Doctor Who: 10 Best NuWho Recurring Characters
5. River Song (Alex Kingston)
Episodes: Silence in the Library, Forest of the Dead, Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, The Pandorica Opens, The Big Bang, The Impossible Astronaut, Day of the Moon, A Good Man Goes to War, Let's Kill Hitler, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song, The Angels Take Manhattan, The Name of the Doctor
Intially mysterious, a few fans were disappointed with how River Song developed, feeling she went from a secretive and interesting character to being immature and lovestruck. However, given that her appearances are out of sync, her character development is all over the place and so there's still a lot to love about the Doctor's wife.
She's a great fighter, for starters, protecting her parents from the likes of the Silents and she's resourceful and adventurous to boot, adding an extra level to a number of her stories. She shows a lot of inner strength when it comes to dealing with her emotional pain, such as refusing to cry like the Doctor, and even encouraging Amy to join Rory in the past, in The Angels Take Manhattan.
Even if you don't like the character's more recent episodes, the episodes in which she was mysterious and awesome are still there to enjoy. Furthermore, River was an interesting experiment in telling a character arc in a non-chronological manner. This is something to be celebrated as if Doctor Who doesn't experiment, it'll never advance and will just turn stale. And who would want that?