Review by Daniel Mansfield

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What happened to Ancelyn? That’s the question that’s been on everybody’s lips since Brigadier Bambera stormed back into the Whoniverse in Seabird One with a brand new team by her side.

Well, three boxsets later, it’s finally time to find out where her pandimensional paramour has been, and what the future holds for his and Bambera’s universe-spanning relationship.

Knightfall picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of last year’s Shatterpoint, which revealed that Ancelyn had returned to Bambera’s universe. Opening story Deep Water by Georgia Cook sees the errant knight- along with Bambera, Rix and Savarin- get caught up in the machinations of Nimueh, Vivianne and Ninianne: the legendary Ladies of the Lake.

It’s a claustrophobic, tense story, very much like a classic Doctor Who base-under-siege serial, with a pleasingly fantastical element that contrasts beautifully with the more down-to-Earth tone Brave New World usually has. There are interesting developments about some iconic Who villains, as well as some sparky chemistry between Angela Bruce and Marcus Gilbert, who perfectly sell the strained relationship of two ex-lovers brought back together by strange circumstances.

Storm over Albion by Felicia Barker follows the UNIT team into Albion, the Arthurian world introduced in Battlefield, but never before visited until now. Barker crafts a unique setting, part-mediaeval, part-futuristic, incorporating Arthurian mythology while also putting a suitably Doctor Who twist on some of the more fantastical elements.

Genevieve Gaunt impresses as the haughty Queen Guinevere, while Alex Jordan‘s Savarin gets some good material as he attempts to broker a deal with her to get his friends home safely. All of this culminates in an epic cliffhanger that pushes the series further into fantasy territory than ever before.

The Arthurian vibes continue in boxset finale Shining Armour, which sees both Earth and Albion under attack from a pair of dragons. While this is a story full of action, Bambera and Ancelyn’s relationship sits at its very heart, constantly pulling us back to reality when the more fantastical elements threaten to take over.

Very sadly, Marcus Gilbert, who plays Ancelyn, passed away between the recording and release of this boxset, tragically making this both his triumphant return to the Whoniverse, and his final bow. Gilbert gives a star performance both in Shining Armour, and across the whole box set, with Valentine giving his character a touching final scene that, although it may not have been conceived that way, serves as the perfect capstone to his adventures. Though it’s sad we won’t be hearing any more of Ancelyn, how lovely that we had this final appearance.

Overall, this is a very different UNIT: Brave New World boxset than you might be used to, but in a very positive way, taking the characters we’ve grown to love over the past three series and thrusting them headlong into a whole new universe of adventure – quite literally. Time will tell if the series continues, but if this is the end (and I hope it isn’t!), revisiting Battlefield and giving closure to Bambera and Ancelyn’s relationship is the perfect way to do so.

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