Doctor Who Spin-Off Review: ‘UNIT: Assembled’ (Audio)
By James Aggas
It’s a clash of two eras, as UNIT teams past and present team up to confront a very old enemy in ‘UNIT: Assembled’!
I really do adore the original UNIT era of Doctor Who. Growing up on Third Doctor repeats, those stories with the original team meant a lot to me. Partly, there was the comfortable formula of the Doctor and his friends continually combating alien threats.
But there was also how well the original team worked together. There was the great duo of the Doctor and the Brigadier, of course. But there were also Jo Grant, Mike Yates, and John Benton. Over that distinct era, they formed quite the family.
Fast forward across four decades, and UNIT not only has a new team, but even its own spin-off. Along with popular characters Kate Stewart and Osgood, the audio series by Big Finish has firmly established its own characters of Josh Carter and Sam Bishop. Over the previous three box sets, they’ve shown themselves to be quite the capable team, ready to fight off epic alien threats, even without the help of the Doctor.
For this fourth box set though, things get more interesting. When a highly fanatical group of Silurians wake up, ready to claim the Earth as their own, the team needs help. Help from people who’ve encountered this race before…
John Benton and Mike Yates are reunited and under siege in episode 1 of ‘UNIT: Assembled’, ‘Call to Arms’. (Credit: Big Finish)
Reunited
UNIT: Assembled is a wonderful merging of two eras, and a beautiful reunion with the surviving members of the original UNIT family. Big Finish have told stories of all three characters before. But usually, either they’ve been told with the characters individually, (such as in The Companion Chronicles,) or they’ve been playing their much younger selves to match their original era, (as best shown by The Third Doctor Adventures).
This release feels special, though. Not just for reuniting the cast all for one story for the first time in decades. (While Katy Manning and Richard Franklin have reprised their roles of Jo and Mike respectively, this is only John Levene’s second story with Big Finish.) It’s also nice to catch up with these characters and find out what they’ve been up to since.
We’ve seen Jo at least meet the Eleventh Doctor in The Sarah Jane Adventures. (Something that gets nicely referenced in this story.) Nothing much has changed since then, as she’s still trying to save the world along with her family. We also learn what Yates and Benton have been up to at a UNIT reunion, as the story begins. In some ways, the characters have changed quite a bit over the years. Yet at the same time, they really haven’t changed at all, especially when all three are together.
Osgood meets Jo Jones, in episode 2 of ‘UNIT: Assembled’, ‘Tidal Wave’. (Credit: Big Finish)
Many Meetings
Just as exciting though is hearing how well these original members work with the new team. There are lots of comparisons and stories told by Jo, Mike and Benton, as they get to see just how much UNIT has changed in the years since they’ve worked for it. Hearing them meet the members of the new team is really great to hear.
I think my favourite combination of characters has got to be Osgood and Jo. Unsurprisingly, Osgood initially comes across as a total fangirl when she meets Jo, but gradually, a very close and interesting bond develops between the two. There’s some really great interaction, and you can really hear the level of admiration and respect that each one has for the other. I’m not going to lie, I hope this is one duo that we get to hear more from in the future.
Return of the Silurians
As for the monsters? I’m a big fan of the Silurians, mainly because they’re a lot more complex than most Doctor Who races. For a start, I love the idea that they’re not aliens, and they do see themselves as the original and natural rulers of planet Earth.
I also love that previous stories have focused on the heroes genuinely trying for a peaceful solution between the two races. Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sea Devils and The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood are all stories I’ve enjoyed for exploring similar issues. (Warriors of the Deep…as I mentioned in my review over a year ago, not so much.)
Seeing a more fanatical group in this story does simplify things more than usual, but that’s not really a bad thing. Keeping things simple with the monsters helps to focus more on the main characters, which is what you want from a box set like this. And even with the main enemy being less complex overall, you still get plenty of interesting moral debate.
I’m sure other classic fans like me will enjoy this box set a great deal. But I’m also hoping that fans who’ve only watched the New Series will enjoy this set, too. Especially if it makes them more curious about the classics. I’ve enjoyed all four box sets of UNIT so far, but UNIT: Assembled just might be my favourite yet. A wonderful tribute to the legacy of the past, while also a great addition to the new era.
Next: The Eighth Doctor – The Time War Audio Series