“The Tsuranga Conundrum” Teasers Explained

Clint Hassell reveals the answers to last week’s hints and teasers for Series 11, episode 5 “The Tsuranga Conundrum.”

• 1. It’s not sonic yours, it’s sonic ****.
  It’s not sonic yours, it’s sonic mine. The explosion of a “sonic mine” is what puts the Doctor and her companions aboard the medical transport ship.
• 2. “I’d say it’s more of a ‘volume’ than a ‘chapter.’ Just so you know.”
  – the Doctor, to General Cicero, who asked if the Doctor had a chapter in The Book of Celebrance.
• 3. Gznn njidx nxmzrymdqzm, hjmz njidx nivxf.
  Less sonic screwdriver, more sonic snack. The Pting eats (and then regurgitates) the Doctor’s new sonic screwdriver.
• 4. “Do you mind me asking, how did your mom die?”
  – Yasmin, to Ryan
• 5. What do candy floss, Lego, music, and problems all have in common?
  These are all subjects in which the Doctor claims to have a doctorate. Additionally, the Doctor mentions “medicine, science, engineering . . . philosophy . . . people, [and] hope” as subjects of study.
• 6. “Are you also experiencing comprehension deficiency?”
  – Ronan, to Yasmin, after the Doctor states that she is going to accelerate the detonation of the bomb, in order to save everyone
  “Oh, every day, right now, man.”
  – Yasmin, in response
• 7. Pentagonal numbers follow this formula: P_n = (3n²-n)/2. Fifty-one would thus be the sixth pentagonal number.
  When asked for a number “between 1 and 100,” Yasmin picks 51. The Doctor praises the number as “good,” and cites it as a “pentagonal number, . . . the atomic number of antimony, [and] the number of Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton.”
• 8. Can you guess the Doctor’s favorite Broadway musical? She’s “seen all 900 casts”!
  The Doctor has seen all 900 casts of Hamilton.
• 9. Can you guess Graham’s favorite television show? He’s “seen every episode” (but “always looked away at the squeamish bits”)!
  Graham has seen every episode of Call the Midwife.
• 10. “Vqjxvyj.”
  Yoss names his baby “Avocado,” after the Earth hero, Avocado Pear.
• Hidden teaser:
  It’s not a hospital, it’s a ship.
  Though the facility in which the Doctor awakens appears to be a hospital, it is, in fact, a Tsurangan medical transport spaceship.