Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who, the war between the land and the sea

Doctor Who Spinoff Filming "Until Just Before Christmas"; RTD Tease

Doctor Who's Russell T. Davies updated The War Between the Land and the Sea and teased someone set for the final scene of the final episode.

After getting a big casting reveal for the spinoff of Showrunner Russell T. Davies' Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) and Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday)-starring Doctor Who, we have some production updates to pass along for BBC and Disney Branded Television's The War Between the Land and the Sea. In the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, Davies shares that at the time of his writing what we're now reading, they were in the third week of filming the show. Noting that the production is "a mammoth task" being "wrangled by one director, Dylan Holmes Williams," Davies revealed that the shoot will run "until just before Christmas." As far as who's writing the series, Davies penned Episodes 1 & 5, while Pete Tighe penned Episodes 2 & 3 – with both Davies and Tighe penning Episode 4.

But Davies offered an interesting tease when he addressed why this five-episode series would be filming in "one big block" instead of the normal "two or three blocks, filmed roughly in order." Explaining why filming was happening in one block, Davies noted it was "so an actor could appear for the first time in the very last scene of the very last episode (and indeed, someone does)" – and that's not all. "Equally, someone could be needed in ep 1 sc 1, but maybe we won't shoot that until December. Logistics galore," Davies added. Hmmm… could we be looking at a guest appearance by Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor… or someone else?

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war. Created and executive-produced by Davies – who is co-writing with Pete McTighe (A Discovery of Witches, The Pact, Doctor Who) – the five-part series stars Russell Tovey (Feud, American Horror Story: NYC) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Surface, Loki). In addition, we're going to see some very familiar UNIT faces – with Jemma Redgrave reprising her role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Alexander Devrient returning as Colonel Ibrahim, and Ruth Madeley returning as Shirley Ann Bingham. In addition, Adrian Lukis (The Bill), Patrick Baladi (Line of Duty), Vincent Franklin (Gentleman Jack), Francesca Corney (The Buccaneers), and Mei Mac (Call the Midwife) have joined the series. Directed by Dylan Holmes-Williams ("73 Yards," "Dot and Bubble"), here's a look back at Davies checking in from the official table read of all five episodes:

"I'm so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast. And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor's not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble," Davies shared when the news was officially announced. Lindsay Salt, Director of Drama, BBC, added, "'The War Between the Land and the Sea' is another utterly unique and gripping drama from Russell T Davies, and we're delighted to welcome the show to the Whoniverse! Featuring a stellar cast, with Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw taking on leading roles, this brand new epic mini-series will leave audiences on the edge of their seats as they watch UNIT take on one of their biggest battles to save humanity."

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