S11.E05: The Tsuranga Conundrum

[tennisgurl]

I found the alien to be weirdly cute. He was like one of Stitches cousins from Lilo and Stitch. And I was happy to have and episode in space, with an alien creature to fight. I like the episodes on Earth, and I dont mind having human villains (or human like) but I usually prefer the episodes set in space, or on some alien planet. They tend to be more fun for me. 

Not an amazing episode, but I definitely found it to be a step up from last week. My biggest complaint was that so much was going on, that everyone got kind of jumbled, and all of the many storylines and characters were kind of finished quickly without a lot of development. I found it enjoyable, if a bit unmemorable. 

The pregnancy thing was actually pretty interesting to me. I like the idea of aliens that have very different biology to humans, and the way it played a bit with genders roles, with the woman going off to have an adventure while the guys deal with the baby stuff. And, as impossible as a man getting pregnant in a human is...these are aliens. They might look human, but have totally different biological functions. And, I mean, The Doctor has two harts, I can handle a species where men and woman can get pregnant. 

[Mabinogia]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

I found it enjoyable, if a bit unmemorable. 

Perfect description. I enjoyed it while watching but I'm not going to race to rewatch it and it won't make my all time favorites list. But I did like it. 

I do agree it felt like too much going on. I liked the pregnancy bit and it gave us some more insight into Ryan's character, so that was good, but it felt a bit too much on top of the dying pilot, the energy eating gremlin, the sibling thing and the Doctor recuperating. I would have kept the pregnancy though and gotten rid of the sibling storyline. 

Still enjoying this season.. Moffatt's era was exhausting to me. Everything was so extra all the time.  

[Chaos Theory]

Ok first off this isn’t the first science fiction show that had a male give birth.  If you can find it you should give Alien Nation try.  The species called Tenctonese or New Comers have an interesting way of giving birth that requires three participants.  So I wouldn’t judge a no. Human species on how they give birth or expect an explicit explanation especially for a single episode and a no. Recurring character/species.

Thst being said.  It wasn’t the storyline I had a problem with.  There were parts I found rather cute.  Graham and Ryan feeling the baby kick and Graham saying he could help with child birth because he had watched “Call The Midwife” but then admitted he never watched the icky bits.  But what I really liked was that so far we haven had the “oh wow weird alien  icky moment” from the group.  When Graham and Ryan were told to help a dude deliver a baby they shrugged and went and helped a dude deliver a baby. 

Edited November 6, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[Llywela]

6 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

When the doctor said "This is like the iPhone version of CERN" I thought she was saying this is like taking CERN's Large Hadron Collider and shrinking it down to the size of an iPhone while still having the same power.

That was my reading of it, too - the Doctor was drawing an analogy that would help Yaz understand how something that starts very big can over time be shrunk down into something very small.

5 hours ago, Terrafamilia said:

And I didn't get just why the pregnant dude needed to be conveyed across interstellar space for adequate obstetrical care.

I could be wrong, because I'm not sure the point was really made on-screen, but the guy (I'm sure he had a name) said he'd had a fling on holiday and got pregnant as a result, and the pregnancy only lasts a week, so I'm guessing he found himself in a distant (and perhaps leisure oriented) part of space that perhaps doesn't specialise in the medical or obstetric needs of his particular species? So needed transport to a more specialised facility, if he couldn't reach his own planet in time? I dunno. I'm not sure that particular sub-plot was really worth all the debate it's getting!

[Dobian]

The monster was too cartoony for me, it was like out of Gremlins.  These are the kind of episodes I love, the Doctor on some ship in the middle of space, but this just didn't grab me.  So far this season I really like the new Doctor but the only episode I really liked so far was the second one.  I think part of the problem is that there is no compelling companion.  Ryan and Yaz just don't have a lot of charisma.  Graham is good, but he's kind of like Donna's dad but in an expanded role.  For better or worse, I miss having someone like Rose, Amy, Donna, or Clara in there.  They could carry whole episodes by themselves.

[LadyArcadia]

I had to pause because I was laughing so hard when the Doctor said, "SNAP!" at her and the pilot saying the same thing at the same time.  Even though the overall writing desperately needs improvement, it's these little blink and you miss it moments that crack me up.

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Ok first off this isn’t the first science fiction show that had a male give birth.  If you can find it you should give Alien Nation try.  The species called Tenctonese or New Comers have an interesting way of giving birth that requires three participants.  So I wouldn’t judge a no. Human species on how they give birth or expect an explicit explanation especially for a single episode and a no. Recurring character/species.

