’73 YARDS’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Ruby without the Doctor and visiting Wales…for a bit
Here we are on the fourth episode of Series 14 of ‘Doctor Who’ called ’73 Yards’! And, oh boy! Have I waited a long time to unpack my thoughts about this episode! Now, before I proceed further with this in-depth review, I’d like to make something clear to everyone. 🙂
I appreciate there are people out there who really like this episode. ’73 Yards’ has been praised highly by critics and fans over the years since it came out on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and Disney+ in May 2024. 🙂 There’s no denying there’s an appeal to this episode for many.
With that said, I can’t ignore these mixed feelings I have about the episode, particularly in terms of when I first viewed it back in May 2024. I think my understanding of the episode has got a bit better over the years, but it doesn’t make me instantly regard this story highly.
A main issue I have with this episode is the way it’s presented and how Russell T. Davies delivers the story to us. There are quite a lot of missed opportunities featured in this episode to make it worthwhile. I feel that the story should’ve gone in a different direction.
The saving grace of this episode, as far as I’m concerned, is Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. She drives the story forward and is so compelling to watch. She delivers an excellent performance as her character. It’s one of the reasons why I’d like to give this story a pass.
I’d also say ’73 Yards’ is a way better effort by RTD compared to ‘Space Babies’ and ‘The Devil’s Chord’ at the beginning of Series 14. But that doesn’t make me give the episode full marks, unfortunately, and I hope that I’ll justify why that is as we go through the review.
If you’re still convinced that ’73 Yards’ is an excellent ‘Doctor Who’ story despite my opinion, that’s fine. I’m glad you got something out from this episode more than me. There are highlights for me in ’73 Yards’, but I still can’t ignore the things that I dislike about it. 😐
Before we get into the plot, here’s a little behind-the-scenes information for us to get started. Believe or not, ’73 Yards’ was the first episode to be filmed in Series 14. Not ‘The Church on Ruby Road’, not ‘Space Babies’, not ‘The Devil’s Chord’, not even ‘Boom’ either. 🙂
It was ’73 Yards’ that was made after the 60th anniversary TV specials were completed. And there was a reason for that. When Ncuti Gatwa was cast as the Doctor back in May 2022, he was still filming Series 4 of ‘Sex Education’, a show that’s currently available on Netflix.
Due to Ncuti Gatwa being unavailable and unable to immediately to film ‘Doctor Who’ in the production’s early months, it was decided by the production team to do an episode early and to make it ‘Doctor-lite’, similar to what came before in an episode like ‘Turn Left’.
So yeah, the Doctor doesn’t appear much in the episode. He’s only in the beginning and at the end of the episode. The Doctor’s absence in this episode is one of the reasons why Series 14 doesn’t entirely work for me, but I’ll get to that another time in another review.
Now it’s not uncommon for ‘Doctor Who’ seasons not to be filmed in chronological order, as you’d expect them to. With Peter Davison’s first season – Season 19 – in the classic TV series, ‘Four to Doomsday’ was made first before the Fifth Doctor’s debut in ‘Castrovalva’.
This also applies in the new TV series where in Series 5, ‘The Time of Angels’/’Flesh and Stone’ was made first before ‘The Eleventh Hour’, Matt Smith’s debut as the Eleventh Doctor. So, I appreciate why ’73 Yards’ was made first before Ncuti Gatwa came on board.
Going back to ’73 Yards’ being like ‘Turn Left’, it was decided to give Millie Gibson the spotlight and make it a Ruby-focused story. I was happy to go along with this, since I like both Millie and the character she plays in ‘Doctor Who’. I found it a welcome approach. 🙂
The story also takes place in an alternative timeline for Ruby, matching to what Donna Noble went through in ‘Turn Left’ as she lived in a parallel universe. The execution of the alternative timeline for Ruby however…well, let’s say I prefer ‘Turn Left’ for Donna more. 😐
And that’s an irony considering it’s RTD who’s writing the episode. And I’d like to point out that this is another thing that RTD is repeating from his original TV era of ‘Doctor Who’ in his neo-era. There’s more to come in this episode as well as for the rest of RTD’s neo-era.
’73 Yards’ also explores the theme of abandonment when it’s focusing on Ruby’s abandonment issues since birth from her mother and the impact it has on her when taken to an extreme. It’s something that I’ll be addressing more as we go further into the review.
Anyway, onto the plot. The episode begins with the TARDIS materialising on a clifftop in West Wales. Close to Tenby, apparently, where they filmed the episode. And you might have noticed, there’s no opening titles sequence for ’73 Yards’ when we go straight into it.
We have the opening credits, certainly, but there’s no ‘Doctor Who’ theme music nor title sequence to accompany them. I guess that’s an improvement over ‘Sleep No More’, ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ and ‘Resolution’, but I still would’ve included the opening titles.
On exiting the TARDIS, the Doctor is clearly excited to be in Wales. And the reaction that Ncuti Gatwa gives in his performance as the Doctor is a genuine one, according to the ‘Behind the Scenes’ featurette on ’73 Yards’. I’m very pleased he enjoyed being in Wales.
Doctor: Oh… That smell! That green! That coastline, Ruby! Oh, the rocks and the water, it never ends! The war between the land and the sea!
(sighs) Yes, Russell! We get it! You created the spin-off series ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ featuring Sea Devils, which was released after Series 14 and 15 of ‘Doctor Who’ in December 2025. You don’t have to remind us that you created that spin-off series!
Ruby shares with the Doctor that she’s been to Wales twice before, including Cardiff and Mumbles. The latter when she was 16 and it was because of a boy whom she later broke his heart. I’m intrigued now as to what Ruby’s love life was like before she met the Doctor.
Incidentally, I must point out again that this is another thing that RTD repeats from his original TV era in his neo-era, as he has an episode set in Wales for ’73 Yards’ much like how he had an episode set in Cardiff for ‘Boom Town’ with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor.
I prefer ‘Boom Town’ more than ’73 Yards’, but we’ll get back to that later. Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor also shares with Ruby that there’s a man who is ‘a bad example of the Welsh’ called Roger ap Gwilliam. Remember this. It’s an infuriating important plot point for later.
As you saw in the video, the Doctor accidentally stepped into a circle made from strings of cotton and sticks arranged in an unfamiliar pattern. As he and Ruby examine it, she picks up some of the notes left beside the circle, which contain very cryptic messages.
Two of them say “I miss you” and “Rest in peace, Mad Jack”. Upon reading them, Ruby looks up and finds that the Doctor has vanished. And this is where we say goodbye to Ncuti Gatwa for most of the episode, as he only returns to appear at the end. Where did he go then? 😐
Unable to see the Doctor anywhere, Ruby naturally assumes he’s gone back inside the TARDIS. She attempts to re-enter the TARDIS, but she can’t get in. She then tries to use her TARDIS key, but the ship has sealed itself up. The lights from within have extinguished.
Ruby looks around the back of the ship to see if the Doctor is there.
Ruby: I hope you’re not having a pee round the back.
Err, okay. Firstly, Ruby, eww! Secondly, why would you assume the Doctor went for a pee around the back? Doesn’t have the TARDIS have a toilet? Bill Potts asked about that in ‘The Pilot’ back in Series 10. Maybe the Doctor went for a pee in there rather than outside.
Returning to the front of the TARDIS, Ruby then spots an old-looking woman in the distance. The woman appears to be gesturing conversationally to Ruby and saying something inaudible. 😐 Ruby tries to get closer, but the woman remains away from her. 😐
That’s quite creepy! And it turns out whenever Ruby tries to walk away from the woman, making along the cliffs as she tries to search for the Doctor, she notices the woman is constantly following her and observing her from afar. 😐 Naturally, Ruby is disturbed by this.
