The dialogue is very patchy and quite clunky. Jodie Whittaker isn't the let down here, it's the screenwriters.
168 Reviews
Not the same without Moffat
amverhagen5 November 2018
A significant quality drop.
celeste-cooper-163-3836254 November 2018
It's bad... The worst episode this series easily. The Tsuranga Conundrum initially displays promise, an interesting beginning leading to the main cast stranded at the mysterious Tsuranga, a hospital, without the TARDIS.
That's about where my positivity ends as far as this episode goes; the pacing is very slow, with the antagonist of the episode rarely seen, nor really feeling particularly threatening despite its reputation. The side characters are bland and seem to lack personality; including one of the characters who gets a whole side-plot that seems completely out of place and is quite cringey in my opinion.
The dialogue? Poor, really poor; it's strangely tired and delivered a bit weirdly (perhaps this is the fault of new to the show director Jennifer Perrot). The character development moments seem very crowbarred in, with characters having a chat about each others' feelings right in the middle of a supposedly dangerous situation without even any sign of the danger. Maybe as a result of this, the character development that has been consistently good in this series so far fell short in this episode.
I feel no desire to watch this episode again.
That's about where my positivity ends as far as this episode goes; the pacing is very slow, with the antagonist of the episode rarely seen, nor really feeling particularly threatening despite its reputation. The side characters are bland and seem to lack personality; including one of the characters who gets a whole side-plot that seems completely out of place and is quite cringey in my opinion.
The dialogue? Poor, really poor; it's strangely tired and delivered a bit weirdly (perhaps this is the fault of new to the show director Jennifer Perrot). The character development moments seem very crowbarred in, with characters having a chat about each others' feelings right in the middle of a supposedly dangerous situation without even any sign of the danger. Maybe as a result of this, the character development that has been consistently good in this series so far fell short in this episode.
I feel no desire to watch this episode again.
It's a Pting Thing...
Xstal5 January 2022
A ravenous gluttonous being, without morals or ethics or feeling, incessantly scours, for sources of power, a binge feasting thing called a Pting.
Male humanoids who come from Gifftan, gestate their generations of man, a week for the girth, then time to give birth, delivered through caesarean (how else!).
Male humanoids who come from Gifftan, gestate their generations of man, a week for the girth, then time to give birth, delivered through caesarean (how else!).
Dear Chris Chibnal, you have lost me.
dave-stewart335 November 2018
Hi Chris,
This is not about The Doctor being a woman (Jodie is great!), but about story.
Last week's Faux Trump effort notwithstanding, this week's episode was just as bad.
Issue 1: The companions just aren't sympathetic. I don't feel any compassion towards them. Issue 2: Zero humor. Even Capaldi had some touches of humor. Issue 3: Ancillary characters we just don't care about.
It's all about the writing. This season is missing the fun. Any fun would be good.
A fan going away.
This is not about The Doctor being a woman (Jodie is great!), but about story.
Last week's Faux Trump effort notwithstanding, this week's episode was just as bad.
Issue 1: The companions just aren't sympathetic. I don't feel any compassion towards them. Issue 2: Zero humor. Even Capaldi had some touches of humor. Issue 3: Ancillary characters we just don't care about.
It's all about the writing. This season is missing the fun. Any fun would be good.
A fan going away.
Makes Love and Monsters look like Casablanca
tmd-643-82781810 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This episode does not work on any narrative level and I laughed throughout. There are no consistent tones, completely pointless characters and the episode stops halfway through to explain a fictional machine whilst the most contrived alien ever is eating thier ship. This is like a fever dream that we simply don't care about because all the side characters are so poorly written and acted. I don't know what Chibnall was trying to achieve here, but he has written an absolute embarrassment of an episode which is a scar on the proud 55 year history of this show.
Lots of wasted opportunities, there were decent elements.
Sleepin_Dragon4 November 2018
It was better then last week's, but perhaps not the standard of the first few. I just know I'm going to be reading comments about the show being so politically correct beyond belief, and there is definitely something to that, the least said about the pregnant man the better, I really didn't think that concept did the show no favours at all.
