#General Yoss

[spoofymcgee]

yeah baby!

i have watched the tsuranga conundrum and it is SO good!

the bit of banter at the beginning to let us know they've been traveling together for a while and give a longer measure of time to the series!

the doctor freaking out about losing the TARDIS because that's her ship, that's her home, someone's going to take her, she can't lose anything else–

the way astsos grabs her and tells her she's being selfish and she pauses and realizes that he's right, that there are people who need help and if she is the doctor she will help them first and worry about herself later.

everything about astos, actually.

she doesn't like being told what to do.

the way the doctor actually gets to be injured, and she moves through it because she's used to it, she's done it before and will do it again but the way it's so visible in her body language and voice and it lasts and isn't played off in a second and ignored.

i kept worrying they were going to play yoss off for a joke, and expecting graham to be an asshole about it (i don't know why, he's beating all the allegations, he is a lovely middle aged man with useful life skills who is cool and hip with the times and is just trying to do his best by his teenage step-grandson) but it actually ended up being really sweet and the funny bits were actually funny and not haha thinly-veiled transphobia

speaking of graham just look at him. he's just a guy. i love him.

AND

THE DOCTOR

aaaaaaaa look i know it takes a bit to adjust to a new doctor, and i. hated ten. when i started season two. i did not like him. but i thought eleven was excellent in his first episode, and i'd known twelve already and got so excited to see him, so it took me a minute to get used to thirteen.

even accounting for that, it feels like the first four episodes were still adjusting to jodie whittaker as the doctor. some of the dialogue was a little awkward, and there were really good moments (tea at yaz's! the showdown moment in rosa!) but generally it just felt a little clunky and out of rhythm.

and in this episode! it! clicked!

i've decided i would die for thirteen, actually.

how she meets the general and goes so hard on being a fan, 'oh no doctor is a very common name! i'm not important! ...i think it was more like a volume, not a chapter'.

the way she's so determined to do this, to save everyone, and she doesn't know how yet but she's going to.

the particle accelerator speech. god, this bit. i rewatched it four times. she's just. something about the doctor talking about 'old' technology with a hushed awe and appreciation, talking about science like it's poetry, loving the basic facts of how the universe operates, is just. god.

and especially the ending, how she figures out a way to save them and make the p'ting happy. there was a little bit of it with the big spider, but she moved on very quickly there. here, it's just a side moment, barely even mentioned, but even just the comment about how it isn't trying to hurt anyone, just feed itself–

i love this show.

[kmilli3]

To The Root: Senegalese Twists

Senegalese Twists, also known as Rao in its originating country of Senegal, served as a technique and hairstyle for the women when doing their hair. Its finger based technique was done withe Yoss, black dyed vegetable fibers, and was passed down through generations. It allowed for the women to showcase any jewelry or traditional headscarves woven by themselves or other female family members. Both traditionally and modern Senegalese twists show as a symbol of community, beauty, and skill within the community of women who wear them.

[sw5w]

Gungan Sacred Place

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:39:55

The militiagung that leads the group to Boss Nass isn't Captain Tarpals, but an unnamed Gungan on kaadu (maybe the unseen leader of the Gungan Grand Army, General Tobler Ceel, perhaps?) Captain Tarpals comes into the scene a second after this shot.

Or it could perhaps be another Gungan general, General Yoss, who was named in George Lucas' revised rough draft of Episode I.

[meteorologears]

first of all: i love your c22 content. people like you are the backbone of this tiny tiny tiny fandom. second: i have to ask, because sometimes i feel like i’m the only one who sees this,,, it’s not acknowledged anywhere as far as i’ve seen. what are your thoughts on the bi erasure (and general minimization of yo’s canon male love interests) in the hulu miniseries? ALSO HAVE YOU SEEN THE TWEET FROM MILOS ACTOR SAYING HE LOWK PLAYED MILO AS IN LOVE WITH YOSSARIAN

hi anon! firstly: thank you so much! it's greatly appreciated! now, onto the topic at hand: the bi erasure is an incredibly disappointing aspect of the hulu miniseries! One of the great things about Yossarian in the book is he is bi - it's never outright stated, but anyone with reading comprehension would realize oh! he's absolutely bi!

That said, the hulu miniseries... didn't do this. Let's look through the book: Yossarian has canon male love interests in: the chaplain, Orr, hell I'll throw Milo in here, Clevinger AND Dunbar, etc. Which is, at the very least, five. The Hulu miniseries played Milo up a lot, with a substantial amount of screentime devoted to him trekking around with Orr and Yoss as well as redistributing a handful of the chaplain's lines to Milo instead. Which means there was plenty of opportunity to make Milo into a bigger love interest and they just! didn't! Also I have not seen the tweet, please link me to it - I absolutely need to see that!!!

[hypexion]

It’s time for a terrible ambulance trip in The Tsuranga Conundrum. Horrible machine destroying gremlins are back, but now IN SPACE.

With the introductory episodes out of the way, it’s time for a good old-fashioned base under seige episode. Except with the twist that the base is some rooms and a corridor, and the seiger is a dangerous wild animal. It’s a decent way to mix up the formula, although “P’ting” is a bit of a goofy name for a monster, and I think the deadliness of it is pushed a little too much. It’s a scary metal-devouring monster that can survive the vacuum of space, so it doesn’t really need to be deadly to touch. But quibbles aside, the P’ting is an interesting way to have a threat that’s not just a generic evil alien, even if the characters act like it is.

The key character moment of The Tsuranga Conundrum happens pretty early on, where the Doctor goes on a (very slight) rampage, fluffs her ego, and gets told to stop being a nuisance by Astos the concerned medic. Unlike her previous incarnation, the Doctor immediately apologizes for being unreasonable, which a big break from Twelve. At the same point in his first series, Twelve would have probably insulted everyone and not apologizes, like a big jerk. But Thirteen actually has manners, and is thus able to admit to being wrong. She also gets the chance to geek out over advanced technology.

The other main characters get somewhat shuffled off to the side however, in order to make room for some side character action. Mabli learns about self-confidence, hope and imagining a solution, the Ciceros work their difference, and Yoss enroles in a questionable anti-adoption plotline. It’s mostly cool. The main subplot is the Cicero one, where General Eve Cicero is dying of a condition called Pilot’s Heart, which is presumably related to however neuro-fleets work. There’s a little mini-arc about trusting your family, driving spaceships and dying of complex medical condition because you lied to your doctor. It’s an interesting window into another time, if a small and brief one.

The other subplot is Yoss. I feel like this was mostly here for the novelty of “oh woah a pregnant man ain’t that wacky“ which is not really what strong subplots are based on. It does allow for a little more of Ryan’s backstory to be revealed, although I’m not sure if the weird “don’t do adoption, kids“ message really follows.

