‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ Feels Nothing Like Disney’s ‘Doctor Who’

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If you were hoping The War Between the Land and the Sea would feel like the classic Disney-era Doctor Who, you might be disappointed. The very first episode, “Homo Aqua,” makes it clear that the show is moving away from that style, as the BBC takes full creative control of the series.

In 2022, Disney and the BBC partnered to create a series of shows together, starting with 26 episodes. The recent five-episode run of The War Between completed that initial agreement. Disneyā€™s choice not to extend the partnership suggests this collaboration hasnā€™t gone as well as hoped, even though Doctor Who received a visual makeover with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. Interestingly, the new UNIT miniseries, while also a Disney co-production, doesnā€™t feel connected to that same effort.

How ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ Immediately Separates Itself From ‘Doctor Who’s Disney Era


BBC

UK viewers can now stream The War Between on BBC iPlayer, even though it wonā€™t be available in other countries until 2026. It will be coming to Disney+ in the US and elsewhere next year. A key sign that Doctor Who and Disney are moving away from their partnership is that the new spinoffā€™s opening title only features the BBC logo ā€“ thereā€™s no mention of Disney at all. If both companies were committed to their collaboration until all joint projects were released, Disney would have definitely received credit here.

Notably, The War Between feels quite different from the recent Doctor Who episodes made jointly by the BBC and Disney. While Doctor Who is generally suitable for all ages, the latest seasons had a noticeable Disney influence, clearly targeting younger viewers. The War Between, however, is a more realistic and intense drama within the Doctor Who universe. It focuses heavily on political maneuvering and avoids many typical science fiction clichĆ©sā€”though it doesnā€™t eliminate them entirely.

Honestly, I can’t see kids really connecting with The War Between, but it feels perfectly aimed at an older audience. It always seemed like this spin-off was meant to launch after Ncuti Gatwa had a couple of seasons under his belt as the Doctor. Now, with all the talk about him potentially leaving Doctor Who sooner than expected, it makes sense that a more Disney-influenced version of the show would have followed The War Between. But because of the timing, this spin-off has unexpectedly become a way to transition back to a Doctor Who that feels more traditionally BBC ā€“ and that’s a good thing, in my opinion.

‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ Feels More Like ‘Torchwood’ Than Recent ‘Doctor Who’

(That’s a Good Thing)


BBC

As a long-time fan, I was so excited when Russell T Davies brought back Doctor Who in 2005, and I especially loved that he also gave us Torchwood. It was billed as Doctor Who for grown-ups ā€“ much darker and more mature, and stuff they couldn’t really do on the main show. With Doctor Who changing quite a bit now, especially with the Disney+ deal, I was a little worried The War Between might go super-safe and aimed only at families. But thankfully, Davies has proven with this new series that he can still capture that same edgy, *Torchwoodlike energy ā€“ and Iā€™m so relieved!

The new series, The War Between, clearly takes a lot of inspiration from Torchwood, particularly the Children of Earth storyline. Compared to Torchwood, the UNIT miniseries feels much more restrained. It’s obvious that The War Between the Land and the Sea is actively challenging the direction Doctor Who has taken since Disney became involved, rather than simply continuing it.

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2025-12-09 18:35