Doctor Who’s new spin-off has one major problem

The War Between the Land and the Sea might be a Doctor Who spin-off, but there has only been the briefest of mentions that this world exists in the orbit of the Tardis. 

That might be a feature rather than a bug, given that nobody is entirely sure who the next Doctor actually is after Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth regenerated into – don’t get me started – Rose Tyler.

So maybe it doesn’t exist too prominently in the universe we already know.

But when one of the selling points in the promotional cycle for The War Between The Land and The Sea has been that you don’t actually need to be a Doctor Who fan for this one, I wonder why the original Whovians have been left behind.

Tuning into the first two episodes, that niggling sensation that this show isn’t particularly for us stayed with me.

Russell Tovey stars as the vanilla leading man – Barclay Pierre-Dupont – and has made only two appearances in this universe, playing an entirely different character. The first was during the Voyage of the Damned Christmas special, which Kylie Minogue was in, so you’re forgiven if you’ve forgotten.

He now returns nearly two decades later in The War Between the Land and the Sea, opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who is also no stranger to the Whoniverse, having played Martha Jones’ sister Tish.

Both actors are back as completely different characters – Mbatha-Raw is now a blue prehistoric fish – which can at least be excused as a timey-wimey Who fudge. Billie Piper’s regeneration does, after all, cede the commitment to character sanctity.

More important is the fact that this spin-off introduces a version of the Whoniverse that doesn’t feel very…Who. Instead of knockabout spills and thrills, it’s full of doom and gloom with occasional political posturing.

The spin-off has in many ways spun a decent yarn – better than some recent episodes of the main show – and if it serves as an on-ramp for new Whovians, that’s no bad thing. 

But it’s saddening that fiercely devout fans have been ill-served by decisions like the renaming of the Sea Devils as Homo Acqua (‘homo’ as in man, so basically ‘aquaman’).

A more appropriate Russell T Davies world to set this in might have worked as an entirely non-Who dystopian drama, with a tale of societal collapse. Think Years and Years, which Tovey was also in, but with more fish. 

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Davies has admitted that removing the Doctor makes the end result a darker, grittier affair, telling the Radio Times: ‘It’s a little bit tougher than Doctor Who. It takes on tougher themes and people have tougher reactions in it because there’s no Doctor.

‘Normally the Doctor has a magic blue doorway they can take everybody safely through. That safety net has gone. You very much find these characters up against the wall and pushed to the limit.’

The show’s not-so-subtle environmental lesson – the Homo Acqua are quite rightly displeased with how we treat our waterways – is a worthy and well-executed storyline. 

I can’t go so far as Barclay speaking on behalf of all humans, and do so as a representative of every fan here, but a humourless political debate on the world stage isn’t what I wanted from the newly expanded Whoniverse.

Barclay, himself, isn’t really the issue. He can’t help that he’s a bit dull and too jacked for someone who apparently merely books taxis, before an HR snafu entangles him into this world of eco diplomacy.

I’ve grumbled before about Davies’ ability to keep pulling the strings atop the Tardis, and this spin-off really proves it.

The bigger problem is with the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) – the military organisation from Doctor Who. 

They have been given greater prominence in recent seasons, presumably with this spin-off in mind, but framing commander-in-chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and her establishment lackeys as the heroes feels contrary to the underdog story this show has typically been all about.

This is the UNIT that at one point uses their far-reaching surveillance means to gleefully harvest every inane thing Barclay has ever texted, but somehow claim to be beneficent representatives of all humanity. 

The Doctor, as well as prior spin-off flagbearers Sarah Jane and the misfits of Torchwood, have been defined by fighting the good fight on the ignorant edges of the officials, the way institutions never could, on account of all the paperwork that would follow.

Even when it was first announced, Sea Devils vs UNIT felt like a peculiar choice for the first revamped spin-off out of the gate, especially when a Torchwood revival (probably without John Barrowman) is right there. 

When I think about the possibilities in a mystery-of-the-week for the Timelord companion support group, introduced at the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run for the Doctor’s current and former travelling partners, it’s a show I want to watch more than this one. 

As another option, Alex Kingston’s captivating stint on Strictly got me wondering about a potential River Song vehicle.

The Whoniverse is an impressively elastic, big-hearted place, but whereas Agents of SHIELD fits seamlessly into the more militant realm of the MCU, The War Between the Land and the Sea has so far failed to capture that weirdly niche Who spirit. 

With three more episodes to go, we can only hope it’s in there somewhere.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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