73 Yards (TV story)
73 Yards is the fourth episode of Season One of Doctor Who.[1]
Synopsis
Landing on the Welsh coast, the Doctor and Ruby embark on the strangest journey of their lives. In a rain-lashed pub, the locals sit in fear of ancient legends coming to life.[2]
Plot
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The Doctor and Ruby land in Wales on a coastline, stepping out of the TARDIS, and wandering around as they talk about the times Ruby has been to Wales, and Roger ap Gwilliam, who the Doctor considers a bad example of the Welsh. The Doctor inadvertently steps on a circle made of string, woven together with bird skulls and toys, breaking it. Ruby reaches down and finds a scroll woven into it which she reads out - “Rest in Peace Mad Jack”. She looks up to find the Doctor missing. She glances around for him, finding nothing, and comes to find that the TARDIS is locked, but notices a female figure off in the distance, watching Ruby, gesturing with her hands. Ruby calls to her, asks what’s going on, and gets no response. Ruby walks away, but no matter how far she walks the spectre just keeps following her, the same distance, over and over. Eventually Ruby comes across a hiker, asking where she is, and whether the menacing figure is real or just a figure of her imagination . The hiker tells her that they’re above Glyngatwg, and confirms that she can see the figure as well. Since the hiker is headed towards the figure, they’re willing to try to talk to the figure on Ruby’s behalf, ask it to stop following Ruby, as well as ask if the figure knows the Doctor. But as the hiker approaches and starts to talk to the figure, the hiker screams, and turns to run away from the spectre.
Ruby ventures down into the town, into the pub, and asks them if they've got a room for the night. They do, but the owner and others in the pub take great delight in teasing her. She asks the patrons if they can see the figure outside and they can as well, one of them being willing to go out and ask why she's following Ruby. The man talks to the figure, screams, and runs away. Ruby expresses concern and mentions the circle of string and cotton she saw up on the cliff, how the Doctor broke it, how she read out one of the scrolls in it. The patrons reference the blood seeped into all of Wales, how the boundary of land and sea is a liminal space. Referencing horror stories about Mad Jack. A knocking comes at the door. Ruby insists that it's not Mad Jack and answers the door. It's just a man carrying a box of pasties. The entire pub bursts out laughing, they dismiss the entire idea as ridiculous, a joke. But Ruby looks outside - the spectre is still standing there in the pouring rain.
Cast
- The Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa
- Ruby Sunday - Millie Gibson
- The Woman - Hilary Hobson
- Hiker - Susan Twist
- Lowri Palin - Maxine Evans
- Enid Meadows - Siân Phillips
- Joshua Steele - Sion Pritchard
- Ifor Jones - Gwïon Morris Jones
- Thin Lucy - Elan Davies
- Eddie Jones - Glyn Pritchard
- Carla Sunday - Michelle Greenidge
- Cherry Sunday - Angela Wynter
- Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson
- Kate Lethbridge-Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
- Frank Hinchey - Graham Butler
- Sanjay Miah - Ali Ariaie
- Rufus Bray - Albey Brookes
- Roger ap Gwilliam - Aneurin Barnard
- Craig Deloach - Miles Yekinni
- Amol Rajan - Himself
- Marti Bridges - Sophie Ablett
- Akhim Patil - Shane David-Joseph
- Groundsman - Jason May
- Security Officer
- Armed Policeman - David Constant
- Newsreader - Deeivya Meir
- Old Ruby - Amanda Walker
- Elizabeth Campbell - Rhyanna Alexander-Davis
- Nurse - Vee Vimolmal
Crew
| Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter with Joel Collins and Phil Collinson |
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| Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. |
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This episode was produced with the support of incentives for the Irish film industry provided by the Government of Ireland. |
Worldbuilding
to be added
Notes
- In March 2023, Russell T Davies stated during an appearance on BBC Radio 2 that he thought the episode was "one of the greatest things I've ever made in my life".[3]
- The title of the episode was revealed on the official Doctor Who Twitter account on 31 March 2024.[1]
- A line that went "I once went to the top of the Shard" was cut from the episode during its third edit.[4]
- Davies stated on The Official Doctor Who Podcast that he had spent a long time thinking about the title, and had had to stand on a pier to determine exactly what 73 yards was.[5]
Myths
to be added
Filming locations
to be added
Ratings
to be added
Production errors
to be added
Continuity
to be added
Home media releases
to be added
Gallery
- Main article: 73 Yards (TV story)/Gallery
External links
- Official 73 Yards page on doctorwho.tv
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Doctor Who Twitter (31 March 2024). "73 Yards". Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved on 31 March 2024.
- ↑ Doctor Who, Season 1, 73 Yards. bbc.co.uk. BBC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-15.
- ↑ Lauren Morris (2023-03-14). New Doctor Who "one of the greatest things" showrunner has ever made. RadioTimes.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31.
- ↑ Letter from the Showrunner - DWM 589
- ↑ 73 YARDS Preview | The Official Doctor Who Podcast. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2024-05-23.
