Stories Television Doctor Who Series 11 Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The Tsuranga Conundrum 3 images Overview Characters How to Watch Reviews 4 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 2 Transcript + Script Overview First aired Sunday, November 4, 2018 Written by Chris Chibnall Publisher BBC Directed by Jennifer Perrott Runtime 51 minutes Time Travel Future Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Base Under Siege, Countdown, Hospital, LGBTQA+, Lost the TARDIS, Pregnancy, Self-destruct, Spaceship, The Doctor Falls Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Stethoscope, Sonic Screwdriver Location (Potential Spoilers!) Space, Tsuranga UK Viewers 7.76 million Appreciation Index 79 Synopsis As the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends end up stranded without the TARDIS on a hospital ship in space, with a strange and potentially deadly intruder on board, it is up to them, the crew, and the patients to figure out what it is, what it wants, and how to stop it before the creature tears the ship apart. Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker Graham O'Brien Bradley Walsh Yasmin Khan Mandip Gill Ryan Sinclair Tosin Cole Pting First Appearance Show All Characters (5) How to watch The Tsuranga Conundrum: Watch on iPlayer Blu-Ray The Complete Eleventh Series [Steelbook] Blu-Ray The Complete Eleventh Series DVD The Complete Eleventh Series Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 4 reviews 29 April 2025 · 18 words Review by ClydeLangerRules Back THE f**k OFF my boy the Pting, okay? He's a real one. I can sense it. ClydeLangerRules View profile Like Liked 0 25 April 2025 · 823 words Review by MrColdStream Spoilers This review contains spoilers! Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! “THE TSURANGA CONUNDRUM: CHIBNALL'S CUTEST CHAOS UNLEASHED IN SPACE” The Tsuranga Conundrum might be one of the most wonderfully titled episodes of modern Doctor Who – and fortunately, it lives up to that promise with a zippy, chaotic adventure featuring one of the Chibnall era’s most memorable monsters. A classic base under siege tale set aboard a medical rescue ship, this episode fuses creature feature horror, slapstick space comedy, and emotional side quests into an experience that, while uneven, remains energetic and endearing. And at the heart of the chaos? The irrepressibly adorable Pting, perhaps the most mischievous monster to ever snack its way through a spaceship. HOSPITAL HORRORS AND COMIC CHAOS After being knocked unconscious by a sonic mine on a junk planet, Team TARDIS wakes up aboard the Tsuranga, a sleek white medical vessel en route to a homeworld. The setting is reminiscent of The Ark in Space's Nerva Beacon but given a high-budget gloss – white corridors, futuristic med-tech, and a lively roster of patients and medics. The episode starts strong with Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in full-on anxious mode, neurotic at being separated from the TARDIS and surrounded by mystery. The tension builds well, as we sense something stowed away and dangerous is aboard – and then, delightfully, the big reveal: the Pting. It’s small, fast, destructive, and irresistibly cute – a sort of intergalactic Stitch with a taste for metal and an eye for chaos. It even eats the Doctor’s sonic. Monster of the week? Yes. Iconic? Also yes. A STUFFED ENSEMBLE WITH MIXED RESULTS As with much of Series 11, the Fam takes a bit of a backseat to the Doctor and guest cast. Astos (Brett Goldstein) is likeable but a bit stiff as the ship’s lead medic, and once he’s unceremoniously killed off, it’s up to his junior colleague Mabli to step up. Lois Chimimba makes Mabli a strong secondary character – unsure at first but growing in confidence through necessity, echoing the Doctor’s own method of coaxing heroism out of the unlikely. The rest of the supporting cast is hit and miss. David Shields brings a stillness and eerie calm to Ronan, the emotionless android assistant to Eve Cicero, a legendary general suffering from a fatal condition. Sadly, Eve, her brother Durkas, and Ronan only come into their own in the final act, by which time their storyline feels a little undercooked. Jack Shalloo fares better as the pregnant Yoss – his comedic subplot is breezy but also contains real heart. His scenes with Ryan and Graham are warm and funny, and even serve as a means for Ryan to reflect on his own relationship with his absent father. CHARACTER BEATS AND PACING STUMBLES Ryan’s recollection of his father’s abandonment is a poignant character beat – but