Pacing-wise, the episode seems to move along fairly well. While there are a few subplots, they mostly connect into the main plot, so whenever things bounce over to Yaz and Konan or the Cicero siblings, the episode is still moving. The threat of both the P’ting and the self-destruct help keep the episode fast, even if it’s not the leanest, and once the threat is over there’s a slower denouncement that’s pretty nice.

Overall, The Tsuranga Conundrum is very watchable, even if it has a few issues here and there. It perhaps suffers from middle-series syndrome, without anything to push towards specific characters, but there’s still some nice stuff going on, and it manages not to drag things out.

[wishmachines]

Sci-Fi reminds us of something we like to forget: we are here because our ancestors thought a little about us. Because they believed that the human race was a concept that went beyond the nation state, and even beyond one’s generation. Or we are here despite they tried to think that only the present mattered, paying with their selfishness. Let’s not repeat their mistake! Let’s not transfer that debt to our descendants!

Yoss, interviewed by Ryan Britt at Electric Literature

[newwhoreview2016]

The Tsuranga Conundrum

My memories of this were generally positive, but the opening doesn’t inspire me with confidence. The scene on the junk planet is very meh and our first introduction to general Cicero and her people is a hideous exposition dump. Also, the doctor seems out of character – I don’t like her being the last one to wake up and I don’t like her appearing to be in awe of the soldier. Also she spends ages behaving in the most selfish manner possible. When we get to the anti-matter drive, the exposition hasn’t got any better. Then the Doctor gets a big revelation moment which is...a bit obvious to get so excited about.

The death of Astos makes sense narratively but unfortunately he’s the only character we’ve warmed to up to this point so his loss is a blow. This episode is full of characters we can’t give too much of a toss about, which robs the situation of peril.

So what do I like? There’s a nice scene with Ryan and Yaz talking about his dad in a corridor, which feeds into the season long arc about Ryan and his family relationships very well. I like all the stuff with Yoss’s baby and his doulas. I like the Pting and the use of the bomb. It all builds to several joint satisfying conclusions to a decent amount of tension.

But it’s also cheap, with limited sets, limited actors (some of them with limited talent) and limited effects: most noticeably, there are no shots of the exterior of the Tsuranga while Eve is piloting it. The biggest problem, though, is that the writing just isn’t that good in this episode. It feels like a one-off writer. Odd that it’s not.

Next time: this should wind the anti-PC brigade up.

[mxopifex]

3 tadhg 16 Steady and 18 Yoss!

How did I choose Tadhg’s name: I’m pretty sure I used Behind the Name’s random name generator. I wanted to pick a name that was conventional name but one that was a little uncommon and odd sounding. So I skimmed through a bunch of names until Tadhg poped up. It means poet which is perfect for him, and it has a very nice sound.

What is something about Steady that can make me cry: what doesn’t make me cry, his life is hecking tragic. But specifically the fact that he worries that maybe he is more in love with the idea of Heart than the person since he only knew him for a short time. Like poor boy can’t even just grieve without over analyzing his feelings.

What is the most recent thing I’ve learned about Yoss: he has a legitimate hardcore caffeine addiction. As in won’t just be a grouch without his coffee but will get horrible migraines.

[cctinsleybaxter]

When you think about yoplain do you imagine it in an alternate world with less homophobia or more like what it was really like to be gay (or bi) in the 40s? I can only imagine that would add to their general anxiety. How does Yoss feel about his attraction?

I only imagine them in the 40s! (can’t even wrap my head around an alternate universe without homophobia…)

So, yes, being gay or bi was considered a mental disorder that required treatment, but that looked a lot different on the front lines than it would have on US soil. Soldiers were considered vulnerable since they were in such close quarters with other men and homosexuality was treated a bit like STDs are in high school (complete with lectures and pamphlets), but men carrying on with each other was kind of an open secret? There wasn’t any time for higher-ups to vet what everyone was doing and with whom so the message was more ‘don’t be stupid/don’t get caught’, and this without the direct threat of murder or institutionalization (no need to discharge and lose otherwise healthy soldiers for a few indiscretions.) Tons of guys had affairs and then would go back to wives and fiancées, and in the case of same-sex relationships most wouldn’t have even considered it infidelity because War Makes Things Not Count. 

Despite his ongoing crises Yossarian’s always struck me as being very sure of who he is and what he wants, and that extends to his liking men just as well as women. The only real danger would be chatting up the wrong guy, and luckily 

the feeling’s mutual :-)

[morganaspendragonss]

That episode wasn’t the best but it still kind of worked?? There was the doctor being amazing and saving the day, the weirdly adorable pting, the random yet heartwarming subplot with Yoss and his baby, and the tragic family subplot with the general

It was a huge mess of subplots and I fucking loved it

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Doctor Who 11x05 - Tsuranaga Conundrum

This felt like a filler, more than a filler than *Arachnids in the UK* was but I did love how dynamic the first five minutes of it was with the Doctor, acting for the first time in this regeneration in a very Doctor-y selfish way. It’s still in her, and the sonic mine knocked Thirteen back to, as *Class* episode would call it, the Doctor’s First Fear. > This is the First Fear. This is the one you always go back to and the one you can’t face, and everyone has it, everyone. - Andra’ath Quill, *Class* Losing the TARDIS is this Doctor’s First Fear. It’s enough that Thirteen tells her friends that she needs to be alone, Thirteen who doesn’t want to be alone at all. In her disorientation, she disregards everything that’s said to her until the Medic Guy snapped her back into realizing how selfish she’s being; much like I feel Yaz did to Thirteen in *The Woman Who Fell to Earth* when Thirteen was too wrapped up solving the mystery, Yaz reminds her: ‘Either way, a woman just died.’ After that, in both cases the Doctor makes an effort to be more present and care, and again, to be kind especially since Mabli specifically brought it up. I feel like this is the episode that reaffirms to Thirteen she needs to be, and being mindful of it. (BTW, truer ever for medical doctors, the Doctor is a *terrible* patient!). Another thing I liked about this episode is the inclusion of Eve Cicero and her brother, I loved the moment when Thirteen gushed at General Eve Cicero, and then Eve returned with: ‘Hang on, don’t you have a chapter in the Book of Celebrants too?’ I like that while the Doctor *is* trying to lay low, she still can’t help a bit of ego with ‘a volume, actually’. I love Thirteen and Eve’s interactions especially the moment when they both had the same idea, strategically: ‘defend the anti-matter drive’. I am really glad the Doctor got over their self-loathing about being a soldier and was getting on with Eve. It also occurred to me during the scene that this is the first instance where Thirteen’s actually interacting with someone who is kind of an equal in status, um, military hierarchy speaking. There *is* a lot of technobabble and exposition here, I don’t normally mind but there’s a lot, and boy I bet Jodie had to stay in a corner a lot for this episode to get the whole anti-matter thing done, which, Kudos to her for being so energetic with it — and again, chemistry with an inanimate object and SCIENCE. (Speaking of, Thirteen’s face when the P’Ting ate her Sonic Screwdriver and then spat it out broken, I love her a *lot*). But there’s a point where I think Chibnall could also trim down the education bits. (While we’re being negative, the clone guy was totally superfluous to the story and I feel like he didn’t need to be there?) Also: the monster of the week is Stitch! A few days after we had a Lilo and Stitch gifset for Doctor Who! I forgot to mention that I do love the treatment of the MPreg, it was a new concept for Ryan, Yaz, and Graham but it wasn’t played for any cringe-y laughs. I love that it tied back with Ryan’s issues with his father and helping Yoss (?) There’s another instance in the week where we’re talking siblings, just right after Thirteen spoke about her own in *Arachnids in the UK*, and then managing to patch things up. I love Yaz kicking Stitch!P’Ting out the hallway for England. Go, Yaz! Although not a lot to do, I love that in dangerous situations Thirteen trusts Yaz a lot (Thirteen is giving out points too, and Yaz is leading!). Actually, if we think about it, Yaz is more the normal mode of what a Companion would be, so it’s interesting the Doctor gravitated towards the one more who fits the mode of Companion. (I am so excited for the next episode!). Thirteen asking Yaz to pick a number and then going ‘WHAT’. I love the whole scene, especially with Stitch!P’Ting taking its time to go and eat the bomb! Eve dying was sad, but I love that she did it doing what she loved doing best, I don’t know why but I feel like there’s a correlation to Thirteen especially the very poignant prayer in the end. I think the last time we had something like this was… *The Impossible Planet*. And I really loved that moment too (“For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods.” — Er, which google tells me is apparently a quote from Horatius so not really a prayer to send off the dead as I thought but all the same, it had the tenor of it!). > *Ronan the Clone*: May the saints of all the stars and constellations: > *ALL*: Bring you hope. As they guide you out of the dark and into the light. On this voyage and into the next, and all the journey’s still to come—- > *Thirteen*: For now, and ever more.” It felt like this struck a chord for the Doctor, there was something playing across her face, as if she’s renewing a vow: ‘As they guide you out of the dark and into the light. On this voyage and into the next and all the journey’s still to come. For now and ever more.’ Another moment I loved: ‘Can you fly this?’ / ‘I’m Cicero. I learned this.’

