The War Between the Land and the Sea review prepare to roll your eyes a lot at this fishy Doctor Who spinoff

"The War Between the Land and the Sea, the long-awaited Doctor Who spin-off from Russell T Davies concentrating on the adventures of Unit rather than the double-hearted man from Gallifrey, is finally here. RTD stalwart Russell Tovey stars as Barclay, an everyman figure who soon two excellent puns incoming finds himself out of his depth, nay a fish out of water, as he is forced to take the lead in the geopolitical crisis that surrounds him."

"Barclay is a low-level clerk with Unit who, through the kind of bureaucratic snafu that you may in your salad days have believed was confined to fictional romps aimed largely at children over the festive period until age and experience poured slugs into them, ends up being part of the operation sent to deal with the discovery by a group of Spanish fishers of well, fishmen. Fishfolk."

"Two set pieces full of special effects later (ground turns boggy, soldiers and fishy corpse disappear beneath, experts baffled, fishy army emerges from the sea to screech terrifyingly at Unit and rocky outcrops crop up in waterways around the world to hijack global communications), an interspecies meeting is convened to find out what these be-gilled botherers want. Pour yourself a shot of Bailey's and get used to it' a sea devil from The War Between The Land And The Sea."

Unit becomes the focal point of a spin-off following Barclay, a low-level clerk suddenly elevated into leadership during a global crisis. Spanish fishers discover humanoid aquatic creatures identified as Sea Devils, ancient inhabitants trapped beneath the surface when the planet reformed. Each Sea Devil bears a mysterious pearl embedded in its neck. Rapidly escalating incidents include bogged ground, disappearing soldiers, an emergent fishy army and rocky outcrops disrupting global communications. An interspecies meeting is convened to determine Sea Devil intentions. The production’s tone lands in a mid-tier Whoniverse, mixing spectacle, bureaucratic mishaps and political stakes.

Read at www.theguardian.com