The Wasting

A very solid ending to the first Big Finish UNIT series, if you ask me. These early UNIT stories suffer a bit, largely what I assume is the result of Big Finish's early growing pains, but The Wasting and The Longest Night really stand out to me. Both episodes represent some pretty solid political thriller content that to me successfully presents a more adult take on the Doctor Who universe than what we usually get in the franchise, without feeling unnecessarily edgy. It reminded me a lot of what the Torchwood show was supposed to be but all too rarely actually was.

There's a lot one can take away from this and use to talk about British politics but also just xenophobia and fascism in general. I think it is a pretty coherent message. I also love how it really feels like it is Chaudhry against the world for a while. With so many of her allies gone, and things looking particularly bleak, it really feels like a struggle here. Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart is good at being one of the few sources of support in all of this, too. David Tennant is a lot of fun even if he gets a little hammy with his villain roles pre-Tenth Doctor.

Overall a pretty good ending to the series that closes out some plot points nicely. I wouldn't be against more Chaundry content in the future but it looks like that was mostly relegated to a few Short Trips stories in Big Finish's old book line, which is a bit of a shame. The Wasting is pretty good set-up for future content in that regard.