[holmesandtheroman]

Doctor Who as of right now

Let me preface this by saying, Chris Chibnall is doing an AMAZING job. I have not felt this connected to the Doctor and the show in general for SEVERAL years. That being said, it is so wonderful to say that, so far, there have been minimal issues with writing, until episode 5.

Sooo... I finally got around to watching “The Tsuranga Conundrum.” I waited a week because I was under the impression that it ended on a cliffhanger (obviously didn’t). It was certainly a very high stakes episode with lots of low and high parts that make Doctor Who what it is. The only issue I really had was about Yoss and his baby.

Those of you who have taken the time to read my personal posts, I am adopted. I was adopted by birth, and it was an open adoption, so I knew my biological mother growing up. She was 19 and homeless when she had me, so it was not logical for her to keep me. I’m saying all of this to ultimately get to the idea that Chris Chibnall (and many, many, MANY other TV show and movie writers) handled the concept of adoption and birth in not the best way.

The first thing: Yoss repeatedly said that he was not fit to be a father. He gave several reasons why, and it takes a lot of courage to admit that to yourself. In talking with my biological mother, she only wanted the best for me. She knew she was not fit to be a mother at that point in her life, and that was ok. It’s still ok. Now, I know that this is not the case for many children, but it was in this episode of Doctor Who. Ryan, however, was actively trying to convince Yoss that he should keep the baby. I know Ryan has father issues, and I get why he might have been saying that, but I don’t think it was ok for Chris Chibnall to write Graham or Malbi in such a way that they didn’t jump in and say “This is Yoss’ decision.” If Yoss believed that it was the right decision for his child, then that’s what should happen. There are no take-backs (maybe in the Gifftan culture there is, idk), but there are open-adoption plans, where the adoptive parents make an effort to include the biological parents in their kid’s life (like me).

The second thing: the wording that was used for adoption was akin to “giving up the baby” or “giving away the baby” (I don’t remember the exact wording). You give away clothes that don’t fit anymore; you give away books; hell, depending on your outlook on pets, you give away a dog (not saying that’s my phrasing, but it is for others). You don’t give away a person. You adopt them out, or set up an adoption plan. There are many people who “give away” their kids because they are just not interested. This point, however, is just me being picky with word choice.

Adoption is such a stigmatized topic and adopted kids are a demographic that is completely skipped over because of how uncomfortable the topic might seem to other people. This is why it’s reduced to jokes (i.e., “you’re adopted”, meaning to say, you are different and don’t really fit in or belong in this family). Adoption can be a FANTASTIC solution for some people. Some people are very open about their adoption (I am literally an open book about it), but some people are not for this precise reason. For whatever reason, society has decided that adoption is not as good as having your own kids. In fact, I was told by my former youth pastor’s wife that “If you can’t have kids naturally, then that is God saying that you were not meant to have children.” She knew I was adopted and that my parents could not have kids. This stigma is unacceptable, and it needs to start changing with TV show and movie portrayals.

tl;dr Doctor Who added yet another blow to the stigma behind the concept of adoption and I think that’s wrong.

Feel free to reblog with comments, because I am absolutely open to having a discussion on this, whether or not you agree with me :)

[the-desolated-quill]

The Tsuranga Conundrum - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Ugh. I suppose it had to happen eventually. After four great episodes on the trot, it was only a matter of time before Chris Chibnall ran out of steam and returned to his usual output.

Okay. That’s not fair. The Tsuranga Conundrum isn’t that bad. It’s not like Cyberwoman or his Silurian two parter. In fact had this come out during one of Moffat’s series, I probably would have considered this episode a highlight. But Series 11 so far has been a true return to form for the show, with episodes like The Woman Who Fell To Earth and Rosa featuring some amazing moments of characterisation as well as intelligent and quite often powerful writing. Somehow Chibnall has managed to defy expectations and demonstrated just what you can do with a show like Doctor Who if you were to actually put the time and effort in. It’s for that reason why I feel like The Tsuranga Conundrum is such a spectacular dud.

It’s funny how i mentioned Moffat’s tenure as showrunner because this honestly feels like an episode from that era just as The Power Of Three felt like a throwback to RTD. All the episodes so far this series have had slow deliberate pacing, giving the audience time to truly get to know the characters and the setting. In fact the characters are clearly the main focus this series with the plot and monster (if there even is a monster at all) being secondary. This I feel is what has made this series so strong. It’s what made even a weak episode like Arachnids In The UK have an emotional kick to it. The Tsuranga Conundrum on the other hand feels like the complete opposite of this. Everyone is dashing about, spouting exposition, with the characters becoming almost an afterthought. Obviously if you’re into this kind of plot driven, fast paced Who, then more power to you. It just feels really out of place after the previous four episodes.

