The War Between the Land and the Sea
It is an unexpected wake-up call for Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a civilian grade ten logistics clerk in the semi-secret Unified Intelligence Taskforce, tagged as backup for a more senior colleague and erroneously called upon when an emergency situation arises the village of Cala Escondida on Dragonera, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, where a trawler has pulled an apparently mutated humanoid from the water, the body displayed as an obscene tourist attraction.
A confrontation prompted with the prehistoric aquatic race to which the individual belonged, the species informally known as Sea Devils since a colony woke from hibernation on the south coast of England decades before, interfering with shipping in the area, it is a wake-up call for the planet, emerging from the oceans the world over and demanding recognition and reparation for the damage done to their home, the frightening alternative open war between the land and the sea.
A five-part mini-series created by Russell T Davies, The War Between the Land and the Sea is the fourth dramatic television spin-off from Doctor Who since it was relaunched in 2005 but the first in almost a decade since the single season of Class, starring the familiar faces of Russell Tovey as Barclay and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, presented as ambassador of Homo Aqua or Homospondyl Erectus as the Sea Devils are more correctly known, though their species are diverse and adaptable.
Both actors having appeared in the parent show in different roles, as Midshipman Alonso Frame in Voyage of the Damned and Martha Jones’ sister Tish in four episodes of the third series, they are joined by Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient and Ruth Madeley in their established parts of UNIT’s commander-in-chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Colonel Christofer Ibrahim and scientific advisor Shirley Anne Bingham alongside Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce.
Introduced in Torchwood’s Children of Earth, with the opening episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea broadcast back-to-back, Homo Aqua written by Davies and Plastic Apocalypse written by Pete McTighe with all episodes directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, it is to that “event” mini-series and its follow up, Miracle Day, that the format holds closely, presenting bold ideas but with a sluggish pace and the primary response team at best poorly prepared and over their heads and at worst arrogant and incompetent.
Confronted by a hostile race already entrenched in strongholds the world over and of unquantified but obviously superior technology, politicians bicker and snipe and departments vie for advantage and plot against each other, forming alliances with foreign governments, yet with backroom conspiracies writ large the viewer is always at least one step ahead of developments, the whole of the opening episode offering little more than what was contained in the initial press release and certainly no pearls.
Created by Malcolm Hulke, the Sea Devils and their terrestrial cousins were both introduced in the seventies, an era of Doctor Who produced by Barry Letts who used his time to raise awareness of environmental and societal issues and broadcast contemporaneous with Doomwatch, themed specifically around threats mediated by new and untested technology and its unintended side effects, so while it is apt that the trigger of The War Between the Land and the Sea is pollution it is also no surprise, though there are factions of the fandom who will decry it as pandering even with established precedent.
With islands of plastic floating in the Pacific, waterways soiled by sewage and chemicals and the acceleration of extreme weather events leading to displaced populations while politicians quibble the definition of genocide and stoke outrage over pronouns, the show is both timely and relevant but it is also dull, ostensibly aimed at an adult rather than broad family audience but so far plotted to ensure it could be followed by a child, though fortunately it has so far avoided the most cringeworthy juvenilia of Torchwood.
Determined to be “big,” with reefs rising out of the water at iconic landmarks, the attempt to keep the characters grounded and relatable are facile, Barbara Pierre-Dupont (Ann Akinjirin) resentful over thwarted childminding arrangements for Kirby (Cat Gannon) when it is unavoidable that major world events take priority and Lethbridge-Stewart understandably frustrated with the lack of professionalism in her team which should have been addressed before this juncture, though fortunately it has not yet been brought up that her father ordered the murder of a colony of Homo Reptilia.
Treading water rather than swimming with confidence, The War Between the Land and the Sea may yet prove itself, and certainly it is far from drowning, but with the long-term future of Doctor Who floating uncertainly there is much riding on this makeshift raft and so far it lacks subtlety, surprise or depth, seemingly conceived at a time when it was presumed security would have been guaranteed, and content to play it safe rather than make dramatic waves.
The War Between the Land and the Sea is broadcasting on BBC and streaming on the iPlayer and will be available on Disney + in early 2026
