*Warning — this review contains some spoilers for '73 Yards'*
With last week’s incendiary chamber-piece ‘Boom’, Steven Moffat took Doctor Who back to basics, delivering in the process the first true classic of the show’s latest reboot. Give it some time, and Russell T. Davies’ follow up, '73 Yards', may yet prove to be its second. Emphatically swinging the series’ genre pendulum back from sci-fi to the supernatural, Davies' latest self-penned offering is a deliciously dark, near-Doctorless diversion into folk horror territory. Eerie, elegiac, and ambiguous almost to a fault, it's a properly haunting tale that’s destined to be talked about, debated, and theorised upon for years to come.
Right from the get-go, it’s clear this isn’t going to be your average episode of Doctor Who. A pointed lack of opening titles adds an extra chill to ‘73 Yards’’s cold open, which sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa...
With last week’s incendiary chamber-piece ‘Boom’, Steven Moffat took Doctor Who back to basics, delivering in the process the first true classic of the show’s latest reboot. Give it some time, and Russell T. Davies’ follow up, '73 Yards', may yet prove to be its second. Emphatically swinging the series’ genre pendulum back from sci-fi to the supernatural, Davies' latest self-penned offering is a deliciously dark, near-Doctorless diversion into folk horror territory. Eerie, elegiac, and ambiguous almost to a fault, it's a properly haunting tale that’s destined to be talked about, debated, and theorised upon for years to come.
Right from the get-go, it’s clear this isn’t going to be your average episode of Doctor Who. A pointed lack of opening titles adds an extra chill to ‘73 Yards’’s cold open, which sees the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jordan King
- Empire - TV
Warning: contains spoilers for Doctor Who episode “73 Yards”.
When Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies delivers an episode like “73 Yards”, the temptation to pin it down is tough to resist. It’s hard not to want diagrams, flow-charts and footnoted explanations of every slippery element. It’s worth resisting that urge though, because this episode was designed to evade simple answers. No amount of close-reading will reveal its definitive truth.
That’s a deliberate choice, let’s be clear. If Davies had wanted to pin a single interpretation on this strange, melancholic tale, then he’d have done it. That big brain would easily have invented a sci-fi or folkloric precedent for the phenomenon Ruby experiences, in which she’s followed at a precise distance by an always-out-of-reach figure who makes anybody who approaches her run screaming away from Ruby forever. Davies would have conjured up a fictional fix for...
When Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies delivers an episode like “73 Yards”, the temptation to pin it down is tough to resist. It’s hard not to want diagrams, flow-charts and footnoted explanations of every slippery element. It’s worth resisting that urge though, because this episode was designed to evade simple answers. No amount of close-reading will reveal its definitive truth.
That’s a deliberate choice, let’s be clear. If Davies had wanted to pin a single interpretation on this strange, melancholic tale, then he’d have done it. That big brain would easily have invented a sci-fi or folkloric precedent for the phenomenon Ruby experiences, in which she’s followed at a precise distance by an always-out-of-reach figure who makes anybody who approaches her run screaming away from Ruby forever. Davies would have conjured up a fictional fix for...
- 5/25/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Warning: this Doctor Who review contains spoilers.
Halfway through the frustrating, fascinating “73 Yards”, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart says: “It’s what we do, all of us. We see something inexplicable and invent the rules to make it work.”
Ever since the Doctor inadvertently allowed superstition to seep through at the end of the universe in “Wild Blue Yonder”, the series has been engaging explicitly with the supernatural. From goblins that feast on coincidence and bad luck, to chaos gods weaponising the music within our souls, this focus on the fantastical has opened up many exciting narrative and visual possibilities for Doctor Who. And as Kate points out, in a neat bit of world-building, it hasn’t gone unnoticed – as well as the usual psychic training and telepathic dampeners, Unit personnel also wear necklaces of silver and salt.
It’s compelling stuff. But as chilling, tense and unpredictable as this episode is – and...
Halfway through the frustrating, fascinating “73 Yards”, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart says: “It’s what we do, all of us. We see something inexplicable and invent the rules to make it work.”
Ever since the Doctor inadvertently allowed superstition to seep through at the end of the universe in “Wild Blue Yonder”, the series has been engaging explicitly with the supernatural. From goblins that feast on coincidence and bad luck, to chaos gods weaponising the music within our souls, this focus on the fantastical has opened up many exciting narrative and visual possibilities for Doctor Who. And as Kate points out, in a neat bit of world-building, it hasn’t gone unnoticed – as well as the usual psychic training and telepathic dampeners, Unit personnel also wear necklaces of silver and salt.
It’s compelling stuff. But as chilling, tense and unpredictable as this episode is – and...