What also affected my enjoyment were the character inconsistencies and general stupidity. I have had nothing but praise so far for Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, but this... I don’t know what has happened, but this is not a good episode for the Doctor. For starters the episode opens with Team TARDIS on a junk planet and coming across a sonic mine, but instead of doing something sensible like running away, the Doctor just stands there like a twit waiting for the thing to detonate. Then when she regains consciousness four days later on the Tsuranga, she tries to hijack the ship so she can get back to the TARDIS. Yeah! Fuck the other patients! It’s not like their lives matter or anything! That has got to be one of the most unDoctorly things I’ve ever seen. I’m sorry, but the Doctor would never do something like that.

But wait! A UO breaches the shields and enters the ship. The Doctor’s doctor Astos, having just ordered her to return to her bed, demands she checks the much safer port side of the ship while he takes a look around the more dangerous starboard side. It was his tone and manner that really got to me. Can you imagine him saying that to a male Doctor? And do you know what the worst bit is? She actually does what he tells her to do. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. Again, there’s no way the Doctor would do something like that. I don’t care what gender they are. The Doctor in any of their incarnations wouldn’t have submitted to someone else. They would have taken charge. And yeah, she eventually does once Astos gets killed, but that scene still irked me. When I first heard the words ‘Chris Chibnall is going to be writing the first female Doctor,’ this was the kind of thing I was afraid we would get.

I’ve got nothing against Jodie Whittaker of course. She’s still giving it her absolute all, but there’s just very little for her to work with here. Another scene that really stood out as weird was the scene where she asked Yasmin to pick a number to set the bomb timer to. Why?! That just seems like such a callous and inappropriate thing to do in that situation. Matt Smith’s Doctor I could buy doing that. That’s just the kind of dickish and plonkerish thing he would do, but Whittaker’s? It just feels like an excuse to do weird, kooky shit. And here I was hoping we’d left that behind with Peter Capaldi and the dreaded sonic sunglasses. Not to mention all the moments where the story stops dead in its tracks so that the Doctor can witter on at length about hope and anti-matter. Again, Jodie Whittaker does her best, but there’s a time and a place. It’s hard to marvel at an anti-matter drive when there’s a fucking alien eating the spaceship.

Let’s quickly discuss the Pting. I liked it. It’s a good design and a different kind of threat for Doctor Who. I’m impressed this series how Chibnall so far has managed to stay away from the usual ‘alien invaders wanting to take over the world’ schtick, finding different kinds of threats and motives for each episode. The Pting isn’t evil. It’s just hungry and looking for something to eat. That’s so innocent for a Who antagonist that’s almost charming. Unfortunately it’s undermined by yet more stupidity. The Doctor is alarmingly slow to catch on to the fact that the Pting isn’t interested in killing the crew. It just wants to eat the ship. I would have thought the computer describing it as ‘strictly non-carnivorous’ and seeing it scoffing down her sonic screwdriver would have been a bit of a giveaway, but there you go. She acts like this is a big revelation, but we knew this from the start, didn’t we? If the audience are further along than the Doctor, something has gone spectacularly wrong. And then Chibnall drops the clunker that the Pting feeds on energy. Wait... huh?! If it feeds on energy, why was it eating metal earlier? And if the Pting ate all the energy in Astos’ life pod, how did it explode?

Characters are another issue. Because the episode is zipping along at a hundred miles an hour, there’s barely any time to really get to know anyone. Lois Chimimba’s medic character I thought had potential, having to take charge of the ship after Astos’ death and maybe taking inspiration from the Doctor and following her example, but she’s too busy dealing with a comedy male pregnancy (that I didn’t much care for by the way. I didn’t think it was particularly funny and it just felt like Chibnall came up with it at the last minute to give Graham and Ryan something to do). You’ve got this famous general and her engineer brother who aren’t particularly interesting. There’s the usual sibling rivalry you’ve seen done millions of times before the eventual reconciliation where the two spout ‘I love yous’ over slushy music (this is the closest composer Segun Akinola has gotten to Murray Gold territory and I very much hope we don’t come any closer). Then the general pops her clogs due to Plot Contrivance Syndrome and the engineer ends up saving the day piloting the ship... which begs the question why didn’t he just pilot the ship in the first place if he knew how to do it? Makes the general’s death seem a bit silly really.

Whereas previous episodes managed to tug at the heartstrings with subtle, but effective moments of characterisation, The Tsuranga Conundrum goes the RTD route of bashing you over the head with gaudy sentimentality and melodrama. Nothing can be left to chance. Everything has to be spelt out so that even the idiots at the back of the class can understand the emotions on display. The Doctor’s speech about hope. Ryan talking about how his mum died and how his dad was never there for him. Ryan then using that experience to tell Yoss how to be a dad. The android giving the final eulogy about stars guiding you through bollocks (I’m paraphrasing obviously, but that was the gist of it). It all just feels incredibly forced and not in the least bit affecting. The one moment I think sparked a genuine emotion out of me was Graham and Ryan laughing about how Grace would react if she saw them delivering a baby on a spaceship.  That was a nice human moment that. I liked that.

It isn’t a bad episode. It’s certainly not the worst thing Chibnall has ever written. If I close my eyes and cover my ears during the stupid and annoying bits, I’d probably enjoy it. But compared to the previous four episodes, it’s hard not to see The Tsuranga Conundrum as a massive step backwards.

[timeagainreviews]

The Doctor needs a medic!

Clarification: I did a little research after my article last week. That "sister," line from Arachnids was still getting to me. As an American living in the UK, I was unaware of the fact that head nurses were still called sisters, despite them no longer being nuns. So it turns out that the Doctor wasn’t implying she used to be a female, but rather than she was using sexist outdated language. Cool… cool. Can’t decide which is worse. I mean, she is a bit old. Perhaps she’s a bit old fashioned as well. I’d keep an eye on her if she starts reading the Daily Mail.

We’re now at the halfway point of the series. Five episodes in, and I would say this one was, if nothing else, fairly solid. "The Tsuranga Conundrum" may be one of my favourite episodes of the series thus far, and it’s a bottle episode! However, while Chris Chibnall wrote the episode, the alien threat in it was actually devised by writer Tim Price, so it was a bit of a group effort. It would appear, however, that the real antagonist of this story… is time.

In an odd way, the opening shot of the episode had me thinking of the previous "Arachnids in the UK," with its giant landfill. I almost wondered if they weren’t actually rooting around underground Sheffield. Instead we’re on a planet called "Seffilun 27," in what the Doctor refers to as a "junk galaxy." The planet seems to be covered in junk as far as the eye can see. I was reminded a bit of House from "The Doctor’s Wife," with all of the junk from discarded TARDISes lying around. The Doctor has Team TARDIS sweeping for junk she can use for unspecified Doctory stuff. Instead of finding the desired gadget, Graham discovers a sonic mine that lands them all in the hospital.

