Someone I Once Knew

The Diary of River Song #4.4

Released: 4 September 2018

Listened: 2/19/22

This is a River Song story, but it’s kind of an alternate one. At this point in production order, Big Finish and River had worked their way back through the Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, and Fifth Doctors, with a memory wipe each time. So when they got to the Fourth, they pulled a twist of having the Fourth Doctor not only know River, but he’d always known her, all the way back to Gallifrey. That’s because the baddies in this boxed set are the Discordia, beings who simply go back and rewrite time every time they lose, or want something, or any excuse, really. They’re apparently immune to paradox. What’s going on with River and the Discordia makes a lot more sense if you’ve been listening to the entire box. The Doctor’s part in it is to mostly swoon over River, and attempt to save the day, but it’s River’s story, after all. The schmoopy bits between River and the Doctor are a bit much, especially because Tom Baker sounds closer to his actual age in those scenes. So it’s a bit hard for it to come across as poignant. John Dorney is at his best with paradoxes, but maybe not so much with romance.