The War Between the Land and the Sea: The End of the War

 "We will give you anything you want. Because we are terrified of you."

RTD is writing again for what proves to be a dramatic finale that hits hard and delivers its political subtext relatively well for current television. The human race is indeed out of control, what with the climate catastrophe, pollution, threats of nuclear war, unregulated AI and other such nonsense, all in the name of profit- however nice individual humans may be. And the dog eating scene... yeah, we all know which orange individual is being referred to there. Nice one.

The plot here, if we look at the broad thrust, is quite horrifying. The Sea Devils seem to have won. Humanity has an impossible five years to implement the terms, or the Sea Devils will melt the ice caps, causing mass floods and even more carbon emissions. But some have a plan, Severance, to stop them, and it's particularly pernicious. Not only is it genocidal, it cruelly exploits the love which Barclay has for Salt, using him as the unwitting vector for transmission... and then we get the Sea Devil bodies washing up on the beach. 90% of all Sea Devils are dead. Humanity has won. And we are truly terrifying.

Some may criticise the virus as deus ex machina. I wouldn't. "Severance" is seeded well in advance. But one other possible criticism is how similar this is, plot-wise, to the resolution of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. There's a thin line, sometimes, between homage and just simply lifting something, and I'm not sure which side of the line to place this.

There's much else, though. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart has been deepened considerably as a character within this series. Grief-stricken, obsessive, workaholic, capable of blackmail to avoid being signed off work, her threats to the prime minister are great stuff... but will this be built upon later? I like the reference to the Doctor's absence, though- "I save the human race, but I don't shape the human race". And the scientist's comment that "from the moment homo sapiens meet a new species, we slaughter them.". Indeed. What hope for the Sea Devils, after the fate of the Neanderthals, Denisovans and countless other hominids that went before them?

Salt and Barclay may get their happy ending to counterbalance the bleakness, as Barclay grows gills(!) and goes to live in the sea. But he's abandoning his child, and that sits very badly with me. This, the War of the Worlds issue, and the need for Kate's character development to actually be followed through on, are real worries for me. But there's no doubt that this is a hard-hitting and impactful finale.

The War Between the Land and the Sea: The Witch of the Waterfall

 "You'll never swim alone!"

Hmm. I can see what they're trying to do, and even admire it. There's a racism and xenophobia subtext in this episode, especially given that the phrase "great replacement theory" gets bandied around at one point. Far right conspiracies, rich oligarchs, populism... these are, of course, terrible things. So Salt gets arrested, there's the deepfake image of her claiming responsibility, all so very topical. It's all very well done, but perhaps a little too obviously on the nose.

Then there's the weird romance between Salt and Barclay, now rebels together against both human and Sea Devil. Yes, we've seen their mutual attraction, but I'm not sure I buy this. Again, we have the racism angle, and this is supposed to show an interracial relationship as a contrast to all the MAGA-type racism. But the analogy doesn't hold. Barclay and salt aren't people of different ethnicities, they're literally a mammal and a reptile... "interracial" is a much bigger deal here.

And there's Kate, overworking and ploughing through her grief. Jemma Redgrave is superb here, but the character just isn't that deep, and this deep focus on her characterisation just doesn't really work as a consequence. And the stuff with the conspiracy, and the stressed prime minister in over his head... again, I like and appreciate what they're trying to do in theory. But the execution makes no sense. Why is a British PM being advised by American and French generals rather than the Cabinet? Why is an American general giving orders to the British army on London's streets? The whole thing doesn't quite come off, and I just don't buy the stand-off at the end.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. The whole thing looks superb, and the performances remain first rate. The dialogue is often impressive. But I'm not sure this is quite working in terms of the execution when it comes to both plot and subtext. I hope the finale makes me feel differently...

The War Between the Land and the Sea: The Deep

 "If you're trying to keep the peace, you've already failed."

