The Orphan Quartet concludes the regular River Song audio series after twelve volumes.
Since her last appearance with the Doctor in ‘The Husbands of River Song’, Alex Kingston has led her own audio series for Big Finish. Today, they publish the final chapter of The Diary of River Song.
Across twelve volumes, River has encounter earlier Doctors and skipped in and out of her husband’s adventures. She’s also battled multiple Masters, dealt with her own past and even met herself from an alternate universe. You can check CultBox’s reviews of all River’s previous exploits here.
Official Doctor Who social media channels are celebrating the release by showcasing artwork from the individual stories.
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River has also guested in other series and, while her regular adventures conclude with The Orphan Quartet, we’re sure it’s not the last we’ll be hearing from her. In fact, she was alluded to in the latest Once and Future story, ‘Two’s Company’.
Here’s the Synopsis for The Diary of River Song: The Orphan Quartet
An old enemy hides beyond the universe, a desolate Cornish inn confronts the truth, a grieving mother holds onto a deadly memento of war, and has the Earth failed to notice it’s been invaded? Professor River Song must solve all this while dealing with a loss of her own.
The four stories are:
‘The Excise Men’ by Lou Morgan
A smugglers’ inn on the Cornish coast in the 18th Century is under attack. Never do a deal with the Excise Men.
‘Harvest of the Krotons’ by James Goss
What are the Krotons? Why are they running a health spa? Jackie Tyler and River Song investigate, because everyone needs a direction point.
‘Dead Man Talking’ by Tim Foley
Among the wreckage of the planet Earth, an old lady treasures a terrible relic that reminds her of her son. River Song has come to take it away.
‘The Wife of River Song’ by Lizzie Hopley
River Song is on an expedition seeking the Hive. Her sister is trapped in the ruins of the Hive. River Song is on honeymoon. Three realities meet.
Producer James Goss said:
“River Song is such a brilliant character and we’ve tried to really honour her in these stories.”
“Director David O’Mahony has gathered an amazing supporting cast for this box set – Sarah-Jane Potts playing River Song’s WIFE? Plus Joseph Millson and the Soap Legend that is Alex Fletcher as… a soap legend. And we were lucky enough to get Nina Toussaint-White back as River’s sister/bad angel Brooke.”
“It’s been an honour to be allowed to look after River through a box set that’s about grief, pirates and robots.”
The Diary of River Song: The Orphan Quartet is available now from Big Finish as a collector’s edition 4-disc box set (CD + download) or on download only.