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Post by callin321 on Aug 1, 2023 10:46:43 GMT
From August Vortex Mail....
RIVER’S LAST SONG?
With River’s solo series coming to an end, will this be the last we hear of River Song on audio? There’s one particular story that has left us on an intriguing cliffhanger, and I was wondering when we might get a follow up? At the end of Lies in Ruins from The Legacy of Time, River does not erase the Eighth Doctor’s memory as he needs to remember her for their next encounter. Will we ever see this come to pass? Is it part of the 60th celebrations perhaps? I would be sad to see the wonderful Alex Kingston go without a chance to follow this up!
Nick: I note there have been some online blogs assuming the end of The Diary of River Song means we’ve been prevented from making more River Song adventures and that a TV spin-off is nigh… Suffice it to say that River Song and Alex are rightly very popular with Big Finish listeners so it would be very odd, if we were to consider ending our audio adventures with them
Which suggests new style of audio releases with River? No spin-off? Or both?!
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Post by thegreendeath on Aug 1, 2023 18:36:23 GMT
The excerpt of the Krotons story is a lot of fun. Kroton Crystal Yoga is such a gonzo idea and River and Jackie bounce really well off of each other. I’ll wait for reviews of the whole set, but this is in definite maybe territory now.
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Post by mark687 on Aug 8, 2023 14:03:45 GMT
Trailer Online
Regards
mark687
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Aug 22, 2023 8:22:15 GMT
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Post by mark687 on Aug 22, 2023 10:26:57 GMT
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Post by ollychops on Aug 23, 2023 11:27:49 GMT
Haven’t listened to this yet but I’m glad to see they’ve posted individual artwork for this set - shame they’re not on the app though.
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 23, 2023 14:04:37 GMT
Two stories in and so far it’s competing with Series 6 for the worst River set! The Excise Man is odd, it feels like it’s trying to tell something that links back to the tenuous arc of the set, but fumbles it by producing quite a nothing story that feels almost beneath River, frankly.
Harvest of the Krotons is painful for the same reason as bringing back Jackie for all of the other releases. Her characterisation is reductive; gossiping, pop culture references and mentions of quickly named friends / acquaintances. And whilst they’re at it, they’re putting her in situations that are the complete opposite of the message she’s trying to get across on telly; that Rose is off travelling and has left her behind!
Alex also sounds a shadow of her usual performance. Really hoping the second half is a return to form.
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 24, 2023 16:41:05 GMT
Didn’t think it got any better at all, unfortunately. Dead Man Talking was probably the best of the set, but falls off a cliff as soon as they reference Robomen, Susan, etc. They’re so forced and don’t have any sort of link or build up and completely detracts from the story.
The Wife of River Song is all over the place. When I thought it was hitting its stride something else unfolds and I don’t think I could really tell you what it was trying to do, except force another family link to satisfy the arc. As I’m sure you’d guess, The Wife of River Song isn’t the Doctor and therefore it feels pointless as you just don’t spend enough time with them to be hooked.
A poor set, I’m sorry to say. I actually think it’s the worst River outing in her range. You’d genuinely be forgiven for thinking it was cobbled together last minute to coincide with an announcement the range was ending. The story arc sticks out like a sore thumb every time, feels tenuous and contributes nothing. It’s been done much better with Signs, Five Twenty-Nine, Series 3, Friend of the Family, etc. I think what makes it worse is that a lacklustre River story usually has something in it that serves her character. For example, The Web of Time leans into her archaeology, The Lifeboat and the Deathboat her exploration and Firewall her post-Library exploits.
A real disappointment.
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Post by tuigirl on Aug 24, 2023 19:03:04 GMT
Didn’t think it got any better at all, unfortunately. Dead Man Talking was probably the best of the set, but falls off a cliff as soon as they reference Robomen, Susan, etc. They’re so forced and don’t have any sort of link or build up and completely detracts from the story. The Wife of River Song is all over the place. When I thought it was hitting its stride something else unfolds and I don’t think I could really tell you what it was trying to do, except force another family link to satisfy the arc. As I’m sure you’d guess, The Wife of River Song isn’t the Doctor and therefore it feels pointless as you just don’t spend enough time with them to be hooked. A poor set, I’m sorry to say. I actually think it’s the worst River outing in her range. You’d genuinely be forgiven for thinking it was cobbled together last minute to coincide with an announcement the range was ending. The story arc sticks out like a sore thumb every time, feels tenuous and contributes nothing. It’s been done much better with Signs, Five Twenty-Nine, Series 3, Friend of the Family, etc. I think what makes it worse is that a lacklustre River story usually has something in it that serves her character. For example, The Web of Time leans into her archaeology, The Lifeboat and the Deathboat her exploration and Firewall her post-Library exploits. A real disappointment. Good to know. I did not pre-order this (first River Song set I had no enthusiasm for) and you just write what I feared would happen.
