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.
I know nothing about this series. What is it about? What is it spinning off? One particular episode or character?
ReplyDeleteBack in 1970 there was a story carried the Silurians, in which the previous 'owners' of earth, who were reptiles, woke up from hibernation and were horrified to see mammals all over the place. So naturally they tried to exterminate them, since they viewed the planet as theirs still. It's a thoughtful and nuanced story that is also at least two episodes too long.
DeleteThen two years later they basically redid the same story with an aquatic version of the Silurians called the Sea Devils..
The second to last Jodie Whitaker story brought the sea devils back but made a total hash of the episode. I have higher hopes that this version of the story will be much better
Okay, that helps -- thanks Mikey. I vaguely remember the Silurians from their first advent. I missed a lot of the Jodie episodes.
DeleteIt still doesn't explain why they chose such a LONG TITLE. :) Seriously, I think it's a serious mistake, and not just because people hate typing long titles. It's a branding error. Oh, well. I'm probably wrong. I'm not an executive producer.
... and why did they choose such a LONG TITLE? I already hate typing it! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Silurians, which was called the Cave Monsters in novel form was a solid 3rd Doctor story, with some real characters and conflicts that made both sides have nice shades of gray. It went beyond the typical monster of the week that Who often has, which is fun, but more depth and nuance is welcome too.
ReplyDeleteThe Sea Devils did feel like a rehash. although Delgado's master did help. It wasn't as good, but it was still fun. Then we got Warriors of the Deep for the 5th Doctor, and man, was that a letdown in more ways than one.
Thanks for posting this Mikey, I had no idea what this was about before. I saw it popup on my YouTube feed, but no details. Curious how it will all turn out. At the very least, the costumes will be better!
I'm assuming that Russell Tovey is not playing Alonso again, right? Doctor Who likes to reuse actors in different roles (hi, Peter Capaldi, who besides being both the Doctor and being in that Pompeii episode was also in Torchwood: Children of Earth) but it always confuses me.
ReplyDeleteIs Gugu Mbatha-Raw playing Tish Jones again? Or is this another repeated actor/different character situation?
Th e Sea Devils also appeared in a 5th Doctor serial as well as the 3rd.
ReplyDelete