Russell Tovey has given us a few more details about upcoming Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, notably on his character, Barclay.
At the Edinburgh TV Festival, Tovey was asked about the show, and explained:
“It’s set in our world. Climate change is a huge factor, again it needs to be factored more into art so we really get an understanding of it.
“It’s this narrative of this guy who, basically, as Jane [Tranter, Executive Producer] said in the introduction, he’s someone who works in the offices and books people’s taxis, but by some series of events, he ends up becoming a very important figure in the world, and having to understand that role and what that entails. And, in true Doctor Who [fashion, he’s] saving the planet. It was just a total joy to play this everyman who’s the sort of a guy that’s drifted into his late 30s, early 40s, and, unbeknownst to him, just thought, ‘This is what life was going to be.’
“I love that, hopefully, it’s inspiring and people feel like it’s not over, that things can shift [at] any moment. I’m really proud of it, and I’m terrified of it and excited by it – all of those things. But working on it was brilliant, and the scripts were fab.”
Of course, it’s no surprise that the show is going to be about climate change, and Doctor Who is no stranger to such environmental messages, most notably in The Green Death and Orphan 55. One has to hope we won’t be lectured to, however, as surely the primary audience for the franchise already knows about global warming and does its best to do its part in fighting climate change. We simply want a good story from Doctor Who and its spin-offs.
Either way, it’s good to see that people are finally talking about The War Between the Land and the Sea, which so far seems to have gone a little under the radar. This is perhaps due to it being “up in the air”, with no fixed airdate on either the BBC or Disney+.
Plus, this might be the last gasp of this era of Doctor Who, which feels a bit… strange.
Either way, we expect to see The War Between the Land and the Sea at some point over the next year!
