On this year’s ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas episode “The Husbands of River Song,” Peter Capaldi’s Doctor commented “You’d need a flowchart to sort it all out.” He was, of course, referring to the life of his wife River Song, played by Alex Kingston, who is also a time traveler, so her appearances on the show are out of synch with the chronology of The Doctor(s).
She first appeared in the 2008 episode “Silence In The Library” in which she encountered the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) for the first time… er, last time. Er, his first time, her last time. And it just built from there, with each Doctor’s next encounter being her previous encounter. Or something to that extent.
Yes, Twelfth Doctor, a flowchart might be handy. And luckily, the folks over at Radio Times have cobbled together a linear examination of her life in her order, so it may be a bit easier to see where her appearances fall in the context of the show. The chart/infographic even repeats episodes in the cases where multiple incarnations of River appear.
Here it is in picture form:
And here is the episode key:
- A Good Man Goes to War (2011) – Melody Pond is born
- The Impossible Astronaut (2011) – young Melody is raised in an orphanage
- Day of the Moon (2011) – Melody regenerates into Mels
- Let’s Kill Hitler (2011) – Mels regenerates into River
- Closing Time (2011) – River gets her doctorate, is kidnapped by the Silence
- The Wedding of River Song/The Impossible Astronaut (2011)– River breaks time, marries the Doctor and then helps heal it for the events of The Impossible Astronaut
- First Night (minisode, 2011) – River is incarcerated for the murder of the Doctor, but goes on her first evening trip with him
- Last Night (minisode, 2011) – a version of Ricer from five years in the future interacts with her younger self
- A Good Man Goes to War (2011)
- The Impossible Astronaut (2011)
- Day of the Moon (2011)
- The Pandorica Opens (2010)
- The Big Bang (2010) – River helps the Doctor save the universe
- Time of the Angels (2010)
- Flesh and Stone (2010)
- Wedding of River Song (2011) – River visits her parents Amy and Rory in their garden
- Last Night (minisode, 2011) – an older version of River is heading to the towers of Darillium with the Doctor, but he apparently later backs out
- The Angels Take Manhattan (2012) – River sees her parents trapped in the past
- The Husbands of River Song (2015) – River teams up with the Twelfth Doctor but doesn’t recognise him
- Silence in the Library (2008) – River meets the Tenth Doctor, who hasn’t met her yet
- Forest of the Dead (2008) – River dies, but the Tenth Doctor “saves” her as a data ghost
- The Name of the Doctor (2013) – River’s data ghost finally says goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor
Not included are non-televised adventures, but included are some shorts that were previously released on DVD (“First Night”/”Last Night”).
For fun, you can check out this earlier Infographic from two years ago.
Does River Song’s time bending existence make a bit more sense now? And do you think we’ve seen the last of this rambunctious Mrs. Doctor?
Source: Radio Times