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Doctor Who spin-off review: The Wirrn return in UNIT: Revisitations

By James Aggas

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Before the Doctor Who spin-off’s eighth series is released this month, let’s take a look at the previous box set, UNIT: Revisitations, in which UNIT encounter several monsters they’re familiar with, including the Wirrn!

It’s funny to think just how much UNIT has grown over the past few years. With its first series released back in 2015, the Doctor Who spin-off has gone from strength to strength with every series.

It’s also grown to be considerably more confidant, too. While each of the first four series were really four-part epics focused against radically different enemies, the fifth series, Encounters, went for more of an anthology approach.

After a brief return to a more-or-less four-part story with the box set Cyber-Reality, we got another slightly experimental release with Revisitations. Neither a four-part epic nor a mix of four stand-alone stories, Revisitations begins with a two-part full-on alien invasion before going for something different in two stand-alone episodes.

What’s particularly interesting is the “theme” of this box set. Because, as the title Revisitations implies, this box set features monsters and aliens that UNIT has encountered before.

Interestingly, however, not all the monsters are ones that the audience is already familiar with. One of the episodes features a brand new monster that we haven’t seen before, but UNIT has. Does this work well for UNIT‘s seventh series?

Let’s find out, as we take a look at UNIT: Revisitations, beginning with the return of an iconic monster…

UNIT faces an old and monstrous enemy in Hosts of the Wirrn…

(Photo credit: Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Hosts of the Wirrn

This story was definitely a key selling feature for this box set. The Ark in Space has to be one of the most enduringly popular serials of the Classic Series, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s paced brilliantly, it’s got great, fleshed out characters, and it’s got a truly horrific monster in the form of the Wirrn.

We haven’t had that many Wirrn stories, but then again, that’s not hard to see why. Like I said, the original story is hugely popular, and so any story even remotely linked to it is going to be instantly compared to it as a result. Is Hosts of the Wirrn a strong story for the monsters?

Thankfully, yes. Hosts of the Wirrn kicks Revisitations off to an extremely strong start. What really helps is that writer Chris Chapman avoids one of the biggest traps by not writing a sequel. Instead, he takes the Wirrn and plays to their strengths, but in a completely fresh way.

Hosts of the Wirrn feels very close to a UNIT two-parter in the New Series of Doctor Who, just one without the Doctor involved. In some ways, it almost feels like a series opener, as we see UNIT through fresh eyes with the brand new recruit, Shana Siddiqui.

Shana’s a pretty likable protagonist, one who’s very keen to make a great impression on her first day. Of course, when the Wirrn arrive on Earth, that first day becomes complicated very quickly…

Vineeta Rishi is pretty likable as Shana. She has the kind of story that many of us can relate to – starting a brand new job and wanting to make a great first impression, and she captures the nervousness of that kind of situation very nicely. Of course, this being UNIT, Shana’s first day isn’t exactly your typical day at the office.

The first half of Hosts of the Wirrn features a great deal of build-up, before everything escalates rapidly in the second part.

(Photo credit: Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

A full on invasion story

What really helps Hosts of the Wirrn is that it’s a two-parter, which is something of a first for the UNIT series. Usually, box sets have been compromised of either huge epic arcs of four episodes, or, in the case of UNIT: Encounters, mostly standalone episodes with a nice thread between them.

So it’s really refreshing that Hosts of the Wirrn is something as straight-forward as a two-parter, as Chris Chapman gets to take his time and tell a really thrilling invasion story.

The opening episode not only has a soldier infected by the Wirrn on the loose, but is more focused on Shana and her first day at UNIT. It’s an effective episode that builds up to the disaster that we know is coming, particularly when the inevitable body horror that made the Wirrn so horrific and iconic begins.

The second episode is when the battle between UNIT and the Wirrn really kicks off. All hell breaks loose as UNIT fight an enemy that’s keen to absorb thousands of human lives, at least. The stakes are really high in the second episode, not just because of the invasion itself, but also on a far more personal level.

And that’s where Hosts of the Wirrn succeeds best. Yes, it’s an exciting and epic battle for UNIT against an incredibly iconic monster. But Chapman has made sure that it has a strong emotional core to it too, particularly with the character of Shana. Her story is what really helps Hosts of the Wirrn to truly stand out, making it an excellent opening story for this box set.

