River Song's diary: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Object  
{{Infobox Object  
|image      = River_song's_diary.jpg
|image      = River song's diary.jpg
|name = River Song's diary
|aka        = River Song's "Spoilers" diary
|type        =
|type        = [[Diary]]
|origin      =
|made by    = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|appearances = [[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'' / ''[[The Big Bang]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]''<br />[[DW]]: ''[[First Night]]''<br />[[VG]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]''
|used by    = [[River Song]], [[Nardole]], [[Twelfth Doctor]], [[Twelfth Doctor (Shadow World)|Virtual Twelfth Doctor]]
|mentions    =
|first      = Silence in the Library (TV story)
|alias      =
|appearances =
}}
|clip        = Nardole Reads from River Song's Diary Extremis Doctor Who BBC
[[River Song]] kept a '''diary''' of her adventures with [[the Doctor]]. The cover was blue and resembled the exterior of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. Since the diary was written from River's point of view, she didn't let the Doctor read it, teasingly saying "Spoilers" and often putting her finger on her lips. The book acted as an indicator of where the Doctor was in his personal timeline; whenever River met him, she would name events she had experienced with him to see if he had experienced them yet.
}}{{ImageLink}}{{you may|The Diary of River Song (audio series)|n1=the audio series}}
[[River Song]] kept a '''diary''' of her adventures with [[the Doctor]].
 
The cover was [[blue|TARDIS blue]] and resembled the exterior of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. Since the [[diary]] was written from River's point of view, she didn't let the Doctor read it, teasingly saying "spoilers!" and often putting her [[finger]] on her lips.
 
The book acted as an indicator of where the Doctor was in his personal timeline; whenever River met him, she would name events she had experienced with him to see if he had experienced them yet. The Eleventh Doctor, in his personal future, explained the purpose of the diary to her; she had no clue what it was supposed to be for until then.


== History ==
== History ==
The [[page]]s of the diary were soaked in the [[gravity well]]s at the [[end of time]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Friend of the Family (audio story)|Friend of the Family]]'')
Upon saving the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s life (after killing him) by giving up her remaining [[regeneration]]s, River ended up in the [[Sisters of the Infinite Schism|best hospital in the universe]]. It was there that the Doctor gave her the diary. This was done to make sure she kept track of their meetings to keep their timelines from becoming corrupted. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
The day after her admission to the hospital, River described that the only things she was left with were a bag of clothes with too many short skirts and her diary. Since pens were not readily available in the [[52nd century]], the nurses had to order her one from an antique shop so she could write in her journal. Tucked inside the diary she found a business card for Professor [[Arthur Candy]] from the Department of Antiquities at [[Luna University]] and numbers for a [[Neural relay|comlink]] code. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')
While [[River Song]] was studying at the [[Luna University]], she did research on the Doctor, and learned a story he was going to die at 5:02pm on [[22 April]] [[2011]], at [[Lake Silencio]]; she recorded this in her diary. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
River brought her diary with her on a trip with the Eleventh Doctor shortly after she had been imprisoned in the [[Stormcage Containment Facility]]. The Doctor explained his rules for the diary: River was to use it to keep track of their meetings and adventures together. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[First Night (home video)|First Night]]'')
In the [[52nd century]], in Stormcage, River was writing about one of her outings with the Doctor before taking a phone call from [[Winston Churchill]] and escaping to help her husband. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
After the Eleventh Doctor reset the universe at the cost of his own erasure from existence, River temporarily gave [[Amy Pond]] her diary as a wedding present to bring him back. Later, the Doctor returned the diary to River, telling her that all the writing had returned, but he hadn't peeked; foreknowledge is dangerous. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
River spied on the Doctor's first nine known incarnations, learning what her husband looked like in his past to help her identify him for their future meetings. However, she ended up getting caught by his [[First Doctor|first incarnation]] before he left Earth with Ian and Barbara. Hearing [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] call for her grandfather, River left, not ready to know if she'll be the mother of one of Susan's parents; she had no clue if this Doctor was one she'd meet. She noted an opinion of each incarnation. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')
At some point or another, River also learned about the [[War Doctor]] and obtained a picture of him, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'') as well as pictures of every other incarnation of the Doctor up to the end of his first regeneration cycle. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'', ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')
On returning from a trip with the Doctor for her birthday, River met [[Rory Williams|Rory]] at Stormcage; he wondered if they'd met yet in her timeline, letting River know that he still didn't know she was his daughter. She checked her diary to be sure of where the Eleventh Doctor was in his timeline. By this point, she'd already been to [[Demons Run]] in her past and revealed her identity to the Doctor and her parents. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
In [[2011]], River and an 1103-year-old version of the Eleventh Doctor compared diaries. At this point in his time stream, the Doctor had a similar diary. By this point, she'd visited [[Easter Island]] and met [[Jim the Fish]]. She seemed fond of Jim when the Doctor mentioned him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
After the crash of the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'', Amy asked River what her diary was. The Eleventh Doctor, who had yet to experience many events recounted in it, told her to stay away from it; he called the diary "her past, my future" before going on to explain their timelines rarely intersect in the right order. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'')
During her imprisonment, the Eleventh Doctor visited his wife and asked, for the first time, to break their rules and read her diary, because he was charged with war crimes he couldn't remember and he had to find out the truth. She said to have read it several times "from cover to cover" and to be sure he couldn't be guilty. After a first denial, River agreed and lent him the diary; eventually, he chose not to read it and hired her directly in his mission. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The One (comic story)|The One]]'')
River used to her diary to chronicle her experience of being hired by [[DreamInc]] on the construction project for [[New Venice]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Death in New Venice (short story)|Death in New Venice]]'')
By the time the [[Twelfth Doctor]] met River, River noted her diary was almost full and that the Doctor would know exactly how many pages she needed. It turned out to be providential, as in the middle of a dangerous scrape where River and the Doctor had tried to recover [[Halassi Androvar|a priceless diamond]], they noticed a familiar planet right before they ended up crash-landing on it: [[Darillium]]. Following the crash, Doctor decided to set in motion their long-delayed date to see the [[Singing Towers]], a night lasting for twenty-four years which would be his very last encounter with her. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')


