Copyright Screen Rant
Doctor Who is no stranger to reworking villains from the classic era. The Daleks finally overcame their fear of stairs, the Master's villainy was revealed as being (at least partially) caused by Time Lord meddling, and Davros appeared without his chair. The need to update villains who debuted between the 1960s and 1980s is expected, but some changes have been received far better than others. One monster that post-2005 Doctor Who hasn't quite nailed yet is the Sea Devils. Introduced during the Third Doctor's era, these aquatic enemies were finally given a modern episode in 2022 with "Legend of the Sea Devils." While Doctor Who wisely respected the creatures' original design, the episode turned a complicated and advanced race into a one-dimensional threat with conveniently plot-friendly technology. These Sea Devils were Sea Devils in name and appearance only. After a stark redesign, the Sea Devils will take center stage in upcoming Doctor Who spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea, but not without a significant change. In the series, the species rejects the "Sea Devil" name as racist and refers to itself as "homo aqua." Doctor Who Changing The Sea Devils' Name Makes Perfect Sense During their 1972 debut, the term "Sea Devil" was used exclusively by human characters (and then the Doctor) to describe the mysterious aquatic creatures attacking sailors. It was utilized more as a colloquial nickname in the absence of knowing what the race was really called than an official title, but its prominence, combined with the episode title being "The Sea Devils," meant the moniker stuck for Doctor Who's audience. When the creatures returned in 1984's "Warriors of the Deep," the term became canon thanks to the Silurian warrior Icthar uttering "our Sea Devil brothers..." The name was still only spoken by the Doctor, his allies, and the Silurians, but since the Sea Devils are cousins of the Silurians, "Warriors of the Deep" seemingly enshrined it into Doctor Who continuity. Fast-forward to "Legend of the Sea Devils," and Doctor Who took a tentative step away from "Sea Devil" as the species' official name. When the Doctor called an actual member of the race "Sea Devil!" they responded testily with "land parasite!" The exchange strongly suggested "Sea Devil" was a label forced upon this species by humans on the rare occasions one had been sighted over the centuries. The Silurians might have borrowed it from humans, and so the insult continued being circulated. Perhaps some Sea Devils deemed it a slur, while others (like those in "Warriors of the Deep") accepted it, either begrudgingly or because it sounded formidable. According to Russell T Davies, "Sea Devil" is considered "racist" in The War Between the Land and the Sea, and given Doctor Who's history with the creatures, that makes complete sense. The so-called Sea Devils have never embraced their name like the Daleks or Cybermen embrace theirs, and watching "The Sea Devils" back, it feels like the species' was never really intended to be officially known as "Sea Devils" any more than the Doctor is meant to be known as "Doctor Who." It should also be noted that Doctor Who's Silurians have always provided a catalyst for conversation about discrimination, and the Sea Devils represent an extension of that. 1970's "Doctor Who and the Silurians" revolved around humanity and the Silurians attempting to strike a peace agreement, despite bad actors on both sides of the debate. Themes of prejudice, mistrust, and outright racism were abound, and the episode ended with UNIT callously bombing the hibernating Silurian base - an act the Doctor felt openly appalled by and that the audience was left to condemn. Changing The Sea Devils' Name Tells You Exactly What Doctor Who's New Spinoff Will Be The idea that "Sea Devil" is a racist term speaks volumes about where The War Between the Land and the Sea is headed. This will be an intensely political story that will force the show's Earthlings (as well as the viewer) to face hard truths over damaging the environment and demonizing a species they share the planet with. Of course, the Sea Devils - or homo aqua - haven't always played nice throughout Doctor Who's past, so there will be justified skepticism on both sides during the new spinoff. Whereas the lines of good and evil are typically very clear in the main Doctor Who series, expect a blurrier moral landscape in The War Between the Land and the Sea. The spinoff feels suspiciously similar to "Doctor Who and the Silurians", but with a bigger budget and more swimming, but that only goes to prove RTD isn't forcing the franchise to take a political slant here. Those social nuances have been part of Doctor Who's DNA since Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart decided to slaughter a base full of Silurians while they slept (and before that too).
