Incursions: The Power of River Song Part 1

"Kate Stewart investigating her own murder."

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: April 2019

Series: UNIT 8.03

Featuring: Kate, Osgood, River Song

Synopsis

UNIT has been assigned to monitor the switch-on of a revolutionary new power system – they know from experience such things can be tricky.

Nearby, Osgood and Lieutenant Bishop investigate mysterious disappearances – and appearances of trans-temporal phenomena. Kate would like to ask the Director some questions, but she's proving strangely elusive... until there's a murder.

Verdict

The Power of River Song started off the finale of Incursions very well! I thought this was a fascinating and strong start to the conclusion and I liked that we followed Revisitations: Hosts of the Wirrn in having a two-parter, albeit this time acting as the finale. It started off in.a rather unique way as Kate was getting very angry at not being able to work the coffee machine despite referring to herself as a genius and reminding herself of all the alien invasions she has quelled. That was uncharacteristic but it soon all made sense when we found out she hadn't slept in three days! Sam getting involved on the field was good and a chance meeting with Jacqui McGee was very good as she's quite the fun recurring character in this spinoff range. The idea of monsters on the loose was great and I liked the lack of help all the supposed witnesses were in providing a description that could be matched. There were many differentiated adjectives used as well as contradictions galore. Osgood having her own little investigation was good and I liked how she came to find a human from the Early-Modern era only having recently died. Well, that just didn't make sense and with people from the present era also vanishing, it was clear that time was acting somewhat strangely. That was absolutely confirmed when a body of Kate's was on hand shot and dead! Her reaction to that was oddly calm, but the sleep deprivation would have had something to do with that. River arriving on the scene as the Director was fun and something I'd expect her to revel in, although what came later took me by surprise! Chant as her assistant was a freaky character that worked well too. River offering the UK Government power in terms of the electrical and gas kind felt very contemporary and right at home with current politics and they were obviously never going to turn down the opportunity to own their own National Grid. Osgood's investigations finding a forest literally disappearing was brilliant and I liked that she had contact with another version of River Song, the real article I imagine. River's convertible power array was a good demonstration and I liked how Kate confronted her over whether she was her murderer. Investigating your own death must be quite the experience! River's name being a red flag at UNIT was very fun and I liked how Kate knew River's past was too well hidden. Sam and Jacqui being sniffed by a dinosaur was terrific and the subtle reference to Invasion of the Dinosaurs was amusing. River and Chant having something come over them was a little strange and they really did have a turn when it came to rewarding the crew working on the array with death now that everything was on automatic. Osgood being displaced in time to 1973 was very exciting and I'd love for her to get involved with the UNIT of that era, although with her finding another River and Chant there I'm not sure I'll get my wish. Kate aiming to do a chronon trace to track her killer was good and I look forward to hearing where that leads. Sam getting knocked out by Leif, a Viking as would have it, was good trepidation to take us into a multi-layered cliffhanger. River admitted she was Kate's killer which seemed a bit underwhelming, but in the '70s her wanting to eat and consume Osgood was not anticipated! Overall, a strong and intriguing start to the finale and I look forward to what comes next in part two.