How long can River's character last? In Forest of the Dead, we're given a very detailed description of The Doctor's last time together with her before the events of SITL/FOTD. How long do you think we'll be seeing those events on screen if indeed we ever will?

Moffat has said we will see all of the River Song story I'm guessing though it will be concluded in the next series.

So either a lot of it is off screen or time gets rewritten so that a lot of it never happens.

A third possibility of course is Rule Number Two* and what we think happens is not what really happens.


*River always lies.

I would love it if the cliffhanger in episode 7 saw the Doctor lose the TARDIS, and Amy and Rory. He has to live a human life, with a woman called River Song. It certainly makes for a more creative cliffhanger than a 'death'.

I think next series will be the last of Alex Kingston as River.

If she appears again it'll probably be a different actress, either as a younger River, or another form depending on what she is exactly.

After 5 series of Steven Moffat writing for Doctor Who I've decided it's best to just go with the flow and not try to guess where his Timey-Wimey ball is heading, better for the ol' sanity

River Song really is the sort of character that comic books were made for. Fingers crossed after we get a pay-off in the TV show Moffat writes us some 'Further Adventures Of...'

LOVE the character, hope she appears a bit more often in series 6.

Ohh, yeah, that could work (as we're surely never going to see ALL of River's backstory on screen, especially the bits that have been described in detail). Heh, maybe mix it with RTD's recent pot stirring about Captain Jack returning to Who. Jack, River and Amy in the same story... and the world of fanfic did tremble.

i for one cant wait to see the back of.......the whole story has annoyed me quite a bit and i better we NEVER find out the end of the story like how she knows the doctors name grrrr

I see the rumour that RS is gathering pace again but I'm at a loss as to how it would work even though it would make a "jaw-dropping" cliffhanger

It's only in spoilers to be on the safe side, I know some people worry about rumour turning out to be fact

Really? She's one of the best 'new' characters in my opinion. I love the idea that she's met multiple Doctors - think in ten years/four doctors time she reappears and to the Doctor she is, from our view now, one of the loves of his life - dead and buried, but then she's never met him. It's a great idea.

Time Travellers Wife is an obvious touchstone for the whole thing and there are aspect that would be fantastic to play on.

It's also the only way I could see a romance working within the show. Someone who breezes in and out, we all love, but doesn't dwell as it would if she moved into the TARDIS full time.

Of course, I'm assuming here it will be a romance.

What exactly has annoyed you about the story?

I think someones jealous

i cant rally put my finger on it . I have never like the character from SITL i think it has gone on to long i just think at the end of this series we will find a touch more about her (eg she will kill the doctor or what ever) then i bet the last scene will bulit up as the end of her story arch and then we will get her BLOODY catchphrase "spoilers" and they will bring her back again with another doctor and the whole ting will drag on like the nescafe coffee couple....

thats it really....i think she is a character that bugs me

to be honest i dont want to know his name and i dont thisk they will ever write it in can you imagine it!!!!

just think its a pointless "carrot" so to speak

I actually think they'll be very conscious of needing to finish the story as River's storyline is seemingly meant to be taking place within a certain timeframe whereas Alex Kingston is going to keep on aging. Look how much older DT looked between series 2-specials. You can hardly have her looking much, much older talking as if she was still a fairly young woman. I see River as a character Moffat wants total control over (I can't see him willingly leaving the series before her story is resolved) and I think that's why they seem to be making Eleven 'her' Doctor.

I don't want to come across as ragging on you, just I really am excited by the possibility this story and character offers (both now and for the series anniversaries yet to come) and I think Moffat seems to have an actual plan for her.

Except for the fact that River has never said how old she was when she first met the Doctor.

An older Doctor, either Matt or someone else, could therefore meet a younger River who would of course be played by someone other than Alex Kingston (just as a young Amy was played by someone else).

Given the non-linear nature of their relationship this makes perfect sense.

Oh I'm sure, but I think it would be odd (unless there was a phenomenol reason) for anyone other than Alex Kingston to resolve the storyline. She's been pretty integral to the interpretation and has so far been our only River.

I'm sure in 20 years time, if they want another knockabout romp with River they'll recast, I just can't imagine Moffat would let it drag on so long that he'd let the Doctor's biggest on-screen romance fizzle out.

Maybe she's a dominatrix and tortures the Doctor in her dungeon?
*Still more pleasant then the Eleventh Hour!*

I still think there's a remote chance that Amy is a younger River.

Just think of the mid series cliffhanger if the Doctor, Amy and Rory land on a planet and hear that River Song is there but when they meet her it's an older looking Karen Gillan playing her.

AGHHHHH so we may never get rid of her lol!!

im still intresetd to see how it pans out but i think marry off the doctor and giving his name will take away some of the magic.....plus if he did want a wife what was wrong with sarah jane!!

There's also the question whether Time Lords marry at all - Leela went off with a Capitol Guard but we don't know that marriage actually exists on Gallifrey...unless of course (tingramtero I'm looking at you and no audio plays this time) you know different...

In Blink the Doctor mentions his own Wedding.

And he got married to queen "liz"

But he also said he could regenerate over 500 times and we didn't believe that...plus, the question was do Time Lords marry (i.e. to eachother) in the sense we do...well, men and women do, I don't want to get into Gallifreyan Civil Partnerships which would get overly complicated...as ever, what's "said" onscreen could just be hearsay...in fact is hearsay, if we didn't see it

I did believe that River Song knew his name because she was his wife, but after watching SITL/FOTD again, I'm now leaning toward her knowing his name because she was there when he died, as in final death.

When River whispered in his ear, her overall demeanor and his reaction didn't fit with people who were discussing a future/past marriage. They both seemed very solemn, as though what she had told him was bad news.

Then, later, during River's "death scene," the Doctor says (paraphrase)"You know my name. There's only one reason I would tell you my name. There's only one time I could."

If he literally means one time, one instance, then it couldn't be marriage, because that can occur multiple times. But he can only die once.

Maybe it's a ceremonial thing, left over from the age of the Time Lords. Since they didn't normally share their real names, there would be no way to know when a time lord had died. So death would be the one exception, the one instance that a time lord would share, so that his name could be recorded for posterity.

Just a theory...

Am I right in thinking that, so far, the Doctor has met River backwards - in a straight time line?

In other words - from River's point of view - Pandorica/Big Bang was followed by Angels/Flesh and Stone which was followed by the Library?

I get the impression their next meeting will be (from River point of view) the adventure prior to Big Bang.