73 yards is, in my opinion, the best episode of Series 14. It succeeds at practically everything it sets out to do, which I can’t really say about the rest of the season.

I think RTD’s writing strengths lie in these kinds of limited, mysterious stories, where a lot is left up to the viewer. You see this also in Midnight which I think is another highlight of RTD’s. In this way, our imagination can fill a lot of the possible holes that might exist, which is beneficial to a story that might not be able to be fully explained by science. Take that as you will about RTD’s writing as a whole.

73 Yards serves the fantastical vibe of the season quite well, where I think the rest of the season’s episodes fail quite a bit. There isn’t a practical explanation for existence of the Woman, and yet this really isn’t an issue. The simple explanation of the Doctor breaking the fairy circle is explanation enough, and serves the roundabout nature of the story as a whole.

Millie Gibson is obviously an absolute standout. As a young actor, she handles the weight of an entire episode incredibly well. Her acting is nuanced and emotional, and brings depth to her character which is otherwise somewhat lacking in the rest of the season. I recently had the privilege of talking about the episode *very* briefly with her and in her words she was ‘just winging it’. Well, if that was ‘just winging it’, I cannot wait to see what her acting is like when she’s giving it a proper go! (this is a joke btw)

I do really wish Ruby had more time to explore the frustration of being abandoned by her birth mother, even taking the time to talk this over with the Doctor a bit more as a fellow adoptee, although 73 Yards is quite a good allegory for her abandonment issues as a whole.

Additionally, while usually I’m not a huge fan of Doctor-lite episodes (I mean, the Doctor is my favourite character after all), I feel like 73 Yards benefits by not having the Doctor around. At times, I feel that Ncuti’s Doctor is generally a bit over the top, a bit childish, and a bit unserious. While it can be endearing, it gets to a point, and it would’ve been out of place in this episode. When he’s given the chance, Ncuti shines in his more sincere moments. I really hope that, in the future, he has more of these opportunities. But, I digress, this is a 73 Yards review after all.

One criticism I saw of 73 Yards when it first aired was that Ruby did nothing to help Marty when there was some sort of clear abuse going on from Roger ap Gwilliam. I think this is explained just fine in the episode with Ruby explaining that she thought she only had one shot at stopping Roger and didn’t want to jeopardise this before the time was right. Whether or not this is objectively correct thinking on Ruby’s end is irrelevant. It’s just what she thought was right to do. Characters - even protagonists - can make the wrong choices. They can do things that hurt others. This doesn’t mean they are bad people, or that the actors or writers themselves condone these actions, which should go without saying.

Ultimately, 73 Yards is the stand-out episode of the season. I have my issues with RTD’s writing in this new era so far, but this episode gives me hope that Doctor Who can continue to have its shining moments like this.

Out of all the episdoes in this series this is the one, that left me wondering the most.

Arriving on the Welsh coast, the Doctor steps on a circle made of string and vanishes. Ruby left on her own unable to get into the TARDIS, sees only a woman who keeps here distance, any anyone who speaks to the woman her runs away never speaks to Ruby again.

Its a 'Doctorlite' story, and these episodes are where the actor playing the Doctor is busy elsewhere, and they're some of the best, and possibly some of the worst (depending on your point of view) that the series produces.

As Ruby make her way back home we see the woman out side the train, always 73 yards away. Its memorable and quite scary.

Its quite distressing to see Ruby's mother disown her after talking to 'the woman' and you really feel for for her. Kate Stewart makes an appearince, and its nice to have her back, though briefly, and is of no help. I do thnk about what if the Doctor wasn't present what would the companion do, how would they solve the problem - or maybe what would I do. This episode shows us that.

I didn't even misss the Doctor! He's only there for a couple of munites and the beginning and end, and the time goes so quickly.

Its not without its flaws, one of the scenes that irritates me most is when Ruby goes into the local pub and asks to pay using her phone, which the woman behind the bar seems confussed by. The first thoughts are maybe its a few years earlier before the technology was invented, No. Turns out its just the locals being morons. Again a few minutes later Ruby obvisously somewhat scared and shaken tells of the circle she found, they then wind her up, really unpleasent, and it just wouldn't happen.