The story was pretty good, I love the idea of a creature that could eat anything without being harmed, that was clever. Production values were decent, I wouldn't have said the best sets to date, but the music was great.
I liked the character of Astos, a shame he didn't last long, I thought he was the most interesting character. I was really pleased to see Suzanne Packer cast, but she didn't really get the best deal, even if she did get her Wii training in.
Five weeks in, I am enjoying the series overall, but as I predicted beforehand, I am craving something from the show's past, I don't mean Daleks or Cybermen, something more obscure, maybe from the sixties or seventies, just a sweetener for the long term fans.
Not classic, but at least it was sci-fi, and the pting was cute. Does this deserve to be rated as the bottom but one episode (Only one above Orphan 55,) I don't think so, I prefer it to some of them.
It was OK. 6/10
The story was pretty good, I love the idea of a creature that could eat anything without being harmed, that was clever. Production values were decent, I wouldn't have said the best sets to date, but the music was great.
I liked the character of Astos, a shame he didn't last long, I thought he was the most interesting character. I was really pleased to see Suzanne Packer cast, but she didn't really get the best deal, even if she did get her Wii training in.
Five weeks in, I am enjoying the series overall, but as I predicted beforehand, I am craving something from the show's past, I don't mean Daleks or Cybermen, something more obscure, maybe from the sixties or seventies, just a sweetener for the long term fans.
Not classic, but at least it was sci-fi, and the pting was cute. Does this deserve to be rated as the bottom but one episode (Only one above Orphan 55,) I don't think so, I prefer it to some of them.
It was OK. 6/10
Awful
gmfh35 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
50% of the episode is just people giving exposition. Any characters moments are just bluntly thrown out with no subtlety. Everything that happens is described in clear detail as if Chibnall is making Doctor Who for people who are looking at their phone whilst the episode is on. There's no real sense of threat. Spaceship under siege has been done many times before and much better (see last year's Oxygen.) Plot threads are thrown out with no resolution. Characters act dumb (like sticking the sonic screwdriver right in the face of something that just ate many similar sized objects.) Everything is predictable (character mentions she could have a heart attack if she does something active, "Gee, I wonder what's going to happen to her.") Pregnancy plot is useless, could've been used to bond Graham and Ryan but they leave exactly as they started and most of the scenes are given to Ryan complaining about his father who left which we already know about and nothing new is built upon it. Yaz continues to have no character outside of generic Doctor Who companion.
A Gremlin in space
Tweekums5 November 2018
During the prologue, where The Doctor and her companions are searching for spare parts on a 'garbage planet', they accidentally set off a sonic mine. When the Doctor awakens it is several days later and they are all aboard a hospital ship. It has a crew of two medics but is otherwise fully automated. Other patients aboard include a decorated general, her engineer brother and a man who is about to give birth. Initially The Doctor is worried about getting back to the Tardis but soon she has bigger concerns; the ship is boarded by a P'Tting... a dangerous alien that may look cute but eats the ship and is apparently unstoppable. If that weren't enough the ship is being monitored from its home base and it will be destructed if they learn about the P'Ting.
I was surprised to see just how unpopular this episode appears to be as I rather enjoyed it. The P'Ting had a good gremlin-like quality... not the creatures from the film of that name but the ones that were blamed for problems on aircraft during the war. It wasn't malevolent but still posed a real threat. After an early death the tension quickly rises and remains pretty high throughout the episode. The guest characters were the usual cross-section; some more interesting than others. Yoss, the pregnant man, was a bit of a distraction from the main story but did serve to provide a few laughs. The special effects were pretty good; both the P'Ting and the 'space shots'. Overall a fun episode which provided family friendly scares without the need for an obvious 'message'.
I was surprised to see just how unpopular this episode appears to be as I rather enjoyed it. The P'Ting had a good gremlin-like quality... not the creatures from the film of that name but the ones that were blamed for problems on aircraft during the war. It wasn't malevolent but still posed a real threat. After an early death the tension quickly rises and remains pretty high throughout the episode. The guest characters were the usual cross-section; some more interesting than others. Yoss, the pregnant man, was a bit of a distraction from the main story but did serve to provide a few laughs. The special effects were pretty good; both the P'Ting and the 'space shots'. Overall a fun episode which provided family friendly scares without the need for an obvious 'message'.