The hospital is your typical Doctor Who style futuristic building, all white and sleek. It’s what you’d expect, but there’s a bit more than meets the eye. The Doctor is the last to wake up and feels pretty awful. You can already tell it’s going to be a handicap for her throughout the episode. I was reminded of regeneration episodes where the Doctor is "still cooking," and has to deal with a bit of pain. Nothing really comes from the pain other than a bit of added suspense, which is all fine and good. This is not the only handicap the Doctor will face throughout the episode.

The two attending medics are Astos and Mabli. Both are young, attractive, and seem very capable at their jobs. The Doctor discovers from Astos, the head medic, that they have spent the last four days on a medical ship called the Tsuranga (as opposed to a hospital) on its way to a space station called Resus 1. This causes the Doctor to panic. She’s left her TARDIS behind on a junk planet, where people scavenge, and she’s "only just got it back!" However, Astos reminds her that the ship needs to reach it’s destination for the health and wellbeing of the ship’s passengers. It’s a reasonable argument and the Doctor can’t deny it.

Among the patients on the ship, other than the Doctor and her friends, is Eve Cicero, a famous pilot and general, accompanied by her brother Durkas and android assistant Ronan. There’s also a pregnant man named Yoss (YOSSSSS GAGA! Sorry, had to) who is about to pop. Eve has Ronan manipulating the less experienced Mabli to provide her with adrenaline blockers, all behind both Astos and her brother’s backs. Yoss’ species’ gestation period of about a week, hasn’t given him much time to come to terms with being a father. His anxiety is even further exacerbated by the fact that his pregnancy was the result of a bit of fun at a party. Ryan, who grew up with an absentee father, seems to latch onto this, despite his initial reaction to a pregnant man.

The Doctor can’t turn the vessel around to pick up her TARDIS as it’s locked in on a path, auto-piloted. It only seems to pick up people in distress along the way, acting as a space ambulance. To make matters worse, the ship will be detonated if anyone tampers with it, in case of a hijacking, which seems a bit extreme. Other reasons it may be detonated, would be for quarantine reasons, or if it posed a threat to anyone. Which seems like as good a time as any to introduce our alien threat- Item Seven Alpha Cubed, otherwise known as "Pting." (Probably named after the sound the hull of a ship makes whenever it turns up.)

This marks the second week in a row where the reveal of the baddie has made me react with an "Awww!" Look at that little face! What a little cutie. Sadly, that little cutie just caused the death of Astos, as it caused the escape pod he was inside to evacuate, and detonate. I’m not 100% sure why it actually detonated, even without life support. Is part of a ship’s life support system allotted to the not-exploding of things? Regardless though, the Pting isn’t really hostile like a Dalek is hostile, it just seems a bit hungry! It doesn’t seem to eat organic matter, though it makes a right meal of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver. The cosplayer in me was worried I was going to have to order a whole new piece for a second, but it coughed it right back up! Though it no longer seems to work. Another handicap.

The Pting is a rather resilient little creature. General Cicero had encountered them before as one “massacred” her entire fleet. Their skin is toxic to the touch and unbreakable. It can survive the vacuum of space, and it seems to enjoy eating anything. Think of a mix between a tardigrade, a Gremlin, and Nibbler. The Doctor must stop it from destroying the life support (see: anti-exploding device), and also from alerting the people back on Resus 1 from detonating the ship as well. They also need to keep the little muncher away from the ship’s anti-matter generator, so the heat is on!

One of the things I’ve been paying close attention to this series is whether the companions are utilised properly. The decision to have three over the usual one is something of a self-imposed challenge. Writing for an ensemble is far more difficult than the usual duo. Even classic Doctor Who struggled to balance three companions at times. I mentioned previously Nyssa’s TARDIS naps. Graham gets a nice little moment where he questions Durkas as to why he’s looking into his sister’s medical records. His friendly, yet direct approach was as though he was channelling the Doctor. He seems to be taking her example to heart. Yaz gets put on guard duty with Ronan, protecting the anti-matter generator. And Ryan and Graham both get a bit of screen time as doulas helping Yoss through labour. I had my second "Awww!" moment when Yoss requested other men be there as support. It was cute, shut up.

While Yaz and Ryan were gathering up the people on the ship for an emergency meeting, they have a little heart to heart in a corridor. I couldn’t help but feel like this bit felt tacked on. The ship is in danger, and they stop to talk about how Ryan’s mum died. It stopped the momentum of the episode cold in its tracks. The only reason I can think they added it in at this point, was because they couldn’t think of a better place to put it. They needed to divulge Ryan’s backstory so they could tie it in with Yoss’ fatherhood. This seemed more of a writing choice than a directing choice. It’s fine, really, but not very graceful.

There were some really good Doctor moments in this episode. I loved her claim that she has a doctorate in Lego. It’s funny because in my classic-Who rewatch, I’m currently on "The Edge of Destruction," and the Doctor’s speech about anti-matter reminded me a bit of the First Doctor’s monologue about the formation of galaxies. I will say though, it fell short of some of the better Doctor monologues we’ve had in the past. Regardless, it was nice to see the Doctor nerd out on science and show her passion a little. My only real issue with the Doctor’s characterisation in this episode stems, once again, from her morality.

Chris Chibnall doesn’t seem to know what his Doctor’s stance on guns actually is. It’s not ok to shoot robots or dying spiders, but it’s way okay to shoot the Pting? Yaz and Ronan are both given staser guns to guard the generator. While I am glad to see such an old reference return (as well as the stethoscope!), I’m once again confused by what Chibnall considers an ok time to shoot something. Funnily enough, this episode is exactly how I think the Doctor’s attitude toward guns should be portrayed. Nothing can really kill the Pting, so it’s really tantamount to a Star Trek officer using a stun setting. But the main idea was that the gun was used as a defence, to protect life and because it was the best option. That should always be the Doctor’s attitude toward guns- are they the best option? The best hope? She’s a Doctor of hope, so of course, she always looks for the best option, but she’s not stupid either. In a lot of ways, that’s what she’s done this series when it comes to guns. But it’s in the dialogue where her aims get muddled. I agree with Chibnall. The Doctor should have a disdain for guns. Guns are the end of hope in most cases. But sometimes River shoots the Silence, Leela shoots some guys in a corridor, and the Brigadier holds off an invasion.

With Astos dead, it’s up to Mabli to take control of the situation, which in her case means considering what’s best for her patients. With Yoss in labour, she needs to help him deliver his baby. Wisely, she allows the Doctor to do what she needs to do to save everyone’s lives. With the Pting eating at the ship's systems, they decide they need to find a quicker way to get to Resus 1. They must fly the ship themselves, which will also alert the security protocols, causing it to detonate, but one thing at a time. The Doctor finds a way to bypass the ship’s auto-pilot and has Durkas, an engineer, build a makeshift neural interface with the piloting system. It’s revealed that due to her years of flying with a neural interface, Eve has developed a condition known as "Pilot’s Heart." Due to this, adrenaline has built up in her system. One big jolt could stop her heart and kill her. The Doctor offers to fly the ship, but Eve insists she’s the best woman for the job, despite the dangers involved.

