We Just Got the Best Doctor Who Story in 8 Years (& the Doctor Isn’t Even In It)

The new Doctor Who spinoff is out now, and it’s better than anybody expected. The Doctor Who partnership between Disney and the BBC hasn’t exactly been a success, with viewership failing to live up to expectations. Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies launched what turned out to be a controversial era of Doctor Who history, with Ncuti Gatwa’s two seasons as the Doctor coming to an abrupt end. Worse still, it came at a time when Doctor Who was already declining in views, meaning this has been a tough decade for the world’s longest-running sci-fi TV series.

The Disney/BBC partnership has ended now, and the BBC is closely considering the show’s future. In the meantime, though, there’s one final spinoff in the works – the first Doctor Who spinoff in 9 years, made with Disney budgets. The War Between the Land and the Sea stars Jemma Redgrave, Russell Tovey, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and it features the classic monsters usually called the Sea Devils – now officially renamed “Homo Aqua” for a more sensitive era. It’s also, surprisingly, the best Doctor Who story we’ve had in years.

The War Between the Land and the Sea is a Fantastic Doctor Who Story

In Doctor Who lore, Homo Aqua was the first sentient race to evolve on Earth. There have been mixed explanations of their origins in canon; sometimes it’s said they evolved before the moon settled into Earth’s orbit, sometimes before the asteroid impact they wiped out the dinosaurs. Regardless, some prehistoric catastrophe forced Homo Aqua into hibernation, and the creatures have slept beneath the ocean depths for millions – perhaps even billions – of years. In The War Between the Land and the Sea, Homo Aqua reveal they have awoken en masse.

There’s no sign of the Doctor (not even David Tennant’s bigeneration Doctor, who’s technically living on Earth at this point in the timeline). Instead, Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart leads the organization called UNIT in attempting to negotiate an armistice between humanity and Homo Aqua before the entire world descends to war. Russell Tovey’s Barclay Pierre-Dupont takes point as an everyday civilian who winds up becoming ambassador to Homo Aqua, while Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s “Salt” is the creatures’ apparent leader.

There have been some good Doctor Who stories in the last eight years; Chris Chibnall’s era is noted for episodes like “Rosa” and “Fugitive of the Judoon,” while “Wild Blue Yonder” was as close as Doctor Who has ever come to a horror story. These tales are, however, overshadowed by Chibnall’s Timeless Child retcon, while the Gatwa era is generally viewed as disappointing due to overarching narrative arcs. In contrast, the first two episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea are deeply engaging. As reviewers have noted, it turns out that removing the Doctor from Doctor Who raises the stakes.

The War Between the Land and the Sea Isn’t Subtle, But It’s Good

Russell T. Davies is noted for his political activism, but he’s never been subtle. The War Between the Land and the Sea is no exception to this rule, because pollution is the main contention between humanity and Homo Aqua. In one speech, Barclay stands before both races and complains that humanity is destroying our planet; our children know what’s going on, but we’re not listening to them. The War Between the Land and the Sea wears its heart on its sleeve.

Oddly enough, though, that isn’t really a problem. There’s something quite charming about The War Between the Land and the Sea, which lacks any real artifice and strips the issue down to its bare bones. Barclay is a compelling everyman character, and the show even bakes the need for civilians into Doctor Who lore, revealing the UNIT Protocols require a civilian observer on all missions – a neat way of explaining why UNIT is always happy to have the Doctor’s companions hang around. It works surprisingly well.

The first two episodes of The War Between the Land and the Sea are available to U.K. viewers now, with further episodes releasing over the next two weeks. We don’t yet have an international release date for the spinoff; Disney+ has only confirmed that it will be releasing worldwide in 2026. But it’s definitely worth any Whovians checking out, because this really does feel so much closer to what Doctor Who should be than anything we’ve seen in the last eight years.

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