The Husbands of River Song (TV story)

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The Husbands of River Song was the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special. It was the show's eleventh Christmas special since its revival, and the second full Christmas special with Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. It saw Alex Kingston return to reprise the role of River Song once more.

It was noteworthy for closing the book on River Song's timeline that began with her debut, at last showing her and the Doctor go to Darillium. It also showed the Twelfth Doctor's first and only encounter and interactions with River, as this would turn out to be the final time the Doctor ever saw her. For River, this was the final adventure before she met her demise in the two-part television story Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, as the Doctor turning up on River's doorstep with a new haircut and a suit, her night on Darillium to see the Singing Towers sing, and the Doctor giving River his sonic screwdriver, all of which had been previously mentioned by River in that story, are realised in this special.

Synopsis

The Doctor is on the planet Mendorax Dellora in 5343, where he is asked by a man named Nardole to follow him, thinking he is a surgeon, on the orders of River Song. A surgeon is required to remove a diamond from the head of King Hydroflax after his maligned attempt to steal it, and River seeks to recover it. Surprised that River cannot identify his newest face, the Doctor struggles to break the news to her while learning how she acts on her own- and how many other lovers she has had. However, both he and River soon find that the time is drawing close for the last page in the diary of their journeys together to be written...

Plot

to be added

Cast

Uncredited Cast

Crew

to be added

References

The Doctor

River Song

  • River Song claims she had at least two wives.
  • River states that the Doctor has planned to take her to Darillium numerous times but has always cancelled at the last minute.
  • River Song owns the book History's Finest Exploding Restaurants with the tagline "The Best Food for Free, Skip the Coffee". She used it as a source when plotting her escape from the meteor strike that hit the Harmony and Redemption.
  • River is now 200 years old, revealing she has an augmented lifespan- whether she is referring to the lifespan of a Time Lord or an artificially extended lifespan is unknown.
  • River has a unique perfume spray that lets her change her clothes as she pleases.

The TARDIS

  • The roundels are once again used for storage purposes. In this instance, River has hidden alcohol inside a cupboard behind one of them, to the Doctor's surprise.
  • The TARDIS is able to produce a pair of hologrammatic antlers for the Doctor.
  • River indicates she often steals the TARDIS and returns it before the Doctor notices.
  • River says "It's not as... snug as it looks." For once, the Doctor is the one who says "It's bigger on the inside." He comments that he's always wanted to hear it done right.
  • When someone is both inside and outside the TARDIS at the same time, it can't take off.

Sonic equipment

Darillium

  • According to River's research, Darillium was rumoured to be the last planet that she and the Doctor would visit together. The Doctor refuses to confirm this.
  • A night on Darillium lasts for 24 Earth years.
  • The Singing Towers "sing" due to the flowing of wind through the numerous cave structures in the towers which harmonises with the crystal layer.

Mendorax Dellora

Story notes

  • This is the first episode of Doctor Who since the 2012 Series 7 episode TV: The Angels Take Manhattan, and the first starring Peter Capaldi, to not feature Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald.
  • Gary Russell previously attempted to have the Twelfth Doctor and River meet in his novel Big Bang Generation, but as Steven Moffat set up The Husbands of River Song to be the Twelfth Doctor's first, last and only meeting with River, Russell chose to replace River with Bernice Summerfield in the story.
  • This is the first Christmas episode to have no scenes take place on Earth.
  • This is the first time in a main story that Alex Kingston's name has appeared in the opening titles.
  • When River's sonic screwdriver is revealed as her present, an excerpt of the Series 4 soundtrack "Silence In The Library" is heard, foreshadowing events the events to come in River's last adventure.
  • As Mels, River used the phrase "penny in the air" whenever someone was oblivious to something important, following up with "and the penny drops" when they finally figured it out, seen in TV: Let's Kill Hitler. Ironically, River is guilty of becoming the butt of her own joke for being oblivious to the fact that the Doctor is right in front of her until he points it out.
  • This is the first time outside of mini-episodes that River has been in a story not to feature one of the Doctor's companions alongside her and the Doctor.
  • The little town set used for Mendorax Dellora appears to have been repurposed from the trap street set used in TV: Face the Raven.
  • A variation of The Doctor's Theme is played when River and Ramone discuss the Damsel in distress.
  • No cast details accompanied the programme listing in Radio Times, which had the synopsis "When a crashed spaceship calls upon his help, the Time Lord finds himself launched on a chase across the galaxy. Greg Davies and Matt Lucas guest-star."

Production errors

  • When King Hydroflax's talking head is resting on the console's telepathic panel, the panel is bending inward, evidently made from a soft material rather than the sturdy materials that a TARDIS console would be made with. When his head is removed, the TARDIS console is fine again. This is most likely due to the production staff having replaced the panel with a fake one, which would accommodate Greg Davies' head with comfort.

Ratings

to be added

Continuity

Footnotes