2 Major Doctor Who Spinoffs Prove This Release Trick Works Perfectly & Should Be Repeated

Russell T. Davies’ newest Doctor Who spinoff repeats a release trick from his previous era as the Whoniverse’s showrunner, and proves this technique works best for the franchise. Doctor Who has been through some turbulent times recently, with criticism being fired at the main show’s writing, style, and messaging. However, the BBC’s new Doctor Who spinoff, which has been following Homo Aqua—classic monsters the Sea Devils—waging war on humanity to take back the Earth, has received some huge praise, and we think we know why.

The War Between the Land and the Sea is an event miniseries spinoff from Doctor Who that comprises only five episodes, reminding us of how great the last five-episode event spinoff was. Torchwood: Children of Earth released its five episodes on consecutive days for a whole week in 2009, and both Children of Earth and The War Between the Land and the Sea are regarded as very strong. This seems to be the best release technique for Doctor Who spinoffs, so we’d love to see more event series’ release with this tight and compact release schedule.

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Why Five-Episode Doctor Who Event Spinoffs Work Best

Back in 2009, Torchwood: Children of Earth released as the third season of Torchwood, but followed one major worldwide event rather than case-of-the-week adventures involving Cardiff’s Torchwood team. The series saw the alien 456 come to Earth and demand 10% of the world’s children, whom they use as recreational drugs. This created huge conflict for humanity and the Torchwood team, and ended in tragedy for both. Spanning only five episodes meant all the fat was cut and Children of Earth was kept high-energy, active, and exciting, which is repeated in The War Between the Land and the Sea.

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The War Between the Land and the Sea follows UNIT transport clerk Barclay (Russell Tovey), an Everyman who is chosen to be humanity’s ambassador during negotiations with Homo Aqua, but who eventually goes rogue with the Sea Devils’ ambassador, Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). At the time of writing, we’re yet to see how the spinoff will end, but the action has been kept as concise, high-octane, and dramatic as Children of Earth thanks to the shortened episode count. It seems five-episode event series are the best for Doctor Who spinoffs.

The perfect example is Torchwood: Miracle Day from 2011, which is widely regarded to have gone on too long, and perhaps would have been better trimmed to only five episodes. Sticking to just five episodes would also keep the budget down, allow for tighter action sequences, and keep the narrative moving quickly. Since there have been calls for more Doctor Who spinoffs after Russell T. Davies’ return and the release of The War Between the Land and the Sea, we would love to see more snappy spinoffs with just five episodes—which could help to revive Doctor Who’s stellar reputation.

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