Thst being said.  It wasn’t the storyline I had a problem with.  There were parts I found rather cute.  Graham and Ryan feeling the baby kick and Graham saying he could help with child birth because he had watched “Call The Midwife” but then admitted he never watched the icky bits.  But I what I really liked was that so far we haven had the “oh wow weird alien doll icky moment” from the group.  When Graham and Ryan were told to help a dude deliver a baby they shrugged and went and helped a dude deliver a baby. 

One of my favorite shows. I still remember when Sam gave birth. It was beautiful.

[festivus]

I didn't hate it, but that was a bunch of gobbledygook. The pting was adorable and I'm finding that I enjoy Graham very much. 

 

22 hours ago, 100Proof said:

Besides that, why would a species evolve to look like a male, an apparently without the proper genitalia to deliver a baby as well, to then need to be physically cut open... iow, perform surgery... in order to birth a child. Makes ZERO sense! lol

This was what bothered me. I spent the whole episode wondering how he was gonna birth that baby. What if you're a pregnant male and you don't make it to the hospital? Do you cut out the baby yourself? Didn't care for this part of the story. 

[Dobian]

37 minutes ago, festivus said:

This was what bothered me. I spent the whole episode wondering how he was gonna birth that baby. What if you're a pregnant male and you don't make it to the hospital? Do you cut out the baby yourself? Didn't care for this part of the story. 

It's gender identity politics, which is seeping into a lot of shows these days.  Basically that there is no such thing as male or female, it's all in your head.  I wish this trend would go away, it leads to story narratives like this one that are totally illogical.  They could have simply said that he's a hermaphrodite and has both sex organs.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Dobian said:

It's gender identity politics, which is seeping into a lot of shows these days.  Basically that there is no such thing as male or female, it's all in your head.  I wish this trend would go away, it leads to story narratives like this one that are totally illogical.  They could have simply said that he's a hermaphrodite and has both sex organs.

Wasn't Alpha Centuri (or isn't) a hermaphrodite? 

1 hour ago, festivus said:

I didn't hate it, but that was a bunch of gobbledygook. The pting was adorable and I'm finding that I enjoy Graham very much. 

 

This was what bothered me. I spent the whole episode wondering how he was gonna birth that baby. What if you're a pregnant male and you don't make it to the hospital? Do you cut out the baby yourself? Didn't care for this part of the story. 

For me he is the big bright spot so far. 

[John Potts]

13 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Wasn't Alpha Centuri (or isn't) a hermaphrodite?

Wow, that's a deep pull from Doctor Who lore (and yes, I believe he/she was)!

ETA: Yep, Alpha Centauri was "a genderless hermaphrodite hexapod" according to the Doctor.

Edited November 6, 2018 by John Potts

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, John Potts said:

Wow, that's a deep pull from Doctor Who lore (and yes, I believe he/she was)!

ETA: Yep, Alpha Centauri was "a genderless hermaphrodite hexapod" according to the Doctor.

 

I love Alpha Centuri! She/He is one of my favorite aliens. Liked the recent cameo too .... I honestly think I might have cried. 

I watched Doctor Who religiously growing up! 

Edited November 6, 2018 by libgirl2

[AudienceofOne]

4 hours ago, Dobian said:

It's gender identity politics, which is seeping into a lot of shows these days.  Basically that there is no such thing as male or female, it's all in your head.  I wish this trend would go away, it leads to story narratives like this one that are totally illogical.  They could have simply said that he's a hermaphrodite and has both sex organs.

Jesus this is hardly gender identity politics. Firstly, sex and gender are two different things and we're talking about a pregnancy, which is a sex-specific thing - i.e. has nothing to do with gender. And as somebody already said, this 'men giving birth' trope is not new in fiction by about 1000 years - let alone in modern television in which it's so old to be creaking. So let's all have our issues with the plotline - I do - but it has zero to do with gender and I'm really tired of people tilting at windmills over transgenderism. 

In fact, when I read comments like this it makes me embrace the dumb plotline. Sex isn't as binary as we like to think it is anyway and if that's the hugely-confronting message people are reading into this then, hey, maybe I'm all for it. Bring on male menopause too! 

[Tyro49]

I laughed because we really had just watched an episode of Call the Midwife!

[100Proof]

5 hours ago, Dobian said:

It's gender identity politics, which is seeping into a lot of shows these days.  Basically that there is no such thing as male or female, it's all in your head.  I wish this trend would go away, it leads to story narratives like this one that are totally illogical.  They could have simply said that he's a hermaphrodite and has both sex organs.

