A CREEPY masterpiece? Doctor Who: 73 Yards Review

We're halfway through Season 1 of Doctor Who with 73 Yards, arguably the scariest episode since Blink and Midnight.
In this review, I discuss Millie Gibson's fantastic performance, THAT mysterious woman, and try to figure out what actually happened in this episode.
What did YOU think of the episode?
In 73 Yards, the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) suddenly disappears off a cliffside in Wales after breaking a fairy circle. His companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) searches for him while being followed by a mysterious woman who is always 73 yards away from her.
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[@GreyHulk2156]

I do find it funny how, in this age of Doctor Who being available in Ultra High Definition, they are going to great pains to make an actor out-of-focus for this episode. It seems so ironic. :)

[@richardpauley8733]

It excellent And Russell doing a Simpsons and writing this pre Dec 2022 and it being filmed Dec 2022 Election sub plot AND it being shown 2 DAYS AFTER ELECTION CALLED in real life here in May 2024 How on earth …..

[@BuxleyHall]

I liked the little detail of Ruby saying she’d been to Wales twice at the beginning of the episode and “I’ve been to Wales three times now” at the end of the episode. She remembers! At least slightly... Fantastic performance by Millie Gibson throughout.

[@AbruptCanine4]

This episode gave me serious Whistle & I'll Come To You vibes! Truly terrifying and emotional! ✨💙

[@damianknight8064]

I think I was happy being a little confused so it left a lot open to interpretation and speculation. who knows if some of this plot will be seen again. That PM is too good to not be reused

[@jankreft6753]

My theory is that Ruby caused everything herself. We learn in early episodes that reality kinda warps around her and that Ruby can manifest things (like the snow). So I think by breaking the circle she expected something bad and supernatural will happen so her mind made it happen. That's also why all the things she hears before appear in this reality, like Mad Jack and the PM guy. Later Kate says that the events seem to form around Ruby's timeline and also that sometimes we create fake rules for things we can't explain. So Ruby can't explain the circle, so she makes up the rules around it, and they manifest through her abilities. This theory might be a bit of a reach, but I wouldn't be surprised if we come back to the events of this story at a later point 😅

[@ChristelDeeOfficial]

I like this theory!

[@triggerhappysound]

This has been my take too. She may have even made the doctor disappear because she read the note "I miss you". The woman is the manifestation of her being abandoned (as she expects everyone to do). But regardless of whether it's Ruby or fae or some sort of other magic, I like that it has been set up for the viewers to do exactly what Kate said about trying to apply rules to the things we can't explain. The purposeful ambiguity of the episode has cause so much conversation and debate amongst viewers this last week, and it's been great fun.

[@richardpauley8733]

So Ruby causing things herself is Bad Wolf again lol

[@jankreft6753]

@@richardpauley8733 not really, no.

[@richardpauley8733]

@@jankreft6753 fair enough!!

[@RogerOThornhill]

When Ruby and the Old Woman are in the same room didn't give me pause because the same thing happens in 2001 (spoilers), where David is allowed to live out his life in some pocket reality and when he sees an older version of himself across the room, he stares at it in alarm, until he's become that older version and the younger version is gone. If it was any more of a standard Sci-Fi convention, it would be ComicCon:)

[@markstramtrainbuscapades1729]

Kind f gave me a "Ghostlight" vibe, very atmospheric but seemingly not making a lot of sense! I think RTD missed a trick with the lad whose heart was broken by Ruby, as mentioned briefly at the beginning. What if the lad had grown up into Roger Ap Gwillam! Millie Gbson was quite simply amazing in this!

[@MePeterNicholls]

8:53 So far in doctor who: - the one where she’s house keeper to Isaac Newton - the one where she’s in the audience requesting Gaudete ‪1. The one where she’s an astronaut ‬ ‪2. The one where she’s the tea lady‬ ‪3. The one where she’s the ambulance ‬ ‪4. The one where she’s the walker‬ ‪5. The one where she’s Penny Pepper-Bean 6. The one where she’s The Portrait. ‬ And not forgetting - the ones where she’s missing.