[[File:River's_Diary.jpg|thumb|left|River receiving her diary]]
When she met the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s [[companion]] [[Helen Sinclair]], River showed Helen pictures of the Doctor in the diary, to help her identify which Doctor she was travelling with. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Sonomancer (audio story)|The Sonomancer]]'')
River's diary was a gift from [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]] himself, after she ironically saved his life after being the one who nearly killed him. He did this to maintain the timeline of her keeping track of their relationship. ([[DW]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'')


While [[River Song]] was studying at the [[Luna University]], she did research on the Doctor, and learned a story he was going to die at 5:02pm on [[22 April]] [[2011]], at [[Lake Silencio]]. She recorded this in her diary. ([[DW]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
When the [[Tenth Doctor]] met River Song for the first time from his perspective, she attempted to "do diaries" with him, naming events which they had experienced together; he did not know who she was. When the Doctor tried to read the diary, River stopped him and told him that, by his own rules, he was not allowed to read it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'')


She most probably wrote about nearly destroying reality following her "murder" of [[Teselecta|the Doctor]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]''')
After the events in [[the Library]] and River's death, the Doctor left her diary in the biography section of the Library, now completely full. He and [[Donna Noble]] considered reading it to find out their futures, specifically Donna's (given River's reaction to her identity), but chose not to. By this point in River's timeline, the diary had seen quite a lot of action. Its pages had been heavily written in and weathered. The cover had also become worn, and the spine of the book was now cracked and peeled away slightly from the bindings. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'')


River brought her diary with her on a trip with the Eleventh Doctor shortly after she had been imprisioned in the [[Stormcage Containment Facility]]. The Doctor explained his rules for the diary: River was to use it to keep track of their meetings and adventures together. ([[DW]]: ''[[First Night]]'')
[[Nardole]] retrieved River's diary from the Library after her death and delivered it to the [[Twelfth Doctor]] after his night on Darillium ended. While confronting the [[Monk (species)|Monks]], [[Twelfth Doctor (Shadow World)|a virtual version of the Doctor]] had the diary with him. ([[TV]]: ''[[Extremis (TV story)|Extremis]]'')


River spied on the Doctor's first nine incarnations, learning what her husband looked like in his past to help her identify him for their future meetings. However, she ended up getting caught by [[First Doctor|him]] before he left Earth in ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''. Hearing [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] call for her grandfather, River left, not ready to know if she'll be the mother of her parent in the future. ([[VG]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]'')
The diary was in the possession of [[Garrison Clay]] by [[6087]] and was in pristine condition with a blank page or two remaining. After placing River's [[data form]] into a [[clone]] body, he returned the diary to her, having secretly placed a [[tracking chip]] in its spine. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Last Words (audio story)}})


