Russell T Davies' latest Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, has sparked sharply divided reactions following its premiere on BBC One yesterday evening.
The five-part series, which launched with a double-bill, stars Russell Tovey as Barclay, a low-ranking UNIT employee thrust into the role of humanity's ambassador when an ancient aquatic species emerges from the depths.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw portrays Salt, the enigmatic representative of the Homo Aqua, better known to Doctor Who fans as the Sea Devils.
The series marks the latest expansion of the Whoniverse franchise, joining previous spin-offs including Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
BBC The War Between the Land and the Sea: Russell Tovey leads the new drama
|BBC
Before the series even hit screens, Mr Davies's spin-off faced an uphill battle to impress, given the reception it received among professional critics.
The Telegraph's review branded the programme "inadvertently hilarious," noting that while Mr Tovey "very nearly pulls this off" as a likeable everyman alongside his family, the shift into the Whoniverse proved problematic.
The critic wrote that when the show became "propelled by some rather obvious politics", suggesting an ulterior agenda from the show's writers was at play.
The Daily Mail's Christopher Stevens was considerably harsher, describing the spin-off as "astoundingly bad" and "the drippiest sci-fi slop ever to dribble out of our screens." He also alluded to the show's political themes throughout.
BBC The War Between the Land and the Sea: Gugu Mbatha-Raw takes on the role of Salt
|BBC
There were more measured assessments on the show from the likes of The Guardian, which awarded the programme three stars but branded it as a "wasted opportunity to make genuinely great TV."
Unfortunately for Mr Tovey, Mr Davies, Ms Mbatha-Raw, and the rest of the team, the reception on social media was far from unanimous once the first two episodes aired.
"#TheWarBetweentheLandandtheSea Gave it a go - despite seeing Davis was involved - turned into a woke box ticking fest in episode 2 as anticipated - turned off," one X user commented on the social media site.
"#TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea Utter woke bulls**t," a second succinctly put, before a third mocked: "Oh dear somebody just pushed the woke button #TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea."
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BBC The War Between the Land and the Sea has been accused of 'woke virtue-signalling'
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"#TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea What a complete load of infantile woke b*****s," another weighed in, before a fifth echoed: "More BBC woke self-righteous preaching from RTD #TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea."
And a sixth pulled no punches with their verdict: "Dire. Mind you I found Years & Years painful. Even sharing the same politics largely - it's like being pinned down and force-fed virtue signalling bingo through a recyclable tube. Hold on i'd better change to a man before I can get angry about it #TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea." (sic)
However, the feedback wasn't entirely against the so-called "woke" narrative that prompted complaints, with several Whoniverse fans rushing to defend the new show against naysayers.
One X user hit back at the complaints: "It’s honestly just quite funny seeing people calling The War Between The Land and the Sea 'woke trash' and 'woke bingo' completely missing the meaning of these two episodes being why equality and respect is so important #TheWarBetween #TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea #DoctorWho."
A second similarly fired back: "The inevitable complaints that #Thewarbetweenthelandandthesea is woke when plastic pollution is real."
And others applauded Mr Davies and co directly. "#TheWarBetweenTheLandandtheSea WOW. What a story. Great visuals. Amazing performances. @Lornebalfe knocked it out the park with the score. Consider us hooked!! Roll on ep 3," a third fan commented. (sic)
The five-part series will continue next weekend. Mr Davies had previously explained that the concept emerged from imagining the ocean as a living entity and reflecting on environmental degradation.
"Normally the Doctor has a magic blue doorway they can take everybody safely through, that safety net has gone," Mr Davies said.
BBC The War Between the Land and the Sea viewers took to X to share their reactions
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"You very much find these characters up against the wall and pushed to the limit."
The showrunner has emphasised that newcomers need not be familiar with Doctor Who to enjoy the series, noting it "very much takes new viewers into consideration."