In concept, the idea is a pretty intriguing one. The idea of someone that Ruby sees from a distance and is constantly followed by her. Apparently, RTD came up with this idea when he was visiting Swansea Pier and measured the distance of somebody far away from him.
The measurement, as we’ll discover later, happens to be 73 yards. Hence the episode’s title. I’m not sure why it’s specifically 73 yards, as it could have been 75 yards instead. Nevertheless, this serves as an important plot point when Ruby sorts out the story’s villain.
Ruby soon comes across a hiker, played by Susan Twist. The hiker expresses concern for Ruby being out in the cold. Ruby asks her if they’ve met before since she happens to be similar to people she’s met before on her travels, including an Ambulance in ‘Boom’. 😐
But as it turns out, the hiker doesn’t know what Ruby is talking about. She does inform her that they’re close to a town called Glyngatwg. I had to look this up and apparently, Glyngatwg is not a real place. It’s a fictional Welsh town specifically created for this story.
A shame really. Though I’ve created the fictional Churchwood Street in Cardiff for my ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Billy, so who am I to judge? I’m surprised RTD didn’t have the episode set in Tenby, as the clifftop is close to the town.
Ruby asks the hiker if she can see the mysterious woman in the distance. Apparently, she can. Hmm. Usually, sometimes, when someone sees a mysterious person, it can be that only he or she is seeing that person and nobody else. Well, at least Ruby’s not going mad.
Requesting the hiker if she can speak to the woman on her behalf, Ruby asks if she can stop the woman from following her and ask whether she’s seen the Doctor. The hiker agrees, naturally confused by the request from Ruby, before she goes to meet the woman.
Watching from a distance, Ruby sees the hiker approach the woman. We don’t hear what’s said between the woman and the hiker, but the hiker turns to stare at Ruby for a few seconds before she runs off and screams. 😐 Unsettled, Ruby continues on her way. 😐
And this is where we should’ve had the opening titles by this point in the episode!
Ruby arrives in Glyngatwg and comes across a pub called Y Pren Marw – translated into English as ‘The Dead Tree’. How cheerful. 😐 Seeing the mysterious woman still following her, Ruby enters the pub to arrange a bed for the night. Also, to get out of the bitter cold. 🙂
This is November 2024, apparently. And it’s clearly snowing when Ruby walked along the cliffs and on her way to Glyngatwg before reaching the pub. This ironically leads to one of my favourite lines said by Ruby in ’73 Yards’, but I’ll talk about that shortly in the review. 🙂
Inside the pub, we meet the locals, including Maxine Evans as Lowri Palin, Sion Pritchard as Joshua Steele, Gwion Morris Jones as Ifor Jones, Elan Davies as Thin Lucy, and Dame Siân Phillips as Enid Meadows. And trust me, I’m not trying to skim through these people.
But you see, there’s not really much to say about them, apart from the fact that they’re unwelcoming and dismissive. They’re like altogether in just one scene of this episode and that’s it. And this is a very puzzling aspect of the episode that some might find peculiar. 😐
More on that in a bit, but going back to the locals being unwelcoming and dismissive, I’m curious as to why they would treat Ruby that way. I know it’s do with this prejudice thing RTD wanted to bring up between English and Welsh people, but still, I find it uncalled for. 😐
Ruby: Can I pay with my phone?
Lowri: Can you what?
Ruby: Can I pay with my phone?
Lowri: Pay with your phone?
Ruby: Yeah.
Lowri: How do you pay with your phone?
Ruby: Oh, well, it’s sort-of like online banking, but the phone can transfer money from my account into…
Lowri puts the card reader on the counter.
Lowri: Yes, you can pay with your phone.
Ruby: Oh. Sorry. Thank you.
Enid: We’re not quite the Dark Ages, young lady, despite what they say.
Wow! That’s rude. I mean, considering Ruby is a stranger as well as a visitor, you’d think inns and pubs in Wales would be welcoming, especially to tourists. Maybe they were teasing her a bit, but still, Ruby was nice as pie to them whilst they’re slightly cruel to her.
Going off on tangent for bit, ’73 Yards’ is described as folk horror – Welsh folk horror, presumably – by RTD. Hence why we have the fairy circle at the episode’s start and Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor accidentally stepping into it before he vanishes and Ruby’s on her own. 😐
So, with the set-up of the mysterious woman following Ruby, you might be led into thinking this is a ghost story. Like, Ruby’s going to be trapped with the people in the pub, similar to the Fourth Doctor and Leela trapped with people inside a lighthouse in ‘Horror of Fang Rock’.
That would be the traditional way of telling a ‘Doctor Who’ story if RTD went along with it. But sadly, he doesn’t. ’73 Yards’ is not a ghost story. We don’t spend the entirety of the episode in the pub where a ghost’s pursuing Ruby and it causes terror for her and the locals.
RTD is deliberately misleading you into thinking that before we move on to something else. Usually, that wouldn’t bother me so much, but I do have to question why RTD would set up characters in a pub that wouldn’t serve much in terms of a purpose for the plot.
For example, take Siân Phillips as Enid Meadows. Now, it might be just me thinking this, but I recall her being promoted a lot in the build-up to the release of this episode. Like she’s this famous Welsh actress who’s going to play a major part in this ‘Doctor Who’ story.
And you know, from seeing her in the pub scene, you might be led into thinking that she might end up being the villain of the episode. Or she could end up being this wise old woman who guides Ruby on the journey that she’s on to escape the trap she’s in via the fairy circle.
But, no! After the pub scene, Siân Phillips is totally gone for the rest of the episode! There’s a flashback to her and Lowri later on in the episode, but that’s it! Why was so much time spent in setting her up in the promotion of this episode if she wasn’t going to do much? 😐
Now, probably it’s because Siân Phillips is elderly when she made her appearance in the episode (90, I believe) and she couldn’t do a lot of scenes in the story. But it’s strange she would be promoted that way, and it turned out she didn’t have a big part to play after all.
I might be missing the point concerning Siân Phillips’ appearance in the episode, but considering there was quite a bit of hype in the build-up to ’73 Yards’ concerning her, I would’ve expected the hype to be worthwhile. Not wasted in the episode’s actual output.
Anyway, let’s talk about my favourite line in the entirety of ’73 Yards’. Lowri, behind the bar, asks Ruby if she wants something to drink. Ruby, who was out in the cold for a long time, could have asked for something warm to drink when asked. What does she ask for?
Ruby: Yeah. I’ll… I’ll have, um… No, I’ll just have a Coke.
I’ve criticised this dialogue in my spoiler-free reaction to ’73 Yards’ in 2024. I’ve made a joke about it in my quick reactions video on ‘Lucky Day’ in 2025. At the start of this review, I’ve included it in my introduction video. And it still makes me laugh every time I hear it! 🙂
Why would she order Coke? That is…such a random drink to pick! And I like having Coke now and again, but not really as a drink when I’ve been outside in cold weather. Why did RTD write that in the script? It’s very nonsensical when Ruby had been walking in the cold.
Shouldn’t she be ordering something hot like a cup of tea or a coffee? Heck, she could have ordered an alcoholic drink to warm her up. I’ve no doubt Ruby drinks Coke now and again, but it’s a weird thing to order when surely, she’d want something to keep her warm.
It’s just so funny! And not intentionally, I’m sure. I mean, if the locals were accommodating, they’d be giving Ruby a hot mug of tea and perhaps a warm meal. Not say, a McDonald’s or a Burger King with a pint of Coke to go along with it. It’s just hilarious! 😀
Lowri: Five quid.
Ruby: How much?
Lowri: Five quid.
Five quid for a glass of Coke? That’s just daylight robbery! Or night-time robbery, considering the pub scene takes place in the evening. Mind you, considering prices have gone up over the years and food and drink is getting more expensive, I shouldn’t be surprised.
