The War Between the Land and the Sea writer reveals "massive effects sequence" which was cut from the Doctor Who spin-off
The spin-off's co-writer revealed the rather grotesque details of a cut scene.
The War Between the Land and the Sea writer Pete McTighe has revealed the rather grotesque details of a scene that never made the cut in the Doctor Who spin-off.
Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw led the spin-off, which followed a conflict between humanity and the classic Who monsters the Sea Devils (now known as Homo Aqua), with a big focus on climate issues, particularly the damage done to the oceans and waterways of Earth.
But not everything writers McTighe and Russell T Davies dreamed up could make the cut.
”There was only one big effects sequence that we ended up having to cut which was from the start of episode 2, which was going to open in this beautiful restaurant on the Italian coast,” McTighe said at convention Gallifrey One (according to CultBox).
“This young, hot couple were arriving in a sports car and then went into this amazing restaurant that had glass view of the sea that was beautiful.
"They sit down and he was going to propose to her and say he loves her and then suddenly, a squid was going to slap onto the window. And they were like, ‘Sorry, what was that?’ And then another one would spat onto the other window and then another one, another one. And suddenly, there were all these squid attacking this restaurant and the windows exploded!”
McTighe went on to say: "It was going to be this massive effects sequence to open the episode but obviously, because it wasn’t an integral part of the story, it was important to put the money into things like the Plastic Apocalypse that were crucial to the show."
The memorable scene that McTighe is referring to showed plastic pulled from the oceans and waterways raining down on Earth in an act of revenge from Homo Aqua.
Actor Alexander Devrient (Colonel Christofer Ibrahim) previously opened up to Radio Times about that scene, saying: "There is no acting required whatsoever. We are already in this world, 100 per cent, and seeing all this plastic, it's so nasty. Physically, you sort of recoil. It just goes to show how much we how much we waste."
Meanwhile, speaking about the show's depiction of the climate crisis, Davies previously said: “One of the most boring things you can ever say to a writer is, ‘Don’t be preachy'.
"Quite a few religions have been based for thousands of years upon preaching. It’s not bad as a system, it works. The truth is, I don’t have to get on a high horse at all. If I’m writing about the oceans in 2025, then they really are filthy and stinking and half-destroyed.
"I would be lying if I didn’t mention these things. It’s only politically engaged because it has no choice.”
The War Between the Land and the Sea is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
