Doctor Who, “The Tsuranga Conundrum”, Review!

The Tardis has a arrived on a wasteland planet, Team Tardis is out with metal detectors reassured by the Doctor that what they are looking for is there.  Graham thinks the task is impossible and then his detector has found something.  The Doctor inspects it and tries to use her sonic screwdriver, they have uncovered a sonic mine, it sends out a white blast!  The Doctor hears muffled voices and wakes up. The faces of two medical personnel are there.  She finds Graham, Yaz, and Ryan in hospital chairs.  The doctor, Astos (Brett Goldstein) has seen sonic mine injuries, The Doctor seems out of it, and she starts to take a walk and takes a fall.  The Doctor is worried about the Tardis.  They interrupt a meeting with General Cicero (Suzanne Packer), The Doctor is impressed to meet Eve Cicero, she introduces her brother, Durkas (Doc Brown), and android, Ronan (David Shields). General Cicero knows the Doctor from the Book of Celebrants.  The Doctor leaves them and feels pain from her spleen.  A male patient, Yoss (Jack Shalloo) is seen and he reveals he’s pregnant! The Doctor checks the vibrations in the floor and realizes they are on a ship!  

DOCTOR WHO -- “The Tsuranga Conundrum” -- Ben Blackall/BBC Studios. 

Astos says they have been traveling on the Tsuranga for four days.  The Doctor uses her sonic screwdriver to access the navigation and Astps tells her altering the course will be an act of hostility. The ship is entirely automated.  The Doctor apologizes and then some object attaches to the ship. She takes out a stethoscope and applies it to a panel, whatever it is, is inside the shields.  The invader is in the life pod. Astos gives the Doctor a comm device to check out the port side. Mabli goes to check on Ronan who needs an adrenalin blocker.  Graham sees Dirk trying to access the ship systems. He sees his sister as hiding her condition and admits he’s an engineer.  The Doctor is checking the darkened corridor as Astos looks in a bright corridor.  He finds the invader in the life pod.  The door closes on him and he puts running of the ship in Mabli’s hands.  The life pod bears away and explodes.  The Doctor sees the tiny alien like a baby with four antennae.  She tries to scan the alien with her sonic screwdriver and it eats it.  Mabli starts panicking, but accesses the cameras to identify the alien as a Pting. The Pting is busy eating everything in an access corridor.  

Ronan injects the adrenalin blocker in General Cicero and they are seen by Durkas.  Yaz and Ryan are trying to get Yoss to a meeting.  Yoss is eager for them to feel the child in his belly.  His species and gender only gives birth to boys.  Yoss wants to give away his child feeling he can’t protect him in these dangerous times.  Ryan feels the situation is the same as his own.  Yaz asks him about his father who he had seen a year ago.  His mother had a heart attack when he was thirteen.  The Doctor tries to work out what to do with the Pting with General Cicero.  The ship is trying to avoid an asteroid field.  The Doctor enters the debriefing.  General Cicero says a Pting destroyed her fleet. This is an intergalactic threat that the Doctor has to discover how to counter.  The general and the Doctor go to check the antimatter drive.  The patient has his water broken and takes Ryan and Graham to help.  Mabli warns the Doctor about General Cicero.  The Doctor runs up to the anti-matter drive and asks what century it is and they answer 67th.  She explains to Team Tardis about the technology of the drive.  The General wants Ronan to stay and the Doctor has Yaz protect the drive with him.  The general explains she’s a neuro-pilot and confesses she has Pilot’s Heart.  Yoss is about to have his baby, Graham and Ryan talk him through it with Mabli assisting.  

DOCTOR WHO -- “The Tsuranga Conundrum” -- Ben Blackall/BBC Studios. 

A white crack appears in the floor startling Yaz and Ronan, they hit the Pting with stasis rays and then Yaz covers it in a blanket.  Durkas prepares his sister and The Doctor realizes that it didn’t kill Astos, it was feeding on energy.  The general has control of the ship and accelerates it.  The Doctor rushes off, she checks her spleen, it seems to be ok with her running.  The Doctor updates Yaz and Ronan and finds her sonic has self-rebooted itself.  The Doctor removes the bomb, to fill the Pting with energy?, General Cicero tells her brother she was worried about dying in battle.  The Doctor sets the bomb in an airlock.  She has Yaz give a number that she sets for the bomb to explode.  The Doctor also mentions that she saw all 900 casts of Hamilton!  The baby is about to be born, Mabli is going to cut open Yoss to remove the baby.  Yaz shows the Doctor the lil’ Pting that looks at the bomb.  Ryan gives reassurances to toss that he will be a goo father.  The Pting eats the bomb and the Doctor closes the airlock and sends the Pting out.  The ship rocks under General Cicero’s control, Durkas says he loves his sister.  The baby is delivered and begins crying.  Graham and Ryan cut the baby’s cords together.  Durkas now has taken control over from his sister and flies to the Reeses-1 station.  Yoss decides to name the baby Avocado!  He decides he will be a father!  Ronan is going to shut down and Durkas apologizes to him.  They have a service for General Cicero.  This is a great episode of life and death.  It has an alien creature, but really hits at human relationships.  

Four Sonic Screwdrivers out of Five! 

#DoctorWho, #TheTsurangaConundrum, #SuzannePacker, #JackShalloo