On returning from a trip with the Eleventh Doctor for her birthday, River met [[Rory Williams]] at Stormcage. She checked her diary to be sure of where the Doctor was in his timeline. By this point, she had already been to [[Demons Run]] in her past and revealed her idenity to the Doctor and her parents. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
At some point in history the book was [[Ban|banned]]. It would later be celebrated as part of an annual [[Banned Books Week]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Time Traveller's Diary (novel)|Time Traveller's Diary]]'')


In [[2011]], River and an 1103-year-old version of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] compared diaries. At this point in his timestream, the Doctor had a similar diary. By this point, she'd visited [[Easter Island]] and met [[Jim the Fish]]. She seemed found of Jim when the Doctor mentioned him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
[[file:River Song's diary (Wonder Chase).png|thumb|left|A [[sticker (Wonder Chase)|sticker]] of the diary. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|Wonder Chase (video game)|ed=First Edition}})]]
The diary was depicted in a [[sticker (Wonder Chase)|sticker]] which could be found in the [[Deep Space Zone]], captioned "[[Spoiler]]s...". ([[GAME]]: {{cs|Wonder Chase (video game)|ed=First Edition}})


In the [[52nd century]], in Stormcage, River wrote in her diary before taking a phone call from [[Winston Churchill]] and escaping. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
== Non-adventure entries ==
=== Alien records ===
[[File:Rivers Diary Weeping Angels Entry.JPG|thumb|right|A section from River's diary entry on the [[Weeping Angel]]s. ([[WC]]: ''[[Monster File: Weeping Angels (webcast)|Monster File: Weeping Angels]]'')]]
In addition to adventures, River's diary also contained detailed information on alien creatures including handwritten notes, drawings, photographs, cutouts, and the names and events surrounding various people who have encountered these creatures. These entries include: [[Weeping Angel]]s, [[Saturnyn]]ians, and [[Silurian]]s. ([[WC]]: ''[[Monster File: Weeping Angels (webcast)|Monster File: Weeping Angels]]'', ''[[Monster File: Vampires (webcast)|Monster File: Vampires]]'', ''[[Monster File: Silurians (webcast)|Monster File: Homo Reptilia]]'')


After [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]] reset the universe at the cost of his own erasure from exist, River temporarily gave [[Amy Pond|her mother]] her diary as a wedding present to bring him back. Later, the Doctor returned the diary to River, telling her that all the writing had returned, but he had not peeked. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
Less detailed alien entries include those of [[Eight Legs]], [[Zygon]]s, [[Pakhar]], [[Chelonian]]s, and [[Raxacoricofallapatorian]]s. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')


After the crash of the ''[[Byzantium (ship)|Byzantium]]'', Amy asked River what her diary was. The Eleventh Doctor, who had yet to experience many events recounted in it, told her to stay away from it. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]'')
=== Miscellaneous ===
One diary entry contained notes for piloting [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], including a drawing of the console, and another was a to-do list prior to River's archaeological expedition of [[the Library]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')


When the [[Tenth Doctor]] met River Song for the first time from his perspective, she attempted to "do diaries" with him, naming events which they had experienced together. He did not know who she was. When the Doctor tried to read the diary, River stopped him and told him that, by his own rules, he was not allowed to read it. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'') After the events in [[the Library]] and River's death, the Doctor left her diary in the biography section of the Library. [[Donna Noble]] and he considered reading it to find out their futures, specifically Donna's (given River's reaction to her identity), but chose not to. ([[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'')
=== The Doctor ===
River's diary has pictures of the Doctor's first twelve incarnations, including the [[War Doctor]]. However, she originally did not possess a picture of the [[Twelfth Doctor]] as she believed his [[regeneration cycle]] ended with the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'', ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'') She would later add one after their stay on Darillium. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Sonomancer (audio story)|The Sonomancer]]'')
 
When speaking to [[Donna Noble]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] suggests that River may have information on Donna in the diary, but this is unconfirmed as they choose not to look. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'')


== Recorded adventures ==
== Recorded adventures ==
* The Battle of [[Demon's Run]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
One of her first entries was the date of the Doctor's death. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
* A trip with the Eleventh Doctor to [[Easter Island]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
 
