Expiry Dating is one of a series of Doctor Who audio dramas featuring the Tenth Doctor and River Song, played by David Tennant and Alex Kingston. The script was written by James Goss with Nicholas Briggs in the director’s chair. The guest cast is comprised of Colin Baker, Peter Davison, and Glen MacReady. Yes, a couple of other Doctors are part of this story.
The whole timeline of the relationship between the Doctor and River Song is a little hard to describe or understand sometimes. To be honest, I thought River Song was a little overused when she was in the television series, but she is entertaining enough for me to not dwell on it so much. Alex Kingston is a beautiful and talented actress and works well with whichever Doctor she happens to encounter.
Saying that, I wish I enjoyed this episode a bit more. River Song reaches out to the Tenth Doctor and wants to arrange a date for them to meet at something called the Apocalypse Vault. This version of the Doctor has not worked out River’s true identity, but he was present when her corporeal life ended at the Library. This Doctor has been traveling on his own for a bit after his separation from Donna Noble. The script is written in the form of notes and letters sent back and forth through time and space between the two of them. River has some brief encounters with the Doctor’s fifth and sixth incarnations. The business with Davison’s version was a bit too bizarre for my liking. Apparently, the Fifth Doctor was somehow captivated by her. It was meant to be rather humorous, but the whole scene fell a bit flat.
I wouldn’t consider Goss to be a favorite writer of mine, but he is at least usually fairly reliable. This episode was a disappointing misfire. Tennant and Kingston were fine, but the script needed some work. Hopefully the other two installments of this particular pairing will be better.
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