Review by Jacob Licklider
The UNIT range from Big Finish Productions’ latest story arc UNIT Nemesis has become the latest four box set miniseries to come to a close with UNIT: Nemesis: Masters of Time, a set that to properly review without beating around the bush, feels as if production issues and rescheduling caused the recording dates to be moved around and actor availability to cause rewrites, especially to the first three scripts. UNIT: Nemesis: Objective – Earth ended with the big reveal that Missy is behind everything and working with the Vulpreen to take over the Earth, a great cliffhanger but sadly UNIT: Nemesis: Masters of Time takes until the final episode for Missy to actually appear, having several mentions through the first three episodes. This is an issue that could be lessened by the use of the Vulpreen, who have been a major secondary threat throughout the miniseries, paired with the Eleven who was written out completely for Masters of Time. The issues here is that the Vulpreen never actually come together in this set as a credible threat to take over the Earth, the first three of the stories instead focusing on the UNIT characters and then the final episode being focused on Missy.
True Nemesis is the closing episode of the series and it feels very much like the entire box set’s ideas are just crammed into Andrew Smith’s script. Missy, played wonderfully by Michelle Gomez, has been guiding the Vulpreen through their invasion of the Earth, all while working behind their backs to stop the ancient enemy of the Time Lords before they actually take over any significant part of the universe. The episode ends up becoming a large focus on Missy as a character and her modus operandi, as well as rescuing a captured Harry Sullivan and Naomi Cross who are captured for much of the set though when Christopher Naylor and Eleanor Crooks are present they are great. Ingrid Oliver as Osgood also gets to shine especially with her scenes against Michelle Gomez, Smith’s script allowing some subtle animosities in this single scene which actually addresses Osgood’s death in Death in Heaven in some interesting ways. Jemma Redgrave as Kate also has a genuinely heartfelt performance as she reunites her team and pulls together back to the status quo. The Vulpreen, led by Varliss played by Alisdair Simpson, are perhaps the weakest link in a very good finale that knocks the rest of the box set out of the water, because the three previous episodes have not been sufficient to build up their presence.
The opening episode, James Goss’s One Way or Another, plays the Vulpreen the best, emphasising the torture the Vulpreen employ, mainly deconstructing Kate’s relationship with UNIT through her separation before being brought together, mostly, by the climax of the episode. That is the general point of the episode and the strongest aspect, Kate generally getting to display a more caring side to her character as while she is in danger throughout the episode her focus is securely on her team which is where the episode really excels.
The second episode is Sarah Grochala’s Traitors’ Gate which is the lowest key of the episodes in the set, being set in the Black Archive and the Tower of London. Grochala’s script is the most outright fun episode of the set, mainly because it involves Osgood using the memory wipe to run circles around the Vulpreen which is just a joy to listen to. Ingrid Oliver is excellent at this, every moment Osgood being found out just subtly moves the plan forward to the next point in the sequence that would naturally get the Vulpreen closer to their goal. Because the episode is so fun, this does contribute to the issue of the Vulpreen not being a threat since Osgood has such an easy time running circles around them. Stewart Scudamore as Ravenmaster Ashley Bassett is great in the scenes outside of the Tower of London with Kate, Josh, and later Jimmy, before the episode can move into the climax where there is a death of one of the Vulpreen and Missy’s machinations behind the scenes coming to the surface. Missy has a spy in UNIT who is revealed quite easily and dispatched, something that feels like it may have meant to be a plot thread through multiple episodes.
The third episode is The Destiny Labyrinth from Alison Winter which has its own unique set of problems, mainly the fact that Winter’s script is an utterly brilliant idea that feels just a bit too out of sync with the rest of the set. The premise is the UNIT team being catapulted through history in a labyrinth setting, connected through Vulpreen Arches. There are several vignettes set with characters including Nostradamus and settings like Notre-Dame in the 16th century. This is almost too good of an idea to limit to a single hour and because of that listening to it as the penultimate installment makes the listener feel slightly let down that it wasn’t longer.
Overall, UNIT: Nemesis: Masters of Time is an underwhelming conclusion to the latest UNIT story arc from Big Finish Productions. The weaknesses come directly in the way that the plot runs in circles for three episodes before, from two episodes that are great but feel superfluous, and a finale that is doing its absolute best to work with the fact that the main villains haven’t actually interacted on-screen until this final episode. The performances and direction are all stellar but this is a set that feels as if there are several things stopping it from being the finale that was originally intended.
5/10
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Review: Unit Nemesis – Objective: Earth
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