Hostile Universe: The Life and Death of Private Eddie Wise

"Everyday I go to work and I don't know if I'm coming home."

Writer: Andrew Smith

Format: Audio

Released: April 2026

Series: UNIT: Eras 1.03

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Brigadier

Synopsis

The dawn of UNIT. Aliens have invaded and Eddie Wise is far from ready. Plagued by nightmares and lying to his fiancé, the beleaguered Eddie becomes embroiled in a plot to bring his workplace to its knees. To make matters worse, there's a journalist on his tail. 

Because Sarah Jane Smith needs the scoop on UNIT, and Private Wise might just be the man she needs.

Verdict

The Life and Death of Private Eddie Wise was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Hostile Universe debut series of UNIT: Eras! This was definitely the best of the series so far and I thought it did a really good job in showcasing just how difficult life could be for the people working at UNIT. We only really got to know those in a high position of command or companions like Liz, Jo and Sarah Jane who weren't exactly engaged in a typical role of employment at the organisation! This was UNIT still in its early days which was really fun to revisit and Sarah Jane being on hand as a journalist whilst also having a relationship with both the Doctor and the Brigadier was terrific. Her editor in chief wanted a story about UNIT and that makes sense with everything that happened during the Third Doctor era prior to Sarah Jane becoming companion. A whole new organisation dedicated to the threat of the extraterrestrial and there needed to be media coverage. The taxpayer needs to know where their money goes! I can't disagree with that and it was good to explore despite the predicament it put Sarah Jane in. Enter Eddie Wise though and hearing the ordeal this Private was going through meant she was actually more than happy to provide the scoop on UNIT. Sure, they're still a relatively new organisation but their methods for helping its people on the front line to cope with everything they experience and undergo were not fit for purpose. Eddie clearly needed help as he was suffering from severe trauma from the events of The Invasion which were brought back to life in some stunning flashbacks. Talk about a first day on the job! Tackling Cybermen is difficult at the best of times, but seeing Chris die after coming into UNIT with him was something he'd never really recovered from. He had sought solace in Maggie as a fellow UNIT colleague who could understand what he was going through from a shared experience and knowledge, but that meant he was estranged from Lynn his fiancé. He was trying to protect her but not discussing anything about even the simplest elements of his job meant they grew apart and hearing that come into fruition throughout the episode was difficult to hear. He was going through too much already and clearly had too much on his plate! Eddie doing the bidding of Maggie and Barry in getting intel on UNIT employees to sell so they could escape this life was almost something akin to being used against his will or taken advantage of, especially considering he was initially doing it just to make things better at UNIT. Sarah Jane would see to that though with a damning verdict on help and the Brigadier was audibly shaken by that. Eddie sacrificing himself so an innocent man didn't die was an admirable trait and it only felt right that he went out as a hero. That's exactly what he was in my eyes as he necessitated change amongst UNIT to help people deal with the shock and trauma of seeing and experiencing death. Sarah also getting through to Barry as someone that was exposing others and their families if they sold the information was great and I thought she had a really strong showing here. No wonder she's one of the all time great companions! Overall, a superb episode to continue a really strong series.

Rating: 9/10