The third episode maintains the quality by pushing the tension even further, daring to pace things slowly in a way that really works. There's so much superb characterisation here in both script and performances, but malevolent forces are lurking behind the scenes and the shock ending (if not that detail!) feels both earned and inevitable.

The scenes with Barbara and Kirby, with TikTok calling Barclay both a fool and a traitor, shows us just how much pressure he's under, as well as how awful humanity can be in this age of far right culture war. And I have to admire how the slow descent is dwelt on, with some superb and very real characterisation alongside the building up of tension. This takes up a huge chunk of the episode and, in pure plot terms, is technically padding. Yet it's utterly gripping, the atmospheric pressure of the deep an apposite metaphor for the pressure felt by Barclay.

Yet, on the surface, all is not well. Kate is overworking, to the concern of Colonel Ibrahim, while the prime minister tries to subtly exclude her, himself being manipulated by the dark forces of the military-industrial complex.

The home of the Sea Devils (and other races) is quite the sight. We, and Barclay, are fed a little more lore- the Sea Devils are nomadic, and seem to count dolphins amongst the many aquatic races! And Barclay and Salt have blatant sexual tension. A mammal and a reptile...!

The end comes as a huge shock, though. The assassination attempt on Kate, Ibrahim taking the bullet for her and dying, her anguish as her soulmate dies in her arms- Jemma Redgrave is extraordinary here. And then we see why Ted was so nervous all along... he was a suicide bomber, and we know who he's broadly working for.

Wow. It's all kicking off. This is gripping stuff, still.

The War Between the Land and the Sea: Plastic Apocalypse

 "This man is the most important person on the planet."

This episode may be Pete McTighe rather than RTD, but the quality continues. If it continues to do so, we could have something truly special here, a modern and deeply thoughtful updating of the Silurians' and Sea Devils' intrinsic subtexts. Here, though, there are two key differences. Firstly, the Sea Devils (still not having Homo Aqua, reptiles are not hominids!) are not opposed to humanity's existence, or ownership of the land; they merely object- strongly- to our pollution, and our possession of the oceans and waterways. Secondly, there's no Doctor... much as Kate may complain, when Barclay goes off script, that "This is like working with the Doctor"!

Yet there's the human side too. Barclay feels real, a testament to Russell Tovey's acting but also to the characterisation. His relation to Barbara and Kirby further humanises him, with Kirby genuinely both idealistic and proud of her dad. But humans, of course, are not perfect, and those with wealth and power are plotting to undermine UNIT. This plot thread can only deepen.

It's interesting to see UNIT more closely. For the first time we see Kate and Colonel Ibrahim at home, very much a couple, contrasting with their professionalism at work. We see speculation about a kind of Sea Devil hive mind. And... it becomes more and more unclear what Shirley's job description actually is.

Yet the drama of the actual diplomatic negotiations is enormous. Even more so than the Sea Devils' dramatic act of returning all plastic etc in the oceans back to land (including, in an echo of Ghostbusters II, the Titanic finally reaching New York)!. Salt and Barclay see to have real chemistry, yet her (and their) anger is palpable. Their demands are seemingly impossible, the sacrifices seemingly too great. Yet, from the Sea Devils' perspective, they are modest and reasonable.

There's long to go, and I've no idea how this will end. But the subtext, the pacing, the characters... this is very, very good.

The War Between the Land and the Sea: Homo Aqua

 "That's them- the gay waters!"

Before I start praising this promising first episode, a gripe about "homo aqua": it's just scientifically illiterate. Even this English graduate knows that the genus "homo" is for hominids, i.e. primate species that walk upright. The Sea Devils are not even mammals, let alone primates. It just doesn't work. I get that the name "Sea Devils" is pejorative, and I don't mean to be one of those tiresome culture warriors who whinge about "woke" this and "woke" that. But dammit, this is a fictional race, and I'm just not having this bad science. As far as I'm concerned, "Sea Devils" it is.

