In Review: Big Finish: The Death and Life of River Song Series 03: The Dissolution of Time

Synopsis: River Song has been imprisoned in the Stormcage, facing multiple life sentences for the Doctor’s assassination. At least, she was. 

Now, time is collapsing, and River is unexpectedly marooned in Tudor England, 1536. What’s more, she has a mysterious alien companion, Dust.

Someone or something has broken history. The distortions center on the court of King Henry VIII. 

River must find the culprit and fix the damage. However, some players, for whom established history does not end happily, may have other ideas.

Review: The Death and Life of River Song Series 03: The Dissolution of Time was a tour de force exploration of Tudor history. Along the way, writer Rochana Patel also gave listeners a fair bit to ponder about Doctor Who.

Story

First and foremost, Patel’s love of Tudor history came through in every syllable of her script. She was hyper aware that her characters had once been living people.

As a result, she never treated them as thesis statements. Her characters contemplated fate, free will, faith, confinement, and freedom in honor of their historical counterparts.

Because Patel allowed her characters that depth and truth, she was able to have her cake and eat it too. Consequently, she organically paralleled grounded events with River’s heightened narrative.

River, in turn, was forced to confront and interrogate ideas she had taken for granted. In the best Doctor Who tradition, she had a companion to argue with while doing so.

That companion, Dust, was Patel’s love letter to the franchise. She made him unapologetically alien, yet endearing.

Moreover, Patel homaged classic Doctor Who with Dust’s arc. However, I won’t say more because of spoilers.

Acting

The entire cast was superb. That said, two performances stood out.

For her part, Charithra Chandran played Anne Boleyn to the hilt. Thanks to her nuanced portrayal, the story often felt like a two-hander play.

Alex Kingston was Chandran’s scene partner in that two-hander play. Once again, she embodied River and gave her costars everything they needed to bring the story to life.

Overall

Thank you, Big Finish. The Death and Life of River Song Series 03: The Dissolution of Time was the best entry in this range so far. I can’t wait for the next series.

You can purchase The Death and Life of River Song Series 03: The Dissolution of Time here.