“The Tsuranga Conundrum” Review – Pting Up With Too Many Characters
Clint Hassell gives his spoiler-filled commentary on the fifth episode of Doctor Who Series 11.
Note: this review contains full SPOILERS for episode 5 of Series 11.
Set aboard an interstellar medical transport being attacked by a mysterious alien creature, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” puts a slight twist on the standard “base-under-siege” adventure. Not since “The Impossible Planet”/“The Satan Pit” has an episode so pointedly exploited the Doctor being irrevocably separated from the TARDIS to ratchet up the tension in the narrative.
So, why is “The Tsuranga Conundrum” not more exciting? One reason is that the monster-of-the-week is too adorably cute to be menacing. Cut from the same cloth as the alien Disney character, Stitch, the design of the Pting seems more geared towards the marketing of Who-themed stuffed toys – – hello, Adipose! – – than on being a believable threat. While the script states that the Pting is “fatally violent,” “impossible to wound or kill,” and an “ultimate . . . risk to life,” the expensive-to-produce, completely-CGI nature of the creature means little screen time for the Pting, leaving the audience with slight evidence to validate the script’s claims.
Mainly, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” suffers from the same problem as the previous “Arachnids in the UK”: there are too many characters to be served effectively by the script. Note that, of the three companions, only Yaz contributes to the episode’s resolution, with Ryan and Graham shuffled off to a comedic side story. The guest characters only exist as dictates of the plot or in service of the main character’s story arcs. For example, Yoss, the pregnant Giftan, contributes nothing to the central plot, only serving as means for Ryan to explore his strained relationship with his father. Yes, this is how serialized narratives work – – supporting characters are written into stories meant to feature the more-developed main characters – – however, in “The Tsuranga Conundrum” the practice is particularly transparent. An episode involving the Doctor and all three companions necessitates a complex plot requiring multiple secondary characters; however, servicing the numerous backstories of such a large cast prevents any of the characters from being particularly nuanced, creating a vicious, recursive cycle. The episode is a Möbius strip, going around and around, one character’s existence justifying the next.
Consider the storyline involving the neuropilot, General Cicero, and her engineer brother, Durkas. The characters exist within the narrative only to fulfill the plot necessity of having a pilot to fly the medical transport craft through the asteroid belt. Scriptwriter Chris Chibnall barely has time to offer more than the predictable story arc: she perishes while piloting the ship, after a last-minute reconciliation with Durkas. He becomes the pilot she wanted him to be, but, only with her passing. Nothing more comes of their fighting; there is no deeper meaning behind their disagreement. This is particularly unfortunate because other characters could have benefitted from the screen time dedicated to the Cicero siblings’ argument.
Removing completely extraneous characters like the “clone drone,” Ronan, would certainly help. Ronan serves no function within the episode, procuring adrenaline blockers that General Cicero herself could surely berate meek medic Mabli into relinquishing. Cicero notes that Ronan’s android anatomy allows him to touch the Pting, but the Doctor immediately counters that Yaz could accomplish the same thing with a med blanket.
Further, having fewer characters would allow the script to better define the Pting threat, preferably by showing the alien physically hurt someone. What if, instead of the pregnant Giftan, Mabli cared for an injured Ryan, who – – as in “The Ghost Monument” – – reacted rashly and tackled the Pting, exposing himself to its toxic skin? This would not only reference Mabli’s character arc of learning to work under pressure, but also Ryan’s need to mature, eliminating the need for Yoss, and bringing the number of characters down to a more manageable eight.
Finally, involving Yasmin in the Cicero’s storyline would not only provide the brother and sister with needed exigency, but also reflect Yaz’s ongoing struggle to relate to her sister, as seen in “Arachnids in the UK.”
Despite its unwieldy cast, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” does serve the Doctor well, particularly in an early scene where the Time Lord must confront her own fallibility. Talking fast, like she normally does, the Doctor misses the obvious – – “the vibrations” – – which indicate that she is not in a hospital but on a spaceship. “We’ve been trying to tell you,” says Astos. The Doctor replies, “Yes . . . you have,” her eyes wide before stumbling forward to investigate the ship. As the brazen Doctor uses her sonic screwdriver to access the ship’s flight data and control systems, Astos yells, “Hey, it’s not just you on board!”
the Doctor: “I’m not being hostile!”
Astos: “Yes, you are! You’re being hostile and selfish! There are patients on board who need to get to Rhesus 1 as a matter of urgency. My job is to keep all of you safe. You are stopping me from doing that.”
the Doctor: (shaken) “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. Sorry.”
Enhanced by the chemistry between actors Jodie Whittaker and Brett Goldstein, the dialogue is riveting, revealing a hint of stubborn Twelve in this new Doctor. The scene is tense and conveys a sense of danger, as Segun Akinola’s score builds to a breaking point, mirroring the Doctor’s fraught emotional state.
Further, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” offers Series 11’s most succinct look at the Doctor’s character-defining love for humanity and science. When Mabli admits that she is “struggling to see much hope, here,” the Doctor is passionate in her response: “[Hope] just doesn’t offer itself up, you have to use your imagination. Imagine the solution and work to make it a reality. Whole worlds pivot on acts of imagination!”
Later, the Doctor is excited that technology has progressed to create a “smaller, faster, and cheaper” particle accelerator, thus allowing for the development of propulsion drives. After giving a remarkably scientifically accurate description of the basics of antimatter-driven interstellar travel, she exclaims, “It’s beautiful. Antimatter powering the movement of matter. Bringing positrons into existence to move other forms of life across space. I love it. Conceptually . . . and actually.” For a show so often chided for its history of rubber-suited men-as-aliens and “reversing the polarity of the neutron flow” technobabble, this scene is remarkable in recognizing that, at its heart, science is rooted in the human desires to explore and learn, to create and improve. This moment imbues Doctor Who with its humanity, and is surely one of the speeches for which Thirteen will be remembered.
Finally, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” hints at a question that the series’ overarching narrative will have to answer: are the companions growing too confident? Graham is notably becoming more like the Doctor. “I think that’s ‘staff only,’” he reprimands Durkas, both demonstrating that he is similarly observant and mirroring the Doctor’s tendency of not minding her own business. Yaz and Ryan are similarly assured:
Graham: “So, it’s just us.”
the Doctor: “Yeah.”
Graham: “Alone.”
the Doctor: “Yeah.”
Graham: “In space.”
the Doctor: “Yeah.”
Graham: “With that creature.”
the Doctor: “Yeah.”
Graham: “Right.”
Yasmin: “I don’t fancy its chances.”
Ryan: “Yeah, I’d back us, every time.”
There is an obvious gap in time between the end of “Arachnids in the UK” and the events in “The Tsuranga Conundrum,” however, Thirteen only mentions one other trip – – “rainbathing in the upward tropics of Canstano” – – and that she “just got the TARDIS back.” How long have the three been traveling with the Doctor? At this point, this bravado seems unearned, which is dangerous for a companion. How long does it take to turn a companion into the Doctor, and will the trio suffer the same fate as Clara for copying this behavior?
Random Musings
(Time) Capsule Review
Bogged down with too many characters – – some existing only as plot devices or to further another character’s storyline, and one serving no purpose at all – – “The Tsuranga Conundrum” still manages to capitalize on its “base-under-siege” format to create a mostly entertaining hour of television. Bolstered by its score, but hampered by an alien monster too cute to be menacing, the episode shines brightest in scenes where the Doctor realizes her selfish behavior endangers others or relates scientific advancement to the human condition.