Well, I doubt Millie Gibson will find a way to promote Coke again after this episode…
Whoa, that’s taking advertising to a whole new level! 😀 I…I wasn’t expecting to see that when scrolling through the Millie Gibson Uncensored group on Facebook. I’m…I’m lost for words. Um, is there a different photo that I can share where Millie is advertising Coke?
Tim Bradley and Millie Gibson pose for a toast with Coca Cola cans by the TARDIS at ‘Film & Comic Con Cardiff 2025’, October 2025
Ah, that’s better! 😀 And what makes it even better is that I’m in the photo with Millie where we toast our Coca Cola cans by the TARDIS at ‘Film & Comic Con Cardiff’ back in October 2025. I’m glad we did that photo together, and Millie said she found it ‘so cute’. 🙂
Anyway, back to the episode. Ruby asks the locals if they can see the mysterious woman standing in the road outside. They confirm they can and then they mock Ruby for not asking the woman what she wants. Well, perhaps it’s because she’s so far away from her!
And Ruby can’t close the distance between them! Admittedly, Ruby should’ve told them she can’t close the distance between her and the woman and maybe they wouldn’t understand her, but seriously! What’s wrong with these people? Why do they mock Ruby?
Josh, one of the locals, offers on Ruby’s behalf to ask what the woman wants as he leaves for the night. Like with the hiker played by Susan Twist, Josh approaches the mysterious woman. As before, he stares back at Ruby before running away and screams his head off.
The locals press Ruby to explain why Josh would react that way. Ruby attempts to explain what happened when she and the Doctor were on the clifftop. The locals claim the Doctor disturbed the fairy circle and Ruby reading the messages from it unleashed ‘Mad Jack’. 😮
Well, the spirit of Mad Jack anyway. The locals become frenzied, claiming that the mysterious woman is Mad Jack’s herald and that the ancient magic of the countryside is responsible for events. Now, like Ruby, I was taken in by what the locals were saying here.
I was convinced that we had gotten into the ghost story aspect of the story and that this was going to be a set-up for a pub under siege with the mysterious woman following Ruby about to cause trouble. The tension was escalating by this point as I watched the episode.
But it turned out it was all a prank. When there’s a loud banging on the door and Ruby answers it, giving it the impression that it’s Mad Jack who’s come, it turns out it was Glyn Pritchard as Eddie Jones, a delivery man come to deliver pasties for the Y Pren Marw pub.
Laughing, the locals reveal that they were mocking Ruby for believing such fanciful and stereotypical things. Even Siân Phillips’ character claims to Ruby it’s ‘racist’ to be ‘blunt’ and saying outsiders, presumably the English, think the Welsh are all witches and druids.
Wow! These people are awful! And I’m speaking as a Welshman! I…I wouldn’t have treated Ruby that way. She was out of her depth when she came to this pub. She was scared to death thinking she’d actually unleashed something terrible from the fairy circle.
Okay, um, I don’t know what RTD is trying to do, but he’s not promoting Wales in a good light, especially in the presentation of the Welsh people at this pub. Or maybe it’s people from West Wales that he’s giving the impression that are unwelcoming and dismissive. 😐
This is why I prefer ‘Boom Town’ over ’73 Yards’, as the Welsh people in that story, particularly in Cardiff, are nice, including Mr. Cleaver who got killed by Margaret Slitheen and Cathy Salt who was spared by Margaret Slitheen, as she was about to have a baby. 🙂
For those reading my review, please don’t be scared by the Welsh! We are very nice people! I’m sure that wasn’t what RTD had in mind when he wrote the episode, but there’s not a very balance of good and bad Welsh people in this episode, as I would have liked. 😐
This isn’t helped by who the villain of this episode turns out to be, but we’ll get to that later. I’m also sure some people, including ‘Doctor Who’ fans, were disappointed this wasn’t the gothic horror ghost story they’d hoped for, as the episode gave that impression.
I wasn’t too disappointed, as I wanted this story to be about Wales, which was what the ‘next time’ trailer for the episode implied. Yes, most scenes of this episode were filmed in Wales, but in the narrative sense…well, we’ll get to that shortly. 😐 Let’s crack on, shall we?
For the next few days, Ruby stays at the pub, spending most of the time waiting at the TARDIS for the Doctor to return. She also has jam in her…yoghurt for breakfast? I’m sure it’s yoghurt, but it doesn’t look very appetising. I would’ve just had the toast and a cup of tea.
Eventually, Lowri, the pub’s landlady, confronts Ruby with the news that Josh is refusing to return to the pub with his only explanation being “Ask her”. Ruby claims that Josh is referring to the mysterious woman that he came into contact with rather than it being her.
Despite this, Ruby is told to pack and leave, never to be seen again. Frankly, that’s a bit harsh, but…hey, what do you expect? The people of this village haven’t been that friendly to Ruby since she arrived. And we don’t really get to know them for the rest of this episode.
Well, since Ruby has been waiting for the Doctor to return, she’s obviously not going to leave and go far away, is she? So, she decides to head back home on the train to London…wait! Why are we going to back to London? I thought this story was about Wales!
(sighs) This is a huge issue I have with ’73 Yards’. Once again, RTD is misleading his audience into thinking that this is an episode about Wales. That it’s a Welsh folk horror story. But how can that be when we’re moving out of Wales and heading back to London?
I honestly feel that RTD should have set this story just in Wales and not go beyond that. Wouldn’t it have been better and more tense if Ruby found herself trapped in Wales? That she couldn’t leave Wales itself because the Doctor accidentally stepped in the fairy circle?
And she had this mysterious woman still following her all the time whilst being stuck in Wales? I know the 73 yards thing is key to this story, but it would’ve been scary if Ruby found herself on the train heading to London, only for her to find herself back in Wales. 😐
She’d probably struggle to buy more train tickets to London with her bank account getting lower. And she would have called her mum for help to get out of the trouble she’s in. Carla could still go in and out of Wales to meet Ruby, but not Ruby herself. It’d be very terrifying!
You can still tell the same story of ’73 Yards’ without having to move out of Wales. There are more places in Wales for Ruby to find herself in as well as for audiences to see. Tenby, the town close to where the clifftop at the story’s start was being filmed, is a good example.
Heck, you could even have some of the episode filmed in Cardiff! Replace the London scenes with Cardiff scenes! Ruby’s mum Carla, her grandmother Cherry (possibly), and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and U.N.I.T. can still go to Cardiff to see Ruby for their scenes. 😐
I’m just saying that you don’t need to go outside of Wales to continue the story. Setting the story solely in Wales would have made the episode more contained and probably very frightening, especially concerning Ruby and the abandonment issues she endures.
This is a huge misstep and a huge missed opportunity as far as I’m concerned when talking about ’73 Yards’ and how it ended up. It’s a major letdown for me. I’m surprised RTD didn’t consider setting the entire episode in Wales. Surely, that would’ve been better.
Anyway, on the train journey home to London, Ruby is horrified to see, via the train window, the mysterious woman still following her. She constantly appears along Ruby’s route, despite the high-speed. I imagine the panic would have set in for Ruby at this point.
Eventually, Ruby returns home to reunite with her mother, Michelle Greenidge as Carla, and her grandmother, Angela Wynter as Cherry. Carla and Cherry are under the assumption the Doctor abandoned Ruby and went in his TARDIS…or ‘shed’, as Carla says.
Ruby then tells Carla what happened and that there’s this mysterious woman following her. Going outside, Carla offers to go up to the woman whilst she has Ruby on the phone so that Ruby can hear what she says. Ruby is anxious about this idea, but Carla insists. 😐
Ruby: I know, but I’ve told you, everyone she talks to, they just run away.
Carla: Yes, but Welsh people. Trust me, darling, it’s a plan.
