 1970s, it felt very 1970 and that's a huge compliment. There's such simplicity in Liz seeing some of the technology River has to hand as being something she can't begin to fathom, and it's lovely to think that she's still very early on in her UNIT journey. I thought River being impressed with Liz and mentioning the events of Spearhead from Space as an achievement during her first week and I also liked how recognised Benny. The prospect of the Doctor's famed yellow car being named after Liz as a nickname for Elizabeth has never crossed my mind but it's something I'm all here for! River's knowledge of the Doctor is uncanny and I like how she has a little private moment with the TARDIS as she actually feels sorry for it with the Doctor currently undergoing exile on Earth. She knew that it would just want to travel, and she'd return to that one day. Liz didn't seem too complimentary of the TARDIS though which was a little surprising. I thought Jon Culshaw was extraordinarily good as the Brigadier see and it's fun to hear the dynamic he has with Liz. She wants more independence and confidence in her abilities from the Brig so she feels a little threatened by River's presence, even if she was recommended by the Doctor. That's something that really interests me for when the Third Doctor does show up in the boxset. For now though, it was up to River and Liz to head up to Shropshire and investigate a mysterious death with a 22-year-old dying of severe old age. That was fun stuff and whilst it was quite predictable that the culprit was going to be Beatrice Gray once we were introduced to her, getting there was entertaining stuff. I liked the setting and particularly the exploration in the woods with Beatrice also being in the field of archaeology. Her dig site was focused on a millennia old energy source for which she wanted to use to become powerful and that was certainly something more than Sir Edward  was bargaining for when it came to land boundaries. His demise was quite the impactful shock but it worked well. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the forests and it was great to have River and Liz work together to come up with the resolution. I was less keen on the dogs that were a part of the episode though but that may just be my severe dislike of the pets! Although they'd be a lot scarier in the wild. The Brigadier being impressed with River's work and ensuring that she would be sticking around was a fun premise to set up the rest of the boxset, and it's certainly something I am really looking forward to hearing moving forward! Overall, a strong start to what looks set to be a terrific little series! 

Rating: 8/10