Racing about the countryside, chasing strange lights in the sky? Check. Defending the realm against extraterrestrial incursion? Check. Frequent ear-bashings from UNIT’s UK CO, the famously no-nonsense Lt-Col Lewis Price? Check. Close encounters of the First, Second and even Third kind? Check, check, check.

But he had no idea what alien beings were really like. Until the day of the Fallen Kestrel. Until the day he met the Doctor.

[Please note: this story is the first in a series of linked stories featuring UNIT and Daniel Hopkins, continuing with Hour of the Cybermen, and concluding with Warlock's Cross.]

Recorded on: 31st October, 1st November 2017

Recorded at: Moat Studios

Reviews

The Helliax Rift is ambitious. It has a story to tell, but is also setting up a wider arc.
Blogtor Who

It feels like a return to the original BigFinish audios. All bets are off with a new UNIT team. Spooky and emotionally centered.
Tin Dog Podcast

With dual threats in the story, both human and alien, Scott Handcock leads us a merry dance and delivers a surprising tale, one which delivers an emotional impact that would not feel out of place in a modern television episode.
Cultbox

Scott Handcock really has written a fantastic story here. It’s an almost perfect blend of what both Classic and New Series fans want. It may be firmly set in the Eighties in tone and presentation, but it also has the heart and humanity more often seen in the New Series.
Doctor Who Watch

The Helliax Rift is enormous fun; Scott Handcock’s script is well-plotted, revealing just the right amount of information at every twist and turn.. The real highlight when it comes to character interaction is the double-act between Peter Davison’s 5th Doctor and Blake Harrison‘s Lieutenant Daniel Hopkins. If future stories are anything like this one, then boy, are we in for a ride!
Mass Movement

Blake Harrison's performance as Lieutenant Daniel Hopkins provides a refreshing take on Classic Doctor Who, especially when contrasted with an energetic Fifth Doctor.
The Host Productions