The Diary of River Song: Series 5

In a change from the previous format of this series, this release consists of four separate stories, unconnected except for the fact that this time, having already met all the available Doctors in the earlier releases, River instead meets the Master. Each story features a different incarnation of the villain, two of whom are appearing for their first time on audio.

• The Bekdel Test – It's this episode which is the one that fans of the new series alone are most likely to be interested in, because it's here that River Song meets Missy. It's a prison caper, set during the period of River's incarceration in the Storm Cage. The pair are separately transferred to the same “escape-proof” prison and, naturally enough, the focus is on them trying to escape it. It's interesting to note that, while the episode does (of course) pass the semi-eponymous test, it does so less than one might think, given that the conversations between the two main characters are often about the Doctor. Gomez is a delight, beautifully written and acted and, to be honest, upstaging the nominal star more than once. It's a fun story, with a few twists along the way, that fits well into this period of the TV show. 4 stars.

• Animal Instinct – Next up is the “Crispy Master” as portrayed by Geoffrey Beevers. As in the previous episode, River is forced to team up with the Master, in this case to survive on a jungle planet full of deadly predators. In terms of the interaction between the two main characters, the story presents a contrast between their different brands of ruthlessness, and River doesn't come out of it entirely well. It's also not really clear why they're cooperating as much as they are – both do have ulterior motives that are eventually explained, but River's is a little weak. That aside, it's a decent enough adventure story and Beever's purring evil is a strong contrast with Missy, but the episode by itself is nothing really special. 3.5 stars.

• The Lifeboat and the Deathboat – The gimmick of this story is that it features, not one of the regular Masters, but the one from the TV movie, played by Eric Roberts. (Or ‘Eric brother-of-Julia Roberts' as the UK press insisted on calling him at the time, as if that was actually a part of his name). The story itself features a drifting habitat stuck inside the Vortex as various pieces of time-travelling junk float past. There are some decent mystery elements in it and, yes, if anyone really cares, it explains how the Master got out of the Eye of Harmony, but it's let down by a couple of major points. Firstly, there's the secondary villain who just seems to kill people for the sake of it and has no development of explanation behind her at all. But also, it fails to develop this particular Master or show us anything much about him other than the fact that he doesn't care about other people. What makes this Master different, beyond the fact that he's the one with an American accent? No idea, and that feels like a missed opportunity. 3 stars.

• Concealed Weapon – After three stories in which River has to, however reluctantly, team up with the main villain for a while, we finally get one in which the Master is clearly the antagonist throughout. It's set on a spaceship returning from a biological survey mission and owes more than a tip of the hat to Alien. But it's the Master who is clearly the real threat, even though it takes a while for him to turn up. In this case, it's the War Master and he's at his most politely menacing. This has some real tension as the Master's plan slowly comes into focus and River, for once, appears out of her depth against a foe who really has thought it all through in advance. 5 stars.