That said, though... this is a very promising start. It looks gorgeous, with the Disney budget well used. The cast, led by Russell Tovey, is excellent. There are some nice little Easter eggs for the fans- a glimpse of Trinity Wells; the surprising use of General (formerly Colonel) Pierce in a more important role all these years later; UNIT in all it's glory, with Kate, Colonel Ibrahim and Shirley all back... although no Blinx; that would hardly suit the more adult tone.

But best of all we have the impressive script from an RTD writing for an adult rather than family audience. The world-building and exposition is well done for people who haven't seen The Sea Devils, and so is the characterisation. General Pierce comes across as a well-rounded and rather impressive individual. Even better, though, is Barclay, the relatable everyman and audience surrogate, with whom we quickly come to identify. He's no one special, just a humble UNIT clerk, divorced and with complex child custody issues to navigate- I can certainly relate! And it's somehow made believable that a chain of events could lead to him being forced to act as humanity's ambassador to the Sea Devils.

I already want to watch more of this intriguing spin-off. I suspect pollution will be a theme, and I wonder what's going on with the two apparent other species. Are we going to get an explanation as to why the Sea Devils look so different, though?

This has real potential. I'm not going to say that it has Torchwood: Children of Earth vibes yet, but the potential is certainly there.

Years and Years: Episode 3

"The gig economy, that's me."

Things slow down a bit in the third episode as the characters get a chance to breathe and respond from the huge events that ended both the first two episodes. But there’s a very definite sense that civilisation is declining as the 2026 election day looms.

There’s humanity, though, which stops things getting too depressing- RTD is a master at using time like this. Yes, Daniel and Viktor are separated, Viktor is in huge danger from bigoted wankers, and it’s all quite heartbreaking. But their love and devotion for each other is touching, and it’s wonderful to see Viktor make it to Spain, where the internment camps have conjugal arrangements.

But this is a moment of hope in the context of rising bigotry. We also see the hollowing of the muffle class as Steve and Celeste are forced to stay with Gran and replace their nice professional jobs with gig economy drudgery with appalling conditions. Meanwhile, Bethany and her fellow transhuman Lizzie are exploited into handing over £10,000 for a horrifying botched operation to replace their eyes with cameras- fortunately Beth escapes. There’s artificial meat, all cars seem to be electric, but society isn’t heading in a pleasant direction.

Yes the deaths of the siblings’ father allows them to bond at his funeral in another moment of humanity. Never mind that Rosie has lost her job, Steve is forced to take what work he has, Edith is dying and Daniel’s partner is in a cell. They have each other, even if Edith (easily my favourite character), er, drinks her father.

Seems with Celeste, proud and stoic to the last, discovers that Steve has been having an affair, and the election results are revealed- Tories and Labour finely balanced with the odious Vivienne Rook holding the balance of power. Simple and narratively necessary, I suppose, but where are my beloved Lib Dem’s? And what about the Norn MP’s? Whatever, the march of dodgy populism proceeds onwards. More superb telly although, after a superlative second episode, this is merely great rather than superlative.

Years and Years: Episode 2

"This is a different country to the one I left..."

First episodes of new dramas are always, to an extent, set up, introducing us not only to the premise and the setting but also to the cast. It’s the sign of a great writer that, after seeing the first episode once, I started this second episode with a firm grasp of who was who, and feel that I know all the characters. And that’s important; a high concept, somewhat dystopian tour through the near future would be very dry without real humanity and character. Fortunately RTD has never been faulted with either of those.

So we really feel for Stephen and Celeste in the final scenes as a bank collapse robs them of the money paid for their house, and they become homeless and forced into an awkward dependence on Gran. The bank run scenes are a masterful marriage of writing and direction, with the policeman keeping order joining in at the end, a nice touch. And yet the world isn’t unremittingly awful in spite of everything as there is still booze, love and laughter, even in a world with s President Pence and where Putin is dictator for life. Yet the horrors are real; the immigration nightmare for Daniel and Victor, happy in their life until Daniel’s wanker of an ex has Viktor ruthlessly reported to a place where he is far from safe. It’s about time that serious TV drama showed us the barbarism of May’s “hostile environment”.