* An encounter with [[Jim the Fish]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
She recorded several dates with the Doctor, notably a date with the Eleventh Doctor from an early point in her timeline, where he instructed her to begin using the diary. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[First Night (home video)|First Night]]'') She also noted a trip she had with the Eleventh Doctor to [[Easter Island]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'') a picnic at [[Asgard]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'', ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Picnic at Asgard (short story)|Picnic at Asgard]]'') a trip with [[the Doctor]] to [[Florana]] to see the golden sunset, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Signs (audio story)|Signs]]'') and a visit to [[Manhattan]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')
* The crash of the ''Byzantium''. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'')
 
* A picnic at [[Asgard]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'')
Other notable events included rebooting the universe, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') the [[Battle of Demons Run]], ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'') an encounter with [[Jim the Fish]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'', ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'') the opening of the [[Pandorica]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'') and the crash of the ''Byzantium''. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'', ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')
* An adventure in the [[Bone Meadows]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]'')
 
* The Doctor mentions [[Donna Noble]] at some point, explaining the circumstances behind her departure from his company. River remembers this when she actualy meets Donna, but remains silent about why she didn't know her in the future. ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'')
River also recorded an adventure in the [[Bone Meadows]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'') and her second trip to Lake Silencio, 22 April 2011, at the Doctor's invitation. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')
* Her second trip to Lake Silencio, 22 April 2011, at the Doctor's invitation. ([[VG]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]'')
 
* An entry (titled "An Unearthly Mess") in which she got caught by the [[First Doctor]] snooping around [[I.M. Foreman]]'s junkyard in 1963; [[Susan Foreman]] is also referenced but not explicitly named. She has other, less detailed entries about meeting other Doctors, [[Second Doctor|second]] through [[Ninth Doctor|ninth]]. ([[VG]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]'')
River recorded stopping the [[Eternity Clock]] from destroying or rewriting time. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'') As an add on to that adventure, she included an entry (titled "An Unearthly Mess") in which she got caught by the [[First Doctor]] snooping around [[I.M. Foreman]]'s junkyard in 1963. River also made several other less detailed entries about her encounters with earlier Doctors, from his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]] through to his [[Ninth Doctor|ninth]], not including the [[War Doctor]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')
 
Her final recorded adventure was that of a date with the Twelfth Doctor at the [[Singing Towers]] of [[Darillium]]. This was her last outing with the Doctor before she went to [[the Library]] where she met the [[Tenth Doctor]] who did not yet know her. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'', ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', [[HOMEVID]]: ''[[Last Night (home video)|Last Night]]'')
 
== Behind the scenes ==
As production on the 2012 video game ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'' game predates the [[War Doctor]]'s debut in the 2013 television story ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'', the entries in River's diary involving past incarnations of [[the Doctor]] do not refer to him. Following the broadcast of ''The Name of the Doctor'', in the 2015 television story ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'', it is revealed that River has met the War Doctor as well when his face is included among the photos of the Doctor she owns.
 
In an interview with [[Alex Kingston]] in ''[[The Brilliant Book 2011]]'', she notes her belief that River's diary is full of pictures of [[the Doctor]] and the places she's visited.
 
[[Category:Journals and diaries]]
[[Category:Journals and diaries]]
[[Category:River's items]]
[[Category:River Song's possessions]]
 
[[es:Diario de River Song]]
[[Category:Gifts given by the Doctor]]
[[Category:Works written by River Song]]
[[Category:Banned books]]

Latest revision as of 13:26, 3 September 2024

You may be looking for the audio series.

River Song kept a diary of her adventures with the Doctor.

The cover was TARDIS blue and resembled the exterior of the Doctor's TARDIS. Since the diary was written from River's point of view, she didn't let the Doctor read it, teasingly saying "spoilers!" and often putting her finger on her lips.

The book acted as an indicator of where the Doctor was in his personal timeline; whenever River met him, she would name events she had experienced with him to see if he had experienced them yet. The Eleventh Doctor, in his personal future, explained the purpose of the diary to her; she had no clue what it was supposed to be for until then.

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

The pages of the diary were soaked in the gravity wells at the end of time. (AUDIO: Friend of the Family)

Upon saving the Eleventh Doctor's life (after killing him) by giving up her remaining regenerations, River ended up in the best hospital in the universe. It was there that the Doctor gave her the diary. This was done to make sure she kept track of their meetings to keep their timelines from becoming corrupted. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

The day after her admission to the hospital, River described that the only things she was left with were a bag of clothes with too many short skirts and her diary. Since pens were not readily available in the 52nd century, the nurses had to order her one from an antique shop so she could write in her journal. Tucked inside the diary she found a business card for Professor Arthur Candy from the Department of Antiquities at Luna University and numbers for a comlink code. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