Its the ending that gets me, during the episode Ruby thinks she know what she's got to do, but after doing it the episode carries on. It isn't much of a spoiler, we know the Doctor will be back and everthing will be reset. But there are questions. What the 'woman' says to people isn't important, nothing you say would make everybody react the same, it more like the intent. Again the woman seemed to be trying to say something, but again not so important. For me, with everything reset and undone, what exactly was the point of it all? Anything Ruby achieved didn't happen. Aside from that a pretty good episode.

This one is a really hard episode to form an opinion on. The first half is very strong, creating a chilling atmosphere reminiscent of a Steven Moffat episode (only, in this case, written by Russell T Davies). However, once the story delves into the political narrative, it's not quite as engaging.

The premise, concerning the Doctor and Ruby breaking a fairy circle and unleashing the spirit of 'Mad Jack', as well as a woman who always stays 73 yards away from Ruby, is extremely interesting. It works well in the more supernaturally focused RTD2, and is a genuinely unsettling notion. Imagine how creeped out you'd feel if you noticed a woman was literally stalking you whilst staying a fair distance away. It would be so very uncomfortable.

The first half of the episode makes excellent use of this concept too, particularly whilst Ruby is in the pub. The whole sequence with the banging, and the locals teasing Ruby to open the door, is so well directed that it leaves you feeling uneasy as Ruby answers the door. Whilst it may be a fakeout and not actually 'Mad Jack', it's a brilliantly tense scene until the door is answered.

There are some obvious similarities to The Curse Of Clyde Langer, but unlike with Space Babies and The End Of The World, 73 Yards feels different enough to not feel like a carbon copy. Ruby doesn't end up homeless for one, and there's no totem pole either. I really felt for poor Ruby when her own foster mother turned against her, and the face that even Kate Lethbridge-Stewart wants nothing to do with Ruby does leave me curious as to what the woman stalking Ruby had said. It must have been something serious to make UNIT's leader turn against a companion of the Doctor's. Millie Gibson gives a fantastic performance of an isolated Ruby who refuses to give up despite her setbacks though, and shows that she was absolutely the right choice for the new companion.

As mentioned, the political storyline is where it falls apart for me. Roger ap Gwilliam could have been a great character, showing the danger the country would face if an extreme far-right politician became prime minister, but he feels too cartoony in his execution. This leader of the 'Albion Party' is so off-the-rails that he goes straight to wanting to buy nuclear weapons and leave NATO. It's about as subtle as a sledgehammer, and I'd have preferred something more realistic that feels like something the Tories, or Reform UK would actually do. As bad as both of those parties are, I doubt they would ever resort to buying nuclear weapons, or getting us out of NATO. Leaving the EU is one thing, but leaving NATO wouldn't happen.

It's weird how quickly the Roger ap Gwilliam storyline gets resolved too. He shows up, becomes prime minister, and then Ruby tricks the woman stalking her into facing Roger so that he resigns. I really thought he would be around longer.

I have seen a few criticising the ending, which reveals that Ruby was the woman 73 yards away, and that she then finds herself back in time, where she stops her younger self and the Doctor from breaking the fairy circle. I don't mind it myself, but it does mean that the woman saying something so bad that it causes Carla and Kate to flee, and never speak to her again, makes no sense. Why would Ruby want to punish herself? Is she her own worst enemy?

Overall, I'm unsure whether I'd score the episode a 7/10 or an 8/10. Maybe on first viewing I'd lean towards an 8, but when I rewatch it at a later date, I might change my mind and make it a 7. The 73 yards lady and the pub sequence is excellently written, but the political plot is weak. It's a shame the episode hadn't focused more on the woman stalking Ruby, as then it would have been an easy 10/10.

if doctor who has taught me anything, its that nothing good ever happens in wales

Okay this one is a rewatch to apreciate ep if you where over hyped cause it definitely went from a fine story to a good story on this watch