The War Between the Land and the Sea, which debuted on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, is the only new “Whoniverse” content fans are getting for the next 12 months. Starring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jemma Redgrave, it features a radical overhaul of a Doctor Who monster first seen in Jon Pertwee’s era: the Sea Devils.
The drama plays as an ecological thriller, with humanity’s mistreatment of the oceans used as a stick by the Sea Devils – now dubbed Homo aqua and Homo amphibia – to justify their demands. Tovey’s “everyman” character is thrust into the global spotlight as humanity’s representative in negotiations that feel increasingly impossible.
It isn’t only the ecological messaging being hammered home. As the Earth’s intelligent aquatic species insist on a peace deal that would prevent humans travelling across or above the seas, the parallels with real-world negotiations in which one side is forced into untenable conditions are clear enough.
Some of the omens had not been good. The War Between has been described in some quarters as a spin-off nobody wanted, and the acronym of its unwieldy title – TWBTLATS – has already been renamed TWATBLAST on fan forums. Critical reaction has been mixed.
On the plus side, Louise Griffin wrote for the Radio Times that “the writing is much sharper than recent Doctor Who” and that, despite “clumsy moments”, it is “emotive, funny … [and] benefits from the type of character development we all loved about Russell T Davies’s first Doctor Who era”. Rebecca Nicholson in the FT said the series “looks set to swim off into pleasantly odd waters”, while in the i Isobel Lewis described it as “the most grounded, mature storytelling that Doctor Who has seen in years.”
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan was less enamoured in her three-star review, criticising Davies’s approach to writing female characters, and lamenting “an opportunity wasted” to make “something along the lines of his brilliant Years and Years for a younger demographic”. Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail was predictably scathing – labelling it “woke, repetitive and stultifyingly dull”.
The big question hanging over the premise is whether you can make a Doctor Who show in 2025 that doesn’t feature the Doctor. One advantage is that without the Time Lord, the stakes feel higher. When nearly all the regular cast were turned to dust in 2024’s season finale, it was immediately obvious there would be a magical timey-wimey reset. That option isn’t here – and it would not be surprising if several major characters don’t get out alive.
The five episodes form the final tranche of the BBC’s deal with Disney for Doctor Who, which has not been renewed. Disney+ holds the international streaming rights to this drama, and controversially has opted not to release it at the same time as the BBC, enraging international fans who now face months of trying to avoid spoilers.
This isn’t the BBC’s first attempt to stretch the franchise. In 1981, companion Sarah Jane Smith and loyal robot dog K9 fronted K-9 and Company, chiefly remembered for its exuberant opening titles. Much greater success for Elisabeth Sladen’s character followed with The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11), which delivered strong stories and included memorable turns by Bradley Walsh, Jane Asher, Samantha Bond and Russ Abbot as villains.
Another spin-off, Torchwood (2006-11), left a mark on the landscape; Cardiff still houses a shrine to Ianto (played by Gareth David-Lloyd), who died onscreen more than 15 years ago. Its tone veered wildly at first, but the third series, Children of Earth, was a critical high point, featuring future Doctor Peter Capaldi in a bleak story about aliens abducting children. A fourth run, co-produced by the American cable network Starz, proved the end of that strand.
Class, a Patrick Ness-penned YA drama set in Coal Hill school, lasted only one season. The Whoniverse has also included various animated web episodes, and the BBC is now exploring a CBeebies-targeted Doctor Who cartoon.
Meanwhile, the main show remains in limbo. Billie Piper briefly appeared to be the Doctor at the end of Ncuti Gatwa’s final episode, but viewers must wait until Christmas 2026 to find out what this means. It also isn’t clear whether Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf – who have produced the show since the 60th anniversary special, The Star Beast – will be involved after that one-off.
Whether The War Between the Land and the Sea ends up remembered as another Children of Earth – a bold, surprising expansion – or as a well-meaning misstep like Class will depend on how the next three episodes land. It already has more riding on it than most spin-offs: currently there is no Doctor, no clear path for the main show, a frustrated international audience and a fandom keen for something to believe in. The programme’s own fate feels just as precarious as the prospect for peace between land and sea at the end of episode two.
