Summary
The War Between the Land and Seaneeds to take certain steps to increase its chances of success, or it could meet the same fate as aDoctor Whospinoff from the Steven Moffat era. While the upcoming project has a confirmed premise, there’s still a lot to learn about what the latest edition to theDoctor Whofranchise will be like.The War Between the Land and Sea’s castwill be led by returningDoctor Whoactors Russell Tobey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, but showrunner Russell T Davies has already confirmed they won’t be reprising their previous roles.
Davies' interesting casting decisions make the upcoming spinoff even more intriguing but do nothing to address the risk of it ending after just one season. The show will also include members ofDoctor Who’s new UNIT team, the characters a mix of franchise debutants from the show’s Disney era, and at least one returning actor.Doctor Who’s Disney erais softly a new start for the long-running British sci-fi, butthe spinoff can’t follow the same framework as Ncuti Gatwa’s initial runas the Fifteenth Doctor.
Doctor Who: Every Doctor & Who Played Them (In Chronological Order)
Doctor Who has been played by a crop of fantastic actors going back several decades, and each version has been both unique and memorable.
The War Between The Land & Sea Must Adopt A Different Tone Compared To Doctor Who
RTD’s other Doctor Who spinoffs have been very different from the main show
Doctor Whohas had several spinoffs during its six-decade history. However, two of its most successful came during Russell T Davies' first time in the showrunner’s chair. During his initial spell in charge,Davies createdTorchwoodandThe Sarah Jane Adventures, serving as showrunner to both as well as their parent show. What made these spinoffs stand apart fromDoctor Whowas the fact they each had vastly different tones to the show that spawned them.Torchwoodwas aimed at a more mature audience with its sexual themes and increased violence, whereasSarah Janewas incredibly child-friendly.
Davies needs to follow his own rules forThe War Between the Land and Sea, making sure the spinoff doesn’t just feel like watchingDoctor Who.
Davies needs to follow his own rules forThe War Between the Land and Sea, making sure the spinoff doesn’t just feel like watchingDoctor Who. On the other hand,it still needs to recognizably be part of theDoctor Whouniverse. It’s a delicate balance, but the showrunner has already proven he can do it. If the upcoming spinoff doesn’t sufficiently separate itself fromDoctor Who, there may not be enough of a unique appeal to justify its ongoing production. If so, the entire endeavor could be over before it has had the chance to hit its stride.
2016’s Class Wasn’t Unique Enough To Survive As A Doctor Who Spinoff
Class should have ventured into unexplored Doctor Who territory more
Classran for a single season, ultimately ending because there wasn’t enough interest for its continuation. AlthoughClasshad its strengths, theDoctor Whospinoff wasn’t different enough from its parent show. Because it didn’t offer anything to viewers that was sufficiently unique,it felt like watching a watered-down version ofDoctor Who. While he wasn’t the main driving force behindClass,Moffat’s status as theDoctor Whoshowrunnerat the time meant he was still involved as a producer. This contributed to a partially shared tone with his era - especially during Peter Capaldi’s reign as the Doctor.
More successful spinoffs likeTorchwoodandSarah Janerarely acknowledged the Doctor and focused on their own stories.
Patrick Ness wrote all eight episodes ofClass, the only instance of aDoctor Whospinoff being penned by a single writer. This can help with a show’s consistency, but in this instance, it resulted in the story feeling a little long with little deviation. In addition,Ness wrote Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor into the very first episode ofClass. While this may seem like a good idea, more successful spinoffs likeTorchwoodandSarah Janerarely acknowledged the Doctor and focused on their own stories. In fact, the Doctor never appeared inTorchwoodand was only mentioned.
11 Canon Appearances The Doctor Has Made Outside Of Doctor Who
The Doctor is the main character in Doctor Who, but the Time Lord has appeared in other shows on more than one occasion and for various reasons.
David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor and Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor both had appearances inThe Sarah Jane Adventures. However, the Time Lord didn’t make his debut until season 3. This allowed the child-friendly spinoff plenty of time to establish itself before relying on the presence of the Doctor.Classbrought the Time Lord into the fold much too soon, and would have benefited from delaying Capaldi’s entrance or omitting it completely.
Torchwoodran from 2006 to 2011, andThe Sarah Jane Adventuresbegan in 2007 and ended in 2011.
A Darker Spinoff Would Be A Welcome Change After Doctor Who Season 14
Disney’s Doctor Who doesn’t get gritty enough
The War Between the Land and Sea’s tone would go one of two ways. It could opt to go darker thanDoctor Who, asTorchwooddid. Alternatively, it could target younger viewers as its target audience, likeThe Sarah Jane Adventures. Now,Doctor Whohas always been family-friendly viewing, even if certain episodes do push the boundaries of what’s too scary or existential for children. However,Doctor Whoseason 14 did largely neglect the more mature edgedisplayed by the show in the past. So, the upcoming spinoff would do well to correct this issue.
Hopefully,The War Between the Land and Seanot being the franchise’s flagship show will give it greater license to explore more mature themes.
It’s not really a huge surprise thatDoctor Who’s Disney era has lost a little of its darkness. Although not owned by Disney,Doctor Whois now co-produced by the family-friendly studio. As such, it’s understandable - if a little unfortunate - that the scarier or more tonally mature aspects of the show would be pushed to the back a bit. Hopefully,The War Between the Land and Seanot being the franchise’s flagship show will give it greater license to explore more mature themes - or at least be darker/grittier thanDoctor Whoseason 14.
Doctor Who Season 14 Hints The New Spinoff Will Be Worryingly Similar To The Main Show
The new UNIT episodes in Disney’s era haven’t suggest a big deviation from the formula
Doctor Whohas a history of teasing the tone of a coming spinoff in an episode to feature the character who’ll lead the show. For instance, John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness debuted inDoctor Whoseason 1’s “The Empty Child” two-parter. The story was rather dark but found time to be fun - which foreshadowedTorchwood. Similarly,Doctor Whoseason 2, episode 3, “School Reunion,” felt very much like it was aimed at younger audiences. As such,Elisabeth Salden’s return to the franchise as Sarah Jane Smith served as a preview to her spinoff show. Disney’s era has done something similar.
Doctor Who’s New Spinoff Is The Perfect Way To Bring Back A Character Chibnall & RTD Both Ignored
Doctor Who just announced a new spin-off, and the premise seems like the perfect place for one character to make their long-awaited return.
Davies confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 that Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart would be a major character in the upcoming spinoff. She has reprised her role as the leader of UNIT in four episodes ofDoctor Who’s Disney era so far. All four have called for a tone much darker thanDoctor Whotypically displays, but none have made the necessary accommodations. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising - although it would be disappointing - ifThe War Between the Land and Seafelt very similar to Disney’sDoctor Whoera.
The War Between The Land and Sea
Cast
The War Between The Land and Sea is a Doctor Who spinoff series from BBC. The live-action series will focus on the iconic Sea Devil species.
