Doctor Who spin-off review: UNIT meets the Doctor’s wife in The Power of River Song

For the first time, Kate Stewart and Osgood finally meet River Song, in the last story of the Doctor Who spin-off series, UNIT: Incursions.

The last two episodes of UNIT: Incursions, the eighth box set in the Doctor Who spin-off series, features a long overdue meeting. One that, somehow, we never got on-screen: the modern UNIT team and the Doctor’s wife, River Song! But is it a meeting that works?

Just about. I must admit, I had extremely high hopes for this story, particularly when the description of it strongly implied that River and UNIT would be on opposite sides. There was extremely strong potential for interesting drama there. We could have had an intriguing story where there’s a clash over an issue of morality, or where one side doesn’t know all the facts and doesn’t know how to trust the other. That could have made for a great first meeting.

Unfortunately, we don’t quite get that story. Without giving too much away, Guy Adams actually goes for a surprisingly easy option. Which is a shame, as he’s one of my favorite ongoing writers at Big Finish. But what we find out at the end of the first part is disappointingly predictable, and feels like a bit of a cop out.

The team are called to investigate strange temporal phenomena in the final story of UNIT: Incursions.

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/UNIT/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Major meetings

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

However, that’s not to say that The Power of River Song isn’t enjoyable at all. Quite the opposite, in fact, especially in the second half, where River meets Osgood. They’re quite the effective duo, with each of them trying hard to show off to the other how clever they are. It’s a fantastic combination.

Kate Stewart is also given some excellent exploration when she has to investigate a murder. When she finds out who the victim is, we get a very different side to Kate. One that’s more vulnerable, and deeply afraid. She still does what she can and gets on with the job, but it’s clear that she’s shaken in a deep way by what she faces in this story.

There’s also a nice feeling of escalation, too. The first half of the story is set primarily in the modern day, with the team investigating temporal anomalies. But the second half is set across three different time zones, and really pushes the team to their limit. So it’s great that there’s a strong sense of scale with this story.

So overall, The Power of River Song is an enjoyable listen. It’s an ambitious story that uses the team well, and it’s full of cool ideas. It’s just not quite as strong as it had the potential to be. Still, it has to be said that River meeting UNIT is an absolute joy to hear, and the overall story rounds off UNIT: Incursions nicely.

Do you wish that River had met Kate and Osgood on-screen? Which characters in the Doctor Who universe would you like to see meet each other? Let us know in the comments below.