The Sea Devils are here! They may not be as famous as the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, or even their reptilian cousins, the Silurians, but "Doctor Who"'s ocean-based antagonists have been part of the show's mythology for over half a century. Now they're taking center stage and making waves of their own.
In the new "Who" spin-off "The War Between the Land and the Sea", the Sea Devils (now referred to as "Homo Aqua") make landfall to confront humanity about its blatant disregard for Earth's oceans. It's the latest in a long line of altercations between human and Sea Devil — though this time, it appears the Doctor won't be on hand to play peacemaker.
What planet do the Sea Devils come from?
Unlike the vast majority of "Doctor Who" antagonists, the Sea Devils don't hail from some far-flung corner of the galaxy. Instead, like humans, they originated on planet Earth, though the two species don't usually have cause to interact.
Related: How to watch 'The War Between the Land and the Sea'
Why don't humans cross paths with Sea Devils on a more regular basis?
Firstly, as their name suggests, the Sea Devils are aquatic by nature and built their vast civilisation underwater, far away from surface-dwelling humans.
More importantly, however, we're separated by several million years of evolution. In common with their land-based reptilian cousins, the Silurians, the Sea Devils' technologically advanced culture was at its height when humans were still apes.
When their astronomers forecast that a great catastrophe would destroy all life on Earth millions of years ago, the Sea Devils put themselves into hibernation. "But the catastrophe that you predicted never happened," the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) explained when he encountered the soggy reptiles in 1972 serial "The Sea Devils". "And the apes that you left on the surface to die became man."
Although humans have long since become the dominant species on Earth, the Sea Devils still believe the planet belongs to them.
When was the Doctor's first encounter with the Sea Devils?
In the Doctor's timeline — though not in Earth's history — the Time Lord's first on-screen skirmish with the species came in the aforementioned Pertwee story "The Sea Devils". The serial was written by Malcolm Hulke, who had previously scripted the Silurians' debut in "Doctor Who and the Silurians" in 1970.
In the story, the Doctor and companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) investigate reports of ships disappearing in the English Channel. It turns out that incarcerated renegade Time Lord "The Master" (one of the best "Doctor Who" villains, played here by Roger Delgado) has been using his skills in electrical engineering to manipulate the Sea Devils, in the hope of instigating his very own war between the land and the sea. As ever, world domination is a significant inspiration.
The Doctor attempts to broker peace between the two sides, pointing out that there's no reason the two species can't live side by side — as with the Silurians, the Sea Devils aren't so much villains as neighbors with a slightly different perspective on land/sea ownership. Nobody really listens, of course, and the Doctor ends up destroying the Sea Devil base by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, a trick that would go on to become one of the Time Lord's favorite party pieces.
When have the Sea Devils appeared since?
Classic "Who" fans had to wait more than a decade for the Sea Devils to return. Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) serial "Warriors of the Deep" (1984) turned out to be something of a family reunion, as the Sea Devils appeared alongside the Silurians in a 2084-set, Cold War-inspired tale in which two human factions squabble over nuclear weapons.
Aside from a few archive flashbacks (Matt Smith's debut in 2010's "The Eleventh Hour", for example), nobody was rushing to resurrect the Devils for the new "Who" era. While the Silurians were unfossilized in Eleventh Doctor two-parter "The Hungry Earth" / "Cold Blood" (2010) — and the reptilian Madame Vastra even went on to become a recurring sidekick — the Sea Devils didn't show up again until Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker's penultimate spin in the TARDIS. In 2022's "Legend of the Sea Devils", the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan travel back to 1807 China, where legendary pirate Madam Ching is having some Sea Devil-related bother on the high seas.
Although "Legend of the Sea Devils" marks their most recent appearance in the Doctor's chronology, this is the first time the Time Lord has encountered the Sea Devils in terms of Earth's history (on screen, at least).
How do the Sea Devils fit into "The War Between the Land and the Sea"?
When the BBC first approached Russell T Davies about returning to "Doctor Who" as showrunner back in 2021, he'd already been planning an eco-themed sci-fi drama involving a race of undersea people. Rather than creating a new species — or approaching Hanna-Barbera about licensing the Snorks — he realized that the ideal candidates had been there all along.
"I had this idea separately first," Davies told Radio Times. "But weirdly, it needs the 'Doctor Who' setting. If I just go and pitch this cold, saying, 'There is a race of creatures that live in the sea…', [the commissioners] would say, 'Really? You sure?' The pre-existence of the Sea Devils takes all the problems out of it."
In "The War Between the Land and the Sea", the Sea Devils set an international crisis in motion when they emerge from the oceans, angry about the way humans have been treating their underwater home. Russell Tovey plays Barclay, a low-level UNIT operative recruited to lead the human side of the negotiations.
Are they the same Sea Devils the Doctor's encountered before?
As far as we can tell, though Davies has revealed that the term "Sea Devil" is considered racist in "The War Between the Land and the Sea" — "Homo Aqua" is now the preferred nomenclature. That said, Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) — ambassador for the undersea realm — looks a lot more human than her lizardy predecessors.
Seeing as the trailer for the new show features a more traditional Sea Devil, it's likely that Salt is an entirely different species. Mbatha-Raw seemingly confirmed this when she said, "Salt is part of a species that lives under the sea that have been dormant for many years called Homo Amphibia. She comes with a posse of Home Aqua and other species from the sea, and they're incredibly intelligent. She is in this ambassadorial role and has this formal and regal quality to her, and as the series goes on, she becomes more human." She'll even share a love story with Barclay.
"The War Between the Land and the Sea" debuted on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK on Sunday, December 7, with the final episode, "The End of the War", dropping on December 21. '
The Sea Devils', 'Warriors of the Deep' and 'Legend of the Sea Devils' are also available on BBC iPlayer, while a new 90-minute cut of the original "The Sea Devils" also landed on the streaming platform on December 7.
Travelling outside the UK in December? You can always use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer from wherever you are. Read on to find out more.
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