UNIT: Time Heals

UNIT #1.1

by Iain McLaughlin, Claire Bartlett

The UK branch of UNIT is under threat. The Government wants its own military investigative organisation, one under its sole control. The public want answers to the strange things that have been happening recently.

When the division's commanding officer goes missing whilst transporting a dangerous cargo, Colonel Emily Chaudhry, UNIT's political officer, is thrown in at the deep end. Things are not helped when a series of accidents show a bizarre pattern.

The Brigadier, meanwhile, is trying to enjoy his retirement ­ but it seems it is time again for him to come to the rescue.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love stories from UNIT; I think they’re great. And even better that the Brigadier lent his voice to this one. I found the initial story intriguing however felt it was a bit disjointed at times and all over the place so it was a little hard to follow occasionally until it all came together and you gathered more of the story later in.

It was a great audio drama though and voiced brilliantly. Greatly produced and acted but the plot did feel a bit jumpy. It was missing a bit of flow but it’s still an enjoyable mission and I love Lethbridge-Stewart. That being said, I can’t wait to listen to the next one!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

UNITの新しい上官Ross Brimmicombe-Woodが不在の間責任者として着任することになったダルトンはUNITの役割をまったく理解しておらず、説明しようとタイムトラベルや宇宙人を持ち出すエミリーの言葉をまったく間にうけない。

ICISが今回もエイリアンテクノロジーを悪用しようとUNITが保管していたテクノロジーを盗み出し、その行方をトンチンカンなスーパーバイザーと共に追いかけるUNITメンバーのとある一日的な描き方。並行して(というほどではないけれども引退後のアリステアの様子も描かれる)。

ダルトンはUNITの知識ゼロではないけれども部下思いで1番危険な役割は部下ではなく自分がやるみたいな現場というか戦場で好かれそうな上官。最後にようやくUNITのファイルを読みだしてたけど理解追いついたかしら。

思いがけず明るいトーンだったのはよかったんだけどどうも話を把握するのに時間がかかってしまった。

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another UNIT disappointment. What a waste of Nicholas Courtney. And there’s an over abundance of ‘noise’ just for the sake of noise. Clearly it’s all an attempt to add excitement and thrills, but it just makes the whole thing seem cheap. Clearly not one of the better productions from Big Finish.

[Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This was so chaotic (in a bad way) that I could barely focus on what was going on. To make it worse, the characters were not unique enough so I never knew who was talking.
I'll probably continue this series after a while since people say it gets better but for now I'm disappointed...

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this quite a bit. It reminded me of Quatermass with mysterious accidents and time travel. It seemed like an interesting set up and I liked all the little nods towards dystopian Britain that came across. It was nice to have a woman Colonel as the main character though quite disappointing that she was the ONLY woman in the story! Surely even in Pertwee's time one of the scientists at least would have also been a woman. (I seem to remember that the Pertwee era was quite good for having women scientists). Still it was an interesting plot and I'm looking forward to the rest of these. Well worth the pound I paid in the Big Finish sale!

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the prelude to the UNIT mini-series, so I decided to continue on this little series and see what I think of it overall by the time it all concludes. Government conspiracies, crashed spaceships, and vampires? Oh yes, this is my cup of tea!

The UK Branch having handed over their responsibilities to ICIS, it seems UNIT is not out of the woods yet. When a commanding officer goes missing alongside a crashed alien spaceship, it seems Colonel Emily Chaudry finds herself in charge. But with several terrorist attacks striking the country and the press on UNIT's heels, can she overcome this troublesome dilemma? But why are the attacks happening and how does it all connect to a crashed alien spaceship? In a laboratory far away a scientist is about to make a major breakthrough that will change the world.

Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett have written a fantastic opening story to this mini-series that nicely sets up our cast of characters and exactly what kind of storytelling we're in for with this series. It's a very tense and action-packed story with some gruesome and explosive imagery. I love Emily Chaudry as a character already, it's a shame she hasn't appeared in more outside of this series, since she's a very likable and charismatic character. It's nice to see The Brigadier again as well, even though he only appears occasionally throughout the narrative.

