I was expecting the worse when I noted Russell T. Davis wrote this one, he hasn’t exactly been strong on the scripting this series, but I’m going to be honest – for the first time this series I actually enjoyed an episode. Sure there are some problematic elements, normally we would expect this to be the result of work experience week but hey professional writers supposedly, but overall Rusty is rocking a horror orientated episode and nails it. For sure the overnight viewer figures boosted to 2.62 million, which at least has the franchise going in the right direction. Okay there are some people trying to explain the bounce away as people not turning off after some unnamed sporting event, which is really starting to make them appear to be clutching at anything they can to attack the current series. There are issues with the series for sure, hell we’re been pointing them out with barely concealed venom, but let’s not dilute the actual criticism with what amongst to teenage angst. The show got 2.62 million viewers overnight, that would be a boost in viewership from the previous episode, could it be because Gatwa is by and largely absent from 73 Yards? Hey just putting that out there kids, you make your own mind up.

Our desperate Duo land in modern day Wales, in an alternative time line I guess; for sure there hasn’t been a Welsh Prime Minister in Britain since David Lloyd George (1916 to 1922), actually Davo has been the only Welsh Prime Minister. But I digress and verge into almost education, sorry about that! The Doctor, because he is a bumbling idiot, as defined last episode, steps into a fairy circle, breaking whatever that is about, and promptly disappears for the rest of the episode; standing ovation from the long suffering viewer audience. Ruby is left trying to figure out where the Doctor has gone, there a local gay nightclub in the vicinity – I would try there first, and is being haunted by an old lady who stands exactly 73 yards from her, no matter how Ruby tries to approach the apparent apparition. Apparently other people can approach the old lady, but when they talk to her they run screaming into the night, sort of like the audience for episode two of this series. Seems Ruby has to stop an insane Welsh politician, write your own jokes, named Roger ap Gwilliam or “Mad Jack” to his mates, who is after nuclear weapons to launch against someone unknown, going to assume it’s the French. Anyways Ruby lives out her life until it becomes apparent, in her dotage, that she must return to a certain place in Wales to do something or other, not giving it away but the majority of viewers would have worked it out anyways.

Doctor Who as a franchise has no problem with the odd episode that excludes for the main part it’s lead protagonist; Blink immediately comes to mind. I’m also pointing out that the franchise, while being primarily a Sci-Fi outing, isn’t opposed to going down horror lane to completely un-edge the audience; once again Blink comes immediately to mind. So we get both in 73 Yards to a reasonably decent degree. While no one in their right mind is going to miss Gatwa, Millie Gibson by and large manages to carry the episode solo, which is helped by the atmosphere that does surprisingly work. I could see Russell T. Davis doing out right horror based off this episode, but of course he wouldn’t dirty his hands by going down that particular dark alley.

The problem with the script is that the whole political angle is ripped live and beating from the pages of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone. Yes, the episode owes a debt to King’s paranormal exploration of very similar territory. So nothing new here then, and that is a major disappointment in an otherwise solid episode. We have horror aesthetics layered on, and we have a mystery, who is the old lady and why do people run screaming from her? More in the next paragraph. Actually if you have seen An American Werewolf in London then the whole pub scene towards the beginning of the episode is very familiar to you, once again nothing new here, at best Davis is paying homage to superior screen creators.

Okay to the old lady, who is the Phantom of the Opera here, if you haven’t figured out who she is from about the first frame that she appears in then I am disappointed in you. Yes, we could see that unveiling stumbling over the distant hills with a trumpet fanfare announcing the occasion. What I was interested in was what she was saying to various support characters, who ran in terror from her, that was going to be the good part. Naturally Davis isn’t a strong enough writer to nail it, he just allows it to disappear into the ether rather than address it. I assume it is going to have some relevance by series end, but then again we are talking Davis and not a scribe who is concerned about their craft and the audience. I’m saying, don’t hold your breath folks, Davis has already hoisted a number of balls into the series arc air, and he doesn’t in my opinion having the writing chops to keep those balls anywhere in play.

Just in case you are wondering, Susan Twist does make an appearance as a hiker, in fact she is the first person to suffer the old lady’s revelations, whatever those might be. Keep your eye on your fries folks, we are either talking the big bad for series fourteen, or Davis has completely bollocked it up.

While overall the episode is the strongest one to date in the series, the ending is a complete let down that does nothing to answer any of the questions the episode raises with the audience. Who made the fairy circle, why did the Doctor disappear after breaking the circle, and did this occurrence actually release Mad Jack or not? 73 Yards, just peters out with the Doctor reappearing – no harm done, and the fairy circle not being broken, there is no pay off for the viewer, this is exceedingly poor writing it has to be said.

Amusingly there are a number of YouTube videos explaining the episode, dear god in heaven really, which is just as well as apparently some of the apologists were confused by the events unfolding, which for mine neatly sums up the current pretend fan base, read Shrills. Stupid, unable to think for themselves, and having to have things explained to them. I fear for the future of humanity, we are in the dark ages of people who can’t think to any degree and need to be spoon feed. Needless to say writers in the current bubble of ineptitude aren’t going to display any respect for their audience, and I have to say based on Who apologists, neither should they.

Just an aside here, fairy circles would be your actual thing, they are the results of fungi growth and are not man made in any form. And that was the result of five seconds research based off vague memories of the phenomena, which is apparently a lot more research than Davis did because once again respecting the audience isn’t a requirement of BBC writers.

So I am still going to stand by my opinion here and call 73 Yards as the best episode thus far in series fourteen. Okay the episode has major problems, Mrs Flood who makes another surprise appearance being the least of them, so faint praise time I guess. Still given the state of the franchise, anything we can grasp at is worth holding on to. Is the episode worth a watch? I’m going to say yes, just don’t turn your brain on – Davis is throwing on nonsensical dialogue and plot developments that he is hoping you won’t think about for longer than 73 seconds. Wow, so a recommendation for the franchise, first time this series, I’m not expecting it to be a regular occurrence. Catch you next episode.