The first ever recorded comment on River Song.

[elisi]

FROM: RUSSEL T. DAVIES TO: BENJAMIN COOK, SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER 2007 19:44:02 GMT

It's funny, isn't it? I ask him [Moffat] not to spoiler me. He's written 4.9 already, so I've read that. It's called Silence in the Library, and it has a character in it who I'm just sure is the Doctor's wife (!!!), but I don't like to ask. I want to find out in the second episode, like a viewer. It's the closest that I get to experiencing brand new Doctor Who. Not for long, though...
The Writer's Tale, The Final Chapter, p249

(Incidentally this was written the day after Moffat had agreed to become the new showrunner. Also, this is MY LAST DAY OF FREEDOM! I start work Monday... So, goodbye procrastination.)

Oh and second and third comments here, in the comments. :)

Comments

[owlboy]

I think Moffat must have spoiled him on some stuff, because there's another quote where he says "She's sort of the Doctor's wife" and "one of the most important characters in the show"

Oh, and congrats on the job!

[elisi]

I think Moffat must have spoiled him on some stuff, because there's another quote where he says "She's sort of the Doctor's wife" and "one of the most important characters in the show"
Well in the podcast (for FotD) you have Moffat relentlessly teasing RTD, DT and Julie about whether she is or not, so I think Rusty just adopted a stance of 'Maybe' and 'Yes, she's very important!'. :)

Oh, and congrats on the job!
Thank you. It's been a weird few weeks trying to get stuff sorted. *buckles up*

[owlboy]

Oh I know, I've listened to that podcast a billion times because it's HYSTERICAL.

[elisi]

It is THE BEST!

(I am still torn on whether she's 'faithful' or not... I don't think she'd see anything inherently wrong in sleeping with other people - like her lovely team - it's more a question of no one matching the Doctor...)

[owlboy]

"it is not true of many marriages, that they start by watching the other one DIE, and then progress happily for many years. that's not normal. 'There's a dying bloke over there, i wonder if he's busy later. Oh. He's dead.' do you see where you've gone wrong??" <333

I think they're non monogamous- you can't really expect monogamy when your partner doesn't know you half the time. And they've been through so much together and their trust is so strong, they'd be secure in knowing other partners wouldn't threaten their relationship. That's how I see it anyway :]

[elisi]

"it is not true of many marriages, that they start by watching the other one DIE, and then progress happily for many years. that's not normal. 'There's a dying bloke over there, i wonder if he's busy later. Oh. He's dead.'
LOL! Yeah, that's pretty spot-on! :) ETA: Link?

I think they're non monogamous- you can't really expect monogamy when your partner doesn't know you half the time. And they've been through so much together and their trust is so strong, they'd be secure in knowing other partners wouldn't threaten their relationship. That's how I see it anyway :]
Yes, I have that sort of take on it too... And I don't think the Doctor would want River to be all alone and without comfort when he's not around/too young & being a jerk.

[owlboy]

For the SitL or the FotD commentary? I think that quote is from the SitL one. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7TY3RMIO

I also think he *likes* the fact that she goes around snogging people like Cleopatra.

[elisi]

Shows how long it's been since I listened to it... /o\ (I've got that one already btw. *pets it* But thank you!)

I also think he *likes* the fact that she goes around snogging people like Cleopatra.
*laughs* Yes, rather. Plus, considering the Doctor's track record, she's only trying to keep up...

[owlboy]

I may have it memorized @_@

Oh Doctor, you timeslut <3

[elisi]

Does it make me better or worse than you that I wish I could say the same?

And oh yeah. *points to icon*

[owlboy]

I... don't know.

I think it's funny that Liz 1 is still waiting in a glade to elope with him while he's off marrying River. PLAYYYERRRRRR.

[elisi]

We're both doomed?

And oh, that throwaway line was the BEST! (Well apart from all the others.) I need to re-watch the end of The Shakespeare Code and laugh my head off. :D

[owlboy]

DOOMED TO NERD LIFE!

I don't remember what happened at the end of Shakespeare Code? [Moffat stuff sticks like velcro to my brain, RTD stuff slides off now matter how many times I watch the episodes...]

[elisi]

*is proud*

And here's the end:

KEMPE
(calls)
Will! Will! You’ll never believe it! She’s here! She’s turned up!

DICK
We’re the talk of the town. She heard about last night! She wants us to perform it again.

MARTHA
Who?

DICK
Her Majesty! She’s here!

Fanfare as Elizabeth I enters.

THE DOCTOR
(excited)
Queen Elizabeth I!

ELIZABETH
Doctor!

THE DOCTOR
What?

ELIZABETH
My sworn enemy!

THE DOCTOR
What?

ELIZABETH
Off with his head!

THE DOCTOR
What?

MARTHA
Never mind "what", just run! See you, Will! And thanks!

Martha and the Doctor run off.

ELIZABETH
Stop that pernicious Doctor!

Shakespeare laughs.

EXT. STREET

Martha and the Doctor run through the streets to the TARDIS.

SOLDIER
Stop in the name of the Queen!

MARTHA
What have you done to upset her?!

THE DOCTOR
How should I know? Haven’t even met her yet. That’s time travel for you! Still, can’t wait to find out.
(unlocks the TARDIS and Martha runs in)
That’s something to look forward to. Oh!

He ducks inside as archers fire, embedding an arrow in the door. The TARDIS dematerialises.