Edith is back, and back properly, with her characterisation quite a clever piece of writing. She’s had a huge dose of radiation, and probably has ten years before the cancer gets her, leading her to say “sod this” to a life of activism and just enjoy herself. As she says, it’s too late to sort the climate crisis and the mass extinctions; we must now deal with the consequences and they are brutal. So carpe diem. Not only that; she reacts to a creepy hustings with Vivienne Rook with “smash the world!” She seems not to care any more. Oh, there are flashes, as when she says “don’t do that” as Rook appropriates a superficial feminism for her own ends, but this is a terrifying cynicism.

Ah yes, the extraordinary Emma Thompson as Rook, propeller I to a by-election by a very RTD incident where the sitting MP gets decapacitated by a drone which is robotising Manchester’s workforce. Eat your heart out, William Huskisson. Her speech is utterly terrifying, as is her ignorance.

This episode has gone up a notch. This is more than “very good”.

Years and Years: Episode 1

"Don't know if I could have a kid in a world like this."

RTD is back, after last year's superb A Very English Scandal, with the start of a new six-part drama which seems to have the critics wowed but is, well, very good (this is RTD) but not quite up there with The Second Coming.

We have four Lyons siblings- Rosie, Daniel, Stephen and the globe-trotting polemicist Edith, all glued together by their irascible, politically incorrect gran, and it is through them that we are to experience the next few decades, beginning here and now in 2019- so contemporary that a cleverly last mo ute piece of dialogue references the death of Doris Day. All of these characters immediately come to life as RTD gives them very real and very relatable dialogue, as always. Yet the constant backdrop of ominous news, and the little soliloquy of Daniel (the author’s representative?) makes it clear that this is a world where the future looks anything but bright- and yes, he’s not the only one who feels that something has been very wrong ever since the banks buggered things up in 2008. And through all this we see the slow rise of the blunt populist politician Vivienne Rook, played superbly by the great Emma Thompson.

We then go through the next six or seven years, through Trump’s re-election, through a new king, through nuclear tensions between China and the USA, and through a refugee crisis caused by an, er, Soviet (what???!!) invasion of Ukraine. We also see such things as Snapchat filters moving to the real world and Stephen’s daughter coming out as “trans”- by which she means “transhuman”; she wants to go to a Swiss clinic, destroy her flesh and upload herself to live forever as data. Wow. This would, of course, be literal death; the data uploaded would just be a copy. You would be gone. But I’m sure there will be those who think this way and it’s a clever thing to include. And this helps us get to know bewildered father Stephen and his very middle class wife Celeste.

We also see the gradual collapse of Daniel’s marriage to his stupid husband Ralph, who embraces silly internet conspiracy theories and decries those who won’t consider that the Flat Earthers, 9/11 triggers or Moon landing deniers “could be right” as closed minded. This kind of stupidity is, it can’t be denied, the main bad thing about the internet. And these people vote, usually for populist bullshit. This sort of thing isn’t harmless. We also see some staggering ignorance about Ukrainian refugees- “I voted Leave.” Grr.

And then there comes a siren, nuclear war between China and the USA, chaos, family recriminations and Edith dying in Vietnam with a big mushroom cloud. And fade to black. This is very good stuff indeed, it’s just that RTD can do much better than “very good”.

Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville

“Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”

Ah well, it had to happen. We move from poetry to prose, and from the superlative to the merely very good. Also, this script is not so dense with subtext as last weeks, meaning this review won’t be as long. Gatiss’ script here may play to his supposed macabre strengths but, rather good though it is, it can’t complete with the extraordinary episode he gave us last series. Still, judged without reference to its illustrious predecessors this is a highly impressive ninety minutes of television. Plus I had the added fun being able to compare it to a Conan Doyle original that, for once, I know well.

