Doctor Who spin-off review: UNIT: Incursions – Tempest
By James Aggas
The second story of Doctor Who spin-off box set UNIT: Incursions features the team battling against some very extreme weather…
Tempest, the second episode in the latest UNIT box set Incursions, is a little different from your usual “UNIT fights alien threat” story. For one thing, the main threat in this episode is the weather. As freak weather disasters strike around the world, UNIT are called in to investigate on both a remote Scottish island and a deep sea oil rig. Is this an alien attack, or is it something else entirely?
A key reason why Tempest stands out is that there’s a lot of focus on the organization trying to resolve the situation diplomatically. This is especially true of Kate Stewart’s storyline, where she has to deal with a rather stubborn manager on the oil rig who’s mainly focused on profits.
In a strange way, Tempest almost reminds me of some Star Trek episodes, particularly those from The Next Generation era. Lisa McMullin has very deliberately chosen to focus less on action and more on exploring some interesting themes. Not on climate change, as you might expect, but on complex moral issues.
The second episode of UNIT: Incursions gives us a story that focuses a great deal on Kate and her more diplomatic skills.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/UNIT/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Kate’s sense of diplomacy
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It’s actually nice to see Kate’s more diplomatic side explored in this story. We’ve seen hints of that in the TV series, such as her negotiating with the Zygons in The Day of the Doctor. But it’s really great to see her use these skills in full, especially when she’s dealing with some extremely stubborn humans who make her job a lot more difficult.
The scenes with Osgood and Sam meeting a very eccentric Scottish woman are fun, and while their characters aren’t explored in depth in this story, it’s always nice to have an episode that features this particular double act.
Tempest doesn’t stand out as one of the stronger episodes of UNIT – considering how weighty and interesting the themes are, the story wraps up almost too neatly at the end – but it’s still an enjoyable one. It’s also nice to have an episode that goes for something just a little bit different from the usual story. In some ways, it’s very reminiscent of many of Jodie Whitakker’s stories from her first series – not a classic, but an interesting little episode, at least.
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Would you like to see more of Kate Stewart’s diplomacy skills on screen? Do you think Doctor Who could explore issues like climate change? Let us know in the comments below.