At the Comic-Con held these days in San Diego, Disney and BBC announced the production of a new “Doctor Who” spinoff called “The War Between The Land And The Sea” with Russell T Davies as the showrunner. The announcement indicates that the show will be produced as a five-part series. The plot will see the return of the Sea Devils, a prehistoric species first seen in the Third Doctor serial “The Sea Devils” with an appearance in the new series in the Thirteenth Doctor’s era. In the new spinoff, the Sea Devils have evil intentions and it will be up to UNIT to face them in defense of humanity.
For months, there have been rumors of a new spinoff with particular insistence on the presence of UNIT, the organization also seen in the finale of the recent season of “Doctor Who” indicated as season one to stress the new management with the production by Bad Wolf and the international distribution by Disney. The rumors also concerned the Sea Devils, though the special episode with the Thirteenth Doctor had a lukewarm reception.
The announcement made at Comic-Con confirmed the rumors and also revealed the first cast members. Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient are certainly not a surprise as they reprise the roles they already played in the parent show as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, respectively.
The matter is more complex for the other two actors announced, Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, because both of them already appeared in the parent show but the list of actors who played different roles in “Doctor Who” is very long. A return of Tish Jones could make sense while a return of Alonso would be strange but anything can happen.
Filming is scheduled to begin next month. “The War Between The Land And The Sea” is written by Russell T Davies himself together with Pete McTighe, who already had various experiences with “Doctor Who” as a screenwriter and in the production of DVDs and Blu-Rays. Like the parent show, it will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK and Ireland and on Disney+ in many other countries.
Overall, I enjoyed the “Doctor Who” season that recently ended but it confirmed some of my doubts about Russell T Davies. Now, I’m curious to see how he handles UNIT in a story where the Doctor is not present. While waiting for a broadcast date, more information on “The War Between The Land And The Sea” will surely arrive with other names of actors involved and on the plot. I liked the previous spinoffs created by Russell T Davies, so I have hopes for this one too.
