After announcing the continuation of River’s adventures a few weeks ago, Big Finish has shared more news about what can be expected from The Diary of River Song: New Recruit! Out in October 2021, we already know that River will be meeting a few of the original UNIT team members, but who else will be along to play…?
More Casting and a Time Frame
Well, after a brief meeting in 2019’s “Peepshow,” River Song and the Third Doctor will come face to face once more. Actor Tim Treloar once again steps into the role of the Third Doctor- a part he has been playing for Big Finish since 2013’s The Light at the End. It does seem that the Third Doctor will feature in just one episode of New Recruit, but more on that later!
In addition to the Doctor’s involvement, Big Finish has also narrowed down the timeline for when this particular box set takes place. At least from UNIT’s perspective! Matt Fitton, the script editor, has confirmed that these stories take place during season seven of Doctor Who– the Third Doctor’s first season. So, the Doctor that River will meet is sans-TARDIS and stuck in one place and time working for UNIT as their scientific advisor. Matt Fitton explains more:
“Season Seven of Doctor Who had a special flavour all of its own, and here we’ve stirred in the added ingredient of River Song, so we can see a bit more of Dr Elizabeth Shaw saving the world with UNIT! With the Doctor away, the Brigadier now has two brilliant, clever women by his side to offer scientific advice on the odd and unexplained.
“I’ve always thought the character of Liz was gone too soon on TV, and it’s wonderful that we now have Daisy Ashford giving her more adventures. What will she make of River – someone with the capacity to be equally as infuriating as the Doctor? And how will the Third Doctor himself react, when he finds a cuckoo in his nest?”
Story Details Revealed
Though the writers and titles of the four episodes for New Recruit were already confirmed, we now have a few more details on what those stories will involve. To start with, Lizbeth Myles’ “The Blood Woods” will see the first team-up between Drs. Song and Shaw while the Doctor is elsewhere. It’ll also be interesting to find out exactly how River is recruited by UNIT and what leads them to her.
“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.”
“Terror of the Suburbs” by James Kettle will explore a little more of Dr. Liz Shaw’s life. The story will have her moving from near UNIT’s London headquarters to a new home in the suburbs. However, in usual Doctor Who fashion, things are not quite as they seem. The episode’s summary has me thinking we might hear the return of a certain Mars-based enemy, but who knows!
“Liz has moved house. It seems she’s found a suburban utopia – until River Song arrives. There is more to Fetter Bailey than manicured lawns and endless soirees. Dangerous creatures prowl the hedgerows, and something lurks in the freezers…”
In the third episode, “Never Alone” by Helen Goldwyn, River’s suspicions about a new computer company will be proven well-founded when a man is found dead with their products. Though “aliens bringing advanced technology to Earth too soon” is an oft-used idea in Doctor Who (such as 2008’s “The Sontaran Stratagem”/”The Poison Sky”), I’ll be interested to hear how this adventure plays out as well! Plus it sounds like Liz and River will be quite the team in this box set.
“River believes Intertraxia is ahead of its time, but it’s already shipping innovations in entertainment and computing around the world. When a man is found dead with alien technology implants, UNIT investigates. Liz and River are about to discover that those connected to the network are never alone…”
Finally, New Recruit concludes with “Rivers of Light” by Lisa McMullin. Though the temporal anomalies reported to UNIT are River’s area of expertise, the Doctor knows a lot about those too! River Song will have to tread carefully (or not- she’s got ways around these sorts of things) as her path crosses with the Third Doctor. And perhaps she’s had another motive all along?
“In a Yorkshire mining town, strange temporal distortions and rivers of light crossing forests are enough to get the Brigadier’s attention, and UNIT is mobilised. But the Doctor is back, and he wants to know who’s been messing around in his laboratory. River’s reasons for being on Earth are about to be revealed…”
The Diary of River Song: New Recruit is available for pre-order from Big Finish’s website now, priced at £24.99 as a collector’s edition four-disc CD set or £19.99 for a digital download. In addition, if you’d like to catch up on River’s Big Finish adventures there is currently a download-only sale happening on the website, too!
