'73 Yards' is AMAZING - Doctor Who review

This didn't occur to me while I was watching it, but reflecting on the episode afterwards I started to see some resemblance to living with grief.

The fairy circle is marked with memorial notes, remembrance of loss. Then Ruby is alone, with something always lurking there, never going away but also impossible to actually tackle. Everyone who gets too close to it is repelled by it - it's too much, people can't deal with it. Even someone (Kate) who tells her "don't worry, I can handle this" still finds the reality of it too much to deal with. Over time Ruby learns to accept it and live with it. It always affects her, for the rest of her life, but she makes a kind of peace with it and eventually even tries to find some meaning in it.

You could also make a similar connection to mental illness or chronic physical illness, but the RIPs on the fairy circle make me lean towards grief. That might not be the intention, but I think there's enough in there to read that into it.

A small detail I love is Kate acknowledging that the world is becoming more magical

This felt similar to Turn Left to me. But thinking about that might just be the superficial set up. Doctor-lite, companion focused story where we see the darkest timeline

RTD did reveal in an interview what the old lady was saying to people. She was saying “can I interest you in a time share in the Bahamas “. 😂

I hadn't twigged that you and Jessie have a B5 podcast. I'll check it out.

Great job on this. I missed the Marty thing on the first viewing.

I'm an old guy...63, and I've had my geek on since Fireball XL5 caught my imagination before even Lost in Space, Star Trek, and the okd Grantray/Lawrence Marvel Super Heroes cartoons did. lI've been living an isolated life for some time now....partly by by choice, partly by chosing not to stay in an abusive relationship that stole everything from my FAR more than anything I was able to enjoy. I miss nothing more than talking geek with my roommates and lovers. Thank god you guys fill that need...there are always things I miss the first time through. The community has restore and build my appreciation for this new platinum age of TV SF.

Great review... Thanks!

LOVED IT!!!❤

Surely I u can't be serious

How about rating the most creepy, I-need-to-look-under-my-bed-before-I-go-to-sleep" episodes. Of the top of my head for me "Blink" was the most terrifying episode closly followed by "The empty Child". However, it might be difficult to make up criterias for "creepy" episodes.

I loved this episode in the way that I loved Blink. It is creepy, but in a beautiful way. It reminds us that even when we don't understand what is happening to us, we tend to do the human thing and find joy in our extremity.

Also, because I think that when you think a kind thought you should say it. Your makeup is on point in this video.

As someone who has been recently catching up, and as someone who loved Devil's Chord and really felt uncomfortable with 73 Yards, I am more than happy to agree to disagree as it is absolutely subjective.

For me, 73 Yards was very much a subtle horror story, which I already don't care for as a genre. And the ending, while the ending made sense, it only feels incredibly tragic. It feels like the tragedy of this episode, for me, is the tragedy equivalent of a cheap laugh or a jump scare: the lowest bar with the highest short-term payoff.

But for people who love this episode? I am really happy for people who loved it. It just very much wasn't for me.

I need answers for this because this is a pre-established universe we're dealing with and something like 73 yards hasn't happened before. Why isn't it a closed loop?

I thought the episode was perfect until it turned into a political thriller and then after it was just okay.

Honestly, I don't need to 100% understand a Doctor Who episode to enjoy it. I've liked most of the season so far, Space Babies excluded. Mostly cuz i think the episode could have been way better with six year olds trying to run the ship rather than creepy mouthed babies. I'm okay not fully understanding this episode, it's meant to be a bit weird.

Fun fact: this is the first episode they filmed

I have unique allegorical interpretation of the episode, I think it can be seen as metaphor about living with long term depression. A presents thats always near you, that causes you to distance yourself from others in episode trough the people running away after talking to a women, discomfort of people not taking you seriously - scene at a bar, trying to get help in a scene with kate and unit but its still there. Its effect on relationship and life choices seen trough unhappy dates Ruby goes on to. feelings of guildt for realising negativity (ex. lashing out on someone and regreting it) represented trough mad jack, eventual acceptance of its presence and being able to experience more joy even if the depresion still lingers and is there - scene where she cheers the women, the reavel representing that it was iyou a part of you anyway.

In Re: the loop not being "closed" -- it is "closed", along a circular tangent, as it were. The future that occurred is one of many "penumbral" futures (as well as pasts, relative to the Doctor's POV) that could occur for Ruby. It's a fracture line of intrusion relative to her own timeline, coming out from the "beyond" that the Doctor and Donna experienced in TWBY. (It's touching along the void from where, for instance, the Weeping Angels can be understood as manifesting from.) So it is indeed "closed", just tangentially, having both occurred and never having happened.

Pardon me, but I think the politics was brexit commentary. In the episode the UK exited NATO and triggered nuclear option. It is a pun. When the UK exited the EU they triggered the "nuclear" option...that canceled all agreements. I mean, yeah, it makes it more extreme...and literal...but...

By rock and stone I wish I knew what the Mysterious Lady said that made a fascist run screaming. That moment was genius, and left me longing for those words.

As is often the case, I'm on much the same page. I've often been disappointed by the revelations in sci fi and fantasy. Sometimes it's the vibes that matter, and the very fact that a thing is unknown is what gives it it's appeal. I first really appreciated this fact from Tolkien's writing, particularly his description of Lothlorien. There is a magic and beauty in the writing that by its nature could never be captured on camera. Any single real thing will always be less than the ideal of that thing loosely imagined.

And this episode made the perfect use of that.

Roger gave me Javier Milei vibes.

I don't think I would include it in my list of the favorite episodes, but I really like what it did. And I like it for helping me finally adjust to Ruby, something that I, somehow, had trouble to do. Finally seeing the range in which Millie Gibson can act, I really started to love Ruby.

