The Tsuranga Conundrum

"It won't eat us, but it will eat the ship we're on."

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Format: TV
Broadcast: 3rd November 2018
Series: 11.05

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

Injured and stranded in the wilds of a far-flung galaxy, the Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan must band together with a group of strangers to survive against one of the universe's most deadly and unusual creatures...

Verdict

The Tsuranaga Conundrum was another good episode in the eleventh series of Doctor Who. The Thirteenth Doctor maintains her solid start as we reach the halfway point of her first series and we got her first complete adventure on a spaceship! This was probably the weakest episode so far and I was quite surprised to see that Chris Chibnall was writing once again and I feel that we need someone refreshing now for the next few episodes. That's not to say that this wasn't good though! I liked the tension and the atmosphere was very good and the Doctor did genuinely seem stuck at some points in the episode which isn't something we're used to seeing. My favourite thing about this story was probably the amount we got to see of Yaz again. Ryan and Graham were put on the back-burner a little here which was absolutely fine as she got to shine. The Pting was a very intriguing and unexpected menace to the ship and I thought it was super cute whilst also having a presence of evil. It was just so small! The fact that it wasn't carnivorous was good and I liked the idea of it feeding on energy. It didn't need oxygen and could easily survive in a vacuum so it was pretty durable! It did seem more and more likely as the episode progressed that there was no way of dealing with its threat. I liked that its being drawn to energy was concealed and took the Doctor a little while to work it out. Jodie Whittaker was wonderful once again and I really am enjoying her as the Doctor. Mabli was a very good character and I liked how unfazed she was when she realised that Astos was dead and she was the only medic on board. I loved the moment the Doctor was told she was being selfish and she fully accepted it, almost embarrassingly. That was quite powerful and a really great moment. The emotional story behind Eve's illness and her concealment from her brother was a nice addition and I also found Ryan telling Yaz about his mum dying quite a strong moment. He and Graham baring witness and playing quite a big role in a man giving birth was quite something but I loved how Ryan talked him into keeping the baby. The resolution to the bomb being detonated was quite simple but really effective and that seems to be a common theme of this series so far. Whilst the quality has been good, we're halfway now and I think a few more risks should be taken rather than playing it safe and not over-complicating things. We need a big villain! But anyway, as a whole I thought this episode still worked very well and it was another good continuation of the series.

Rating: 7/10