So I’ve watched the first two episodes of The War Between The Land And The Sea and, though I quite like it, I have two quibbles.

The first was more of an irritation, you know? The Homo Aqua are demanding we change our ways. Fair enough, we have been total jerks on the pollution front. But it doesn’t occur to humanity, nor the super-ancient and wise Aqua, to ask (or offer) for whatever energy and manufacturing technology the Aqua are using. They’ve built vast cities for a civilisation that spans the globe: you don’t run that off of happy thoughts.

We, humanity, are clearly a failed basket case of a culture. With all the will in the world it’s gonna take us sixty years at the very least to change, likely more. I kept wanting to shout: ‘You Aquas are so cosmic and groovy: bleedin’ help us then.’ Instead of threats and lectures effect real change for this planet you profess to love by moving your arse just an inch. But, of course, we wouldn’t have a story if anyone thought that.

My other quibble was the characters in wheelchairs. There’s more than one (Good), but why are they both backroom boffin archetypes? This show has a shit-ton of other archetypes, world leaders and such who could easily have been depicted as wheelchair users. Russell T Davies, having received props for depicting disabled people in Who in the 2000s, seems to have thought ‘You know what’s better than one wheelchair user? Two!’ and then not questioned anything beyond that, simply placing them in the same role he always does.

I know this may be a bit much to say, but it comes across that he subconsciously sees them as a manner of Munchkin or Christmas elf something, an entire people devoted to one sort of calling. Sorry if I’m being wrongheaded here, I’m a non-disabled person mouthing off of course, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Otherwise though, I’m looking forward to more.