Ratings4
Average rating3.3
The third story in the series is read by Richard Franklin, who played UNIT officer Captain Yates in the TV series.
The choice of Franklin, rather than Katy Manning, as the narrator does seem an odd one, although it makes sense in the context of the story which is, in part about how Yates first joined UNIT. That, of course, is a story that has been told before in other media, arguably with more success. This version has him serving at RAF Lossiemouth for no particularly clear reason (given that he's an army officer).
The story is a reasonably straightforward UNIT-era story, with the Doctor and Brigadier sent in to investigate the disappearance of a fighter jet and its pilot over Aberdeenshire. It is reminiscent of both The Daemons and The Silurians from the TV show, although it struggles to make the antagonists as sympathetic as the latter does. The story pushes the military nature of UNIT, and is weakened by the absence of any significant female characters, or any civilian protagonists other than the Doctor - Liz Shaw would logically have been working with the Doctor at the time, but isn't even mentioned.
There are some nice touches, such as the use of the flying UNIT base from The Invasion, but overall it's an unremarkable story with a few plot holes and little of real interest.