Se, Henry Knight, not Sir Henry Baskerville. See what they did there? The print original may have been a baronet, not a knight, but it still made me smile. Plus we have a Mortimer and a Stapleton- both women, helping almost to smooth out the gender imbalance of the source material. There’s even a Barrymore, but this chap is a soldier, an arrogant sod and, worse, a Tory. He doesn’t buttle.

We have some nice misdirection, too; Sherlock tricks us into thinking he’s going to just send Watson to Devon, and not go himself. There’s a red herring- Gary and Billy- to take the place of the escaped convict subplot in the novel. And, of course, it was Frankland, not Stapleton, what dunnit. Plus the circumstances are entirely different.

We get a fair amount of fanwank here- I love the opening scenes, and particularly the Cluedo line. We get the “Once you’ve ruled out the impossible, whatever remains- however improbable- must be true. But, most interestingly, a drugged-up Holmes comes to doubt his own belief in reason and empirical truth, the very foundation of who he is, and is left literally shaking at the possibility of having seen something truly supernatural. Cumberbatch is extraordinary here. And the chemistry between him and the equally excellent Martin Freeman continues to be superb.

Oh, and it’s left nicely ambiguous, early on, whether Sherlock’s cold turkey relates just to cigarettes or to something stronger. We know what the reference to “seven per cent” means, but does it infer the same thing in a twenty-first century context, I wonder?

Paul McGuigan is superlative as always, but this is something we’re tending to take for granted by now, and a more linear plot gives him less room to be creative. The many moments with Sherlock making deductive leaps (always fun) look fab, though. And the location shots of Dartmoor look truly awesome, far better than any previous version of this story that I’ve seen.

Oh, and I don’t believe the Morse code message was explained. Something for next week?

All the same, though, excellent whodunnit and superb character piece though this is, it seems to be lacking a certain extra something. Partly it may be a case of middle episode disease, although this is far superior to The Blind Banker. But something’s missing.

Doctor Who: Time Crash / Voyage of the Damned

Time Crash

“You mostly went hands-free, didn't you? ‘I'm the Doctor! I can save the universe with a kettle and some string. And look at me; I'm wearing a vegetable…’”

Hooray! At last I get to watch this with subtitles and catch all of Tennant’s dialogue! Not to be churlish, though; this is fantastic, and his performance is too.

Peter Davison’s appearance is a powerful and wonderful moment, and all the more so in the context of the Marathon. Although I can’t help wondering why he’s wearing a hat, what with it being indoors and all…

It’s interesting how different Davison’s performance is here. Partly it’s the fact that he’s older, more authoritative and, well, more authoritative. But there’s also the obvious point that this is the version of the Doctor he plays in Big Finish these days.

But just as good as Davison himself is this fantastically witty script from the Moffmeister General, in which Tennant’s Doctor gets to make some great quips about his predecessor. I love the digs at the celery, and the revelation that both of the Doctors wear glasses for purely cosmetic reasons. Davison gets the best line, though. (“You’ve changed the desktop theme, haven’t you?”)

It’s hard to believe, as the Fifth Doctor heads back to times of “Nyssa and Tegan, Cybermen and the Mara, Time Lords in funny hats and the Mara”, that this has been just eight minutes long. It’s pure joy. 5/5, no contest. Oh, and I do believe this is only our second every “wibbly wobbly, timey wimey”.



Voyage of the Damned



“Any day now they start boxing!”