Okay, I know RTD wants to bring up the prejudice thing that’s going on between English and Welsh people, but I don’t think it helps that you bring it up on both sides of the coin. Perhaps it wasn’t intentionally prejudiced on Carla’s behalf, but I think it’s pushing it a bit.
We also have a brief appearance of Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood in the episode. Mrs. Flood is curious about Ruby being on the phone to her mother, when her mother’s not that too far away. Ruby struggles to explain the situation, but Mrs. Flood doesn’t seem interested.
Mrs. Flood: Nothing to do with me.
Don’t worry, Mrs. Flood. Your cameo isn’t really that important. Especially considering we’re in an alternative timeline. 😐 Once Carla reaches the mystery woman, Ruby, on the phone, asks her what she looks like. Carla claims that she ‘looks like what she looks like’.
Ruby struggles to hear what’s being said between her mum and the woman over the phone. And then, just like before, Carla turns to look at Ruby before fleeing away, Ruby desperately gives chase before she sees Carla in a taxi, staring contemptuously at her. 😐
Seeing that scene of Ruby trying to reach out to her mum and being rejected by her is very gut-wrenching. And it’s a scene that’s truly well-performed by Millie Gibson. Ruby is heartbroken that everything that has happened to her lately has taken a turn for the worst.
And it’s about to get much worse. Ruby keeps trying to phone her mum, offering to make her shepherd’s pie. Hmm. Sound yummy! 😀 But upon her return home, Ruby finds that her mum has changed the locks and refuses to let her back inside. Ruby screams to be let in.
Eventually, Ruby manages to get through to Carla on the phone, but Carla completely disowns her, claiming that neither she nor Ruby’s birth mother want her. It’s a very upsetting scene. It’s where I felt for Ruby, as she struggled to understand what was happening.
Whilst it’s an upsetting scene, I do wonder what the mysterious woman could’ve said to Carla to make her completely disown Ruby without an explanation. It’s a part of a theme that RTD employs in his storytelling these days where he doesn’t provide an explanation.
I mean, I don’t know much about folk legend, particularly Welsh folk legend, but it’s clear RTD is hoping for audiences to go along with his ideas for this story. This includes when people seem to be outright rejecting Ruby when the mysterious woman has spoken to them.
There’s no scene where Ruby confronts her mum about why she’s being rejected, especially when Carla takes out an injunction against Ruby and cuts off all contact. An injunction is a court order that directs a person to do something or stop doing something.
I had to look that up to find out what it is, and it sounds pretty harsh, especially when Ruby did nothing to cause Carla to reject her outright totally. What is it that the mysterious woman said to make Carla and other people reject Ruby when she was speaking to them?
Something we’ll address again once we get to the end of this review. 😐 About a year later – Yes, we’re in the year 2025 😀 – Ruby is sitting in a pavement café before she’s approached by Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart! Hey! Nice to see Kate again!
Incidentally, the pavement café scene was filmed somewhere in Newport City Centre, according to the ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ episode for ’73 Yards’. If only that was Newport City Centre that Ruby and Kate were in rather than it being some random street in London!
And whilst it’s nice to see Kate again in this story, I feel like…well, we’re starting to have an overdose of Kate and U.N.I.T. in the neo-RTD era. I know that’s his kind of thing, but we’ve seen Kate already in ‘The Giggle’. And we’ll see her again soon in the two-part finale.
I think another missed opportunity is made here, as we could have done with more past characters making an appearance in the neo-RTD era. He could have used an opportunity to reintroduce Nyssa and Tegan in ‘Doctor Who’ who meet up with Ruby when she’s alone.
Heck, Tegan and Ace were reintroduced recently in ‘The Power of the Doctor’. They could have met Ruby on Kate’s behalf and tried to help her out with the problem she’s having with the mysterious woman following her. Even Mel could have appeared in the episode!
I bring this up because since RTD’s return to ‘Doctor Who’, he’s not really making much use of the ‘Doctor Who’ universe by having more past characters returning. This is especially when there seemed to be promise during the 60th anniversary celebrations in 2023.
It’s one of the reasons why I’m not a fan of the term ‘Whoniverse’ – that’s the official title the ‘Doctor Who’ universe seems to be under via the neo-RTD era. Because if RTD’s not making full use of it via the ‘MCU’-styled logo we’ve had since 2023, it makes it underwhelming.
And I think that’s an issue I have with ‘Doctor Who’ in the neo-RTD era. He wants to give the impression that ‘Doctor Who’ is like the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’, but it’s not quite showing by this point, as we’ve not had many past characters to assure us that’s the case.
If three Spider-Men can be in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, if Beast from the X-Men can be in ‘The Marvels’, and if a Fantastic Four spacecraft can be in ‘Thunderbolts*’, why can’t ‘Doctor Who’ do the same thing with having more past characters appearing in episodes?
Having Kate Lethbridge-Stewart in ’73 Yards’ is fine, even if it’s just for one scene, but I feel if you’re not going to make use of other characters that have appeared in ‘Doctor Who’ before, then you’re not justifying the ‘Whoniverse’ logo as a thing before a story starts.
Anyway, I’ve digressed enough. Ruby relates to Kate about everything that’s happened, including the fact the mystery woman is still present after all this time. Ruby has also learnt some limited information about her, including she has this sort-of perception filter.
The woman also maintains a constant distance of 73 yards from Ruby. Kate confirms that the Doctor has completely disappeared, and that U.N.I.T. is barely able to combat the extraterrestrial and increasingly supernatural threats happening on Earth in his absence.
This makes me wonder how Kate and U.N.I.T. would combat threats in alternative versions of Series 15 as well as ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’. Though the latter’s not really that relevant, considering that the Doctor doesn’t appear in that series at all.
Kate suggests Ruby could fly or sail somewhere to determine if it’d cut off the mystery woman following her. But Ruby has considered that and she decided against it, as she feared it would kill either one of them if she attempted to fly or sail. I can’t argue with that.
In attempting to help Ruby, Katy assures her that she and her team should be able to approach the mysterious woman safely, citing their psychic conditioning as well as a combination of technological and ‘magical’ defences. Oh dear. This won’t end well, will it?
Kate orders her team to approach the woman but to refrain from making contact with her of any kind. Unfortunately, the agents dispatched to detain the woman fall under the same effect as those before. So does Kate when experiencing the woman in her earpiece.
After regarding Ruby with disgust for a long moment, Kate orders her team to “Disengage” and she abruptly leaves. Ruby calls for Katy to come back, but she doesn’t listen. The U.N.I.T. team also drive off in their vehicles. Angered, Ruby smashes her drink onto the ground.
Waitress: Oi! Do you mind?
Ruby: (angrily) Yeah, I said all right!
I wouldn’t blame Ruby in that moment. After all that hope of being helped by Kate and U.N.I.T., it must be very frustrating for Ruby to have that taken away, caused by the mystery woman. Millie Gibson plays that scene so well when Ruby is angry and frustrated.
We then have a montage of the years passing for Ruby. We see her being 25, then 30 and eventually 40. And it’s always at Christmas. Yeah, because, Ruby was born on Christmas Eve, according to ‘The Church on Ruby Road’. I just noticed that in writing up my review. 🙂
I must say, seeing Ruby age as she does in the episode is seamless. I didn’t notice that Ruby had aged for quite a while. It was only when it was pointed out to me that she had birthday cards, as Ruby looks about the same as she does when she was 19 years old. 😀
Her hair may have grown longer, even though behind-the-scenes Millie Gibson is wearing a wig when she’s 40, but Ruby looks the same as she did when we first met her. I hope Millie Gibson will age just as gracefully as Ruby does in real life. I’m pretty sure she will. 🙂
The mystery woman is also constantly present as the years go by for Ruby. She’s always standing on the street outside when Ruby looks out of the window of her flat. Ruby raises a glass to the woman. I assume to say “Merry Christmas” to her? It wouldn’t be a surprise.