While River Song was studying at the Luna University, she did research on the Doctor, and learned a story he was going to die at 5:02pm on 22 April 2011, at Lake Silencio; she recorded this in her diary. (TV: Closing Time)

River brought her diary with her on a trip with the Eleventh Doctor shortly after she had been imprisoned in the Stormcage Containment Facility. The Doctor explained his rules for the diary: River was to use it to keep track of their meetings and adventures together. (HOMEVID: First Night)

In the 52nd century, in Stormcage, River was writing about one of her outings with the Doctor before taking a phone call from Winston Churchill and escaping to help her husband. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

After the Eleventh Doctor reset the universe at the cost of his own erasure from existence, River temporarily gave Amy Pond her diary as a wedding present to bring him back. Later, the Doctor returned the diary to River, telling her that all the writing had returned, but he hadn't peeked; foreknowledge is dangerous. (TV: The Big Bang)

River spied on the Doctor's first nine known incarnations, learning what her husband looked like in his past to help her identify him for their future meetings. However, she ended up getting caught by his first incarnation before he left Earth with Ian and Barbara. Hearing Susan call for her grandfather, River left, not ready to know if she'll be the mother of one of Susan's parents; she had no clue if this Doctor was one she'd meet. She noted an opinion of each incarnation. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

At some point or another, River also learned about the War Doctor and obtained a picture of him, (TV: The Husbands of River Song) as well as pictures of every other incarnation of the Doctor up to the end of his first regeneration cycle. (TV: The Time of Angels, The Husbands of River Song)

On returning from a trip with the Doctor for her birthday, River met Rory at Stormcage; he wondered if they'd met yet in her timeline, letting River know that he still didn't know she was his daughter. She checked her diary to be sure of where the Eleventh Doctor was in his timeline. By this point, she'd already been to Demons Run in her past and revealed her identity to the Doctor and her parents. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)

In 2011, River and an 1103-year-old version of the Eleventh Doctor compared diaries. At this point in his time stream, the Doctor had a similar diary. By this point, she'd visited Easter Island and met Jim the Fish. She seemed fond of Jim when the Doctor mentioned him. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)

After the crash of the Byzantium, Amy asked River what her diary was. The Eleventh Doctor, who had yet to experience many events recounted in it, told her to stay away from it; he called the diary "her past, my future" before going on to explain their timelines rarely intersect in the right order. (TV: The Time of Angels)

During her imprisonment, the Eleventh Doctor visited his wife and asked, for the first time, to break their rules and read her diary, because he was charged with war crimes he couldn't remember and he had to find out the truth. She said to have read it several times "from cover to cover" and to be sure he couldn't be guilty. After a first denial, River agreed and lent him the diary; eventually, he chose not to read it and hired her directly in his mission. (COMIC: The One)

River used to her diary to chronicle her experience of being hired by DreamInc on the construction project for New Venice. (PROSE: Death in New Venice)

By the time the Twelfth Doctor met River, River noted her diary was almost full and that the Doctor would know exactly how many pages she needed. It turned out to be providential, as in the middle of a dangerous scrape where River and the Doctor had tried to recover a priceless diamond, they noticed a familiar planet right before they ended up crash-landing on it: Darillium. Following the crash, Doctor decided to set in motion their long-delayed date to see the Singing Towers, a night lasting for twenty-four years which would be his very last encounter with her. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

When she met the Eighth Doctor's companion Helen Sinclair, River showed Helen pictures of the Doctor in the diary, to help her identify which Doctor she was travelling with. (AUDIO: The Sonomancer)

When the Tenth Doctor met River Song for the first time from his perspective, she attempted to "do diaries" with him, naming events which they had experienced together; he did not know who she was. When the Doctor tried to read the diary, River stopped him and told him that, by his own rules, he was not allowed to read it. (TV: Silence in the Library)

After the events in the Library and River's death, the Doctor left her diary in the biography section of the Library, now completely full. He and Donna Noble considered reading it to find out their futures, specifically Donna's (given River's reaction to her identity), but chose not to. By this point in River's timeline, the diary had seen quite a lot of action. Its pages had been heavily written in and weathered. The cover had also become worn, and the spine of the book was now cracked and peeled away slightly from the bindings. (TV: Forest of the Dead)

Nardole retrieved River's diary from the Library after her death and delivered it to the Twelfth Doctor after his night on Darillium ended. While confronting the Monks, a virtual version of the Doctor had the diary with him. (TV: Extremis)

