Turning the universe of Doctor Who into a serious and grim Earthbound science fiction TV series is hard. The hyperbolic nature of Who doesn’t necessarily lend itself to naturalistic or realistic modern-day science fiction. And yet, with the just-released new spinoff, The War Between the Land and the Sea, the Whoniverse is attempting to recreate a feat that arguably, it's only pulled off once before.
With a Doctor Who spinoff set on Earth, and very much without the Doctor, the vibe of the first trailer of The War Between the Land and the Sea seems to want to recreate the highest point for another bygone Who spinoff: Torchwood. Back in 2009, the high point of Torchwood, the miniseries Torchwood: Children of Earth, proved that a show that was two steps removed from the zany world of the Doctor could work. And yet, with Torchwood’s rocky track record, will this kind of thing work again?