I absolutely love how this season delves into supernatural and magic. This episode though... I had to marinate a bit on it before coming to any conclusion, I guess because my brain just have to have at least some structure (ADHD brain moment probably, lol), so I came to think about the fairy circle starting all of this and Mad Jack actually existing as some supernatural entity inhabiting or influencing Roger. That is my headcanon for now, at least. But I can also suspend my disbelief pretty easily, especially when supernatural is involved, so having or not having this answer doesn't change the fact that this episode's writing was brilliant.

There's always a Twist at the end

What's the names of your "little buggers"? Co-chairs? 🙂

I think my biggest problem is that it doesn’t quite all add up? Like I really enjoy what they were trying to do. I just didnt quite vibe with the ending. So it seems almost meaningless. Which might be the point i suppose

Have you watched Life on Mars ?

Loved this, but was disappointed by the end, you made a great case for it though! (Not seen any further episodes if this is revisited) Overall until this episode the series was comfortably exceeding my expectations, but this episode made me what to see what other people thought of it, so thanks!

Imagine ruby was saying bad wolf 😂

this episode is really creepy

73 yards was so fantastic, every second of it had me on edge with wonderment and mystery.

I agree I don't want supernatural stuff to be the norm. I think that it is interesting that we notice Ruby keeps getting abandoned (like you said it's the fourth time). It's another "coincidence" that matches Ruby's past to her present.

It's funny how the villagers thought Ruby was just believing in stereotypes about them when Ruby was probably actually thinking, "what year is it? Did the TARDIS drop us off in 2024 this time or are we in 1973 or something? If it's not 2024 I probably can't pay with my phone so I'll ask" lol

One thing that really bugs me about this episode is why, when the Doctor disappears, does Ruby just assume that he abandoned her, which doesn't make any sense because he disappeared into thin air within a split second, without taking the TARDIS, which would be extremely out-of-character for him, and also this happened at the same time some weird CLEARLY apparently-supernatural woman appears in the distance at exactly 73 yards away? Yet she doesn't think something weird happened to the Doctor, instead believing he abandoned her? What? None of that makes any sense. Still a great eoisode, though.

It felt like it combined the confusing nature of fae and time with a deep sense of closure
The ending is my favorite and i love so much what old ruby says cause it felt really bittersweet

The last line of this episode had me cackling like a madman.

i liked most of t, i thought the marty stuff felt like hock factor though. mainly as it had little impact on the plot, as ruby wuld have known that rodger was evil anyway

This is without a doubt the best review of this episode I have seen. Really earned the length. Loved hearing your love for its fairy-style ambiguity and the themes and tropes, in general!

I ended up being one of the people who didn't 'get' this episode as I often seek an explanation or reason for things happening, so having that unresolved in this episode did make me feel unsatisfied. However I really enjoyed hearing your take on it and getting another persepective. Thank you for taking the time to tell us. :)

Only 1 element really bugs me and detracts from my enjoyment of the episode. I do not need it explained how she went back in time and mystically followed herself for a full lifetime and scared people off, but it does not feel like they opened any routes to an explanation, whether mystical or otherwise. I did love the episode, especially the horror vibes and the mystery, and I really appreciate your perspectives which do bring me additional appreciation of the episode. Of course, thinking more about it now, I can just go with the idea that the circle wibbled and wobbled the timeline or something, which is just barely enough for me to be happy, but I would prefer more of a framework where it makes sense that it could have happened. Of course I am personally so pattern, system, and structurally minded that I dwell on such things, but I do not need it to be explained, just more of a possibility space for my brain to play with for it not to feel disconnected and hand wavy.

There are two types of people in the world:
Those that think RTD isn't as good as he used to be, and those that have watched 73 Yards.

More and more the supernatural. Pity.

Good video. I don't think it matters what she was saying because it's not what the episode is about. I don't think a lot of people 'got' this and are being a bit too literal. I made a 2 minute video on my channel to try to explain what this episode means. If anyone wants to check that out, I would appreciate the views. I'm trying to start a channel with some Doctor Who content on it.

Coming back to this after the season finale, I genuinely like that the payoff was Ruby having some connection to the prime minister while at the same time it's clear the events of 73 yards didn't happen because the guy actually became prime minister and put in place invasive policies forcing everyone to register their DNA. Nothing in this episode after the fairy circle actually happened, but it gave us a lot of insight into Ruby's character and it did somehow leave a mark. I hope they don't make it more than that in the next season.

the fact that the susan twist twist
WAS SUTEKH
IS THE ULTIMATE TWIST

While this really worked for me as a story, I don’t think it worked for me as an episode of doctor who, and I do think that comes down to how the fantastical elements are framed.

Doctor Who has always had really fantastical elements, but it’s typically couches those elements in things that work in a sci-fi context, that being cosmic or eldritch horror and existentialism - the idea that there are things in the far reaches of creation that exceed our knowledge or capacity for understanding.

The beast, most of the mythology of the Time War, even the Midnight Entity to an extent, these things are very fantasy, but they are framed in a way that works in a sci-fi story, at least for me.

This episode does not do that. The fantastical elements are framed around something that is very small, very intimate, very personal and human. A net of twine and flowers, notes for loved ones that are gone. Even if we don’t get confirmation as to how or why it works, it is the framing device around which the fantastical element is built. It’s sort of just a matter of aesthetics, but this is storytelling - aesthetics are important.

And it doesn’t mesh for me - I don’t really like the more overtly fantasy bent that it leans towards, at least not for this show. Like I said, I think it’s fantastic as an episode of television, but as a Doctor Who story, I don’t think it works.