Doctor Who: Kate Stewart meets River in UNIT: Incursions – out now!
By James Aggas
It’s time for UNIT to meet River Song, as the latest box set of the Doctor Who spin-off is released today! What can we look forward to, and why is it the end of an era?
The latest box set in the Doctor Who spin-off series UNIT is released today. Usually, each box set has a “hook” to really make it stand out. For example, last year’s series had the team going up against both the Cybermen and Derek Jacobi’s War Master in Cyber-Reality, while they later faced the Wirrn in Revisitations.
Naturally, the latest box set is no exception. UNIT: Incursions features a two-part story called The Power of River Song. Guess who the special guest character is?
What sounds particularly intriguing about this story is that, on this occasion, River and UNIT won’t be helping each other. In fact, River seems to be working towards her own agenda. What would put her on opposite sides with UNIT, an organization that her husband trusts completely? That’s what we’re keen to find out.
On top of all that, we’ve got two other stories to look forward to. The opening story, This Sleep of Death, sounds exactly as exciting as River meeting UNIT, at least if you’re a regular Big Finish listener. Why? Because it’s a sequel to Static, one of the very best Doctor Who stories from Big Finish in recent years. (And one that I’ve just realized I haven’t written a review for yet. I must rectify that!)
The second story of the box set, Tempest, features the team on a remote Scottish island as oil-rigs are under threat. As someone who comes from a Hebridean family, I’m definitely keen to check out this one.
The end of an era
So we’ve got three exciting stories to listen to today. More than that, however: Incursions has been revealed to be the last box set in this current era of UNIT. What does that mean? Well, along with a change behind the scenes, as current script editor Matt Fitton leaves the series and Andrew Smith takes over, it also means a clear change of Doctor era, too.
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Ever since the series began in 2015, UNIT has been set pretty firmly before the events of The Day of the Doctor, with all the box sets focusing on just one Osgood. But this is to change, however. While the series will be taking a longer break than usual, when it comes back, it’ll be set during the era of the Twelfth Doctor – with plenty of stories to come featuring the two Osgoods.
I’m really excited about this change. UNIT has been a rather strong spin-off series so far, and I’ve enjoyed it a great deal. However, while this era of the series has been great, I am glad that it’s moving forward, especially chronologically. (Though thankfully, not too far forward, otherwise, it’d be suspended. Thanks, Chibnall!) I can’t wait to hear more stories of the two Osgoods, and find out what alien threats the team has to face next.
But before then, we’ve got one last box set to listen to of this current era. Be sure to check out our review on this special box set soon.
You can get UNIT: Incursions on CD and download now directly from Big Finish’s website.
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Are you excited to hear the team meet River Song for the first time? Have you been following UNIT since the beginning? What are your thoughts on this box set representing the end of an era? Let us know in the comments below.