Around this time Ryan and Graham are learning to rise to the occasion as doulas. Yoss is in full labour panic mode, and needs his guys there to cheer him on! Yaz and Ronan have to grapple with the Pting. After stunning it unconscious, Yaz wraps it in a blanket and bends it like Beckham down the corridor. Go Yaz! The Doctor enters the scene looking for the ship’s detonation device. Clearly, a ship in deep space is too far away for missiles, so the bomb must be onboard. It’s a bit contrived that such a device would exist, but the aforementioned reasons are fine. Whatever. Around this time, the sonic screwdriver boots itself back up, and the pieces all come together for the Doctor. The Pting isn’t eating matter, it’s eating energy.

The Doctor and Yaz locate the bomb and move it to an airlock. She speeds up the detonation so that the building energy attracts the Pting, and just before the device explodes, the Pting swallows it whole, with an adorable look of delight on its little face from the warm glow its tummy. Seriously, as Who monsters go, this thing is freaking cute. The Doctor ejects it from the airlock, and that’s two threats taken care of in one go. Two birds, one stone.

The imminent threat of piloting the ship still looms. While hooked into the interface, Eve was able to control the ship, despite the less than ideal conditions. But without any more adrenaline blockers onboard, her heart gives out on her. She dies a hero, but her work is unfinished. Durkas must now rise to the occasion as a Cicero. It’s more of a poetic solution than logical. Being related to a pilot somehow makes you a better candidate to fly the ship than the Doctor herself. But he does a fine enough job as he flies them to safety.

Yoss has his little boy, Avocado, and Ryan and Graham seem like they’re getting along, but Ryan leaves Graham’s fist bump hanging. And I gotta say, what the hell is Ryan’s deal still? I mean, come on man. He’s stopped asking you to call him granddad, but you could at least give the dude a fist bump. It’s getting to the point where I’m starting to think Ryan is being a bit of a dick toward Graham. Perhaps he’s closed off because the men in his life have abandoned him, but this is getting ridiculous. They’ve been through five onscreen adventures, and several offscreen adventures at this point. They’ve been through a lot, to put it lightly. Travelling with the Doctor should be far more of a bonding experience. While it is better to show than tell, Ryan’s standoffishness to Graham is getting old. Graham seems to take it in stride though. You’ve gotta give him credit for that.

Now on Resus 1, Ronan will probably shut down with nobody left to serve. Durkas apologises for not being kinder to him in the past. It’s weird that the Doctor doesn’t offer to take him to some sort of android planet or something. I kind of expected it. Yoss has decided to keep Avocado. Ryan, who was a big part in this decision, helped him come to grips with the idea of being a father by telling him that a father doesn’t need to be perfect, he just needs to be there. The Doctor and her friends are given assurances that they’ll be taken back to the TARDIS after they give their statements. The episode ends with Ronan reciting a kind of litany that Durkas, Yoss, and surprisingly the Doctor all know by heart. All in all, it’s not a bad way to leave the episode. In comparison to last week, there is far more of a feeling of resolution.

As I said, this episode was pretty solid. But one of the things I’m still holding out to see from this series is Jodie’s big "wow," moment. This is in no way me saying she has failed to wow me as the Doctor. I’ve not hidden my total joy over her performance. What I am waiting for is for the fury to come out. Christopher Eccleston spent a good chunk of his series being either sad, bossy, or silly. But when the episode "Dalek," came around, we got to see another side to his Doctor- his scary side! How about with the Tenth Doctor doomed the Family of Blood to an eternity of torture? Or how about when Eleven stared down his companions with intimidating eyes because he could see they were lying to him? I’m still waiting for Thirteen to get scary. We saw it come out in a microscopic amount when she warned Krasko not to threaten her. But I’m still waiting for that moment.

Thus far she’s been a rather friendly and forgiving Doctor. She’s shown more compassion than contempt. I’m waiting for one of the writers to give us a truly morally ambiguous moment of the Doctor. And no, having conflicting morality about guns doesn’t count! I was hoping that this episode would be the one. We would finally get that truly contemptible villain, and we’d get to see her dark side come out. If they’re going to make the brave decision of excluding Daleks and other classic baddies, we deserve a new one of the same calibre. What this episode gave us instead, was a pretty solid base in peril episode. I won’t fault it for not being the big evil monster I was hoping for, because what we got instead was pretty effective.

Again, we’re only halfway in. There’s plenty of time to up the stakes. We need a good dose of danger. I’d like to see some more planet threatening terror. We need more timeline meddling other than one racist pissing in the wind against change. But despite the lack of fear, this episode had one thing going for it above all else. This episode had a lot of heart. It may not have been a heart-stopping thrill ride, but in there were real moments of joy. Having a threat that was so cute was actually a welcome surprise. It wasn’t trying to be a big bad villain. Here’s to hoping that the second half of series eleven amps up the danger factor!

[burclay]

Time, Space, and Texting: Chapter 2

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

AO3 Chapter 1

RyanS: GUYS I’M SO BORED

RyanS: WERE STUCK IN THIS WEIRD HOSPITAL AND THE DOCTORS NOT AWAKE

yaz01: is now really the time ryan

RyanS: YES

bad-wolf-girl: is the doctor okay?

yaz01: the medics say she’ll be fine. we got hit with some sort of weird space bomb but these people are taking care of us.

Graham O’Brien: Are we really texting right now?

yaz01: that’s what i said.

The Captain: When you say weird space bomb…

Graham O’Brien: I think one of the medics said “sonic mine.”

RyanS: theyre trying to find our medtags now. taking bets on how long it takes them to realize we havent got any

The Captain: A sonic mine? You know how lucky you are to be alive, right?

RyanS: picking up on it yeah

yaz01: hold on a sec, dr’s awake

DoctorJones: In the meantime, I’ve finally convinced Mickey to check his phone.

mickeyrick: hey, it’s been a while. heard there’s a new doctor. or however that works.

RyanS: might want to read up a bit

yaz01: ryan! get off your phone!

RyanS: you’re on your phone!

yaz01: only to get your attention! come on!

bad-wolf-girl: so we’ll just assume they’re busy, then

bad-wolf-girl: anyone meet any cool aliens lately?

cyberbill: heather and i went to a planet that was nothing but ocean. pretty cool.

oswin: you two are made of water or something, right?

oswin: suppose you were right at home there

cyberbill: yeah pretty much.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THIS IS A SPACESHIP

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: WE’RE FOUR DAYS’ TRAVEL FROM THE TARDIS 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: On the other hand, General Eve Cicero is here 😍😍😍 what a legend!

The Captain: Whoa, really?

The Captain: *The* Eve Cicero? Named in the Book of Celebrants?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: The very one!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, got to go, I’m walking.

yaz01: while she’s doing that. cyberbill, did you say you’re made of water?

cyberbill: just bill. and long story, but yeah

RyanS: i give up making sense of you lot

yaz01: sometime i’d like to hear the long story!

cyberbill: well, sounds like you all are going to have time to read, at least. four days away from the tardis and all that.

