The Diary of River Song

#2.03. World Enough and Time ~ 9/10

◆ An Introduction

Earth has been ravaged by the 5:29 event, and River is still searching for answers. I doubt she expected to find them in an office block belonging to the mysterious Golden Futures Corporation…

But if BigFinish have taught me anything – with scripts like ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Human Resources’ – then even the most mundane office politics can hide some horrifying schemes…

◆ Publisher’s Summary

When it comes to bringing down corrupt and exploitative regimes, there is no-one quite like River.

Until she arrives at Golden Futures and discovers that someone else has already taken on her job. Someone with almost as much style and panache as herself.

The Doctor is about to get the shock of his lives.

◆ Prof. River Song

‘World Enough and Time’ features an excellent performance from Alex Kingston.

River doesn’t see the point in approving dreams that make no sense, and is told off by the MD-PA for being a temp with an opinion! She claims that a keep out sign is practically an invitation, and a key-pad might as well be a welcome mat. River believes what she saw in Project Elysium… she’s just having trouble not screaming (a sign that excrement has really hit the fan). She tells the Doctor that she always sleeps armed.

◆ The Sixth Doctor

Colin Baker’s performance in this episode was a real highlight.

The Doctor has clearly went up in the world… as he’s now the managing director of Golden Futures! When he bought his way into the firm, he had no idea the work would be such hard work. Even after only a brief encounter with his wife-to-be, he finds her remarkably curious. Every time the MD-PA has a new bit of office work for him to deal with, he just groans distastefully (it’s clear that the corporate lifestyle has got him sick of his life). The Doctor believes that it’s about time somebody complimented his coat… he would say River has good taste, but she is pointing a gun at him. He spends a lot of his life surrounded by people constantly asking questions about what he is doing, something he finds quite annoying. The Doctor always thought that holidays were boring, but his time at Golden Futures takes the biscuit! He claims to have never owned 51% of a planet before. It’s awful when he realises that he’s gotten it wrong – instead of stopping the launch of Project Elysium, he’s ended up ripping a hole in reality that is spewing out alternate versions of Earth!

◆ Ersatz Earth

‘World Enough and Time’ introduces us to the enigmatic main antagonists of this series – the Golden Futures Corporation – and gives us some information on their involvement in the 5:29 event.

Their speciality is selling tailored dreams, with at least eight thousand of the insanely rich living out the rest of their lives in special dream pods… but there’s something more nefarious going on beneath the surface. These dreams are feeding on their potential futures, parallel realities that could’ve been… and these realities are being used to construct replicas of planets by the corporation.

Planning on investigating Golden Futures, the Sixth Doctor became a majority shareholder by purchasing 51% of the corporation… a choice that means he is indirectly responsible for the destruction of Earth: they’ve been feeding on his potential futures too. The Doctor should’ve been out there saving worlds, but has instead been wrapped up in office politics. The corporation saw this as a golden opportunity to spearhead a brand new initiate called Project Elysium: to construct a replica of planet Earth, selling whole areas to the highest bidders!

Golden Futures’ plan feels very reminiscent of Douglas Adams – mainly because the idea of an ersatz Earth reminded me of the 2005 film version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

◆ Potential Futures

A race known as Speravores are the true masterminds behind the Golden Futures Corporation – interdimensional squids that feed on dreams and potential futures, usually residing at the fatty ends of the time vortex.

Some of you may remember that they were actually the main antagonists of ‘A Life of Crime’, a sub-par adventure featuring McCoy, Aldred and Langford.

◆ Sound Design

A mundane office space that hides the horrifying true nature of Golden Futures. An excellent soundscape from Carter.

Hundreds of typists click at keyboards as they file dreams for Golden Futures. The Dream Stream is filled with sleepers having happy dreams… and the odd petrified person having a nightmare. Wet squelching noises come from the shop floor, as something slithers past River. Inside her dream, River is surrounded by lapping waves and squawking seagulls. Chilly winds whoosh through the ersatz Iceland on Elysium. River fires several rounds of ammunition into the portable dimension welders, in an attempt to stall for time. The squirming sound of a feeding Speravore. The low humming of a cancellation wave… which fails to work, and creates a giant schism in reality! The Golden Futures space station starts tearing itself apart around River, with alarms blaring and large explosions going off in the background.

◆ Conclusion

“I’ve never owned 51% of a planet before.”

Golden Futures have been tasked with launching a brand new ersatz Earth: a patchwork planet composed of various parallel realities. It will allow their masters – the Speravores – to feast on as many potential futures as they please. Meanwhile, the Doctor and River begin their investigations from the corporation offices.

I think the idea of having tailor-made dreams sounds pretty amazing, especially for someone like me who has major insomnia issues. Shame I would just be feeding some fat interdimensional squid if I signed up.

A Douglas Adams style romp through a mundane office and some ersatz realities, ‘World Enough and Time’ was an absolute delight. Though when you’ve got Colin Baker and Alex Kingston leading the charge, that’s to be expected.