Also, interesting that Ruby has a flat in London when she’s living on her own and she becomes increasingly isolated. I know Ruby said she had to make ends meet when she got a ‘rubbish’ job at Kleinermann’s, but would it be enough to pay off the bills for her flat?
Ruby also tries and fails to sustain long-term relationships with various boyfriends, especially with the mystery woman constantly appearing in the background as a constant distraction. I don’t know why, as they seem to be quite nice boyfriends for Ruby to have. 😐
By 2046 where she’s 40, Ruby is about to break up with another boyfriend and…I was starting to lose track of where we were going with this episode. Yeah, I was struggling to see what the point of this story was. For a moment, I didn’t think we were going anywhere.
At this point, we were seeing Ruby’s life as the years went by, and I thought there wasn’t anything else left to tell. We did the story in Wales, we had Ruby return home in London, her mother Carla, Kate and U.N.I.T. rejecting her outright. What else was there left to tell?
All the expectations I had about this story before seeing it had pretty much gone out of the window that…I didn’t think there was much else to go on, especially concerning Ruby and where she was going. (sighs) But, of course, there is something else that happens. 😐
And it’s infuriating at best. At least for me. Here it is. In the bar where Ruby is about to break up with her latest boyfriend, she notices someone being interviewed on the bar’s TV, and it turns out to be…Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam. Yeah! Do you recall him?
The Doctor mentioned him at the beginning of the episode! According to the Doctor, Roger ap Gwilliam turned out to be the most dangerous Prime Minister in history. A bad example of the Welsh who would lead the world to the brink of nuclear war in the year 2046. 😐
As Ruby watches him on the TV, she learns that Roger ap Gwilliam is running for Prime Minister and is leading the fictional Albion Party. He claims a deep familiarity with the working class due to the many trades he’s had. It’s earned him the nickname – ‘Mad Jack’.
Remembering what the Doctor told her before he disappeared about Roger ap Gwilliam in that he almost destroyed the world, Ruby casually parts way with her boyfriend, leaves the bar, and heads off to go and ‘save the world’, beckoning the mystery woman to follow.
And…this is the villain of ’73 Yards’, everyone! The villain of this ‘Doctor Who’ story…is a politician! Not an alien menace nor a supernatural being! We have Ruby Sunday off to defeat a Prime Minister – a Welsh Prime Minister, in fact. And he happens to be 100% evil!
Oh my goodness! What was RTD thinking?! Now, some of you are probably going to be asking, “Why am I reacting like this?” What’s wrong with having an evil Prime Minister being the villain of this ‘Doctor Who’ episode? How come this meets with my disapproval?
Because, quite frankly, I don’t understand why RTD wanted to have this story ending up being about an evil Prime Minister! A Prime Minister who’s seeking to fire a nuclear missile that could start off a war! 😐 And why did it have to be a Welsh Prime Minister of all people?
Seriously, having the story be about Wales is more than enough. We didn’t need to go into this storyline where we have Ruby Sunday thwarting an evil Prime Minister. And it doesn’t sound good when the UK Prime Minister for 2046 happens to be Welsh and is the bad guy!
Once again, RTD isn’t painting a good picture of the Welsh in this episode! As if unfriendly and unwelcoming locals in a Welsh pub weren’t enough, we have to have a young Prime Minister who’s Welsh and he wants to start this nuclear war for some reason.
And that’s another thing that gets on my nerves about this character. Roger ap Gwilliam isn’t a great ‘Doctor Who’ villain! Far from it! He may be intimidating and is performed well by Aneurin Barnard, but we don’t get a fleshed-out reason for why he happens to be evil.
He says in a TV interview with an older Amol Rajan that he’s speaking on behalf of the Welsh in saying they’re ‘oppressed’, but that’s not enough for me to understand why he wants to fire a nuclear missile. 😐 Is he trigger-happy and is wanting to try out the missiles?
I don’t know, it’s not clear to me! This just screams of an excuse made by RTD to have a go at politicians in the real world. Because, you know, we’ve had some very bad politicians over the years. But frankly, that doesn’t mean to say that they’re genuinely evil.
They may make wrong decisions that become unpopular with everyone, but that doesn’t mean to say they’re necessarily evil. If RTD fleshed this character out more and there were good reasons for why he was doing these terrible things, perhaps I’d appreciate him more.
But the way he’s written and the way he’s presented as a pretty awful person, even up to the point of someone calling him a ‘monster’, it doesn’t really paint him in a credible and justifiable manner to understand why he’s the villain and why he must be stopped once and for all.
And the sad thing is, RTD should really know this. He did it with Harriet Jones, played by Penelope Wilton, in his original TV era of ‘Doctor Who’. Remember her? In ‘Aliens of London’/’World War Three’, she was a very nice politician when the Ninth Doctor met her.
In ‘The Christmas Invasion’, when Harriet Jones became Prime Minister, she made the decision in blowing up a Sycorax spaceship, much to the Tenth Doctor’s wrath. What she did was wrong, but it was out of defending her people after Earth had been threatened. 😐
I at least appreciate and understand why Harriet Jones ordered for the Sycorax spaceship to be blown up in space. Here, in ’73 Yards’, I don’t get the reason why Roger ap Gwilliam would want to start a nuclear war, as his motivations for wanting to aren’t explained well.
Even Adolf Hitler, a real-world figure in the Second World War, had a reason for the things he did that made him end up being evil. Initially, he did those things to save Germany from the state that it was in following the First World War. It was afterwards he became corrupt.
What’s Roger ap Gwilliam’s excuse? Granted, this episode doesn’t give us enough time to appreciate and understand why he’s evil, but still. I’d like to see a balance to understand why Roger ap Gwilliam is evil. Not just told that he’s evil through and through.
And this is again another thing that RTD likes to repeat, not just in his original ‘Doctor Who’ era, but also in ‘Torchwood: Children of Earth’ as well as ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ after that. Where he has these bad UK Prime Ministers featured in those stories.
Admittedly, UK Prime Ministers in the ‘Doctor Who’ universe like Brian Green in ‘Torchwood: Children of Earth’ and Harry Shaw in ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ were under a lot of strain in those stories, but they’re still depicted as bad Prime Ministers!
Now, with all of that said, here’s the really painful thing about all this. I honestly wouldn’t mind this being a thing with Roger ap Gwilliam being an evil Welsh Prime Minister…if the entire episode itself was set in Wales! If we don’t go beyond Wales and end up in London!
I think this episode would have worked better if Ruby stayed in Wales, possibly in Cardiff, and learnt about Roger ap Gwilliam, who was on his way to make a ‘state visit’ to Cardiff as part of being the new UK Prime Minister. Ruby could attempt to campaign for him there.
That way she could still get close to him to defeat him when he’s in Cardiff. The rest of ’73 Yards’ could work out in the same manner with Roger ap Gwilliam being defeated, so long as we stayed in Wales whilst Ruby is still caught in the trap where she cannot leave Wales.
She probably would still be trapped and have the mystery woman following her after defeating Roger ap Gwilliam, but at least it’d maintain this story being all about Wales and not about Wales and London. It might also possibly keep the Welsh folk legend intact.
And there’s another thing I’ve thought of. Ruby could’ve met a younger Roger ap Gwilliam in Y Pren Marw pub in Glyngatwg back in 2024. That way, we’d be introduced to him earlier before he appears again in 2046 and it would’ve made the Wales connection much better.