Just doesn't have the same charm as it used to.
willjbarnes-071184 November 2018
I know the BBC is trying to mix things up a little but it just doesn't have that same feeling as David Tennant or Matt Smith. Like the new companions though. I think the episode is alright but lacking, not to mention that alien thing. But you know what, it's ok and I think we need to just give it a chance...
Barely Dr Who
clicktoreply5 November 2018
I was definitely optimistic for this new season but it's just not the Doctor Who we've come to know and love.
The writing really isn't helping either and I still feel like I know nothing about this doctor and I feel so little for the companions of which there are two too many.
The writing really isn't helping either and I still feel like I know nothing about this doctor and I feel so little for the companions of which there are two too many.
Why such negativity?! I thought this was such a fab episode!
KitKat825 November 2018
This is my first time reviewing on here but I feel I need to have my say! Are the people watching this episode really Doctor Who fans?! I thought it was fantastic, the writing was great, the cast were fantastic and worked so well together.
This is the first episode I've watched this season that felt so Doctor Who, don't get me wrong I've really enjoyed the others but this one was so much fun!
To all the people saying they won't be watching anymore, good riddance! If you are willing to give up on a show just because you don't like one episode then you clearly weren't a fan to begin with!
To say this doesn't feel like Doctor Who anymore is ridiculous, has anyone giving negative reviews actually watched Classic Who?! They are all comparing it to New Who cause in their minds that's all that exists! Go back and watch some classic episodes, yes some of them are cheesy but they are so much fun! This made me think of classic Who and that's worth 10/10 in my books, well done to all involved in this episode, bring on the rest of the series!
Traditional Who Chibnall Style
timdalton00722 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
It seems safe to say there likely hasn't been a series of Doctor Who as divisive as last year's. It seems to have solicited polarised reactions from all quarters of fandom. Perhaps no episode did more so than The Tsuranga Conundrum, aired in early November 2018. Why was that? And, perhaps more importantly, how was the episode itself separated from the reactions to it?
Part of it might be down to this being the fourth episode to date scripted by the showrunner (fifth if you count his co-writing credit on Rosa). It is most assuredly the closest he's come to writing a traditional Doctor Who tale thus far into his era. In many ways, the premise harkens back to his very first script for the series, the 2007 Tenth Doctor outing 42. Both episodes feature the TARDIS crew trapped on a spaceship while facing a threat inside the ship, people onboard with secrets, and the looming prospect of death coming from without as well. So is Chibnall ripping-off the 1975 Fourth Doctor tale Planet of Evil a second time?
Not at all, thankfully, because otherwise, this review would resemble my 2013 review of that episode. Rather than dealing with possession and the crashing into a sentient celestial body as both Louis Marks and Chibnall did in 1975 and 2007, respectively, The Tsuranga Conundrum goes in a different direction. Namely, what if you had a whole set of crisis going on at once, including having a seemingly indestructible creature eating your spaceship piece by piece. It's a storyline that gives everyone something to do, however small, to contribute to the outcome. No small feat when you've got four members of Team TARDIS at the heart of the show as well as a decent sized supporting cast.
It does lead to a problem, however. As a result of that, and potentially of the extended 50 minutes running time, it's far more exposition heavy than it needs to be. One example of that is the monologue the Doctor gives about the ship's drive engine partway through the episode. As a piece of writing, it's fantastic and wonderfully delivered by Whittaker at her most-eyed. The difficulty is that it brings the plot to an absolute standstill for the time it takes to present it within an episode that's already crammed with characters explaining things to one another. Somewhere there's a cracking 43-minute episode buried in an over-stuffed 50 minute one.
