UNIT: Incursions

Three unconnected stories about UNIT dealing with alien visitations to Earth – some hostile, some less so.

• The Sleep of Death – The first story is somewhat unusual in that it is a sequel to a story from a different Big Finish range. It's explained sufficiently well that you don't need to have listened to that story to understand this one, but the reverse isn't true since the original depends heavily on the suspense of not knowing what's going on. So, if you are going to listen to both, it makes sense to listen to the other one first: Static, a 6th Doctor story from the monthly Doctor Who range. I'm tagging it as a spoiler here because it takes a little while for it to become apparent that this is a sequel - it seems initially to be about a rogue UNIT soldier who has stolen something unrelated from the organisation and is threatening the world with it without explaining why. As his motives are slowly revealed, the story becomes darker, with themes of suicide and death and it doesn't show UNIT as a whole in a particularly positive light. But, if you're not looking for something cheery and uplifting, it's an effective story that makes good use of the premise, if not quite as strong as the story it's a sequel to. 4 stars.

• Tempest – Although Sam makes a brief appearance in the first story, he is a larger part of events here, although he's mainly taking on Josh's role rather than his more usual one of action hero from the earlier UNIT stories. He and Osgood are sent to investigate an alien distress signal picked up in the Western Isles while Kate visits an oil rig where the workers have been behaving strangely. As is obvious from almost the very beginning, the two events are linked, as are strange weather patterns in the North Atlantic. There's a nice sense of mystery, with whatever is causing the problem almost entirely “off-screen”, as well as touches of humour, mostly from the scenes on the island. The oil company does not come out of it well, in a way that's reminiscent of some of the UNIT stories of the Third Doctor's era on TV, and there's a tense climactic scene as a deadline approaches. 4.5 stars.

• The Power of River Song – The final story is double-length and sees the UNIT team investigating mysterious events around an experimental renewable energy power station in north Kent. (As someone who lives in north Kent, I'd say the description fits the Hoo Peninsula but, obviously, it's never that specific). This has obvious throwbacks to the UNIT era on TV, when experimental power stations were a recurring feature, but fits just as well with modern concerns over Russian gas prices as did with the Oil Crisis in the ‘70s. There are other references to the Third Doctor's era, too in a story that's full of both fun and drama and manages to find something for all of the regulars to do. Obviously, the main draw is the presence of River, whose initial involvement with what's going on is ambiguous, helping to build the mystery, especially since UNIT have no idea who she is and whether they can trust her or not. This is one of the more vivacious renditions of River we've seen in a Big Finish audio, doubtless aided by the fact that she doesn't have to carry the main story here, and there is plenty of enjoyable sparring with Osgood, although, sadly, not so much with Kate. 4.5 stars.