By going out of Wales and having the rest of the story set in London, you’re likely to forget that this was a Welsh folk horror story at all, especially in how RTD presents it by having a political theme to it and having the villain in the form of an evil Welsh Prime Minister. 😐
Some of have argued that RTD includes too many political elements in his ‘Doctor Who’ stories, and sometimes that’s often the case, particularly for his neo-era. Sometimes, some ‘Doctor Who’ stories with political themes work well so long as the storytelling is gripping.
But considering that we don’t get a fleshed-out reason for why Roger ap Gwilliam wants to start a nuclear war and we don’t get explanations to certain things like why people reject Ruby when the mystery woman speaks to them, the storytelling appears quite dodgy.
(sighs) Anyway, back to the plot. Ruby heads to the Albion Party headquarters, filmed outside and inside the Capitol in Cardiff City Centre, no less – Yes, ‘Doctor Who’ fans! We have a Capitol in Cardiff! You’re welcome! 😀 – and she offers to help out in the campaign.
She pledges all the time and money she has, even offering to carry coats for ap Gwilliam, which she does. 😀 Sometime later, Ruby is present for ap Gwilliam’s interview on the ‘Hot Line’ TV show with Amol Rajan, as part of the upcoming 2024 UK General Election. 😐
As Ruby observes, ap Gwilliam’s desire for power is evident, especially in his eagerness to use nuclear weapons. You know, I think somebody should be worried by this point. Somebody should have raised concerns about ap Gwilliam’s behaviour in that interview!
After the interview, ap Gwilliam approaches Ruby, clearly not interested in her, as he’s interested in a woman on the other side of the room. Ruby tells him she’s Marti Bridges, played by Sophie Ablett. Ruby watches ap Gwilliam go over to introduce himself to Marti.
Well, there’s nothing suspicious about that, surely. 😐 Days later, the Albion Party wins the General Election by a landslide. Everyone celebrates at Albion headquarters, though Ruby isn’t enthusiastic. She goes to look outside and sees her mystery woman still there.
Seeing Marti by herself, and far more withdrawn since ap Gwilliam first approached her, Ruby goes to sit with her. Ruby shares how ap Gwilliam sometimes gives her the ‘shivers’. Marti replies to her by calling him ‘a monster’. I don’t think that’s just in the political sense.
From the way Marti is behaving in that scene, I’m getting the impression that ap Gwilliam may have…well, sexually molested her or raped her. They never say it out loud, but it does sound disturbing. Maybe the Target novelization will clarify what happened between them.
On another day, the Albion team, including Ruby, head to Cardiff City Stadium – You see?! You see what’s going on here?! This proves my point! The episode should have all been set in Wales!!! Not going out of it and then coming back to it again like we’re doing it here!!!
And I’m not saying this in the behind-the-scenes sense, no, no. This is in the narrative sense too where one of ap Gwilliam’s lot – Danny, I believe – states that they’ve ‘come home’ to Cardiff City. They literally state that they’re in Cardiff – the capital city of Wales!!!
I’ve only noticed this just now because I’m reviewing ’73 Yards’ with more depth compared to how I initially reacted to the episode back in 2024. It completely escaped my radar, but that’s because I’ve been distracted by everything else going on in this story.
Why did we leave Wales only to come back to it years later?!!! The London scenes for Ruby could have easily been set in Cardiff if we’re going to end up in Cardiff City Stadium where the final showdown is about take place involving Ruby having to defeat ap Gwilliam!
And look, maybe the UK Prime Minister needs to have the main headquarters in London, but surely, ap Gwilliam could’ve had a temporary base of operations in Cardiff where he could have met Ruby, who would be living in Cardiff if the entire episode was set in Wales altogether!
I know I’m making a huge meal out of this, but it frustrates me that RTD didn’t think of the opportunity to trap Ruby in Wales once the Doctor had stepped in that fairy circle at the story’s beginning. It would’ve been better to keep this episode solely contained in Wales!
That way, it would’ve made Ruby’s return 60 years later to the clifftop from the story’s start more significant! And I know contemporary ‘Doctor Who’ stories tend to be set in London – that tends to be the norm somehow – but you can do variety with contemporary settings.
Like, I know Chris Chibnall gets criticised in terms of his writing, but at least he had the Thirteenth Doctor return her friends Graham, Ryan and Yaz to their hometown of Sheffield instead of London. I found that a very nice change when watching the Jodie Whittaker era.
Not all contemporary ‘Doctor Who’ stories need to be set in London. You can have variety in where you want to set your contemporary ‘Doctor Who’ story. It just screams of laziness on RTD’s part that we have to have half of ’73 Yards’ set in London and not all of it in Wales!
Again, comparing this to ‘Boom Town’, RTD managed to keep that story set entirely in Cardiff without the need to leave and go somewhere else like London. So, why couldn’t he do this again with ’73 Yards’ by having the story in many locations set in Wales itself? 😐
As it turns out, the Albion team have come to Cardiff City Stadium to prepare for an upcoming political rally. Ruby overhears the aides, including Danny, discussing how they can no longer be close to ap Gwilliam, since he’s now become the UK’s Prime Minister. 😐
Marti however is the exception, as she’s been invited to ap Gwilliam’s celebration party taking place afterwards. She flinches when asked for personally. I liked it when Ruby comforted Marti in that moment, as she knows that Marti’s clearly not very happy about that.
In the stands, Danny shares a rumour to Ruby and Martin that Britain’s bought Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Meaning Britain is poised to be independent of NATO. This scares Marti, but Danny says ap Gwilliam won’t start a nuclear launch since it’s meant to be ‘symbolic’.
Nevertheless, this prompts Ruby to set her plans in motion, as her suspicions have been confirmed. She apologises to Marti for taking so long, and with that, she heads off down to the pitch. And this is where we have the final showdown and defining moment for Ruby.
Despite repeated instructions to stay off the grass and being threatened by ap Gwilliam’s security guards, Ruby positions herself exactly, using her phone, 73 yards away from ap Gwilliam. This is so that the mysterious woman can be standing right next to ap Gwilliam.
And like before, at such close proximity, ap Gwilliam becomes aware of the mysterious woman’s presence. He looks at Ruby like the others have done before, and he reacts with the same terror and disgust as the others. He flees away and resigns as UK’s Prime Minister.
Ruby and Marti laugh as soon as this happens. So, yeah! That’s how Ruby defeats ap Gwilliam. She scares him to resign as Prime Minister by having the mystery woman talk to him. Hmm. I can’t deny it. That’s quite a clever moment when that happened in the story.
Returning to her flat in London, Ruby watches the news of ap Gwilliam’s resignation announcement. His only explanation being “Ask her” three times over. I wonder why he never says who ‘her’ is. It’s the case with the other people the mystery woman’s affected.
A more lenient and respectful government is to take ap Gwilliam’s place. Ruby smiles as she raises a glass of wine to the TV screen. Oh, she’s not drinking Coke now! I thought that would have been the celebratory drink for her. I’m joking, of course. Wine is fine too. 😀
Ruby then goes to the window of her flat and sees the mysterious woman still standing there. She wonders what the woman wanted and if she will ever leave her alone. You and me both, Ruby! I assumed that would be the end of the mysterious woman following you!
Well, hopefully, it won’t be long for Ruby to wait. Maybe tomorrow, next month, next year…
40 years later?!!! Gosh, Russell, you’re cruel! Yep, we’re in the year 2086 and Ruby is now an elderly woman. This saddened me as I watched this episode, since I really like Ruby as a character and I didn’t want more pain to happen to her, especially when getting older.
Also, Millie Gibson’s not playing the older version of Ruby by this point. She’s now played by Amanda Walker. A good actress, no doubt, but how come it wasn’t Millie Gibson playing her? Surely, Millie could’ve been made to look elderly by wearing the prosthetics.
Granted, ’73 Yards’ was made before ‘Space Babies’ came along and Millie had that major prosthetic make-up job when playing Ruby as a lizard. But Millie playing an older version of Ruby in ’73 Yards’ would have been better than having a new actress play an older Ruby.