Kate and Osgood are on opposing sides in a very difficult and delicate situation in Breach of Trust.

(Photo credit: Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Breach of Trust

Oddly enough, while the box set is called Revisitations and so focuses on returning monsters or aliens, this episode features an enemy we’ve never encountered before: the Kalvyri. Even the new UNIT team has never heard of them, although it’s revealed UNIT of the Classic Series has encountered them before. This becomes a key plot point, as two members of the race have arrived on Earth claiming that a fleet will destroy the planet unless UNIT helps them. But are the two refugees telling the truth?

Despite being the one episode of the box set that features an entirely original alien race, Breach of Trust is actually my favorite episode of Revisitations. David K Barnes (who also wrote the fantastic First Doctor audio The Dalek Occupation of Winter) has written a really clever and thrilling story with this one.

The first half is essentially focused around the two new aliens and asks the question: are they telling the truth? Are they really a family desperate to warn Earth, or are they just trying to deceive UNIT to regain a powerful weapon? Is the Earth in danger if UNIT doesn’t help them, or will it be in danger because they do? This first half is fuelled with mistrust and leaves you guessing.

However, it’s in the second half of the story, when the situation finally reveals itself, that Breach of Trust truly shines. Because that’s when the UNIT team is faced with a very complex moral dilemma. One that puts Kate and Osgood on opposing sides of a difficult decision.

We rarely see Kate and Osgood like this. Both on television and in their audio adventures, they’ve made a strong pairing, not just as great work colleagues, but as friends too. So it’s really interesting seeing them take opposing views to a situation that isn’t quite so black and white.

Breach of Trust is an excellent and strong piece of drama, and gives us another key reason why David K Barnes is shaping up to be an excellent writer for Big Finish.

The last old enemy UNIT faces is Captain Chin Lee from The Mind of Evil. But has something else returned from that story…?

(Photo credit: Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Open the Box

Once again, we’ve got actual ties to a Classic Series story with Open the Box. In this case, the Third Doctor serial The Mind of Evil. UNIT had a major role in that story which featured an alien mind parasite that fed on evil impulses. When the creature was destroyed, it was thought that UNIT wouldn’t have to worry about it ever again.

But when Captain Chin Lee returns, someone who had been involved in the events of that earlier story, UNIT can’t help but take an interest in an organization she’s running. Especially when several apparently random deaths seem to be connected to the Pandora Institute…

Like Chris Chipman did with Hosts of the Wirrn, Roy Gill does an excellent job of taking a key idea from an old story and giving it a completely new spin. The major change of setting is a key reason for this. While this story is also set on contemporary Earth, Open the Box is set at a self-improvement center instead of a prison, as the original story was. So this allows for a very different kind of story, especially when it comes to the regular characters.

For Kate, Osgood and Josh, all their key fears and greatest anxieties are explored in this one. We get a better idea of what makes them tick, and what drives them onward. It’s a really interesting character study, and it’s great to see some of the regulars of this series explored in this way.

Returning characters

Bringing Chin Lee back was also interesting to see. The character has changed a lot since she first appeared in The Mind of Evil. It’s interesting seeing not just her overall approach to life now, but also how overlooking the fate of even a small character can have consequences.

More from Winter is Coming

The monster of the story is of course advertised right from the start. However, there is an interesting twist regarding the monster that gives it a fresh spin. The creature itself isn’t explored in great detail, which is a bit of a shame.

But with just one hour to tell the story, Roy Gill decided to focus more on the characters than the monster, and honestly, I definitely think that was the smarter choice, making Open the Box a low-key but decent episode to end the box set on.

As a whole, Revisitations is a great mix of episodes. Hosts of the Wirrn, Breach of Trust and Open the Box are all very different stories, each standing out in their own way.

Going back to what I said before, they also show just how confidant UNIT as a series has grown over the past few years. Almost eight series in, and the Doctor Who spin-off is still feeling incredibly fresh, and continues to be a strong series for Big Finish.

Next. Series 12 – improvements in time and space. dark

Have you listened to Revisitations yet? Are you a fan of the Wirrn, and would you like to see them show up in the New Series at some point? Let us know in the comments below.

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