The War Between the Land and the Sea review

 

Doctor Who spin offs are often underrated by fans of the show yet given more generous leeway by those with less concern about canon, lore or continuity. This is the latest in a lineage that includes Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures and Class, each of which had their strong points and strayed to places that the main series either can’t or won’t go. The War Between The Land and the Sea (a title so unwieldy let’s just called it War Between) stakes out similar ground to Torchwood, with whom it shares a less fantastical style yet it feels as if it can’t quite grasp what it is reaching for. There are strongly felt messages and moments that impress but the whole production never quite coalesces. As for the war we don’t really see one; just some skirmishes.

From the start, the production has more robustness than recent Doctor Who episodes which were aimed at a younger audience and focussed more on fantasy than harder edged drama. War Between also appears to have had noticeably more money spent on it; its tempting to speculate that the lion’s share of the Disney money went on this rather than the parent series which didn’t look any more lavish than it had in previous years. There is some narrative awkwardness as to how closely the series wants to be associated with Doctor Who. Instead it is UNIT in the driving seat and the issue there is that, without the Doctor around, they becomes indistinguishable from any other military organisation.

The plot lifts the unassuming Barclay Pierre Dupont (Russell Tovey) from an admin backwater by way of a clerical error right up to the front line. He’s whisked away to an island called Dragonara (real name) where an amphibian reptile has got caught up in a fishing net, surely a sly homage to the Sea Devil’s formerly favoured string vests! As his fellow soldiers observe the corpse he is the only one who gives it the respect of making the sign of the cross. This seemingly tiny detail proves to be the crux of the series as it causes Barclay to be chosen by the reptiles to lead negotiations. “Alright then” he concurs cheerily at the end of the episode.

Notwithstanding what this whole thing says about UNIT security and admin (they’ve already had a few undercover intruders in recent Doctor Who stories) it allows Russell Tovey to display a likeable, slightly hapless but cheerfully willing participant to humanise what is often a military and politically dominated drama. He is essentially our surrogate Doctor albeit without the smarts and when he’s off screen the serious faced people with official titles take precedence. 

The series definitely makes a strong visual impression with a different look and tone to Doctor Who. The Spanish locations are utilised effectively and the sequence where a lot of Aquatic visitors are standing in the water facing the UNIT soldiers is extremely well lit. The variously designed species look impressive albeit quite different to the ones we know from Doctor Who.  The stand out sequence in episode one comes when the reptiles retrieve the body by flooding the chamber where its being guarded, a scene shot through with panic that proves difficult to replicate later on as matters slide into diplomatic talks with the sea creatures. A huge tunnel is built enabling our aquatic cousins to travel to a conference set up after they reveal themselves in a spectacular sequence though if they can travel about on those strange floating islands why exactly do they need the tunnel?

Its very slickly directed with a real sense of occasion and includes RTD’s traditional news reel montage as a way of letting us know just how serious this is. Episode two is wordier (as people have dubbed it The Talk Between the Land and the Sea) but with an underlying tension that both writer Pete McTighe and director Dylan Holmes Williams ensure keeps us  involved in what is essentially forty five minutes of diplomatic negotiations.  Matters are also enlivened by Barclay’s often befuddled reaction to things happening around him. His cover soon broken he becomes a worldwide figure though remains amusingly off script during the meetings with Homo Aqua. Russell Tovey and Gugu Mpatha Raw are both very good in these scenes, standing before each other with subtle interpretations of the script. You might see Barclay’s honest, open responses as naïve or think that Salt’s demands are impractical but it creates an interesting debate.

The meetings cut to the chase of what the series is really about- pollution. It’s a topic that has ebbed and flowed in the news agenda in recent years and the plot here is that it has caused considerable suffering for Home Aqua (though aren’t they supposed to be mostly hibernating?) This is demonstrated graphically when Salt drops two dead foetuses on the floor. Of course, in real life there are no aquatic ambassadors to articulate what is happening due to the amount of sewage and assorted detritus we regularly pump into the oceans but give or take a few things I imagine what is happening to marine life is similar to that described by Salt in her address. Whether this is a suitable production to air these issues is something different. There is probably a hard hitting human drama to be made about pollution and I’m just not sure the message will come across in this more unconventional way. Home Aqua’s response to the problem is somewhat reminiscent of another real life conflict in that it is disproportionate and quite unnecessarily inflammatory. I’m not sure if that parallel was intended however.

The series’ high production values are evident when the reptiles `return` our garbage and it rains from the sky in a “plastic apocalypse”. The sight of sewage and plastic falling down heavily on streets provides the episode’s set piece and is very impressively mounted using drone shots over well known locations.  You do wonder though how the reptiles engineered this massive event, the first of several queries that pop up alongside key developments.

Episode three generates considerable tension as the delegates including Barclay descend into the Homo Aqua’s domain in what might be another nod to the classic `Sea Devils` story’s diving bell. The underwater world is beautifully represented in shades of dark green and has `fluid` ceilings but unfortunately we don’t spend long there due to an act of sabotage that has far reaching repercussions. The end of the episode culminates in two assassinations, the sort of scenes you’d never get in Doctor Who.  Unlike the parent series’ fantasy stuff where characters can die and come back the collateral here is very real and these are two shocking moments, one of which sends Kate Stewart into a dangerous spiral.

Its only watching this that you realise we don’t know much about Kate Stewart and her character has been unevenly used in Doctor Who. This appears to be an attempt to redress the balance with part four as much about her reaction to the events of the previous episode than anything else. Jemma Redgrave rises to the occasion with an emotional performance, her best in this role.

While the idea that a lot of politicians are prioritising self interests and the military’s default position is wanting war is sadly all too believable, I feel this story makes them too simplistically aggressive. Another noticeable thing is how Salt seems to totally change personality from haughty demanding ambassador to fascinated lovestruck fugitive which I suppose could partly be attributed to falling for Barclay but it is such an abrupt shift and once the plot sees them flee together as fugitives the pollution issue more of less vanishes.

 Both Salt and Barclay are catapulted into a different sort of story in which their feelings about the need to change human behaviour are forgotten. Then in part five, having said her fellow creatures would kill her for becoming a fugitive, she is back to being the ambassador again.  Also there’s something of an inconsistency as to how long the aquatic creatures can healthily live out of the water- in part four Salt is suggesting she can’t go back in the sea or she will be detected but surely she would have to? Also why wouldn’t Salt be taken to the UNIT base directly rather than have a stop off point where it could be intercepted? The relationship between Barclay and Salt happens so quickly and is never given enough space to allow it to convince.

It is a pity that the story doesn’t allow them to save the day in some dramatic way, instead choosing a plot wherein Barclay- kept in a hotel but able to (he thinks) secretly sneak out to search for Salt has his drink spiked with the Severance virus. After he’s kissed Salt she spreads it to a large proportion of Homo Aqua. How? Surely it would be contained with a small circle once I became apparent and how come Salt herself is immune? If this seems far fetched then the final scenes in which it appears Barclay has acquired gills and the couple swim off together (to an admittedly gorgeous rendition of `Heroes` by Alison Goldfrapp) like dolphins can swim into those polluted seas. As for the post credit sequence I’m not sure what was supposed to be the point of it except perhaps that Kate has finally flipped.

So the serial ends in an unsatisfying manner, unable to offer a second half anywhere near as good as the first and with some questionable developments. Visually its very well made, the performances are good and the first three episodes promising but it definitely doesn’t stick the landing and unfortunately that’s the sort of thing people remember.