[owlboy]

Ahha I remember now <3

[elisi]

It's one of the best running gags they've ever had! <3

ETA: Re. your initial comment, then this is probably what you were thinking of. From The Writer's Tale (page 263 - 1 December):

In the early hours of this morning, Steven Moffat delivered 4.10! At last! It's brilliant, of course. Such imagination, it's staggering. I'm not sure I understand it yet, but then I read it at about 3am. We're trying to get Kate Winslet for River Song, who's sort of the Doctor's wife, and Michael Gambon or Ian McKellen for Dr Moon. Fat chance!

And, just to complete this, here's the third mention (page 299 - 22 December):

Hey, guess what else? We've cast Alex Kingston as River Song in Steven's two-parter! ALEX KINGSTON! I bloody love her. Alex Kingston is the Doctor's wife! And Dr Moon is Colin Salmon. Classy cast.

I think the thing is that Moffat wrote her as a wife from Day 1. That's how she comes across, that's the vibe, 'wife' is the words that sums her up best, even if they weren't actually married. :)

[owlboy]

Ian McKellen as Doctor Moon! Haha.

[elisi]

I love The Writer's Tale for stuff like that. :)

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Moff, you sly bastard, you seeded your whole arc before you were even sure you were going to be showrunner! It's like he was already writing episodes for his own season, it's just that, like River's message, they got there a bit early.

(Incidentally, since it's probably public record that River's archaeology team went to explore the Library in full protective gear and never came back, on the day the Doctor saved 4022 people from the Vashta Nerada, I wonder if the astronaut suit was Kovarian's personal little fuck-you to the Doctor...)

[elisi]

Moff, you sly bastard, you seeded your whole arc before you were even sure you were going to be showrunner! It's like he was already writing episodes for his own season, it's just that, like River's message, they got there a bit early.
SO much word. And he'd been approached a good while before, so he probably had the possibility in mind whilst writing... (So clever. So so so clever.)

I wonder if the astronaut suit was Kovarian's personal little fuck-you to the Doctor...
Huh. Could be. *ponders*

[promethia_tenk]

(Incidentally, since it's probably public record that River's archaeology team went to explore the Library in full protective gear and never came back, on the day the Doctor saved 4022 people from the Vashta Nerada, I wonder if the astronaut suit was Kovarian's personal little fuck-you to the Doctor...)

New Personal Cannon.

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Headcanon: it's a beautiful thing.

[promethia_tenk]

Especially when the symbols work beautifully, but things are a bit naff on the realism scale. Timey-wimey inspired up-yours? Works for me.

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Yeaaaah. That's my problem with s6, mostly--the meta is brilliant, but Moffat was pretty slapdash about translating it into plot. And it wouldn't have taken that much more work to cover all his bases, honestly.

Which would be why I'm frantically plotting out fixit fic.

[promethia_tenk]

Lol--I honestly wouldn't mind a show that's entirely meta and frosting (because where else on television do you have anything the like?) so long as I know that's what I'm getting into. But I do feel a bit turned around at the moment. Last season made good enough sense on a plot level, and this season started out seeming the same. Next season I'll go in expecting pure insanity and probably I'll love it.

But there were some balls dropped this season, no doubt about that. I wouldn't begrudge anyone for wanting to patch it all up themselves. And fic filling in the emotional arcs is 100% essential, I think.

[10littlebullets.livejournal.com]

Haha, I think my problem is that I went into the s6 finale expecting the s5 finale--a teetering tower of plot twists and absolute insanity that sells you a nice resolution, and relies on your goodwill to keep the whole thing from collapsing under scrutiny. TWoRS was the opposite--so simple! Makes so much sense when you think about it! But fails to explain a bunch of basic elements of the plot, even by arrant handwaving.

Then again, starting from the very first episode my mantra for s6 was "Moffat has such brass balls to start the season out like this that there is absolutely no way he doesn't have a plan for all of it. An astronaut coming out of a lake to kill the Doctor? Mysterious regenerating little girl? The room in the orphanage and the odd, disjointed gaps in Amy's POV? MOFF WILL EXPLAIN ALL." And then he didn't. And I growled and started plotting fix-it fic, then thought a bit more about his meta and decided that was brilliant and re-plotted the fix-it fic to preserve it.

[promethia_tenk]

It has a character in it who I'm just sure is the Doctor's wife (!!!), but I don't like to ask. I want to find out in the second episode, like a viewer.

Somehow I never caught the irony in this line before . . . *snicker*

[elisi]

Um. Which part? *is slow* (As in - it would be nearly 4 years before he found out?)

[promethia_tenk]

Yup. Poor guy: little did he know . . .

[elisi]

Moffat: Most patient storyteller ever. Oh there is a Freemen word from Dune which ties in with this, but I've got to go pick up the kids.

Oh and I got cassi0pei4 to make me this. *pets it*

[promethia_tenk]

I thought maybe you had--I was admiring it earlier!

[elisi]

Mmmm, timey-wimey scary love. <3

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I'm so behind on LJ-- work has been nuts lately. ITA to most of this! Though I loved River from the beginning!

But congratulations on the new job, and good luck!!

[elisi]

I'm so behind on LJ-- work has been nuts lately.
Oh dear, I hope work calms down.

ITA to most of this! Though I loved River from the beginning!
Well those of us who were smart, did! ;)

But congratulations on the new job, and good luck!!
Thank you. I'm rather looking forward to it, to be honest.