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- ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ sets new BBC launch record with strong viewership
- The Doctor Who spin-off features iconic characters, blending political drama with science fiction
- Though praised by many fans, the series has received mixed reviews, with some viewers criticising its quality
A ‘magnificent’ and ‘gritty’ new Doctor Who spin-off has broken viewing records to become one of the BBC’s biggest launches this year.
Russell T Davies’ long-awaited five-part series, The War Between the Land and the Sea, sees a fearsome and ancient species emerge from the ocean, triggering an international crisis.
Following the journey of ‘everyman’ Barclay (Russell Tovey), his life ordering taxis is turned upside down when he’s forced to become humanity’s spokesperson.
Featuring two returning Doctor Who legends in Tish and Alonso, the show also features the regular UNIT crew, including Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge Stewart, Ruth Madley as Shirley, and Alexander Devrient as Ibrahim, who step into action as the land and sea wage war.
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The first episode of the drama launched with 2.8million viewers, followed by 2.1million for its second episode.
These figures were higher than the overnight ratings of any episode of Doctor Who from season 14 or 15, barring the Christmas specials.
The show’s ratings were also ahead of Sally Wainwright’s Riot Women and other new series including King & Conqueror, This City Is Ours and Virdee, making it one of the biggest new drama launches of the year for the BBC.
In addition to this achievement, the show managed to achieve these figures in competition with the live final of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
The second episode, which clashed with the ITV reality show for its entire duration, was 400,000 viewers ahead of the BBC’s slot average, according to Broadcast.
After the first two episodes of the five-part series aired on BBC One on Sunday night, fans praised the ‘excellent’ drama.
What did PasarModern.comthink?
Our TV reporter and resident Doctor Who expert gave her thoughts on the series…
After watching the opening two-parter to Russell T Davies’ long-awaited spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
The UNIT-based series follows ‘everyman’ Barclay (Russell Tovey), whose life ordering taxis for the higher-ups is turned upside down when he’s forced to become humanity’s spokesperson.
Why? You may ask. Well, stirring from their millions of years of slumber are the Homo Aqua (also known as the Classic Who villains, the Sea Devils).
To read more click below:
Taking to X, @kylemsnape said: ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea is so damn good guys. My god.
‘They actually made a huge scale political thriller within a Science Fiction context that acts like a mirror to the worst that humanity has to offer. Top tier stuff.’
@MrMatthewTodd wrote: ‘Thought it was excellent and brilliant to see drama taking on the state of this planet.’
@AndrewOnSeeAIR also exclaimed: ‘Magnificent, mature, gritty, and down to earth with realism.’
@Campbell2163 similarly said: ‘Obsessed. I’ve been the biggest fan of doctor who for my entire life but I could be comfortable with the main show ending permanently if it meant we got regular quality spin offs like this. This really hit the mark! Loved the first 2 episodes.’
Meanwhile, @hatternick echoed this sentiment by writing: ‘Slick, well scripted, well acted. Superbly watchable,’ as @TheCyberdevil said: ‘Wow wow wow. I was not expecting The War Between the Land the Sea to be that good.’
However, while many Doctor Who fans heaped praise on the series, other viewers were not as impressed.
@Trickofthetail1 wrote on social media: ‘This war between land and sea is abysmal. Acting, story, directing, sound are so poor.
‘A complete waste of license fee money. I hope the viewing figures reflect this.’
The War Between the Land and the Sea: Everything you need to know
Writers
Russell T Davies and Pete McTighe
Cast
Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave, Ruth Madeley, Alexander Devrient, Mei Mac, Francesca Corney, Waseem Mirza
Runtime
Five episodes, 45 minutes each.
Release date
First two episodes on Sunday, December 7, 8:30pm; Episodes three and four on Sunday, December 14 at 9:20pm. The finale wil air on December 21.
@FrankSerpi54439 also argued: ‘War Between the Land and Sea. So far, SO awful. Dreadful directing. Embarrassing.’
Similarly, @Shuttlecock said that for those ‘after something around the quality of Andor, Welcome to Derry, or Pluribus, this just doesn’t cut it in 2025′.
They added: ‘Struggled to even finish the first episode. Don’t think I’ll watch the second.’
How does The War Between the Land and Sea connect to Doctor Who?
While The War Between the Land and the Sea does occur within the universe of Doctor Who, it does so without the presence of the Doctor.
The series sees see the return of UNIT from Doctor Who, with Redgrave reprising her role.
But, even if you are not a fan of Doctor Who, the new series has been created with new viewers in mind.
An official synopsis for the series reads: ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea follows Barclay, played by Russell Tovey, as he’s plucked from obscurity to become humanity’s ambassador when the Sea Devils rise to the surface.’
Watch The War Between the Land and the Sea on BBC iPlayer.
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