And it’s not like ‘Doctor Who’ hasn’t done this before. Jenna Coleman played an elderly Clara in ‘Last Christmas’ where the Twelfth Doctor dreamt he failed to save her as a young woman before he saved her properly. Was that forgotten? Had it been considered? 😐
It could be that there wasn’t time to put Millie in the make-up chair to make her older, or it could be Millie wasn’t ready to do heavy prosthetic make-up by that point. All the same, it’s a real shame it’s not Millie playing the older version of Ruby instead of Amanda Walker.
The elderly Ruby is taken back to Wales by her carer – Rhyanna Alexander-Davis as Elizabeth Campbell. Initially, I assumed this was Ruby’s best friend in the future or possibly her lover. The Target novelization will have to be checked to confirm these points.
Ruby returns to the site where the TARDIS landed on the clifftop. It happens to be still there, standing derelict and covered in moss. Gosh, it’s been there this whole time? It’s quite a surprise no-one reported the TARDIS or moved it from the spot where it landed. 🙂
The TARDIS has flowers scattered around it, including ones that the carer Elizabeth places down beside it. There are also various messages, including one that reads “Love you, Josh”. Oh. Poor, Josh. Must’ve been unhappy after the mystery woman spoke to him.
Speaking of which, the mysterious woman is still around, standing 73 yards away from Ruby. Even when Ruby’s sitting on a chair in front of the TARDIS. It’s a wonder Ruby didn’t go mad or was considered mad when having to have the woman follow her all these years.
Elizabeth asks Ruby why people lay flowers by the TARDIS. Ruby doubts they know why they do it, as she monologues to the still-absent Doctor, reflecting that she never reconciled with Carla nor never found her birth mother, which is very sad to hear indeed.
Ruby also mentions that it never snowed again. Ah, well, you know what the answer to that is, don’t you, Ruby? You need to get Edward Scissorhands to come along and start making snow again. Perhaps Johnny Deep can be hired to do a cameo in this episode. 😀
Joking aside, Ruby claims to know why the mysterious woman has remained with her all this time. Having had her entire life to think about it, Ruby claims to have hope, even at the end, and that such a sentiment is so much what the Doctor would do in this instance.
We’ll get back to this part shortly. We then jump ahead to the year 2089, I believe, where Ruby is in hospital. She has her nurse checking up on her to make sure she’s okay. The nurse assures her that she won’t be alone at night, even when wanting to put the light on.
Ruby answers by saying that she’s been abandoned by everyone for her entire life, but says that she hasn’t been alone for 65 years. Aww, poor Ruby. I mean, I know this is an alternative reality for Ruby, but it’s a shame she’s had a pattern of people abandoning her.
Also, in rewatching ’73 Yards’ for this review, I noticed that ‘The Life of Sunday – Ruby’s Theme’, which was played in ‘The Devil’s Chord’, makes a reappearance in this story’s incidental music. I didn’t notice it the first time I saw this episode. Nice to hear it again. 🙂
During the night, Ruby is soon woken up by whispers in the darkness. She has the light turned on, and it’s then she sees the mysterious woman. Except this time, she’s closer to Ruby and is facing away from her. 😐 The lights flicker, as the woman gets closer and closer.
Ruby holds out her arms in welcome, whilst her heart monitor flatlines with her life flashing before her eyes. This is a clear indicator that Ruby – the Ruby in this alternative reality – has passed away. We also see the older Ruby…has become the mystery woman?
So, the mystery woman all this time…was Ruby? Yeah, on first viewing this episode, I was baffled and getting my head around on what was going on. The woman that’s been following Ruby…has been a future version of herself. I believe that’s what we’re going with.
This ties in to this mysterious folk legend involving the fairy circle that the Doctor stepped into when he and Ruby first arrived on that clifftop at the beginning of the episode, which, again, I’ll be getting to shortly. But it’s something that’s quite baffling when you first see it.
So, we see Ruby seeing out through the eyes of the mysterious woman, as she finds herself standing in Wales back in November 2024. Yep, we’re back where we started. The older Ruby sees her younger self and the Doctor emerging from the TARDIS upon landing.
Hey, welcome back, Ncuti! 😀 We have the same scene of the Doctor and Ruby arriving on the clifftop in Wales, but there are some differences. One is that Ruby says she’s been to Wales three times now. She also notices the mysterious woman standing in the distance.
Ruby asks the Doctor if he can see the mysterious woman in the distance. But before he can even see her, Ruby stops the Doctor from stepping into the fairy circle like before, after hearing a warning from the woman to “Don’t step”. Then the woman totally vanishes.
Having been prevented from stepping into the circle, the Doctor identifies its pattern, confirming it’s a fairy circle. He also stops Ruby reading the letters beside it, saying that it’s disrespectful to do so. And there you have it! Our heroes have escaped their trap!
And they weren’t aware of it either. 😀 So, having seen this episode a few times now, I think I’ve got the gist of what was going on in terms of the mechanics of the storytelling in this episode. And seeing RTD being interviewed has helped me in that regard too. More or less.
Because the Doctor stepped into that fairy circle at the episode’s start, it was Ruby who had to break the trap that she was in by having to live out her life in the alternative reality before dying and eventually returning to the point where this story started to warn herself.
I believe that’s what’s going on here. That the mystical aspects of the fairy circle had Ruby cursed as well as the Doctor taken away from her. So, it was her job to find a way to get back to where it began and she had to grow old and die to pay for her penance in the story.
That’s how I understand it. I’m sure there are some out there who will want to correct me on certain details, but that’s what I’m going with, based on what I’ve seen as well as what RTD has said in behind-the-scenes interviews concerning how the story is meant to work.
There are a couple of issues I have about the story’s ending though. One is, does the future in the 2048 of our prime universe stay the same? Is Roger ap Gwillian still going to cause a nuclear war now Ruby’s not there to stop him as she did in the alternative reality?
I mean, she stopped the Doctor stepping into the fairy circle in the new reality we’re in now. How does this affect the future now Ruby can live her life a bit more happily and hopefully with no more people abandoning her, as her mysterious woman has now gone?
It’s not explained in the episode, and it does make you wonder what RTD had in mind for the rest of the season. I mean, the events of ’73 Yards’ are touched upon again in the two-part season finale of Series 14, but that’s something we’ll discuss for another review. 🙂
The other issue that concerns me about the story’s ending is this. What did the mysterious woman say to those that came into contact with her, including Carla, Kate and ap Gwillian, to make them scared of Ruby? 😐 It’s never answered in this episode at all!
In the ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ episode for ’73 Yards’, RTD states that we will ‘never know’ and he’s never going to tell us what she said. We’re kind-of left to speculate on what the woman said to those people Ruby truly cared about and who abandoned her in the story.
Yeah, no. I’m sorry, but…no. I just…I can’t really accept that. We need to know what the woman said to those that abandoned Ruby in order to understand why they would run away. If it was part of the mystical thing going on from that fairy circle, I’d understand that.
But the fact that RTD is not going to tell us what the woman said to those that came into contact with her means that there isn’t going to be a definitive answer as to what she said. And it makes the whole thing present itself in more fantasy terms rather than sci-fi terms.
And that’s another thing that gets me about this episode as well as RTD’s neo-era. This is no longer a sci-fi show. RTD is delving more into fantasy than science-fiction. It goes against what ‘Doctor Who’ was about at the start. Being about science-fiction and history.
Usually when supernatural things happen in ‘Doctor Who’, they’re often explained with sci-fi explanations. Just like when the Dæmons turned out to be aliens instead of actual demons. And the stones in that stone circle in ‘The Stones of Blood’ were alien creatures.