The diary was in the possession of Garrison Clay by 6087 and was in pristine condition with a blank page or two remaining. After placing River's data form into a clone body, he returned the diary to her, having secretly placed a tracking chip in its spine. (AUDIO: Last Words [+]Loading...["Last Words (audio story)"])

At some point in history the book was banned. It would later be celebrated as part of an annual Banned Books Week. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)

A sticker of the diary. (GAME: Wonder Chase [+]Loading...{"ed":"First Edition","1":"Wonder Chase (video game)"})

The diary was depicted in a sticker which could be found in the Deep Space Zone, captioned "Spoilers...". (GAME: Wonder Chase [+]Loading...{"ed":"First Edition","1":"Wonder Chase (video game)"})

Non-adventure entries[[edit] | [edit source]]

Alien records[[edit] | [edit source]]

A section from River's diary entry on the Weeping Angels. (WC: Monster File: Weeping Angels)

In addition to adventures, River's diary also contained detailed information on alien creatures including handwritten notes, drawings, photographs, cutouts, and the names and events surrounding various people who have encountered these creatures. These entries include: Weeping Angels, Saturnynians, and Silurians. (WC: Monster File: Weeping Angels, Monster File: Vampires, Monster File: Homo Reptilia)

Less detailed alien entries include those of Eight Legs, Zygons, Pakhar, Chelonians, and Raxacoricofallapatorians. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

Miscellaneous[[edit] | [edit source]]

One diary entry contained notes for piloting the TARDIS, including a drawing of the console, and another was a to-do list prior to River's archaeological expedition of the Library. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

River's diary has pictures of the Doctor's first twelve incarnations, including the War Doctor. However, she originally did not possess a picture of the Twelfth Doctor as she believed his regeneration cycle ended with the Eleventh Doctor. (TV: The Time of Angels, The Husbands of River Song) She would later add one after their stay on Darillium. (AUDIO: The Sonomancer)

When speaking to Donna Noble, the Tenth Doctor suggests that River may have information on Donna in the diary, but this is unconfirmed as they choose not to look. (TV: Forest of the Dead)

Recorded adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

One of her first entries was the date of the Doctor's death. (TV: Closing Time)

She recorded several dates with the Doctor, notably a date with the Eleventh Doctor from an early point in her timeline, where he instructed her to begin using the diary. (HOMEVID: First Night) She also noted a trip she had with the Eleventh Doctor to Easter Island (TV: The Impossible Astronaut) a picnic at Asgard. (TV: Silence in the Library, The Husbands of River Song, PROSE: Picnic at Asgard) a trip with the Doctor to Florana to see the golden sunset, (AUDIO: Signs) and a visit to Manhattan. (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

Other notable events included rebooting the universe, (TV: The Big Bang) the Battle of Demons Run, (TV: A Good Man Goes to War) an encounter with Jim the Fish, (TV: The Impossible Astronaut, The Husbands of River Song, GAME: The Eternity Clock) the opening of the Pandorica (TV: The Husbands of River Song) and the crash of the Byzantium. (TV: Silence in the Library, The Husbands of River Song)

River also recorded an adventure in the Bone Meadows. (TV: The Time of Angels) and her second trip to Lake Silencio, 22 April 2011, at the Doctor's invitation. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

River recorded stopping the Eternity Clock from destroying or rewriting time. (GAME: The Eternity Clock) As an add on to that adventure, she included an entry (titled "An Unearthly Mess") in which she got caught by the First Doctor snooping around I.M. Foreman's junkyard in 1963. River also made several other less detailed entries about her encounters with earlier Doctors, from his second incarnation through to his ninth, not including the War Doctor. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

Her final recorded adventure was that of a date with the Twelfth Doctor at the Singing Towers of Darillium. This was her last outing with the Doctor before she went to the Library where she met the Tenth Doctor who did not yet know her. (TV: The Husbands of River Song, Forest of the Dead, HOMEVID: Last Night)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

As production on the 2012 video game The Eternity Clock game predates the War Doctor's debut in the 2013 television story The Name of the Doctor, the entries in River's diary involving past incarnations of the Doctor do not refer to him. Following the broadcast of The Name of the Doctor, in the 2015 television story The Husbands of River Song, it is revealed that River has met the War Doctor as well when his face is included among the photos of the Doctor she owns.

In an interview with Alex Kingston in The Brilliant Book 2011, she notes her belief that River's diary is full of pictures of the Doctor and the places she's visited.

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