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Post by ollychops on Aug 24, 2023 21:13:02 GMT
Didn’t think it got any better at all, unfortunately. Dead Man Talking was probably the best of the set, but falls off a cliff as soon as they reference Robomen, Susan, etc. They’re so forced and don’t have any sort of link or build up and completely detracts from the story. The Wife of River Song is all over the place. When I thought it was hitting its stride something else unfolds and I don’t think I could really tell you what it was trying to do, except force another family link to satisfy the arc. As I’m sure you’d guess, The Wife of River Song isn’t the Doctor and therefore it feels pointless as you just don’t spend enough time with them to be hooked. A poor set, I’m sorry to say. I actually think it’s the worst River outing in her range. You’d genuinely be forgiven for thinking it was cobbled together last minute to coincide with an announcement the range was ending. The story arc sticks out like a sore thumb every time, feels tenuous and contributes nothing. It’s been done much better with Signs, Five Twenty-Nine, Series 3, Friend of the Family, etc. I think what makes it worse is that a lacklustre River story usually has something in it that serves her character. For example, The Web of Time leans into her archaeology, The Lifeboat and the Deathboat her exploration and Firewall her post-Library exploits. A real disappointment. Disappointing to hear. In terms of timelines, is there any sort of indications where these stories take place for River?
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Post by SG. on Aug 25, 2023 12:22:57 GMT
Didn’t think it got any better at all, unfortunately. Dead Man Talking was probably the best of the set, but falls off a cliff as soon as they reference Robomen, Susan, etc. They’re so forced and don’t have any sort of link or build up and completely detracts from the story. The Wife of River Song is all over the place. When I thought it was hitting its stride something else unfolds and I don’t think I could really tell you what it was trying to do, except force another family link to satisfy the arc. As I’m sure you’d guess, The Wife of River Song isn’t the Doctor and therefore it feels pointless as you just don’t spend enough time with them to be hooked. A poor set, I’m sorry to say. I actually think it’s the worst River outing in her range. You’d genuinely be forgiven for thinking it was cobbled together last minute to coincide with an announcement the range was ending. The story arc sticks out like a sore thumb every time, feels tenuous and contributes nothing. It’s been done much better with Signs, Five Twenty-Nine, Series 3, Friend of the Family, etc. I think what makes it worse is that a lacklustre River story usually has something in it that serves her character. For example, The Web of Time leans into her archaeology, The Lifeboat and the Deathboat her exploration and Firewall her post-Library exploits. A real disappointment. Disappointing to hear. In terms of timelines, is there any sort of indications where these stories take place for River? I've only listened to the first one so far, but seems to be set not long after Angels Take Manhattan.
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Post by shallacatop on Aug 25, 2023 15:28:14 GMT
Yep. They’re all post-Angels. The first one seems set pretty much immediately after River & Eleven part ways. The second one has River on some bizarre request from the Doctor. And the third and fourth seem more further away, but are off the back of River losing Amy & Rory.
It’s all a very forced and odd theming, as I was under the impression they could see each other still. And indeed do see each other, as well established in The Ruby’s Curse. It really does feel like a set thrown together to back up an announcement that the range would be ending. The Orphan Quartet indeed!
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Aug 27, 2023 20:52:09 GMT
Yep. They’re all post-Angels. The first one seems set pretty much immediately after River & Eleven part ways. The second one has River on some bizarre request from the Doctor. And the third and fourth seem more further away, but are off the back of River losing Amy & Rory. It’s all a very forced and odd theming, as I was under the impression they could see each other still. And indeed do see each other, as well established in The Ruby’s Curse. It really does feel like a set thrown together to back up an announcement that the range would be ending. The Orphan Quartet indeed!zinger for the win.
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Post by IndieMacUser on Sept 24, 2023 9:59:44 GMT
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Post by Kestrel on Oct 5, 2023 21:35:34 GMT
Hm... pretty mixed reception on this one. If it really is the last DRS boxset, maybe it'd be best to just pretend it doesn't exist, and that the range ended with 'Friend of the Family.' '
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Post by nottenst on Oct 25, 2023 21:18:52 GMT
Just finished it. Just 4 individual stories in one set without any connection between them. Overall, I always like listening to River and while it was disappointing that there was no connection between the stories I enjoyed them in of themselves for the most part.
I completely forgot that Brooke in "The Wife Of" was a returning character. She was in Diary S3. It might be interesting to relisten to the story featuring her and then this story again. "The Wife Of" was very confusing and probably will benefit from a relisten.
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Post by nottenst on Nov 24, 2023 19:52:16 GMT
So, I recently listened to Diary S3 again and just now listened to "The Wife Of" for a second time. It makes a lot more sense the second time around and is much less confusing. Remembering all about Brooke helps a lot. It is a nice add-on to that S3 set.
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