[@Andy-wl6xy]

I am really enjoying this season, especially 73 Yards 😊👍

[@dreameroutthere]

My personal theory is, Ruby is really Susan Foreman's grand daughter, and as such is a unknown Time Lady. Torchwood has already well throughly established that Fairies are not to be messed with. So by stepping on the circle, the Doctor was somehow undone. Then Ruby lived out her life. And if she is a Time Lady, then at the end of her life, she manifested a Watcher back through time in order to save herself. Now the 4th Doctor, he knew what his Watcher was. Ruby, would have no clue.

[@dwfan91-]

Great video as always, can't wait for next week's episode

[@ChristelDeeOfficial]

Thanks for watching!

[@JoshPinder92]

Aaaah two of my faves ....again

[@craigfrancisjohnson]

Completely agree about wanting to rewatch is a sign of a great episode and I did for 73 yards and Devils Cord as well as Boom tbh 😀

[@_Zak786]

Also christel btw in the video commentary of the giggle they said that the big blank circles in the tardis would become screens in episode 6, just thought I’d let u know

[@DanielRDrew]

Such a great ep! I know people wanted to know what the woman said and where The Doctor actually went, but I'm like hey, y'all, it's magic. Like, that's it. There's nothing else to say. XD The fantasy theme is continuing and people are still adjusting to it and it's a lot for some. I hope we see more of that Prime Minister again in a future season of the 3 seasons to come that RTD seems to have planned for us. And yeah, I loved that there weren't concrete answers for what actually happened. I'm going with a parallel out-of-sync bubble reality that time-looped back around to the main timeline.

[@JoshPinder92]

First one I've rewatched of this era so far Star beast to devils chord didn't hit it with me, boom was decent overall but I kinda forgot about it 73 yards however ...despite a couple of scenes that felt off ....it was just so so great ! I hope the next four episodes sustain this level but dot and bubble doesn't sound my vibe but rogue and the finale I'm hopeful for.....Millie Gibson for bafta ....and I hope Gatwa I can really get behind soon so far I'm not clicking with his approach yet ....I want to like his incarnation but bar boom showing great elements I haven't yet got into this I carnation

[@IssieAngela]

I have a theory that season 2 will be a mirror season and all the wholes and weirdness of season 1 will be revisited / explained

[@Clayton-S.]

So, the next ep has weird Insectoid folk, huh? Could they be the Tractators from Peter Davison's Frontios story? 73 Yards is a quality story. Poor Ruby really went through it but she did brilliantly. I love Millie and N'Cute, they're a terrific TARDIS Team.

[@markkenny2001]

Hi Christel, I think Ncuti Gatwa is a great 15th Doctor, he is hilarious. 😀😀😀❤️❤️❤️

[@halcroj]

You may be a bit confused but I reckon you got the hang of it much more than many Dr Who fans. I'm not a dedicated fan by any means but I agree - this was a really good piece of television.

[@jamiesworld1690]

Awesomeness review as skways love it

[@MePeterNicholls]

Watch it again I did!!!

[@christophercalcutt8554]

This episode was bad. it's all set up, the writer presents mystery after mystery with great build up, only to answer no questions other than using "fairy magic" as an excuse. Lazy. Because the writer doesn't have an answer and needs the audience to make their own interpretation. Every question set up is unanswered, how the "magic" works is unexplained, its rules are inconsistent and they have to be for the end to work. It gives lip service to the alternate timeline theory, but its not, because the "old ruby" goes back I time to warn herself. What did she say to make the other sun away? "Don't step on the circle?" Why would that make people run away? Fairy magic? It makes no sense. The poltician couldve been cut out of the story, they just want to make a dig at politicians (understanable, but ultimately pointless). Comparing it to blink is an insult. It's a very well shot and builds suspence, but the writing is bad. Defending trash will keep the bar for quality low, and it's apparent in davies return so far.

[@iainmulholland2025]

From between 10 and 5 million viewers it's shrunk to about 2 million, this and the last two doctors combined with poor writing is why the show is dead. Viewers should not have to fill in the holes in the plot, that's lazy writing. How long before the viewers fall to 1 million?

[@ChristyAbbey]

Lazy commentary? From you? Well!