Beyond the traditional nature of the plot, the tone and visuals of the episode call to mind other things as well. Tonally, the regular shifting back and forth between more comedic dialogue, exposition, and serious threats brings to mind Seth MacFarlane's Fox series The Orville with the design of the Pting creature further reinforcing that. Visually, the stark white corridors and rooms filled with screens, combined with the direction of Jennifer Perrott and the camera work of Simon Chapman, brings to mind the Enterprise of the rebooted Star Trek movie universe under J. J. Abrams, right down to the occasional piece of lens flare. It's something that gives proceedings a feeling that is at once different from the episodes before and, yet, oddly derivative at the same time.
All of which might go some way to explain reactions to it when it aired. Watching it now, with a bit of distance, The Tsuranga Conundrum feels like a bit of traditional Doctor Who in the midst of the series being turned on its ear a bit. It's the eye in the middle of the hurricane, as it were, though perhaps not in the place most would have wanted it. Is it the worst piece of Doctor Who ever made? No, far from it. Nor is it the best but, then, there are far greater sins than being a good piece of rainy afternoon Doctor Who.
Part of it might be down to this being the fourth episode to date scripted by the showrunner (fifth if you count his co-writing credit on Rosa). It is most assuredly the closest he's come to writing a traditional Doctor Who tale thus far into his era. In many ways, the premise harkens back to his very first script for the series, the 2007 Tenth Doctor outing 42. Both episodes feature the TARDIS crew trapped on a spaceship while facing a threat inside the ship, people onboard with secrets, and the looming prospect of death coming from without as well. So is Chibnall ripping-off the 1975 Fourth Doctor tale Planet of Evil a second time?
Not at all, thankfully, because otherwise, this review would resemble my 2013 review of that episode. Rather than dealing with possession and the crashing into a sentient celestial body as both Louis Marks and Chibnall did in 1975 and 2007, respectively, The Tsuranga Conundrum goes in a different direction. Namely, what if you had a whole set of crisis going on at once, including having a seemingly indestructible creature eating your spaceship piece by piece. It's a storyline that gives everyone something to do, however small, to contribute to the outcome. No small feat when you've got four members of Team TARDIS at the heart of the show as well as a decent sized supporting cast.
It does lead to a problem, however. As a result of that, and potentially of the extended 50 minutes running time, it's far more exposition heavy than it needs to be. One example of that is the monologue the Doctor gives about the ship's drive engine partway through the episode. As a piece of writing, it's fantastic and wonderfully delivered by Whittaker at her most-eyed. The difficulty is that it brings the plot to an absolute standstill for the time it takes to present it within an episode that's already crammed with characters explaining things to one another. Somewhere there's a cracking 43-minute episode buried in an over-stuffed 50 minute one.
Beyond the traditional nature of the plot, the tone and visuals of the episode call to mind other things as well. Tonally, the regular shifting back and forth between more comedic dialogue, exposition, and serious threats brings to mind Seth MacFarlane's Fox series The Orville with the design of the Pting creature further reinforcing that. Visually, the stark white corridors and rooms filled with screens, combined with the direction of Jennifer Perrott and the camera work of Simon Chapman, brings to mind the Enterprise of the rebooted Star Trek movie universe under J. J. Abrams, right down to the occasional piece of lens flare. It's something that gives proceedings a feeling that is at once different from the episodes before and, yet, oddly derivative at the same time.
All of which might go some way to explain reactions to it when it aired. Watching it now, with a bit of distance, The Tsuranga Conundrum feels like a bit of traditional Doctor Who in the midst of the series being turned on its ear a bit. It's the eye in the middle of the hurricane, as it were, though perhaps not in the place most would have wanted it. Is it the worst piece of Doctor Who ever made? No, far from it. Nor is it the best but, then, there are far greater sins than being a good piece of rainy afternoon Doctor Who.
The only defence of this awful season would be to just pull the misogynist card
jareddavies-500355 November 2018
This season isn't bad because of a female doctor. In fact I really like her. And Graham.
