Written By: Guy Adams, Matt Fitton

Starring: Jemma Redgrave, Ingrid Oliver, Warren Brown, Katy Manning, Richard Franklin, John Levene

Originally released : May 2017

Listened to: September 2026

Context: The UNIT roll continues with speed. I feel these stories/boxsets are really finding their feet and growing in ambition with each instalment. I am looking forward to the return of some classic UNIT members and monsters in this one!

Episodes:

4.1 Call to Arms by Matt Fitton

4.2 Tidal Wave by Guy Adams

4.3 Retrieval by Guy Adams

4.4 United by Matt Fitton

THE REVIEW

What I thought:

4.1 Call to Arms by Matt Fitton – this is a great start to the set, with Benton’s leaving doo (from his pub) and a lovely moment with Mike Yates (quite an emotional moment I thought). So great to have these UNIT stalwarts back. The whole scene is interspersed with a firefight in a sliurian cave, which spills overground, with Marshall Jastrok and his hunters intent on killing the ‘apes’. Old schools who boxset this is. We get a firefight around the pub plus Kate, Osgood and some other UNIT bods defending the pub. Some ingenious traps by all, a wounded Benton and a great rescue by Kate, all fantastic stuff. Great start to the adventures/boxset.

4.2 – Tidal wave by Guy Adams – enter Jo Jones (sweety, darling etc etc), another great classic companion and classic UNIT team member. We have an experimental UNIT sub, a traitor in the teams midst (poor old Burmaster is taken over by Jastrok so his is done for) and a crabby UNIT scientist (who doesnt last very long I am sad to say). We have Jo trying to broker a peace with the Sea Devils and Jastrok via his puppet wants to use the Sea Devils biological weapons (monsters/dinosaurs) to take over the world. It’s an exciting episode, and has some great moments for Jo as she trys to make the Sea Devils see sense (she does manage this, to some extent but the weapons are let loose). All very exciting and makes for a great addition to the set, with tension and the stakes building.

4.3 Retrieval by Guy Adams – so in this one we have a heavy Sam and Osgood episode, with our hero’s infiltrating a Silurian base to get some intel (I think). Here we get our no 2 Villian, a Silurian General (usual generic stuff, really should try something different with the Silurians at some point), who is as pissed off with the apes as any Silurian can be. It’s an exciting, cave-bound claustrophobic adventure which builds tension really well. We have the Silurian fear weapon that proper messes up Osgood, and some great fights and bants between Sam and said Silurian. Sam gets the better of these fights I would say, which is fun to listen to. Heroic rescue at the end from Kate, great episode again!

4.4 United by Matt Fitton – and to the finale. Which is a battle around the Houses of Parliament, where the Silurians have set up their HQ, Mike Yates leading the fight back, Osgood and Kate defusing Nuclear bombs, a highlight being Benton on the back of a UNIT jeep shooting down Pteradavtyls with a laser/alien cannon. Such great stuff, brilliant ending and the crazy Silurians end up in cold storage under the Tower of London. Great ending to a great boxset.

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 Apes: Lovely stuff, a high octane set with old and new UNIT meeting with a classic adversary. All works very well indeed, and i enjoyed all of these episodes equally, a real blockbuster set for me this one.

What I felt: nostalgic, infiltrated and engaged

What am I left thinking?

• Will we see Mike and Benton again?
• Will we see these particular Silurians again?
• As ever, what next for the team? (More classic monsters viz a vee the cover for the next boxset)

Memorable bits

• You many to mention really!

Cast

Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart)

Ingrid Oliver (Osgood)

Warren Brown (Lieutenant Sam Bishop)

Katy Manning (Jo Jones (Jo Grant))

Richard Franklin (Mike Yates)

John Levene (John Benton)

Richard Hope (Jastrok / Terry)

James Joyce (Captain Josh Carter)

Nicholas Briggs (Krelix / Sea Devils)

Neve McIntosh (Commander Tryska / Kalana)

Nicholas Asbury (Burmaster)

Alex Tregear (Laura Sale)

Annette Holland (Anne)