Played by Alex Kingston First appearance: Silence in the Library (2008) Last appearance: The Name of the Doctor (2013) Ah, River Song. The only person who could go from being pathologically bent on murdering the Doctor to falling indisputably in love with him and pulling it off with the unmannered grace and sophistication of a Greek goddess. When fans first met her in Silence in the Library, they had no idea she would prove to be such an important force of nature within the Doctors lives, let alone that she would ultimately turn out to be the offspring of two of his future companions. Raised as a weapon to kill the Doctor as part of the Silences efforts to prevent the Seize of Trenzalore, River has made countless appearances throughout the Doctors time stream and, through no fault of her own, has pretty much made less and less sense each time. When you look at the bigger picture, though, its pretty easy to get your head around. In the traditional celebration of ones wedding night, Amy and Rory conceived a child of the TARDIS which was subsequently born with Time Lord characteristics, including the coveted ability to regenerate. However, their baby was ultimately kidnapped, or rather Amy was (and, unbeknownst to her best friends, replaced on the TARDIS with an artificial flesh doppelgänger version of herself), while Melody Pond was raised by Madame Kovarian and conditioned to become the ultimate killing machine. Spoilers, sweetie! What Amy and Rory didnt know, though, is that Melody had in fact escaped the orphanage in which she had been imprisoned, regenerating in New York and somehow finding a way back to Leadworth to grow up alongside, and at the same age, as her oblivious mother and father. Accompanying the Doctor, Amy and Rory on an adventure to 1938 Berlin, Melody proving that she was now super hipster for going by the name of Mels regenerated into who fans now know as River Song, who took on the alias after being momentarily inspired by the Doctor's selfless heroism and realising that she, too, would one day become someone that people would rely on. It all gets a bit confusing after that. River randomly went off to university to study archaeology but was eventually seized once again by Madame Kovarian who still needed her to perform in her evil bidding. Trapped in a modified astronaut suit, River refused to shoot the Doctor and openly admitted that she had fallen in love with him, thus creating a time paradox which was only rectified once she agreed to go through with the apparent murder of a Teselecta. She eventually sacrificed herself in the Library, which was the first time the Doctor had even met her, with the knowledge that all of that was still to come for him. Blimey. She could've at least told him to make notes. Still, River's unequivocal persistence and devotion to the Doctor makes her a clear winner for the title of the Doctor Who Companion Who Just Couldn't Stay Away. She literally couldn't stay away of course, seeing as pretty much her whole existence - in life and ultimately in death - was defined by him, but it looks like she had one hell of a ride along the way.
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
What Amy and Rory didnt know, though, is that Melody had in fact escaped the orphanage in which she had been imprisoned, regenerating in New York and somehow finding a way back to Leadworth to grow up alongside, and at the same age, as her oblivious mother and father. Accompanying the Doctor, Amy and Rory on an adventure to 1938 Berlin, Melody proving that she was now super hipster for going by the name of Mels regenerated into who fans now know as River Song, who took on the alias after being momentarily inspired by the Doctor's selfless heroism and realising that she, too, would one day become someone that people would rely on. It all gets a bit confusing after that. River randomly went off to university to study archaeology but was eventually seized once again by Madame Kovarian who still needed her to perform in her evil bidding. Trapped in a modified astronaut suit, River refused to shoot the Doctor and openly admitted that she had fallen in love with him, thus creating a time paradox which was only rectified once she agreed to go through with the apparent murder of a Teselecta. She eventually sacrificed herself in the Library, which was the first time the Doctor had even met her, with the knowledge that all of that was still to come for him. Blimey. She could've at least told him to make notes. Still, River's unequivocal persistence and devotion to the Doctor makes her a clear winner for the title of the Doctor Who Companion Who Just Couldn't Stay Away. She literally couldn't stay away of course, seeing as pretty much her whole existence - in life and ultimately in death - was defined by him, but it looks like she had one hell of a ride along the way.