To all the Doctor Who fans who have been withering away, worried about starving from the lack of content until the main show’s return next December, fear not, as the upcoming spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, will be on our screens next month. Starring the likes of Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, this sea devilish series, penned by showrunner Russell T Davies, is the latest of the show’s spin-offs, from the darker, gritty Torchwood to the charming, imaginative Sarah Jane Adventures. With the series set to delve deeper into the relationship between humanity and sea devils, fans are eager to see whether it lives up to their expectations, or suffers a similar fate to Davies’ latest era, which was not as resounding a success as his previous episodes.

The show’s short synopsis discusses the sea devils appearing from their oceanic habitat in the absence of the Doctor, meaning UNIT must step in and try to create peace between the species and humanity. The show will zoom in on a spokesperson for each species, Barclay (Tovey), ambassador for humanity, and Salt (Mbatha-Raw), who represents the sea devils. As we currently don’t have many more details about the plot, fans should be in for a surprise with the direction the series takes, whether positive or negative.

While there were some stand-out moments in the latest season of Doctor Who, such as the unexpected return of Billie Piper, fans have questioned the handling of this, as her role is unclear, and there’s worry that it will merely be a repetition of the 60th anniversary specials, which saw David Tennant’s return as The Doctor. Especially following these storylines and Davies’ recent comment about his belief in the importance of making ‘content worthy’ Doctor Who, which fans read as him being more interested in parts of the show racking up views on short-form media platforms than being loyal to the fandom and the history of the show, they are concerned about Davies’ ability to deliver stories as iconic and outstanding as his original era of Doctor Who.

With the show seeing the return of recurring character Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), fans have been excited to see her take on a larger role, but some have equally been sceptical of how the series will deal with her character, just as they have harboured doubt about the show as a whole, following the lower ratings received by the latest season of the main show. As well as this, the updated design of the sea devils, which has made them unrecognisable, has left fans wondering how faithful the series will be to the main show itself, and how Davies will deal with the iconic villains he has already altered so drastically. Will this make a positive change from his constant reliance on his previous era, or is it too large of a change? With all this scepticism, is there any way Davies can succeed in impressing everyone? Or with social media today, is criticism, no matter what he does, inescapable?

Thus, fans are impatiently awaiting the spin-off, wondering whether Davies will create new, exciting storylines, or will be met with the same critique he has faced from his writing on the main show. Will the series be a success or create another war between the fans and the writers? Stream the five-part series in December and see what you think!

Stream The War Between the Land and the Sea on BBC One at 8:30pm on Sunday 7 December! 

More from Redbrick Film & TV:

Film Review: The Running Man

Film Review: Black Phone 2

Web Series Highlights: The Mandela Catalogue