The War Between the Land and the Sea: A Prelude

This will not be a review of the first two episodes of the Doctor Who spinoff, The War Between the Land and the Sea.

This is mostly down to the fact that I haven't been able to see it yet. Which helps, when reviewing.

Tomorrow, December 7th, 2025, the first two episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea will air in the UK. Possibly elsewhere, I'm a little vague on the details. But it won't air in the United States until sometime in January 2026.

So why are we talking about it now, you might legitimately wonder.

Well, partially just as an assurance that Doux Reviews will, indeed, be reviewing the series once it airs in the US. Probably by me, should I avoid falling into a chipper/shredder over the holiday season. (I live in Minnesota. We've all seen Fargo. Which, ironically, is not in Minnesota but the rest of the film is set there, so I stand behind my reference.)

Mostly though I just wanted to have a place to celebrate the series as it occurs in real time for more fortunate parts of the world. I'm personally looking forward to it very much. I can't wait to properly dissect it.

Of the many things that give me big hopes for the show:

- I'm a huge fan of Russell Tovey and have never once regretted watching his performance in anything. Even American Horror Story: NYC which was... let's be polite and say 'uneven'.

- Ditto Jemma Redgrave, excepting the part about American Horror Story, which I don't think she's ever appeared in. I would absolutely watch a series about her exploring the gay leather bar scene of New York in the 80s, should her career veer that way.

- I love the new design for the Sea Devils, or 'Homo Aqua', as we're apparently now calling them.

- Gugu Mbatha-Raw consistently did more with the role of Tish Jones in Doctor Who then should have been possible given how underwritten the character was. And she was also in that one episode of Black Mirror that everyone always goes on about as being the best thing ever.

- The artwork that the promotional department has been putting out has been consistently exquisite, which gives me a lot of hope for the visual design.

There's plenty more, but I'll leave it there for now. If you've been lucky enough to live somewhere where it's aired, what did you think? Please avoid significant spoilers in the comments, but please do share your thoughts, enthusiasm, and reactions.

Looking forward to getting to see and discuss it myself!

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, retired firefighter, and roughly 78% water. You can find more of his work at the 42nd Vizsla. If you'd like to see his raw notes for this and other reviews, you can find them at What Was Mikey Thinking.