You can always judge a person by the company they keep, or so the saying goes. Well, if you just happen to be an itinerant wanderer in the fourth dimension, who happens to be 450 / 756 / 953 / four-and-a-half billion years old (delete as may be applicable), you will have kept a lot of company across all your many lifetimes.
From hairy-legged Highlanders to robot doggies, carrot juice fixated computer programmers to time displaced waitresses with a penchant for explosives, a pair of schoolteachers from the 1960s who you absconded with on a whim, and all points in between, the Doctor has had a lot of friends and allies in all their travels across all times and places. Perhaps some of the unlikeliest, however, would be the personnel of a worldwide military organisation whose main approach to intergalactic diplomacy tended to be shoot first, ask questions later. Yet it would transpire that one of the longest lasting and firmest of all friendships would hail from the Doctor’s association over the years with UNIT – United Nations (and, latterly, Unified) Intelligence Taskforce.
READ MORE: That Cold Day in the Park (1969) – Blu-ray Review
UNIT were originally born out of necessity, as Doctor Who was in dire need of an overhaul as the programme entered a new decade. Viewing figures had dipped, the series’ current leading man had stepped down after three years, the near-year round episode count was being slashed, and belts were being tightened on the budget front, as a transition was also taking place from monochrome to full colour. It seemed that time may be running out for the Time Lord, who had been a near-constant fixture of the Saturday night schedules for six years. The solution – which revitalised the show – was one of the most radical departures in its history, and a change of format which would prove to be quite unlike anything before or since.
Having been put on trial at the end of the sixth season by the Time Lords for breaking their strict code of non-interference in the affairs of others, the Doctor would be exiled to Earth with an entirely new appearance, and the secret of operating the TARDIS taken away. In practical terms, this would mean that money could be saved by the production team, as there would be no need to create exotic alien vistas each week, and instead contemporary settings and locations could be used. In order to make this work, the foundations had been laid in Patrick Troughton’s last year by introducing UNIT, who were tasked with protecting Earth from threats that were unusual and unexplained. In exile, the Doctor would end up working as UNIT’s scientific advisor.
READ MORE: The Borderlands (2013) – Blu-ray Review
It would herald a resurgence of popularity for Doctor Who, as the series took on a more grounded approach and feel, which felt strongly influenced by Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass. With the help – and, occasionally, hindrance – of UNIT’s Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, nearly the first half of the 1970s would see the Doctor doing battle with foes from outer space, as well as some far nearer to ‘home’. As the Doctor’s exile was rescinded and the power of time travel restored, adventures became less Earthbound, and UNIT became less of a fixture, but they would reappear over the years. When the programme was revived in the 21st Century, it would only be a matter of time before UNIT were reintroduced, with the organisation now headed up by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, daughter of the late Brig.
Having been restored to a position of such prominence that UNIT had featured in two out of the three 60th anniversary specials, and with rumours of a spin-off series of their own (especially with Disney dollars in the mix), it would seem as salient a moment as ever to look back at the contribution of UNIT across Doctor Who’s long history. Hot on the heels of the recent publication of The Triumph of Babylon 5: The Science Fiction Classic and Its Long Twilight Struggles is Baz Greenland’s new book, UNIT: A Legacy in Doctor Who, brought to us by Candy Jar Books, who have been custodians of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT in print during the last few years, giving us a range of new adventures set across many decades.
As a long term fan of Doctor Who, as well as a contributor to Candy Jar’s spin-off fiction range, Greenland is well placed to give us a deep dive into the part UNIT has played in the show, both on screen and behind the scenes, as well as in expanded media, like the Big Finish audio dramas. UNIT is threaded all the way through Doctor Who’s rich tapestry, and Greenland uses all his enthusiasm and skill to bring us a well-informed examination of UNIT, from its inception, all the way through to its role as a part of Ncuti Gatwa’s reign as incumbent and holder of the TARDIS key. To cover such a breadth of material in a shade over 200 pages is an onerous task, but Greenland manages to pack in a wealth of detail without ever skimping or – alternatively – cramming in extraneous content.
READ MORE: Holy Tears – Holy Tears – Album Review
Anybody who is fortunate enough to have read Greenland’s tome on Babylon 5 will already know just what to expect in terms of approach, as well as format. Like with The Triumph of Babylon 5, in UNIT: A Legacy in Doctor Who we get a look at various aspects of the subject matter from both fictional and real world perspectives, including critical appraisals, as well as interviews with actors and writers. With there being so much obvious love and dedication devoted to this project, it really is an awful pity a couple of glaring gaffes managed to make their way through, such as an apparent typo misdating the year of the Falklands War, and the repeated misnomer in referring to an actor as Terry – not Telly – Savalas.
A couple of minor quibbles aside, UNIT: A Legacy in Doctor Who is an essential addition to no doubt already wheezing, groaning shelves of Doctor Who fans, and another triumph from the pen of Greenland. Chap with the words there, five rounds of applause, rapid.
UNIT: A Legacy in Doctor Who is out now from Candy Jar Books.