like many emotional moments in Chibnall's era, it lacks the necessary dramatic punch. The dialogue feels earnest but wooden, and the performances (particularly Tosin Cole’s) struggle to bring the scene to life. Meanwhile, Yaz doesn’t get much to do at all – a recurring issue for her during this run. The story’s energy flags slightly in the middle, as technobabble begins to overwhelm tension. The fast-paced sequences with the Pting tearing through the ship give way to long discussions about containment, shielding, flight decks, and decompression. It’s clever, but rarely exciting. The stakes – a ticking self-destruct mechanism triggered by the Pting’s presence – are strong in concept but occasionally lost in the static. BACK ON TRACK WITH A STRONG FINISH Fortunately, the final act pulls it together. The Doctor’s effort to disarm the bomb (ultimately feeding it to the ravenous Pting) is nicely intercut with Yoss’s increasingly frantic labour, complete with Graham and Ryan’s comic attempts at being doulas. It’s these twin threads – one tense, one tender – that bring the emotional and narrative climax into sync. And the resolution? Just as bonkers as the rest. The Pting, now full and content, is ejected into space, floating happily off like a balloon lost at a party. It’s both hilarious and surprisingly bittersweet – he’s a menace, yes, but also weirdly loveable. The episode wraps with a fun naming gag, as Yoss names his child Avocado, after the “great Earth hero Avocado Pear.” Peak Doctor Who absurdity. 📝VERDICT: 8/10 The Tsuranga Conundrum is far from perfect – its guest characters are uneven, the pacing sags under the weight of exposition, and the Fam are often underused. But what it lacks in cohesion, it makes up for in personality. The Pting is an instant classic, the set design is gorgeous, and there’s enough humour, heart, and chaos to make the episode a fun, memorable romp. Chibnall’s era often struggled with balance, but this one, for all its faults, finds a kind of scrappy charm. It may condescend to silliness, but never to boredom – and sometimes, that’s more than enough. MrColdStream View profile Like Liked 0 6 April 2025 · 40 words Review by Dullish Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! Tauranga conundrum An episode I cannot spell No idea why it's hated it's a good story, the P'ting is so cute, I want one despite the fact it would destroy everything I own. One of my favorite Thirteenth Doctor episodes. Dullish View profile Like Liked 2 1 January 2025 · 1 words Review by godslayer86 2 yawn godslayer86 View profile Like Liked 2 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating735 members 2.45 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating1,520 votes 3.54 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 1512 Favourited 41 Reviewed 4 Saved 1 Skipped 2 Related Stories Yaz’s Case Files (Minisode) Case File Five: Pting Rating: 2.17 Story Skipped Webcast More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Yaz’s Case Files Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. MABLI: A doctor of medicine? DOCTOR: Well, medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, LEGO, philosophy, music, problems, people, hope. Mostly hope. — The Tsuranga Conundrum Show All Quotes (2) Open in new window Transcript + Script Needs checking [Scrapyard planet] (The travellers are using metal detectors.) RYAN: We're never going to find one!DOCTOR: Course we are. I've programmed the detectors specifically. I found seven last time I was here.GRAHAM: And how long did that take you?DOCTOR: It couldn't have been more than a month. Unless that was Seffilun 59.YASMIN: Which one's this?DOCTOR: Seffilun 27. Maybe 59's the one with a big pile of these. That's the problem with junk galaxies, all the planets look the same. It's hard to keep track.GRAHAM: If we've wasted the last four hours on the wrong planet...DOCTOR: Oi! Who took you rainbathing in the upward tropics of Kinstarno?GRAHAM: Oh, no, no. Listen, that's amazing. I was just saying, like, needle... haystack.DOCTOR: Yeah, you might be right.GRAHAM: No, hold on. I've found something! (The Doctor uncovers it, to reveal red flashing lights on what looks like a land mine.) DOCTOR: I'm sorry.YASMIN: What's he found?DOCTOR: Nobody move. (scans it) If I can keep it in temporal lock... No, it's got too many sensors, it won't work. It was camouflaged! This is someone's idea of a nasty joke.YASMIN: What is it?DOCTOR: Sonic mine. It's counting down.GRAHAM: How long we got?DOCTOR: Three, two... Show Full Transcript Open in new window View Script (PDF)