DW 14-04 73 Yards

A guide to classic Who references in new Who.

Doctor Who Series 14, episode 4 in which Ruby lives a long life...

May contain spoilers for 

"73 Yards"

[OLD] - Things that first appeared in the classic series (or the film).

The following are also covered:

[1ST] - Things that first appeared in this episode.

[NEW] - Things that first appeared in the new series.

[OTH] - Things that first appeared in outside the series itself.

[REAL] - Things that first appeared in reality.

The TARDIS

• [OLD] The Doctor's time and space travel vehicle.  It stands for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space.  Like a lot of the Doctor's race's technology, it is "bigger on the inside."  The Doctor stole her second-hand TARDIS when fleeing her Gallifrey. It is an older model ("Type 40") and unreliable, often ending up in the wrong location, and being unable to blend into its environment (a feature TARDISes should have). Other Time Lords had their own TARDISes.
• [NEW]  It has a perception filter which makes people less likely to notice it, as mentioned in episodes such as "Boomtown" (Doctor Who (2005) series 1) and "Sound of Drums" (Doctor Who (2005) series 3).

The Doctor

• [OLD]  The main character of Doctor Who, classic series and new. Due to Time Lords' ability to regenerate this is the "Fifteenth Doctor," although he has recently learnt there were more before the First Doctor. The Fifteenth Doctor first appeared in "The Giggle" (Doctor Who (2005) 60th Anniversary Special #3).

Ruby Sunday

• [NEW] The Doctor's new companion, who first appeared in the previous episode, "The Church on Ruby Road" (Doctor Who (2005) Christmas Special 2023).
• [NEW] Her next of kin - Ruby was abandoned and adopted and doesn't know her parents. Birth mother.
• [NEW] Can make it snow - Ruby reminiscing has previously produced snow (in reference to the day she was born) in "Space Babies," "The Devil's Chord," and "Boom" (Doctor Who (2005) series 14).

Wales

• [REAL]  Part of the United Kingdom.
• [OLD]  "The Green Death" (Doctor Who (1963) season 10) and "Delta & the Bannermen" (Doctor Who (1963) Season 24) were set in Wales.
• [NEW]  Wales also appearde in the new series episodes: "The Unquiet Dead" (Doctor Who (2005) series 1), "Boomtown" (Doctor Who (2005) series 1) and "The Hungry Earth"/"Cold Blood" (Doctor Who (2005) series 5).
  
• [NEW]  Torchwood-Three was based in Cardiff and worked mostly in Wales (Torchwood (Series 1 - 3), and "The Stolen Earth" (Doctor Who (2005) series 4)).

2024 AD

• The year of broadcast of the episode and Ruby's current year.
• Ruby and the Doctor visited an alternative timeline version of 2024 AD in "The Devil's Chord" (Doctor Who (2005) series 14).
• It comes before 2049, in which the Twelth Doctor, Clara and Courtney visit a moon in the events of "Kill the Moon" (Doctor Who (2005) series 9).

"The War Between the Land and the Sea"

• [1ST]  The first appearance of this phrase.

Roger Ap Gwilliam

• First appearance of this British PM.

2046 AD

• First appearance of this year, although we see it in a suspended timeline.

Mad Jack

• First mention of this entity.

The hiker

• First appearance of this person, or is it? Ruby doesn't seem sure.

Carla & Cherry Sunday

• [NEW] Ruby's adopted mother and grandmother.

Mrs Flood

• [NEW] Ruby's neighbour who first appeared in "The Church on Ruby Road" (Doctor Who (2005) Christmas Special 2023) and seems to be aware of the existence of TARDISes.

2025 AD

• [1ST] The first appearance of this year, although probably not the last. This, however, is in a suspended timeline.

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart

• [OTH] The current head of UNIT (see below). First appeared in the non-BBC Doctor Who spin-off Downtime (pictured) and was introduced to the official series in "The Power of Three" (Doctor Who (2005) series 7). Her father was The Brigadier, a long time member of the organisation.
• [NEW] Recruiting - In "The Power of the Doctor" (Doctor Who (2005) BBC Centenary Special) she had former companions Tegan and Ace working for her and at the end of the episode offered jobs to others, including, Melanie Bush (who appeared as a member in "The Giggle" (Doctor Who (2005) 60th Anniversary Special #3) (an episode where she also recruited Donna Noble)).

UNIT

• [OLD] First appeared in the classic series, and has regularly appeared in the new series, as well as appearing in Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. It was closed down some time between "The Zygon Inversion" (Doctor Who Series 9) and "Resolution" (Doctor Who New Year's Day Special 2019 by the events of "Survivors of the Flux" (Doctor Who Series 13: Flux).

The supernatural

• [NEW]  UNIT dealt with The Toymaker in The Giggle" (Doctor Who (2005) 60th Anniversary Special #3). The Doctor believes that he has cause the supernatural to exist by using superstition at the edge of the universe in "The Wild Blue Yonder," since then every episode has feature the supernatural.

Sontaran

• [OLD] A race who frequently appeared in classic Doctor Who. "The Sontaran Stratagem"/"The Poison Sky" (Doctor Who (2005) Series 4) was their first appearance in new Who, which is where UNIT dealt with them.

2089 AD

• [1ST]  First appearance of this year, although this is a suspended timeline.
• In the original timeline (according to internet news in "The Waters of Mars" (Doctor Who (2005) Autumn Special 2009)) Susie Fiona Brooke, descendant of Adeliade Brooke, made the first human to flight to Proxima Centuri.

- DUG.

[Doctor Who (2005) episodes]

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The Time Crash blog was created to help New Who fans understand Classic Who references - and to know if something isn't a reference but a new idea.  If there's a reference I missed or a subject that you feel needs more explaining, please comment.