Ah… there’s nothing so surreal as reviewing a Christmas special in late May as the Spring blossoms are behind us and the hay fever drugs are starting to kick in…

It’s the Christmas Day blockbuster: time for something light in mood yet exciting and action-packed for the post-Christmas Dinner hours, and easy to follow for the benefit of those of us who had a little bit of wine earlier cos it’s the one day of the year you can start drinking in the early afternoon. And this delivers splendidly; before the credits roll we’ve already established that this is indeed the Titanic, there are apparently aliens on board, Kylie Minogue is on board, and, oh, said ship is flying through space. How very Enlightenment. Not only that, but those angel robots look suspiciously Robots of Death to me. That’s two conscious homages in the space of a minute!

The first third of the running time, before the peril kicks in, are devoted to introducing us to the situation and to the characters who are soon going to be struggling for their lives. The script sparkles here, giving exactly the sort of humour the festive circumstances demand. The highlight of all this is of course the dodgy history lesson given by Clive Swift’s Mr Copper, along with the brief trip to earth which helps the Doctor to bond with Kylie’s Astrid Peth- and her joy at what we would think mundane is wonderful. We also meet a newspaper vendor (it’s London, innit?) played by Bernard Cribbins, but there’s no need to dwell on him as he’s probably just a one-off cameo.

Incidentally, we’re told again that Earth is indeed a “Level 5” planet. That settles it; there is indeed a consistent system.

Oh, and Geoffrey Palmer’s in it, too, as the Captain, and Russell Tovey’s in it, too! But here’s when things start to turn serious as the Captain deliberately allows the ship to be hit by meteors, and the Heavenly Host turn nasty. Not only that, but they have haloes of death! It’s now, in true disaster movie style, that every character has a secret and all the nice characters die, mostly nobly (I love our sweet competition-winning couple, but knowing RTD’s scripting I feared for their life expectancy the minute they opened their mouths…). Unfortunate that the black guy dies first, but probably not a deliberate use of the trope…

The Doctor’s big speech, in response to Rickston Slade’s sneering, seemed a bit over the top at the time, but in the context of what’s to come (I know that’s not really in the spirit of the Marathon!) it now looks far more like a part of a character arc with, in hindsight, a defined direction, than it ever did at the time. I also love his Christmas quip soon after (“I was there. I got the last room”).

Things are going well with Astrid until she agrees to be the Doctor’s companion; at that point you know she’s doomed, just like Lynda with a “y” in a similar scene. This is where it starts, though: RTD, awesomely great writer though he is, has been writing the series for three years ago, and from this point onwards we’re bound to get little bits like this where he repeats his earlier tricks. It can’t be helped, and it in no way undermines RTD’s stature as a genius, but it’s there.

Still, RTD is often criticised for his climaxes but there’s nothing to criticise here. The doctor’s plan to get himself to the bridge is genuinely clever, Max Capricorn is a great villain, superbly played by George Costigan (yes, I know his performance is a tad broad, but so it should be- that’s the character, and it’s appropriate villainy for a Christmas special). The final revelations tie things up nicely- and were even foreshadowed earlier. Unfortunately, Astrid has to die at this point. Even more unfortunately, the Doctor ascends to the heavens with two angels. Now, I’ve been quite tolerant of this pretentious Christ imagery, but this is the point where, for me personally, the screaming starts. Please let there be no more…

Again, it’s interesting in the light of later events (not strictly in the spirit of the Marathon, again!) to see the Doctor trying so hard to bring Astrid back, insisting that “I can do anything!” Importantly, though, he fails. Not yet is he the Time Lord triumphant, but he’s travelling alone, and certain tendencies are going unchecked…

The last scenes with Mr Copper are splendid. I love the metatextuality of Mr Copper's comment, after Rickston Slade again shows himself to be an obnoxious git, that “Of all the people to survive. He’s not the one you would have chosen, is he?” But anyone making such a choice (ie, the writer) would be “a monster”. Is this RTD commenting on his own rather more than usually homicidal tendencies as a writer?

Good to see the recently departed Verity Lambert get an acknowledgement, too. Casts me back to the early days of the Marathon, that does.

Brilliant. Not quite up there with the 5/5, but one of the very top 4/5’s.