The War Between The Land And The Sea episodes 1 & 2 by Russell T Davies

OK, so there is no ‘Doctor Who’ this yuletide but as ‘The War Between The Land And The Sea’ is set in the Whoniverse, you’ll be having my comments for the next 3 weeks, assuming the BBC don’t double up a second time, like they are doing tonight. Russell T Davies hinted a while back that there would be some spin-offs, so its about time they started to appear.

If you’re in a country that is going to show these two opening episodes on different nights, then be careful of spoilers if you’re reading here. Any odd spellings or details missing, remember I’m doing this as I’m watching and not all of them are revealed or online to refer to.

Episode 1: Homa Aqua

A fishing vessel has an unusual catch in its net, an amphibian, and is shot. Barclay Pierre-Dupont (actor Russell Tovey) is mistakenly called into at short notice to join a UNIT crew going to the island of Dragonaira. Thing is, his job is to call transport admin not medical things and got selected because the medic wasn’t available.

They examine the dead creature and find a pearl in its neck, hinting humans have come across this species before. General Austin Pierce (actor Colin McFarlane) defines the creature as Homo Aqua, ignoring the more Latin name, Home spondaes, given to it.

During the night when most of the team are asleep, another creature comes to claim the body and the two guards are missing. Pierce uses his mobile phone to locate them and finds the guards sunk into the floor. Pierre-Dupont explains his actual job to Pierce as he can’t do an autopsy but the General concedes that having a civilian with them as being provident as a witness. Another office explains to Pierre-Dupont that this is not an alien invasion as these beings, who’ve been hibernating, were here before humans. Oh, there’s as throwaway line by Pierre-Dupont about having met the Doctor the previous year. Then one of them comes out of the ocean. Diplomacy doesn’t go quite as planned because they don’t want to just talk with UNIT but the whole world and they pop up out of the sea everywhere.

I think I’m going to side with these amphibians here. How can UNIT be there in peace when it has armed officers aiming their weapons at them.

In London, a waterway and tank is created to give an access to these beings. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (actress Jemma Redgrave) reveals that UNIT will be acting a common security representative while diplomacy is carried out with other humans watching on. Seven beings, three different species come up to meet the animals, humans to us. Hope you’re good with your Latin names, although I doubt if that could be established so quickly in real life. Apart from the first ones, one species is more fish than humanoid. The single specie is more human and can communicate in various human languages. She is not happy. Her children as eggs have died because of pollutants. They don’t want to talk to the diplomat provided but to Pierre-Dupont, seeing him giving respect to the dead amphibian want him ambassador.

Episode 2: Plastic Apocalypse

Nice of them to give a couple minutes between episodes. I wonder if they’re doing if for people like me to gather our notes together. They haven’t seen my typing speed. You do have to wonder how many aqua species there are because they look nothing like the Sea Devils. Looks like Pierre-Dupont is going to get another pay rise as he reluctantly takes the post.

Despite Lethbridge-Stewart trying to get the choice of ambassador back, the specie calling herself Salt (actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw) chose him because of his humanity with the dead amphibian. Later, Lethbridge-Stewart says she has to work her way through the different countries but needs Pierre-Dupont to trust her.

Now here’s an odd thing. Lethbridge-Stewart acknowledges the special humans have usually travelled with the Doctor and yet none of his/her former companions are here, especially as several of them are employed by UNIT. Granted they might take things away from making Pierre-Dupont the centre of activity but Davies should be smart enough to have covered this.

In the first diplomat meeting, Pierre-Dupont goes off script when he has to explain how polluted the Thames water is and why he can’t drink it. Salt appreciates his honesty.

At the next meeting, Pierre-Dupont explains it will take 40 years to reduce the oceans pollution. Salt says that is unacceptable and offers to do it for them and the dry land is rained on with plastic rubbish. She changes sex when angry and forbids humans to travel on oceans and waterways and over them. That gives a bad reaction from the people in the hall and Pierre-Dupont tries to calm things down. Salt says his next meeting will be in their environment, deep down in the Mariana Trench and Pierre-Dupont agrees.

Now let’s think about that a minute. If Salt’s people have forbidden humans to travel on the oceans, how are they going to be able to get a deep depth submarine there and take it down to that depth?

Deep breath. I’ve only concentrated on the main elements of the plot. As you’ll see when watching these two episodes, we see Pierre-Dupont’s family given protection, more so as one of the French diplomats reveals his identity to the media. The eggs Salt provided are taken away for examination but we don’t see the results yet. There also a short scene of some corporates realising that this might be a war situation.

Now here’s another problem. Considering how so many of the Homo Aqua species appear over the land in so many countries, it does raise a question of how could there be so many when pollutants are stopping them breeding? Of course, like the Sea Devils, they might have been hibernating but what woke them up much later than them.

The amount of rubbish Homo Aqua returned to the dry lands seems to under-estimate just how much humans have chucked in the ocean, especially if you include shipwrecks and we should have seen a lot more than this. Likewise, what did they do with the liquid pollutants and such. Speaking of shipwrecks, why didn’t Home Aqua consider those that have been taken over by lower water creatures as their homes?

It’s also pretty obvious that these beings are much more powerful technology wise than the earth animals, that’s you people by the way. If there is a war we’re sorely outmatched. There is also a matter of us being privy to the Earth of the future by a certain Time Lord and no sight of these beings which sort of pre-empts the end of this story.

Some aspects of this story reminds me of the last ‘Torchwood’ story, ‘Miracle Day’, and we all saw how that turned out.

Do you want me to go on? I have to get this on-line.

Any answers to this have to come in the next three episodes, stay tuned.

GF Willmetts

07 November 2025