Warning: spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 14, episodes 4 & 5.

Summary

• "Dot & Bubble" and "73 Yards" are both Doctor-lite episodes, but polar opposites
• "73 Yards" shows the good side of the Doctor-lite format, whereas "Dot & Bubble" highlights the drawbacks.
• "73 Yards" finds more success in both replacing the Doctor and crafting a unique single-episode story.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, and continue season 14's pattern of broadening the show's creative palette.

"73 Yards" and "Dot & Bubble" do share one thing in common: dropping the Doctor as lead character. Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor mysteriously disappears in the opening scene of "73 Yards," only returning at the very end. Fifteen enjoys slightly more screen time in "Dot & Bubble," but appears solely via video call except for one in-person scene during the dying minutes. Since both are Doctor-lite, it would be natural to lump Doctor Who season 14's fourth and fifth episodes together. In truth, "Dot & Bubble" is the antithesis of "73 Yards."

"73 Yards" & "Dot & Bubble" Show Opposing Sides Of Doctor Who's Doctor-Lite Format

Doctor Who Season 14 Shows The Good, The Bad & The Lindy

Episodes that relegate the Doctor to a ing or minimal role have become a staple of the modern Doctor Who era. Unsurprisingly, such episodes tend to be hit-or-miss affairs. When writers drop the Doctor, they either engage more creatively with Doctor Who's premise and conjure up some clever new conceit, or do something very odd that feels utterly out of place within the Whoniverse. For every "Blink" - often hailed as one of Doctor Who's best stories ever - there's a "Love & Monsters." "73 Yards" and "Dot & Bubble" perfectly demonstrate those two faces of the Doctor-lite coin.

"73 Yards" is not quite a modern classic on the same level as "Blink," just as "Dot & Bubble" is nowhere near the campy car crash of "Love & Monsters." Nevertheless, airing consecutively in Doctor Who season 14's episode schedule allows audiences to witness the good, the bad, and the ugly of Doctor-lite episodes in a single two-week hit. Such stories typically arrive once per season, if at all, so getting double Doctor-lite episodes back-to-back offers a rare chance for a direct comparison of what works and what doesn't.

"73 Yards" & "Dot & Bubble" Show How To Replace The Doctor (& How Not To)

The Doctor Isn't An Easy Lead Character To Replace

The most daunting challenge for any Doctor-lite episode is finding a central figure to take the Doctor's place - someone who embodies the same core qualities and values that the Time Lord themself holds dear. This can mean elevating a companion into the Doctor's berth, or introducing a new character who exhibits those crucial traits. All the best Doctor-lite efforts have managed this transition successfully, with "Turn Left" starring the inspired duo of Donna Noble and Rose Tyler, and "Blink" debuting Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow.

"73 Yards" strikes gold with its decision to afford Millie Gibson her own solo episode. Despite her relative inexperience as an actor, Gibson ably carries the protagonist burden in Ncuti Gatwa's absence, evoking sympathy from the audience and navigating Ruby Sunday's emotional journey through RTD's time-bending script with skill beyond her years.

"Dot & Bubble" does the exact opposite. Callie Cooke's performance is impressive, certainly, but Lindy Pepper-Bean is written to be deliberately detestable and endlessly annoying - about as qualified to become a great Doctor Who companion as Davros. Without a central figure audiences care about and can root for, "Dot & Bubble" lacks an effective anchor. "Love & Monsters" made the same error back in 2006. Elton and his friends in LINDA may not have been as frustrating and awful as Lindy, but they were still relatively limp stand-ins for the missing Doctor.

"Dot & Bubble" Makes The Doctor-Lite Story Mistake "73 Yards" Didn't

"73 Yards" Is Ambitious, But "Dot & Bubble" Does Too Much

Without the Doctor around, Doctor Who's Doctor-lite episodes rely more heavily on unique and witty concepts like exploring a Doctor-less timeline or trying not to blink. The fine balance between crafting a bold premise and remaining on the edge of good taste is a big reason why modern Doctor-lite episodes have been both sublime and ridiculous. "73 Yards" echoes what worked so well for "Turn Left" by depicting a companion-led alternate reality, this time with a horror twist. Essentially a ghost story, the premise hits that sweet spot of being ambitious and fresh without overreaching itself.

Again, "Dot & Bubble" does the opposite. Aiming for more of a satirical slant, Doctor Who season 14, episode 5 comments on a myriad of hot topics: the power of social media, racial discrimination, online celebrity culture, class elitism, and the ethical questions over AI sentience. Any one of those themes could have made for a strong Doctor Who story, but by attempting to cover all bases, "Dot & Bubble" dilutes its own message. On this occasion, a Doctor-lite episode's ambition overreaches its modest runtime.