Overall: A terrific start to this series. 9/10

[Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of the UNIT mini-series from Big Finish follows Colonel Emily Chaudhry and new commander Colonel Robert Dalton as they investigate weird accidents after the disappearance of UNIT commander Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood. After the hijack of a convoy carrying an alien spacecraft, UNIT investigates weird train crashes and other freak accidents that seem to be the result of time experiments. Meanwhile, rogue scientist try to recreate a teleporter using alien tech. And in the background is the handover from the UK arm of UNIT to ICIS (Internal Counter-Intelligence Service). The Brigadier plays a part in this too, experiencing of the side-effects of the teleporter experiments. This mini-series is very good, and the first episode is no exception. This is very different from the UNIT: The New Series sets with Kate and Osgood. This is very much a dark, gritty political thriller than high-octane action thriller of the New Series. It's very good, and I kinda wish they'd made more of these. But what we got is still very good. P.S. - All five entries in the mini-series were collected into a boxset in 2020 - UNIT: The Complete Series.

[Lucas Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading some of the other reviews I feel really surprised. I thought this was excellent. The questions it creates that sets up the rest of the series are really intriguing. Not only this but I really liked Emily Chaundhry she's not the best UNIT character by any means but still really good. I also like the sub-plots with the scientists and the mentions of Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood. The 2nd half is a bit weak though mostly because I just found it not very engaging as the characters had to explain what was happening visually so the audience could understand but this was only right at the end. Nonetheless, I still think ending was alright. Maybe I liked this story so much because I prefer connected arcs within a series instead of an episodic series which is mostly unrelated from one another. Or maybe it is because I listened to this so recently I have a bias. 8/10

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would’ve liked for this to have been a more direct continuation from “The Coup.” I did think it was funny how time travel was described as Star Trek nonsense. I tend to associate Doctor Who with time travel more than Star Trek even though it has its fair share.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why this was included with a Dr. Who collection, but what the heck, it's decent scifi, and an entertaining listen anyway. If you're listening for Dr. Who storylines, skip it, if on the other hand, you're interested in hearing an amusing story, then have at it.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do enjoy spending more time with UNIT and seeing how they deal with things when the doctor is not around But sadly this story was a bit disjointed and hard to follow at times but overall a brilliant production! I can't wait for the next part

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new commanding officer joins UNIT, and takes a bit of convincing that all the alien stuff is real.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had promise but couldn't quite get there.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just...not great.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ok but the later stories are better

[Seb Hasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent proper start to the UNIT series, with a focus on character more than plot; laying the threads of the larger arcs too. The ‘villain’ isn’t great which is a bit of a detracting factor but can be forgiven as it is just one small jigsaw piece in the ISYS story. I do like the focus on temporal incursions, as it’s a little more original than ‘big bad alien being shot at’ but the story doesn’t really go anywhere except for a relatively predictable twist. Those things considered, the cast just do a brilliant job and that kept me engrossed throughout; more so than most series I’ve heard before. I like that they left the Brigadier for the time being as establishing Dalton as the new UNIT commanding officer was really important, and was one thing that this story did very well. All in all I just can’t say this story did anything mind-blowing, but did start the series off well enough and left me wanting more.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The UK branch of UNIT is under threat. The Government wants its own military investigative organisation, one under its sole control. The public want answers to the strange things that have been happening recently.

When the division's commanding officer goes missing whilst transporting a dangerous cargo, Colonel Emily Chaudhry, UNIT's political officer, is thrown in at the deep end. Things are not helped when a series of accidents show a bizarre pattern.

The Brigadier, meanwhile, is trying to enjoy his retirement ­ but it seems it is time again for him to come to the rescue.

I gave it 3/5 stars for it was a good start for the classic U.N.I.T series on audio with a bit more mature themes. Siri O'Neal did an excellent job playing Colonel Emily Chaudhry and I loved her attitude throughout the whole audio and showing that she was in charge and could take care of herself in the U.N.I.T she is in full of men.

I also felt that the Brigadier role in this audio was unnecessary. I absolutely adore the Brigadier but the scenes he had could have been done without and used for a later audio to make his appearance more special.

Overall, I am intrigued to see where this series is going and to see how different it is from onscreen Classic Who and New Who.

[Doc · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a universe where space/time hijinks can kill.

I'll be honest, I got this book as part of a Humble Bundle pack and since it is part of the Doctor Who universe I thought I would give it a go so this is my first real experience of UNIT in its own adventure. I was not overly impressed. Now that is not to say it was bad and it is a quick audio book full of action and fun voice actors but I have a feeling it will be better after I get some more UNIT books under my belt and really get used to a lack of snarky Time Lord fun. :)

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would happen if transporter technology became real. Would it really be a good thing? Well in this adventure Doctor Who crosses with Star Trek and things go incredibly wrong. Can Unit stop the disasters from continually happening. Find out.