The whole business of RTD making ‘Doctor Who’ more fantasy-driven instead of sci-fi driven deviates it from what the show originally set out to do. By turning what’s considered supernatural into something that’s extraterrestrial or providing a scientific depth to them.
It’s really saddening the way it’s happened, and I was hoping for RTD to impress me when he ran his neo-era of TV ‘Doctor Who’. The explanations that he comes up with for what happened are far more magic-orientated. That it’s all done by magic, and not by science.
Now with this said, what do I think the woman was saying? What do I think she said to those that Ruby loved or would want to not abandon her? Well, I can come up with theories. Maybe, the woman said something terrible about Ruby to make people hate her.
I mean, judging from the way they looked at her and gave her disdainful looks, it had to be something that would make them cancel Ruby out instantly and disregard her for something she’d done. Maybe she sinned against the fairy circle the Doctor stepped in. 😐
You know, when she read the little scrolls. The ones she wasn’t meant to read as she and the Doctor examined the circle. I know the locals in Y Pren Marw pub mocked Ruby when they scared her to death, but they could’ve been closer to the truth than they knew.
It’s a possibility, I don’t know. If you were to ask me what the woman said in terms of words, well, I can’t exactly be sure. Many people have joked about what she said in the ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ episode of ’73 Yards’. Some are very amusing more than others.
Here’s what I think the mystery woman possibly said to those she encountered.
The Woman (played by Tim): She killed Mufasa!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 😀 Interestingly, Hilary Hobson who plays the mystery woman in the episode has her own version of what she said when she was interviewed for the ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ episode of ’73 Yards’. And she said it whilst she did gestures and such. 🙂
What she said was, “Bless you. Thank you so much. That’s so kind of you. When you gave me that little thing, it was just so precious. How am I ever going to repay you? But we’ll think of something.” Yeah. Those are not the words of a sinister being. They sound so nice.
Now, I doubt those were words that RTD wrote in the script for ’73 Yards’ and I don’t think that is what the mystery woman actually said in the episode. But it’s interesting to speculate on. That nice words can cause someone to run away in fear and abandon Ruby.
Again, like RTD said, it’s open to speculation on what happened in the episode. But it doesn’t make for a very satisfying viewing experience, especially when you view the episode for the first time. I don’t know if the Target novelization will help matters much. 😐
And so, ’73 Yards’ ends with the Doctor and Ruby carrying on, leaving the circle undisturbed, as they begin to explore Wales for the first time. Or…maybe it’s the second time? For Ruby at least? Ah well, the Doctor wasn’t with her then, so let’s call it the first time.
The Doctor asks Ruby about the third time she’s been to Wales and when that was. Initially unsure, Ruby answers by saying that ‘it must have been…now’. And if you’re wondering whether Ruby has memories of her alternate life, well…that’s for another time.
The DVD/Blu-ray special features for ’73 Yards’ are as follows. On Disc 3 of the Series 14/Season One DVD/Blu-ray box set of ‘Doctor Who’, there’s a behind-the-scenes featurette on ’73 Yards’, ‘Welsh Lingo with Ncuti Gatwa & Millie Gibson’, ‘Video Profile – Roger ap Gwilliam’ with Aneurin Barnard and ‘Millie Gibson’s Very First Day – Video Diary’. On Disc 6 of the Series 14/Season One DVD/Blu-ray box set of ‘Doctor Who’, there’s the ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ episode for ’73 Yards’.
Wow! I unpacked a lot, didn’t I? That’s because I’ve had more time to think about this episode compared to when I first saw it back in May 2024. I didn’t expect to share so many thoughts on it, but I suppose that’s what the episode does to you when you think about it.
But yeah, as you can tell, I don’t regard ’73 Yards’ favourably compared to how others view it. Whilst it’s better than ‘Space Babies’ and ‘The Devil’s Chord’ at the beginning of Series 14, I feel there were a lot of missed opportunities to make this episode better than it is. 😐
I personally feel this episode should have taken place all in Wales, Not in Wales, out to London and back to Wales again. I’m also not keen on the episode’s villain being an evil Welsh Prime Minister, especially as his motivations weren’t fleshed-out enough for me. 😐
I’m sure many people don’t have issues with these things, and if that’s the case, that’s fine. I’m glad you enjoyed ’73 Yards’ more than I did. But with the lack of explanations for why things happened, including what the mystery woman said to people, it’s discouraging.
I just think that more thought should have been given to this episode to make things clearer as to what was happening, as I’m not sure how many people can get into the mindset that RTD has, considering the Welsh folk legend he incorporates into the episode.
With all that said, do I think ’73 Yards’ was worth my time, regardless of the issues I have with it? And the answer is…Yes! Yes, it was worth my time. And that’s because of one thing that really worked for me. Millie Gibson’s performance as Ruby Sunday. Yeah! She’s great!
Millie gets to have an opportunity to display a variety of emotions in this story, and she’s given the chance to have the spotlight for a change when we see how she as Ruby coped without the Doctor. Honestly, I’d give this episode a pass because of Millie’s performance.
Millie is so easily likeable and is very enjoyable to watch on screen. I can’t fault Millie for her acting, as she’s able to drive the story forward and you’re keeping yourself emotionally invested as to what’s going to happen to Ruby and how she’ll reunite with the Doctor. 🙂
And no surprise, this is one of Millie’s favourite ‘Doctor Who’ episodes. And I appreciate that. Millie gets the chance to shine in this episode as well as show how very good an actress she is. I’d happily watch this episode again because of Millie’s amazing performance.
So yeah, whilst I have issues regarding how this story is presented and how RTD wrote it, I can’t disregard the episode entirely. Mainly because of Millie Gibson and…that really funny moment where she as Ruby asked for a Coke in the Welsh pub. 😀 It’s so hilarious. 🙂
I’m very pleased Millie was willing to do that photo with me at ‘Film & Comic Con Cardiff’ back in October 2025 where we toasted with Coca Cola cans by the TARDIS. It goes to show how much this episode made an impact on me, even if it’s from a small moment. 🙂
It’s something I always cherish when looking back on this episode. Both the Coke moment and Millie Gibson’s performance as Ruby. I know I’ve bragged on about how ’73 Yards’ doesn’t work for me as a ‘Doctor Who’ story and how I feel it could have been better.
But the small moments that are in this episode and the performance of a star getting to shine and show how good she is are often the most rewarding. It’s why I consider Millie Gibson as one of my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ companions, knowing she can deliver a great performance.
Incidentally, Millie took this beautiful picture of the TARDIS enjoying the sunset in Wales whilst filming ’73 Yards’. It’s a really lovely picture and I’m glad she took that, as it showcases how beautiful Wales can be. And that’s something that is said in the episode.
Despite my issues with ’73 Yards’ not being set in Wales altogether, at least Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby get to comment on how beautiful Wales is when they first arrive. So, I guess that’s something to be grateful for. Thanks for the photo, Millie! 🙂
I wish the deleted scenes for ’73 Yards’ are included in the episode, including the one featuring Millie Gibson as Ruby by the TARDIS where she confirms the date is November 9th, 2024. I found that a lovely scene when I saw it. Why did that scene have to be cut?
With ’73 Yards’ finished, I was looking forward to checking out the next episode in the season – ‘Dot and Bubble’. From seeing the ‘next time’ trailer and the previews for the episode, I got the impression it’d be another Doctor-like story. Would I be impressed by it?
’73 Yards’ rating – 6.5/10
| The previous story
For the Fifteenth Doctor was
For Ruby was
|
The next story
For the Fifteenth Doctor is For Ruby is |
| Return to The Fifteenth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Ruby’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Doctors’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to The Companions’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to Doctor Who Timelines | |
| Return to Doctor Who | |
| Return to Sci-Fi |
Bradley's Basement 