RyanS: yeah n now the doctor’s gone off who knows where so we dont even have her whole crisis to deal with

cyberbill: i don’t even know where to start. to be honest, i’m not sure i even understand it all. but my crush got taken by this sort of water thing, and then i was a cyberman for a bit, and next thing i knew i was water.

cyberbill: heather says it’s all just atoms. she’s better with all this than i am

cyberbill: someday i’ll add her in here. don’t know if she’d say much.

The Captain: We’re all dying to meet her.

cyberbill: or *you’re* dying to meet her

oswin: oi, i’m already dying. don’t add this into it!

yaz01: you’re dying?

oswin: long story

yaz01: you all keep saying that

oswin: fair enough. basically i’m frozen in the moment right before i died. but i can still move around. so i’ve stolen a tardis and i’m running around in it now

RyanS: im beginning to understand how the doctor picks her friends

RyanS: ur all completely mad

oswin: not sure what that says about you, then

RyanS: oh i’ll accept me being mad too, that’s fine

johnsmith42: nothing wrong with a bit of madness!

bad-wolf-girl: says the man who reconfigured our entire television to not use the color green

johnsmith42: I don’t like green! what’s wrong with that?

bad-wolf-girl: everything shows in shades of red and blue now

bad-wolf-girl: good thing i figured out how to encase my laptop in dalekanium

bad-wolf-girl: for all their faults, Daleks are pretty good at indestructible metal

johnsmith42: for the record, I would NEVER mess with your laptop

yaz01: daleks?

oswin: oh boy

johnsmith42: VERY dangerous aliens. do NOT approach.

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll meet one someday. they tend to pop up around the doctor.

yaz01: why?

bad-wolf-girl: that’s really her story to tell, sorry

yaz01: fair enough, i guess.

RyanS: glad ur computers safe

bad-wolf-girl: yeah me too

mickeyrick: so i finished reading up. sounds like you’re having a bit of a time.

mickeyrick: when the doctor gets back tell her i like her jacket

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m back! 👋

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oh, hello, Mickey! Thanks! 🤗

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyway, there’s something *very bad* going on. 👎😱👾😲

Graham O’Brien: And you’re spending time picking out emojis?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Doesn’t take that long! 😡😡😡

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: ANYWAY. Something’s on board and it’s killed Astos. Ryan, Graham, Yaz, be careful.

RyanS: wed better go find her hadnt we

yaz01: yep

DoctorJones: Be safe!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

mickeyrick: i’m remembering why i never come in this chat

mickeyrick: my life might be dangerous but at least it makes sense

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Anyone know anything about something called a “Pting?”

bad-wolf-girl: you have a pting on your ship?

bad-wolf-girl: we came across one of those a few years back

bad-wolf-girl: didn’t exactly go very well

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sure you’ll be fine though

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s not encouraging!!! 😱

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re looking it up in the ship’s systems 😬

bad-wolf-girl: all you need to know is it eats *everything*

bad-wolf-girl: and its skin is toxic

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: 😱😱😱

The Captain: oh, boy

The Captain: Doctor, I’m going to need you to check in with us frequently until this one’s over

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Will do.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Got to think. What do we do???

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: THE SHIP’S GOT A BOMB IN IT 😱

johnsmith42: what???

The Captain: well, that’s a check-in, I suppose

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: It’s a Tsuranga ship, there’s a self-destruct in case anything happens that makes the ship a danger to the planet on which it lands.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: But we are NOT going to be a danger!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We are going to SOLVE THIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: So the bomb is really unfair!

bad-wolf-girl: too bad life isn’t fair i guess

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Oi!!! You shut up!!!

bad-wolf-girl: 😘

Amy: hey everybody! what’s up!

bad-wolf-girl: doctor’s in danger, the rest of us are laughing at her to hide our worry

Amy: must be Tuesday

bad-wolf-girl: pretty much

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: AMY! Hi Amy!

Amy: hey, doctor!

Amy: oh, never mind. looks like you have bigger things to do than talk in this groupchat

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m procrastinating 😔😓 can’t think of a plan!!! 😬😬😬 Don’t worry, I’ll get there!

yaz01: doctor, we’re on our way back

yaz01: have you been talking to your friends this *whole time*?

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Don’t worry! I almost have a plan!

yaz01: i can’t believe i trust you with my life!

Amy: but you do…

Amy: it’s a trap we all fall into

Amy: side note, but is this version of the Doctor somehow more of a mess than the last two?

johnsmith42: *definitely* more of a mess than me.

bad-wolf-girl: keep telling yourself that 😘

johnsmith42: I will, thanks.

RyanS: ABOUT TO HELP DELIVER A MANS BABY WISH US LUCK

Amy: ???????

The Captain: Good luck!

bad-wolf-girl: good luck!

Amy: what happened to the alien?

cyberbill: something tells me they might be a little too busy to talk right now

oswin: good luck!

oswin: oops i’m too late

yaz01: THERE’S NO INTERNET TUTORIAL FOR STAZING A PTING

oswin: are those real words?

oswin: you’ve got to be careful. i swear the doctor likes to just make up words.

bad-wolf-girl: i second that.

bad-wolf-girl: i still make up words for everything i don’t understand and i blame him...

bad-wolf-girl: marrying his clone can’t have helped.

johnsmith42: oh, you love me

bad-wolf-girl: 😘😘😘

oswin: careful… use that many emojis at once and you’ll get confused for the doctor

bad-wolf-girl: lol

DoctorJones: Hold on… is everyone all right?

oswin: seems like the jury’s out

oswin: i’m fine tho

DoctorJones: Ryan, do you need help? I’m an *actual* doctor on Earth.

yaz01: not sure human medicine is entirely applicable

yaz01: but there’s a medic doing the heavy lifting, don’t worry

yaz01: ryan and graham are being doulas

yaz01: OH SHLJKKDSA

DoctorJones: Yaz?

bad-wolf-girl: everything all right?

oswin: what happened?

Amy: yaz???

yaz01: sorry yeah everything’s fine

yaz01: just drop kicked a pting nothing to see here

yaz01: dropped my phone mid-message

yaz01: sorry about that

DoctorJones: Glad you’re all right.

yaz01: yeah me too

yaz01: but no time to talk drs here

oswin: good luck

oswin: side note i just found a planet with six-headed lizards

cyberbill: what, you mean like the hydra?

oswin: yeah!

oswin: think they came to earth and inspired the ancient greeks?

Amy: doubt it

Amy: anyone can think up a many-headed dragon

oswin: true enough. anyway i’m going to go explore. ttyl

Amy: have fun!

mickeyrick: anyone else *really worried* about this whole alien-spaceship situation?

Amy: they’ll get out of it

DoctorJones: The Doctor does have a knack for getting out of these sorts of things. I’m sure they’ll be fine.

bad-wolf-girl: doesn’t always end well though

Amy: she’s had time to come up with a plan now

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Hi everybody I’m brilliant!