The season is awful... because it is awful. Plot, painfully unsubtle exposition and awkward dialogue. The Tsuranga Conundrum certainly picks up on that trend
Just not the same anymore
mcocnk5 November 2018
The 5 Stages
lisacalhoun-263685 November 2018
Episode 1 - DENIAL
Episode 2 - ANGER
Episode 3 - BARGAINING
Episode 4 - DEPRESSION
Episode 5 - ACCEPTANCE
After 15 minutes I turned the episode off and removed Doctor Who from my scheduled DVR. I've ACCEPTED this show can no longer provide the excitement, happiness and escape that prior iterations have done for me time and time again. Do you own Doctor Who TARDIS pajamas? Well I do and I'm wearing them right now. They now make me sad.
If you feel other reviewers/commenters are just haters or fanboys - please forgive them - they have just not made it to stage 5 yet.
After 15 minutes I turned the episode off and removed Doctor Who from my scheduled DVR. I've ACCEPTED this show can no longer provide the excitement, happiness and escape that prior iterations have done for me time and time again. Do you own Doctor Who TARDIS pajamas? Well I do and I'm wearing them right now. They now make me sad.
If you feel other reviewers/commenters are just haters or fanboys - please forgive them - they have just not made it to stage 5 yet.
Baffled
markbhayden8 November 2018
Solid 7.5
danzorny4 November 2018
Decent spaceship disaster. A lot of character development for Ryan. Yaz does nothing, an android was more interesting than her and had more to do. Graham had some involvement at least.
Cute little alien but not really outstanding.
Probably the first solid episode of the whole season for me, a vast improvement from last week. But it still lacks a little something, can't put my finger on it though.
Cute little alien but not really outstanding.
Probably the first solid episode of the whole season for me, a vast improvement from last week. But it still lacks a little something, can't put my finger on it though.
Well at least it was sci-fi
cameron-brewis-907-6560774 November 2018
The trouble with the current series is a writer that can't seem to get to grips with, or doesn't care about, complex sci-fi characters and plot elements. It wasn't the worst, but I'd still describe it as fast food sci-fi, rather than anything that deserves the Doctor Who name.
I'd like to see future episodes contain more of the depth and intrigue we have seen in previous years.
I'd like to see future episodes contain more of the depth and intrigue we have seen in previous years.
9/10 Actually liked it
ErReads15 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I clearly have very different tastes than much of the Who fanbase. I thought this was a great episode. I loved the setting. I really really liked all of the guest cast (especially Astos and Mabli). The pting was equally adorable and frightening. Loved the concept of such a small creature being so capable of harming others and causing such damage. Good things don't always come in small packages! My only criticism in this episode was Ryan pushing Yoss to keep a child he didn't really want. The point of that whole storyline was obviously to highlight Ryan's issues regarding his own dad, but still......the pressuring Yoss was kinda icky. As Yoss wasn't talking about terminating the pregnancy, we have to assume giving the child up for adoption was an option. I had to take off a point for the pregnancy plot line. But otherwise: I liked the episode.
It was all a bit CBeebies....
dafyddvaile4 November 2018
The story itself wasn't terrible however the alien wasn't very believable, bit like a PG version of Gremlins.
It was quite obvious from the start what the alien was after and it wasn't clever at all.
The Doctor continues to grow in character, there's too many companions, none of them are bad, but only one seems to get focussed on each week so for two weeks they don't do anything.
Generally a poor episode but decent story. Expect mild peril.
It was quite obvious from the start what the alien was after and it wasn't clever at all.
The Doctor continues to grow in character, there's too many companions, none of them are bad, but only one seems to get focussed on each week so for two weeks they don't do anything.
Generally a poor episode but decent story. Expect mild peril.
Doctor Who For Idiots.
alsmess7 November 2018
The set was good.The rest of it.. the acting, the script ,the music, the villain..all garbage.Blinkered fanboys and especially fangirls will say it was fantastic regardless.It's not.. it's just not. You are deluding yourself if you think this in anyway compares to past series.This is Doctor Who by committee a check list filled in by boring, bland, people churning out boring, bland, television.
