Incursions: Tempest

"The answer is blowing in the wind."

Writer: Lisa McMulin

Format: Audio

Released: April 2019

Series: UNIT 8.02

Featuring: Kate, Osgood

Synopsis 

When the planet's weather systems start behaving strangely, Osgood is worried. Soon, she and Sam Bishop are heading to a remote Scottish islands where an eccentric old woman speaks to the wind itself.

Meanwhile, Kate Stewart visits a deep-sea oil-rig where strange things are afoot. A tempest is coming, and it could be disaster for the entire world.

Verdict

Tempest was a great little adventure to continue the Incursions eighth series of UNIT! I thought this was a solid follow up to a brilliant opener. It started with some almighty humour as Osgood and Sam were discussing Josh's upcoming fancy dress party, and the latter's misunderstanding of the former's wind comment and how it related to the weather phenomenon rather than her insides was quite something. It really set the tone and was some nice lighthearted fun. Sam's call to McCracken seemed to come out of nowhere but it tied in well with the mysterious wind that was happening as she claimed that the wind was talking through her chimney. That was exciting. The idea of sentient wind was intriguing and I liked the revelation that the noise within was an extraterrestrial SOS signal! It was one only UNIT had access to which furthered my interest and it soon led Osgood and Sam on a jaunt to the Outer Hebrides. That didn't seem like an enticing location given the wind conditions, but I liked the uniqueness of it and McCracken was an amusing character to greet them there. The same alien signal being found at an oil rig in the North Atlantic was more than just coincidence and that would be where Kate headed after calls of the lights and signal driving some crew to the edge of the rig threatening to jump. Sanders was a good character as the man in charge of the rig and Barney complimented him pretty well as engineer. I liked the description of the signal being more than just voices in the wind but a sensation and even a ghostly hand. The occurrence to Osgood and Sam when flying out and the cloud hand flying them to safety after awful turbulence was quite something! The discovery of an alien ship at the base of the sea at the oil rig was good and I liked how it was using wind and manipulating air to call for help. Kate's authority in taking control of the rig was excellent and really shone her in a strong light. The worldwide disasters that were happening simultaneously provided a strong threat but I was left slightly disappointed by the reveal they were just a butterfly effect of the telekinesis. McCracken's house being windswept seemed a little pointless but I liked how she thought her husband was speaking in the wind, and got to namedrop Aberystwyth as his location! That was quite a trip from the Hebrides. Sam levitating on the roof was great stuff and humour with Osgood explaining the situation to Kate on the phone. He felt a lot of pressure but he got some coordinates in the crop fields which linked back to the oil rig which didn't surprise me in the slightest. The aliens being revealed as the Animoi came a little late but I liked how they were fragile in makeup and had to use telekinesis to manipulate the elements and posses McCracken to communicate. Sam questioning how they couldn't free the ship despite their abilities was a fantastic question and I wasn't too thrilled with the response to be honest. It needed more elaboration. However, I did love the discussion between politics and oil and how profit was favoured over life. The utilisation of the air corridor vacuum to free the pods and get the Animoi out was decent and I liked the description of them being translucent beings headed for their rescue ships. In saying that, I think a bit more about them and we could have had an even better adventure! Still, a very strong showing to continue the series. 

Rating: 8/10