- 5/24/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
*Warning — this review contains some spoilers for 'Boom'*
Ever since Ncuti Gatwa took over the Tardis keys to become Doctor Who’s Fifteenth Doctor, things have been pretty non-stop for everybody’s favourite Time Lord. From playing cosmic catch with Neil Patrick Harris’ Toymaker in 60th anniversary special debut ‘The Giggle’, to scat-battling a goblin king with new companion Ruby Sunday (Gibson) in Christmas outing ‘The Church On Ruby Road’, to run-ins with space babies, bogeymen, Beatles, and the celestial embodiment of music itself in 'Space Babies' and 'The Devil's Chord', there’s barely been a moment for the Doctor — or indeed the show’s viewers — to take a breath. All of that changes with ‘Boom’, a stripped back, slowed down, and cheek-clenchingly suspenseful character study from former Who showrunner — and Weeping Angels creator — Steven Moffat.
After the outré musical spectacle and supernatural Jinkx Monsoon hijinks of last week’s...
Ever since Ncuti Gatwa took over the Tardis keys to become Doctor Who’s Fifteenth Doctor, things have been pretty non-stop for everybody’s favourite Time Lord. From playing cosmic catch with Neil Patrick Harris’ Toymaker in 60th anniversary special debut ‘The Giggle’, to scat-battling a goblin king with new companion Ruby Sunday (Gibson) in Christmas outing ‘The Church On Ruby Road’, to run-ins with space babies, bogeymen, Beatles, and the celestial embodiment of music itself in 'Space Babies' and 'The Devil's Chord', there’s barely been a moment for the Doctor — or indeed the show’s viewers — to take a breath. All of that changes with ‘Boom’, a stripped back, slowed down, and cheek-clenchingly suspenseful character study from former Who showrunner — and Weeping Angels creator — Steven Moffat.
After the outré musical spectacle and supernatural Jinkx Monsoon hijinks of last week’s...
- 5/21/2024
- by Jordan King
- Empire - TV
A desolate planet at war for no apparent reason. Algorithms that decide who lives or dies. Landmines that turn their victims into weapons of mass destruction.
Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 3 took a decidedly darker tone, putting to rest fears that the series had become childish, lighthearted fare after Disney+ agreed to stream it worldwide.
This story had some Twilight Zone-like elements, which was unsurprising considering that it was written by Steven Moffat, known for writing scarier, more horror-inspired content than other Doctor Who writers. Still, did he set up a brilliant story only to mess up the ending?
A Planet at War With... Who Exactly?
I figured out the twist that the inhabitants were at war for no reason fairly early on.
More fog. Maybe the Kastorians are made of fog. That's why we never see them.
Carson Permalink: More fog. Maybe the Kastorians are made of fog. That's why we never see them.
Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 3 took a decidedly darker tone, putting to rest fears that the series had become childish, lighthearted fare after Disney+ agreed to stream it worldwide.
This story had some Twilight Zone-like elements, which was unsurprising considering that it was written by Steven Moffat, known for writing scarier, more horror-inspired content than other Doctor Who writers. Still, did he set up a brilliant story only to mess up the ending?
A Planet at War With... Who Exactly?
I figured out the twist that the inhabitants were at war for no reason fairly early on.
More fog. Maybe the Kastorians are made of fog. That's why we never see them.
Carson Permalink: More fog. Maybe the Kastorians are made of fog. That's why we never see them.
- 5/18/2024
- by Jack Ori
- TVfanatic
The following contains spoilers from the second new Doctor Who episode, “The Devil’s Chord,” now streaming on Disney+.
It appears that something is quite wrong with Ruby Sunday, the Fifteenth Doctor’s newly recruited companion.
More from TVLineSNL Video: Maya Rudolph's Beyoncé Returns to Hot Ones, Suffers Through More Wings in a Cowboy Carter OutfitSNL Video: Maya Rudolph Is Mother and Slays a Mother's Day Club SongDoctor Who Season Premiere Pits Babies vs. Icky Bogeyman - Grade It!
In the second episode of Doctor Who Season 14 — which, to hear Disney+ tell it, is Season 1, Episode 3 (because they’re...
It appears that something is quite wrong with Ruby Sunday, the Fifteenth Doctor’s newly recruited companion.
More from TVLineSNL Video: Maya Rudolph's Beyoncé Returns to Hot Ones, Suffers Through More Wings in a Cowboy Carter OutfitSNL Video: Maya Rudolph Is Mother and Slays a Mother's Day Club SongDoctor Who Season Premiere Pits Babies vs. Icky Bogeyman - Grade It!
In the second episode of Doctor Who Season 14 — which, to hear Disney+ tell it, is Season 1, Episode 3 (because they’re...
- 5/11/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The Doctor Who press juggernaut materialized in New York last week, bringing with it leading stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. The iconic, long-running BBC science-fiction show about a time-and-space traveling alien debuts its latest season on streamer Disney+ on Friday.
Gatwa, who grew up in Scotland after leaving Rwanda as a child, is already known for playing Eric Effiong in Sex Education (Netflix) and as one of the many Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023). Lesser known internationally is Gibson, who turns 20 in June. In the U.K., the actor made a name for herself in the television soap opera, Coronation Street (which is even longer-running than Doctor Who).
