"The War Between the Land and the Sea" Stumbles into its Premise like a Disappointed Kid in a Pool.
The BBC and Disney's latest joint effort, "The War Between the Land and the Sea," began airing in the UK last weekend. The show is set after years of international same-day broadcasts for the US and other parts of the world were suspended, allowing it to air exclusively on BBC One and BBC iPlayer until next year when Disney will release it internationally.
Behind the scenes, there's a lot of drama that could be summed up as weird. The show itself seems hamstrung by its connection to "Doctor Who," struggling to reconcile its identity with its parent series. It wants to acknowledge its predecessor without diminishing the narrative's complexity or undervaluing established storylines. At the same time, it needs to strike a balance between conveying important messages and occasionally embracing humor that doesn't quite land.
The show revolves around Barclay Pierre-Dupont (played by Russell Tovey), a low-level logistics clerk who finds himself in the middle of humanity's first major encounter with the aquatic precursor race known as "Homo Aqua." The species, which was thought to be extinct, has re-emerged from the oceans following the death of a scout by fishermen. Barclay soon becomes an unlikely ambassador for humanity in negotiations between Homo Aqua and Earth.
At its core, "The War Between the Land and the Sea" is about climate change, using Homo Aqua as a catalyst to push humans out of their complacency on this issue. It explores how this conflict might force humanity to confront its relationship with the environment, but this message sometimes feels like it's being forced onto the audience.
The show also delves into its own identity by leveraging UNIT, a fictional intelligence agency in "Doctor Who." However, its treatment of UNIT is somewhat shallow, failing to critically examine its role or history with Homo Aqua. This oversight may be due to the need to preserve the series' connection to "Doctor Who" while simultaneously exploring new ideas.
Overall, "The War Between the Land and the Sea" seems uncertain about what it wants to be. It's neither fully embracing its "Doctor Who" roots nor distancing itself enough from them. The show's attempts at conveying a serious message can't help but feel undermined by awkward humor and too much repetition of familiar elements from its parent series.
The BBC and Disney's latest joint effort, "The War Between the Land and the Sea," began airing in the UK last weekend. The show is set after years of international same-day broadcasts for the US and other parts of the world were suspended, allowing it to air exclusively on BBC One and BBC iPlayer until next year when Disney will release it internationally.
Behind the scenes, there's a lot of drama that could be summed up as weird. The show itself seems hamstrung by its connection to "Doctor Who," struggling to reconcile its identity with its parent series. It wants to acknowledge its predecessor without diminishing the narrative's complexity or undervaluing established storylines. At the same time, it needs to strike a balance between conveying important messages and occasionally embracing humor that doesn't quite land.
The show revolves around Barclay Pierre-Dupont (played by Russell Tovey), a low-level logistics clerk who finds himself in the middle of humanity's first major encounter with the aquatic precursor race known as "Homo Aqua." The species, which was thought to be extinct, has re-emerged from the oceans following the death of a scout by fishermen. Barclay soon becomes an unlikely ambassador for humanity in negotiations between Homo Aqua and Earth.
At its core, "The War Between the Land and the Sea" is about climate change, using Homo Aqua as a catalyst to push humans out of their complacency on this issue. It explores how this conflict might force humanity to confront its relationship with the environment, but this message sometimes feels like it's being forced onto the audience.
The show also delves into its own identity by leveraging UNIT, a fictional intelligence agency in "Doctor Who." However, its treatment of UNIT is somewhat shallow, failing to critically examine its role or history with Homo Aqua. This oversight may be due to the need to preserve the series' connection to "Doctor Who" while simultaneously exploring new ideas.
Overall, "The War Between the Land and the Sea" seems uncertain about what it wants to be. It's neither fully embracing its "Doctor Who" roots nor distancing itself enough from them. The show's attempts at conveying a serious message can't help but feel undermined by awkward humor and too much repetition of familiar elements from its parent series.
...it's gonna sink under its own weight. They're playing it too safe, trying to recreate the magic of "Doctor Who" without adding anything new or interesting. The result is a show that's all over the place, unsure of what it wants to be. Climate change message gets lost in awkward humor and repetitive elements 
but after reading the review i gotta agree, it sounds like they're struggling to find their identity 
they want to make a statement about climate change but it feels like they're forcing it on us 
instead of making it organic to the story. and idk what's up with UNIT being shallow 
if they really wanted to explore this, they could've done some cool stuff with it 
anyway, i guess we'll just have to wait and see if they can iron out their issues next year 
. The message about climate change is cool and all, but it's been done before in other shows and films. I wish they would've found a way to make it more original and nuanced. And don't even get me started on the humor 
, it's like they're trying too hard to be funny and end up being awkward instead. Overall, I'm kinda disappointed 
, I was expecting something more epic but it feels like just another show trying to fill a void 
. It feels like they're trying to ride the coattails of "Doctor Who" without adding anything fresh or substantial 
. The show's got a lot of potential, but it's just kinda meh 
.
. It's trying to be serious, but it's not taking risks enough to make it truly memorable 
.
. It feels like it's just trying to ride the coattails of "Doctor Who" without putting in the real work 
. They want to tackle climate change and environmentalism, but it comes off as a bit heavy-handed 
. I mean, can't they just lighten up a bit? The humor feels forced and awkward 
, and the repetition of familiar elements from "Doctor Who" is like, hello, be original! 
. Overall, I'd say this show is stuck in a rut 
. Maybe it'll find its footing as it airs more episodes, but for now, it's just not grabbing me 
#TheWarBetweenTheLandAndSea #DoctorWhoDrama #ClimateChangeLackluster
. Can we please just have a show that takes risks and tries new things for once? 
And what's up with the characters, anyway? Barclay Pierre-Dupont sounds like an interesting guy, but I'm not really sure how he fits into all this 
.