When reviews are so polarized...
korereviews5 November 2018
...you know there's a lot of b.s. on both ends. Haters and fanboys have one thing in common: their reactions are emotional and make little or no attempt to engage with the actual objective qualities of the episodes. For example, objectively, it's clear that the production value of series 11 is far more sophisticated than any past Who. Episode 6 is a good example of this. The opening scene, where they're scavenging on a garbage planet, not only looks gorgeous, but it very similar to the look of the San Diego garbage dump scenes in Blade Runner 2049 - not a coincidence, I imagine, as the visual effects studio for series 11 worked on BR 2049. But you won't see any of the haters pointing this out. The interior spaceship sets also looked beautiful in episode 6. Other things are not so successful - the music, for example, in this episode - a ceaseless techno drone - is really irritating after a while. The monster of the week is pathetic and wasted, once again. The Doctor is still flitting around a little too manically - though she at least finally displays some scientific expertise in this episode. She also still waves the sonic screwdriver around like a magic wand, which is a cheap, lazy substitute for real writing - but to be fair, this was already a feature of the Smith and Capaldi Who eras. The problem is that Chibnall hasn't fixed the problem.
And in truth, what a lot of the series 11 haters seems to be (conveniently) forgetting is just how crap and disposable the vast majority of Who episodes of the Moffatt era were. Anyone remember "Smile" or "Knock Knock"? These were so dreadful I couldn't even sit through them. And that's just a random sampling of the mediocrity. Have we seen anything truly brilliant yet from Chibnall's Who? -no. Are we likely to? -I doubt it. But it's been better on average so far than the average Who episode of the last 5 years. I think it's a crisis of expectations: everyone is expecting/demanding that each new episode be as amazing as Heaven sent. But not even Moffatt could live up to that expectation, unfortunately.
I didn't support the choice of Chibnall as show runner and I think in the long run it will turn out to be a strategic mistake on the part of the BBC: they made the safe choice - choosing an "inside man", so to speak - at a time when what the show needed was a brave, original new direction. So far, what we've seen marks an attempt to return to a more Russell T. Davies style of Doctor Who. But it's coming across as anodyne and unimaginative and is not likely to please anyone - critics or fans. But what we've got so far in season 11 - objectively speaking - is neither brilliant nor more dreadful than most of what we've seen from Doctor Who in the last few years.
And in truth, what a lot of the series 11 haters seems to be (conveniently) forgetting is just how crap and disposable the vast majority of Who episodes of the Moffatt era were. Anyone remember "Smile" or "Knock Knock"? These were so dreadful I couldn't even sit through them. And that's just a random sampling of the mediocrity. Have we seen anything truly brilliant yet from Chibnall's Who? -no. Are we likely to? -I doubt it. But it's been better on average so far than the average Who episode of the last 5 years. I think it's a crisis of expectations: everyone is expecting/demanding that each new episode be as amazing as Heaven sent. But not even Moffatt could live up to that expectation, unfortunately.
I didn't support the choice of Chibnall as show runner and I think in the long run it will turn out to be a strategic mistake on the part of the BBC: they made the safe choice - choosing an "inside man", so to speak - at a time when what the show needed was a brave, original new direction. So far, what we've seen marks an attempt to return to a more Russell T. Davies style of Doctor Who. But it's coming across as anodyne and unimaginative and is not likely to please anyone - critics or fans. But what we've got so far in season 11 - objectively speaking - is neither brilliant nor more dreadful than most of what we've seen from Doctor Who in the last few years.
Dull
athenerobym4 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I was seriously underwhelmed by this episode, the new characters were so forgettable I don't remember any of their names and barely remember their purpose within the story. The pregnant man subplot was so irrelevant, I don't think we needed all of that effort to think about Ryan's issues with his father again that could have been covered with a few lines not a whole new character and subplot. Jodie Whittaker, I really like her as a person but she still feels too much like David Tennant, she needs her own thing. Soon. The alien was the highlight of the episode, I really enjoyed him.
Bargain Basement Writing.
adamski-gray11 November 2018
Jodie Whitaker is a great cast, about time a female doctor showed up. Unfortunately she doesn't have the material to work with that the other actors had. The same goes for the companions, they seem almost lifeless although probably capable actors.
As for this episode, the creature is a little too similar to a creature on futurama. The bargain basement writer doesn't even have original ideas, no Christmas special because he has no imagination. BBC, remove him whilst there are some fans left.
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