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the pair to discuss the opening two episodes of their first season (which release at 7 p.m. on the streamer). There’s no spoilers below, but do come back Saturday for the second part of this interview,...
Gatwa, who grew up in Scotland after leaving Rwanda as a child, is already known for playing Eric Effiong in Sex Education (Netflix) and as one of the many Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023). Lesser known internationally is Gibson, who turns 20 in June. In the U.K., the actor made a name for herself in the television soap opera, Coronation Street (which is even longer-running than Doctor Who).
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the pair to discuss the opening two episodes of their first season (which release at 7 p.m. on the streamer). There’s no spoilers below, but do come back Saturday for the second part of this interview,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Cameron K McEwan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s the Rani. It’s always the Rani. Even when it definitely isn’t the Rani, well, it’s secretly the Rani.
That’s the running gag in the Doctor Who fandom every time it’s called upon to speculate about who or whatever is behind Something Mysterious and Evil happening on the show. If it’s not the Master, then it’s malevolent Time Lady the Rani. Monsters stealing time, cracks in the universe, milk going off even when kept in an adequately refrigerated container? It’s naughty scientist the Rani (even though it very rarely is).
As played by Kate O’Mara in season 22 and season 24, the character is a classic but little-seen Who villain whose reappearance on TV fans live both in eager anticipation and utter dread of. Four-part 1987 story “Time and the Rani” you see, is not popular.
“Time and the Rani” is not popular to...
That’s the running gag in the Doctor Who fandom every time it’s called upon to speculate about who or whatever is behind Something Mysterious and Evil happening on the show. If it’s not the Master, then it’s malevolent Time Lady the Rani. Monsters stealing time, cracks in the universe, milk going off even when kept in an adequately refrigerated container? It’s naughty scientist the Rani (even though it very rarely is).
As played by Kate O’Mara in season 22 and season 24, the character is a classic but little-seen Who villain whose reappearance on TV fans live both in eager anticipation and utter dread of. Four-part 1987 story “Time and the Rani” you see, is not popular.
“Time and the Rani” is not popular to...
- 3/28/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This Doctor Who article contains spoilers.
“Never seen a Tardis before?”
We’ve seen a lot of shocking things in Doctor Who, but that question, delivered directly at the camera, ranks among the most surprising. It comes at the end of this year’s Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road,” from Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson), the elderly neighbor of new companion Ruby Sunday. But it’s not just Mrs. Flood’s fourth-wall breaking that raises questions. It’s the fact that she’s a markedly different character than the one at the start of the special, who grouches to her neighbor Abdul (Hemi Yeroham) about the police box parked on her walk. She’s also different than she was midway through the episode, when the Tardis disappears before her, causing her to drop her groceries.
From those three brief scenes alone, it’s clear that Mrs. Flood is more than she initially seems.
“Never seen a Tardis before?”
We’ve seen a lot of shocking things in Doctor Who, but that question, delivered directly at the camera, ranks among the most surprising. It comes at the end of this year’s Christmas special, “The Church on Ruby Road,” from Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson), the elderly neighbor of new companion Ruby Sunday. But it’s not just Mrs. Flood’s fourth-wall breaking that raises questions. It’s the fact that she’s a markedly different character than the one at the start of the special, who grouches to her neighbor Abdul (Hemi Yeroham) about the police box parked on her walk. She’s also different than she was midway through the episode, when the Tardis disappears before her, causing her to drop her groceries.
From those three brief scenes alone, it’s clear that Mrs. Flood is more than she initially seems.
- 12/26/2023
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Will Felicity wind up in a dark place with Helix?
That was thrown into question on Arrow Season 5 Episode 12 when she went out of her way to help the team.
TV Fanatics Steve Ford, Jim Garner and Paul Dailly discuss the Susan twist, Ragman losing his rags and Diggle's decision.
What did you think of that Susan twist?
Steve: I always knew there was something up with Susan, but I could never quite put my finger on it. It's difficult to tell if she is developing feelings for him or if she is straight up playing him.
In any event, she could just end up being another victim of Prometheus, once again proving that anyone Oliver gets close to dies. Oliver really can't catch a break, can he?
Jim: Unlike Steve, I'm pretty damn sure she is just straight up playing him. I sad for Ollie because, yet again a...
That was thrown into question on Arrow Season 5 Episode 12 when she went out of her way to help the team.
TV Fanatics Steve Ford, Jim Garner and Paul Dailly discuss the Susan twist, Ragman losing his rags and Diggle's decision.
What did you think of that Susan twist?
Steve: I always knew there was something up with Susan, but I could never quite put my finger on it. It's difficult to tell if she is developing feelings for him or if she is straight up playing him.
In any event, she could just end up being another victim of Prometheus, once again proving that anyone Oliver gets close to dies. Oliver really can't catch a break, can he?
Jim: Unlike Steve, I'm pretty damn sure she is just straight up playing him. I sad for Ollie because, yet again a...
- 2/13/2017
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
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