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Pting ate the bomb and now all we have to do is get the ship to Resus One, and then we can go right on back to the TARDIS.

Amy: told you!

bad-wolf-girl: nice!!!

RyanS: this babys so cute i might cry

Graham O’Brien: Not because of the heartwarming conversation you just had or anything.

RyanS: no its just really cute

RyanS: im serious its so little

RyanS: did you know they make people that little

RyanS: its fingers

RyanS: are tiny

yaz01: ryan have you ever seen a baby before

RyanS: leave me alone yaz!!!

DoctorJones: Is the dad doing all right?

RyanS: yeah hes fine

RyanS: hes gonna be such a good dad

RyanS: but thats not why i might cry i swear

RyanS: (grahams looking at me funny :-( )

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Bad news. General Cicero is dead.

Graham O’Brien: Oh, goodness.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: We’re going to be holding a funeral in the engine room. Ryan, Graham, do you think Yoss will want to come?

RyanS: ill ask

RyanS: he says yes

Graham O’Brien: Be there in a moment, Doc.

The Captain: Quite a loss.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I know. 😢

DoctorJones: May she rest in peace.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She lived a good life.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Died saving us.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She had pilot’s heart. Knew she had pilot’s heart. Took over control of the ship anyway.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: All the emojis in my name are seeming really inappropriate right about now. 😢😢😢

bad-wolf-girl: i’m sorry doctor

Amy: I’ll add her to the list.

Amy: General Eve Cicero?

yaz01: the list?

bad-wolf-girl: when people die we add them to a list

bad-wolf-girl: we make a point of remembering them every so often

bad-wolf-girl: roughly once a year in the timeline of whoever’s holding the list

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: General Eve Cicero is right.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Also add Astos.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: He was the medic who died.

Amy: got it

<document: the list>

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Thanks, Amy. 💙

Amy: no problem

yaz01: wait, how often do people die??? this is a *long* list

bad-wolf-girl: this is over the course of maybe a thousand years in the doctor’s timeline

bad-wolf-girl: it’s a dangerous life, yaz

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: I’m sorry. I did warn you.

yaz01: yeah i know

yaz01: took me by surprise i guess

The Captain: General Cicero is 116th century, right?

The Captain: from Keeba?

The Captain: I know those funeral rites

The Captain: they’re beautiful

The Captain: I hope they carry her well

bad-wolf-girl: what’re they like?

The Captain: Keeba’s a solar system full of voyagers

The Captain: there wasn’t any life there until it got developed

The Captain: so their rituals and ceremonies assume every religion is real and has value.

The Captain: it depends on which planet she’s from and where her family’s from

The Captain: but they tend to involve everyone standing in a circle and speaking together.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: That’s exactly right. We had her android consort lead.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: She’s been laid to proper rest now. Among the stars. 🌠

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: And we’re almost to Resus One, which’ll teleport us back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor ☄️👋😂🌌🌈: Not sure my ectospleen’ll ever be the same, though.

RyanS: not sure your ectospleens our biggest concern

yaz01: i think she just fell asleep

johnsmith42: well, she’s clearly had a long day.

Graham O’Brien: I’ll say. I’m about to fall asleep myself.

RyanS: you do that

RyanS: im gonna go see if yoss will let me hold his baby brb

[truthbeetoldmedia]

Doctor Who 11x05 “The Tsuranga Conundrum” Review

I’m not going to beat around the bush here, so I just have to say…this episode was Not Good. I confess that I actually stopped taking notes about half way through and just decided to scroll through Instagram with the episode playing in the background. This week was truly a filler episode, and not a very good one. The premise seemed promising and reminded me of the classic “Midnight,” but the execution definitely fell short.

For those who don’t know, “Midnight” was the tenth episode of the fourth season and featured the Doctor, then played by David Tennant, on a transport across the remote leisure planet called Midnight. During the journey, some sort of creature breaks into the transport and chaos ensues. I’ll leave it at that for those who haven’t seen the episode but will in the future.

A similar situation happens here, when the Doctor and company find themselves on a hospital transport (“Tsuranga” being what we call the Red Cross in the future), having gotten caught in a sonic mine explosion while looking for parts on a junkyard planet. Once awake, the Doctor is obviously worried about the TARDIS being left behind on a planet that attracts scavengers. She soon realizes the worst has happened, and that they aren’t just in a hospital, but in an emergency medical transport. Transport as in ship — flying far away from where she wants to be. The Doctor being the Doctor, of course, tries to reverse course and send them back towards the TARDIS. Just one problem — if any change is made to the navigation or the systems of the ship, it will automatically be treated as a hostile threat and trigger a reaction that would only prevent the Doctor from reaching the TARDIS.

Soon after our heroes wake up, the monster of the week crashes into the ship, destroying everything in sight. The creature is called a “P-Ting,” an alien that is extremely violent, powerful, and ready to eat the whole ship. This would be terrifying if the creature didn’t look like some kind of insect/minion hybrid, but it’s not the alien that’s the focus of the episode — it’s the other characters aboard.

This is the strongest point of the episode (the ONLY strong point, to be honest). There isn’t a weak link in the bunch, in fact. After the death of head medic Astos (Brett Goldstein), the only other medic onboard is Mabli (Lois Chimimba). She is new at the job and unsure of herself, but she rises to the occasion all the same. General Eve Cicero (Suzanne Packer), another passenger and a war hero to boot, is suffering from a disease called “pilot’s heart” that she’s desperately trying to keep under wraps, especially from her brother who is also on board. We also meet the heavily pregnant Yoss Inkle (Jack Shalloo), a man about to give birth (yes) and struggling with accepting fatherhood or giving the child away.

Each story is touching, and while the Doctor and company are desperately trying to wrangle the destructive P’Ting, we see each of these play out as the most effective part of the episode. Part of me wonders if Chibnall made the P’Ting look so ridiculous on purpose as a way to get us to attach ourselves more to the stories of those onboard.

Even though the individual stories assigned to each passenger were touching, it wasn’t enough to carry the episode. Because of this, the highlight of the episode to me was the scenes with Graham and Ryan. Some truly knockout humor was shown when Ryan and Graham had to help Yoss deliver his baby (Graham quips that it’s a good thing he’s seen every episode of Call the Midwife). We also get a great emotional scene between the two when Yoss’ discussion about fatherhood reminds Ryan of his own father, causing him to open up to Graham about his father’s absence and his mother’s early death. Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole really knocked it out of the park with this one.

To be honest, there wasn’t much else I enjoyed from the episode. I didn’t necessarily hate anything either. Maybe if the P’Ting was better executed as a terrifying alien about to crash the ship I would have been more invested, but instead that whole plot seemed like an afterthought. This is one episode that you could skip without noticing that you missed one, and in a season with only ten episodes I would hope for more.

Alyssa's episode rating: 🐝🐝