River Song (Alex Kingston) is back for her tenth set of adventures under the Diary of River Song series at Big Finish- and this time they’re exploring a part of a timeline that they haven’t before. Entitled Two Rivers and a Firewall, series ten of the Diary series will have a story exploring River’s life after the events of Doctor Who episode “Forest of the Dead”. Out in August 2022, this is sure to be another exciting and heartbreaking installment for River at Big Finish.

What to Expect from Two Rivers and a Firewall

The Diary of River Song- Two Rivers and a Firewall will contain four stories. “The Two Rivers” by Tim Foley, “Beauty on the Inside” by Lizzie Hopley, “Black Friday” by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle, and “Firewall” by Barnaby Kay.

Apart from the final story’s post- “Forest of the Dead” timeline, the other stories will see River cross paths with “royalty, killer robots, and her own, occupied tomb” according to Big Finish. Of course, River is no stranger to royalty or killer robots (see DoRS series eight in particular for that). And while River does occasionally make mention of her own grapplings with her mortality and complex relationship with the Doctor, coming across her own “occupied” tomb might be a little more than she bargained for.

The final story, “Firewall” will also see River reunited with another character from “Silence in the Library”/ “Forest of the Dead”. Harry Peacock reprises his role of “Proper Dave”- the second of The Library’s explorers to succumb to the Vashta Nerada. Of course, as seen in the closing moments of “Forest of the Dead”, Proper Dave is among those who were uploaded to The Library’s data core. But something is wrong with the data core. River and Proper Dave will need to work together to fix it or else their lives will finally, actually end.

Harry Peacock had this to say about his return to the world of Doctor Who:

“It’s all quite interesting and very in keeping with the whole Doctor Who vibe of parallel universes, split worlds, and sliding doors. It all makes sense in that funky Doctor Who way. What you expect doesn’t quite happen. It takes a twist, which is brilliant.”

The series’ producer David Richardson had this to say about this new set of stories for River Song: 

“Ten box sets in and we’re exploring River’s life beyond Forest of the Dead. How brilliant to return to that world, and how equally brilliant to have Harry Peacock reprise his role as Proper Dave. It’s all the brainchild of Barnaby Kay – an actor who has appeared in many Big Finish stories, and a director who has now directed many Big Finish stories, here writing his first Big Finish script!”

Alex Kingston had this to add:

“It’s lovely to see Harry Peacock again as I haven’t seen him since he was killed by the Vashta Nerada. I think fans of Doctor Who and the audio stories will be particularly delighted that River and Proper Dave will be reconnected with some of the characters from Silence in the Library. It’s nice to go back to that time, way back when. 

“Plus, there’s an opportunity to have another very interesting spin-off from this storyline – that’s all I’m going to say.”

What to Look Forward to with Two Rivers and a Firewall

When I first saw the news about this new box set, what Alex Kingston had to say really caught my eye. Specifically her saying that there is the potential for a “…very interesting spin-off from this storyline”.

The “Firewall” story is Big Finish’s first foray- and I believe any extended-universe Doctor Who material’s- into a post-Library River Song story. Even within the TV show, the only story we had with River after (from her view point) The Library was her appearance in series 7, episode 13, “The Name of the Doctor”. In that episode, we saw River projected as a sort of “ghost” via a mental link, seemingly only visible to Clara Oswald at the time.

Of course, at the end of the episode it is revealed that the Doctor has also been able to see her the entire time. He tells River that she should have “faded by now” but she says how hard it is to go when she never got a proper goodbye.

“Then tell me, because I don’t know. How do I say it?”
“There’s only one way I’d accept. If you ever loved me, say it like you’re going to come back.”
“Well, then. See you around, Professor River Song.”
“Till the next time, Doctor.”

When River points out that she shouldn’t still be there because of Clara’s supposed “death”, the Doctor asks her how she’s done it. And in true River Song fashion, her parting words are “Spoilers. Goodbye, Sweetie.”

So perhaps this box set may answer how River is still linked in and able to be seen by the Doctor in “The Name of the Doctor”. However, there’s another interesting angle to look at that those who may not keep up on all of the Big Finish releases may have noticed.

In the November 2020 release Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor and River Song two of the three stories directly deal with the concept of a digital “afterlife” for the deceased. “Precious Annihilation” and (sort of spoilers) “Ghosts” both feature one or more of these types of characters. It’s a detail that I, with the Library-two parter as one of my favorite Doctor Who stories, picked up on pretty quickly.

Given the Tenth Doctor’s very recent first interaction with Professor Song and his fresh knowledge of what her ultimate fate will be, it’s an interesting concept to put in those stories. Perhaps he feels some guilt and unease at seeing the idea of people living on in computers so soon after what happened to River. This could be addressed in Two Rivers and a Firewall.

There is a conversation in “Precious Annihilation” by Lizzie Hopley that I find particularly interesting in light of the timeline for these new stories. Towards the end of “Precious Annihilation”, the Doctor and River are discussing the fate of a woman named Omara. Omara has been dead for some time now, but her consciousness was uploaded to the ship that she’d arrived on Earth in. However, Omara’s ship is about to collapse so the Doctor offers to allow her to survive on the TARDIS computers. River responds to this proposal:

“You can’t do that! What kind of life would she have as a permanent data file?”
“It’s a life, River! A precious mind doesn’t deserve to be snuffed out.”

Ultimately, Omara decides to let go. The Doctor pleads with her to let him save her digital mind, but she refuses.

“I could have saved her.”
“As a data file? No kind of life for a mind like hers.”

Between this story and “Ghosts”, listeners get the idea that River is not a fan of the idea of a digital afterlife- being stored as she would later say “…like a book on a shelf”. Perhaps there is more to River’s story and life after The Library- a further continuation of the plan that the Doctor made to save her consciousness via the sonic screwdriver the Twelfth Doctor gifted to her on Darillium. Sure, the Doctor always knew that he would give her that sonic one day… but perhaps in all those years he planned even farther ahead.

Maybe, just maybe, The Library isn’t the end of River Song.

The Diary of River Song- Two Rivers and a Firewall is available for pre-order from Big Finish’s website. The boxset can be ordered either as a collector’s edition CD box set plus download for £24.99 or just the digital download for £19.99.