Review by Daniel Mansfield

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The first two UNIT: Brave New World boxsets were some of my favourite Big Finish releases of 2022. I mean, Angela Bruce as Brigadier Bambera, leading a 90s-set, X-Files infused spin-off – what’s not to love? Imagine my delight, then, when the series was announced to be returning for two further instalments, beginning with Fractures.

Kaiju by Robert Valentine opens the set, and serves to re-establish the status quo of the series. In short, it’s a big, bombastic alien invasion story with a giant monster terrorising the UNIT team that reminds us of who Bambera, Savarin and Rix are and how they interact. Borna Matosic‘s rock-tinged music is incredible here, really fitting with all the exciting set pieces, while Angela Bruce and Yemisi Oyinloye give heartfelt performances as Valentine’s script delves into their respective views on romantic relationships. A solid appetiser for what’s to come.

With Alfie Shaw‘s Debrief, we get into the really juicy stuff – this is definitely the main course of the boxset. A three-hander between Bambera, Lieutenant Zbregniev (Robert Jezek, returning to the role he last played in 1989’s Battlefield) and Specialist Jane Rowe (Anne Odeke), this episode is tense, filled with paranoia, and packs a couple of twists which you think you might have seen coming, but then pull the rug out from underneath you a second time. This is gripping, edge-of-your seat stuff – without a doubt the best episode of this whole series so far.

Things come to a head in Shatterpoint by Mark Wright, which sees Bambera and the gang go up against the big bad established in the previous story. Who or what that is won’t be revealed here, but I will say it’s handled brilliantly, and performed with quite some brio by the actor involved. It’s very hard to talk about this one without spoiling it, but this is a very 90s twist on a much-loved Classic Who story, taking what worked there and propelling it into this series’ world of paranoia and tension. And what a tease for the next set in the closing moments!

I didn’t realise quite how much I’d missed Bambera and the gang until I put my headphones on and started listening to this. This whole series is such a breath of fresh air, with three lovable central characters, and stories that feel different to anything else Big Finish is doing at the moment. While not everything here lands perfectly – Kaiju in particular is a little basic – I had such a good time with this boxset, and eagerly await the next instalment in 2026.

Fractures is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com