‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Now that we are halfway into Jodie Whittaker’s first season as the Doctor on Doctor Who, I have to admit that I am truly impressed with her job in the role and where the series is headed with her at the helm of the TARDIS. Because it’s inherently clear that the cast and Chris Chibnall are working to bring the show back to its roots if you will and give us a Doctor that will do anything and everything to preserve life while teaching others to appreciate the wonder of the universe. And for proof, look no further than last night’s episode, ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’, where all of those elements were present from beginning to end, in the most magnificent of fashion because this one, felt like vintage Who with a modern twist.
 
After all, old school episodes of the show always found the Doctor and his friends in the middle of deep space to investigate or experience something special and that’s precisely what happened with Team TARDIS in this tale, except this time around, their poking about on a planet full of junk, got them into a little health related trouble when a sonic mine detonated right in front them. Thankfully a medical vessel was able to pick up them and the technicians there helped nurse them all back to health and well, that’s where the first modern twist of the night came about. Because in this day and age, danger and gritty storytelling are a staple of Sci-Fi and a surprise visitor aboard this ship brought forth that very grit.
 
For in this tale we were introduced to the Pting, a cute little species with big black eyes and a teddy bear structure in nature. But their voracious appetite for…every kind of matter out there and their toxic exterior made this little guy extremely dangerous as he began to consume the ship bit by bit, killing one member of the crew in the process and putting the entire ship and its inhabitants in danger since eventually, it would either set off warning signals that would force the vessel to be destroyed to keep others safe, or blow up the ship by consuming it to the point of critical damage and well, this episode quickly became a race against time to save every single life aboard. 

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​Which is where both old school and new school crossed paths in the story because the Doctor had to work to figure out how the heck to get rid of this little bugger without killing it in cold blood and as she worked to deal with this starved menace, the intensity continued to ramp up and moment by moment the danger continue to grow in this tale, to the point where I actually found myself pacing a little bit thanks to the intensity present here. But, thankfully, the Doctor figured out how to feed the little bugger everything he would need nutritionally and save the ship in the process and that final push to save the day and every life aboard brought about the return of a thematic concept that’s hung heavy in a good way over this season; hope.
 
Because week in and week out, we see an effort from the show to make the Doctor a true beacon of hope and how that concept was handled this week was, to quote the Doctor, brilliant. Because everything the Doctor did in this tale, revolved around in believing in others, and trusting them to the do right and in doing so, she inspired everyone on the ship outside of Team TARDIS to give their best in this tough and terrifying moment and for their efforts, most of them lived to see another day and the one that did not make it, died a hero and left behind a legacy of bravery and nobility and it was just wonderful to see that the series keeps finding new ways to keep this theme going and leave our spirits soaring in the process.
 
In the end however, I really enjoyed this old school approach to this tale and it was quite cool to also see that the show is working to build continuity again from week to week since this entire situation was indicative of the Doctor’s warning from last week that space is a dangerous place. But clearly, the team is up for the challenge, and the Doctor’s good nature is rubbing off on them as well since Ryan put in a little extra effort this week to inspire a new father to be the best dad he can be and well, while this one may have offered up a simple monster of the week episode, it at least gave us plenty to chew on as the story played out and well, I loved this episode through and through since it was just plain fun. Until next time.  

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