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Download The Diary of River Song: Five Twenty-Nine, Starring Alex Kingston and Daughter, FREE!

Enjoy The Diary of River Song – Five Twenty-Nine, by John Dorney, from Big Finish completely free for the next seven days! This full-cast audio drama is free to download under the company’s #lockdownload project.

In 2015, Big Finish released the first boxset of The Diary of River Song continuing the adventures of the Doctor’s wife and Time Lady adventuress, once again portrayed by Alex Kingston.

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus lockdown, Big Finish has been releasing weekly free downloads of audio dramas – aka #lockdownloads – for a limited time. Every Monday, a new story (or episode from a boxset) can be downloaded exclusively from Big Finish. Each story will be available for one week only, and comes accompanied by a special discount offer on related titles.

The Diary of River Song – Five Twenty-Nine boasts a tremendous supporting cast, including Robert Pugh, Ann Bell and Aaron Neil, plus a special guest role for Salome Haertel, otherwise known as Alex Kingston’s real-life offspring. Alex Kingston said:

“Working with Salome was such a treat. I saw her do a play, a production of Troilus and Cressida, in Los Angeles, so I know she can act. I know she’s got those chops. I think she did very well. I was really impressed actually. I was in my booth watching her through the glass and she was like a pro.” 

Writer John Dorney added:

“I was given the brief of a quiet apocalypse, and to have a specific character for Alex Kingston’s daughter. We had a strong idea of what we wanted that part to be, but I was left to come up with what I wanted. 

What I found interesting was we tend to see a different side of River when she’s with the Doctor, being more flirtatious, but here she can be slightly more serious, although the flirting side of her does turn up occasionally. In this case, there weren’t many chances for her to be as upbeat as normal, and it’s interesting to see how the character reacts in quite a serious situation.” 

You can download this story FREE from now until 23:59 (BST) on 28th June 2020.

Here’s the blurb:

River has made a terrible discovery. 

Billions of lives hang in the balance. But if she can save just a few, then it might just help her solve the conundrum of Earth’s destruction. 

But how can she win when survival becomes a race against time itself? A race against Five Twenty-Nine? 

For a limited time, Big Finish listeners can also download the complete box sets of The Diary of River Song Series 1-3 for 50% off, at the Weekly Deals page. Additionally, the bundle price of the complete The Diary of River Song Series 1-7 is now available for just £100 when bought as a single download. All these download discounts will expire at 23:59 (BST) on 28th June 2020.  

Big Finish’s schedule of free lockdownload stories has been extended to run until the end of June, after which there will be a new programme of free downloads over the coming months.

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Silver Archive: The Stone Tape, and 100 Objects of Doctor Who.

Download The Diary of River Song: Five Twenty-Nine, Starring Alex Kingston and Daughter, FREE!

by Philip Bates time to read: 2 min
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