Doctor Who is officially getting a new spinoff. The long-rumored Sea Devils spinoff of the beloved BBC sci-fi show was announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where it was revealed that the jointly produced BBC and Disney show would be called The War Between The Land And The Sea.
But despite the mouthful of a name, the show is not going to be the epic universe-expanding series fans might have hoped for. This is a limited five-part series centered around UNIT, the military and scientific task force that battles paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to Earth — and occassionally employs the Doctor to help. The series will be led by Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, alongside familiar Whoniverse faces Jemma Redgrave, playing UNIT chief Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim.
The series is set during an “international crisis” when the Sea Devils, an old foe of the Doctor’s that first appeared in the 1972 3rd Doctor serial “The Sea Devils,” emerge from the ocean and reveal themselves to humanity. Here is the synopsis for the series;
When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war.
The limited series is created by Davies, who wrote the spinoff with Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, Doctor Who). In a press release provided with the announcement, Davies said, “I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.”
Making such hoopla over the return of the Sea Devils is interesting since their recent return in 2022’s Jodie Whittaker-era episode “Legend of the Sea Devils” didn’t make much of a... splash. But the relative obscurity of these Doctor Who monsters are an ancient marine race that ruled the Earth long before humanity could actually become the show’s biggest strength, along with its five-part limited nature. A UNIT spinoff that runs alongside the main show would inevitably end up feeling like a redux of Davies’ Torchwood series, which met a rather ignominious end (its fourth and final season, Miracle Day, is possibly one of the worst seasons of TV ever). By keeping the story to a short five-part structure, Davies is obviously playing to his strengths, as we’ve seen in self-contained stories like Children of Earth.
One last thing to note: Tovey and Mbatha-Raw’s casting is interesting, as both actors have played characters in the Whoniverse before. Tovey made two brief appearances as Alonso Frame, a midshipman of the space Titanic who gave the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) the chance to live his dream of saying “Allons-y, Alonso!” But Mbatha-Raw made a more significant recurring appearance as the sister of companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), Tish Jones. Since both of their appearances were during the first Russell T Davies era of the show, there’s a possibility they could be reprising their roles — though it would take a little bit of work to figure out how Tovey’s midshipman from the future could end up on contemporary Earth. However, there’s a greater likelihood that Mbatha-Raw is back as Tish Jones, which could open the door for another appearance of Martha Jones (matching the rumors that this was originally a Martha Jones-led spinoff).
Regardles, it’ll be exciting to see both of them back in the Whoniverse, as much more accomplished and prolific actors than they were when they first starred in the show. Say it with us: Allons-y, Alonso!
