Making waves... but without the Doctor

WRITER RUSSELL T DAVIES AND STARS RUSSELL TOVEY AND GUGU MBATHA-RAW DISCUSS NEW DOCTOR WHO SPIN-OFF SERIES, THE WAR BETWEEN THE LAND AND THE SEA, WITH LYNN RUSK

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Davies, who also created Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin, says The War Between the Land and the Sea is based on former Doctor Who script, The Sea Devils, which is being rescreened on BBC4 this weekend.

“The first version aired back in 1972 and was created by a writer called Malcolm Hulke, an absolute genius and a proper television pro and then it sat there for decades,” he explains.

“But it’s a really brilliant idea: What if there’s a race that came before us, living beneath the sea? It’s irresistibly good. It echoes; it resonates.

“And actually, as we continue to damage the world more and more, the story becomes even more relevant. So I’m glad we revisited it. It paid off in the end.”

Davies says that those who have never watched Doctor Who can still enjoy the series. “It’s a brand-new show for a brand-new audience,” he explains.

“It’s all from Barclay’s point of view, that’s the key. He saw the Doctor, met the Doctor, but only for 10 seconds, so he knows nothing. He doesn’t have that perspective.

“Even within UNIT he’s the one ordering the taxis, so he doesn’t have that sort of cosmological frame of reference.

“And that’s exactly like new viewers coming to it: they won’t have that knowledge either. They'll arrive with a completely blank slate.

“That brings the whole story to life, it makes it fresh and new and dynamic.”