UNIT: Silenced

The series returns to using existing monsters for its third outing, and interestingly, picks the Silents - in their only audio appearance so far. They are an interesting foe, one that's particularly memorable from the TV series and that doesn't have the disadvantages in an audio-only format that, say, the Weeping Angels do. Indeed, in many ways, this is a direct sequel to The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, explicitly dealing with the long-term repercussions of events in that story.

Another feature is the return of not one, but two, characters from the first release in this series, UNIT Extinction. Colonel Shindi is slightly softened from his militaristic tone in that story, but remains relatively uninteresting. More surprising is the return of investigative reporter Jacqui, previously a thorn in UNIT's side, but now filling in a role not unlike that of Sarah Jane in the later UNIT stories on TV. It's a welcome expansion to the lineup of regular characters, and I was a little disappointed to discover that she doesn't appear much in future releases.

Although this ‘season' consists of four hour-long episodes, it really contains three stories, all tightly linked, but separated by a few months - something made easier by the fact that the main characters aren't able to remember how serious the situation is for long.

The first story is, of course, about UNIT's initial encounter with the Silents. It's a strong and slightly creepy investigative tale playing up the antagonists' powers as well as setting the scene for what follows. The second is a satirical tale running over two episodes, and concerns the sudden rise to power of a populist politician. Sensibly, we never discover what this person's policies actually are - I envisaged him as a Nigel Farage type, but other listeners might just as well see him as a parody of Jeremy Corbyn. It's the strongest part of the collection, building to a climax on the day of a general election, and with the Silents putting modern social media to great use.

The final episode is set on an orbiting space station as it finally becomes clear what the Silents' ultimate objective is - something that's been mysterious up to this point, with only the trail of dead bodies and our prior knowledge of the race implying that it's anything particularly bad. It's a good climax and resolution to the arc, if not quite as strong as the previous episodes if taken in isolation.

Much fun is had throughout with the Silent's memory wiping ability, especially in a sequence in which Kate and Osgood are reviewing video footage of a member of the race with another UNIT officer. Add to that the direct references to events in the modern TV show (and a namecheck for something from the classic one) and this is a great addition to the series.