I don't mind so much these, ah, plot insertions. Just have them make some sort of logical sense is all. Look, I'm an older white geezer, but, one could argue that pretty much most of (tv and film) history so far has been the promoting of white male gender politics and power actually, lol. Except one'd never call it that because one's been immersed in it their entire life so far. Now things are coming about that upsets that apple-cart. The only reason for labels such as 'gender politics', is simply an act of derision.

Edited November 6, 2018 by 100Proof

[Kaiju Ballet]

There were some really great setups throughout this episode, where I was silently praying, “please please stick the landing!” For the most part it did, although I wish there was a way to do it without the Dylan McDermott-looking Bad Liar with Good Instincts medic dramatically explode. In the brief moments he worked with the Doctor, he displayed more Companion chemistry than the trio we're given.

The episode also seemed to change tones throughout, before finally settling into a (for me) satisfying conclusion. The beginning, when it looks like they’re trapped somewhere and the Doctor is showing the effects of having her innards compromised resembled some of the episodes here the Doctor or Amy has to run through white space looking for a way out.

Then the subplots with the General and some weird references to the Pting being “Chalice level”  or somesuch made it sound like they were trapped inside a RPG video game. The Doctor (and everyone else)’s innards being scrambled seems to magically resolve itself despite their leaving treatment against advisement. Finally it’s sorted out who the threat really is, plus the threat of being remotely exploded and the episode comes together.  

I didn’t mind the male pregnancy plot, although there were times when the cast and crew must have struggled to keep from laughing out loud. The actor seemed to have a blast! It was definitely there to give Ryan character growth. Even though it is heavy handed, I appreciate the arc they’re building for Ryan’s relationship with his dad and with Graham.

Here’s another vote for Graham emerging as a surprise gem. Ryan is mainly interesting to me because of Graham. I have hopes for Yaz to similarly get her character growth, her family is way more interesting than they’ve allowed her to be so far, but I did like the fact that she was off dealing with the action scenes, while Graham and Ryan were the doulas.

I loved the sibling stuff, and the character of the General as a legendary badass. It was telegraphed that she would die doing her Pacific Rim thing, but the way it was done and why was cool nevertheless. They could have done more with the android sex slave character — wouldn’t he be even more fearful of the Pting? I thought for sure he was going to be a casualty of a creature that ate inorganic matter. Having been a sucker for Adipose merchandising (sigh), I look forward to seeing what they come up with for the Pting.

I’m really enjoying this Doctor, and while this episode wasn’t a keeper, it certainly helped erase some of the sour taste of last week’s episode.

[sharifa70]

I’ve enjoyed this season but this episode did absolutely nothing for me. Between the Twilight Zone episode feel of the Pting and the childbirth storyline (regardless of gender/species, I hate that particular plot device), I fast-forwarded pretty much everything after Astos’s death. 

[HouseofBeck]

On 11/4/2018 at 5:03 PM, Lokiberry said:

I'm sorry they killed off Astos so quickly, but I guess it was necessary to give Mabli a chance to shine. I wish there had been more time to get to know the General, her brother, and the android. 

I really liked Astos and so feared he'd be killed off. Alas. His "I made a rookie mistake" acknowledgement was genius writing and delivered so well.

On 11/5/2018 at 5:59 AM, libgirl2 said:

For the first time in 40 years of watching the show, I had the same issue!

Me too since I watched that show religiously.

All in all I liked it. Parts of it looked like Ark in Space. Finally Yaz with the weapon!

Mr. HouseofBeck said the same thing about Ark in Space!

I found the Pting to be just not on at all. Adipose Gremlin. As a kid, I would have felt as patronized as I did when the Ewoks were served up to me as Look, Kid, You Are Being Told They Are Cute!

So I decided to ignore the Pting and concentrate on the rest of the characters. Despite all my earlier qualms about this season, I am totally sold on Jodie. She may not be "my" Doctor and this may not even be my Doctor Who anymore, but whatever this is (to me), I am so enjoying it. The way she keeps THINKING no matter if she's in pain or confused or just witnessed yet another death in a long, long life that has seen too many deaths. The way she runs like she's running toward the next experience. The way she's piecing together who she is even as she acknowledges that she doesn't know all of who she is. It's all rather marvelous.

I'm worried that the large ensemble cast is once again proving too much for the writers. Yas was largely relegated to Audience Expository role ("Oh, like the Red Cross!" "Oh, like CERN!") but next week's ep looks to focus on her. 

Loved the male pregnancy plotline with Graham and Ryan. "I'm never getting pregnant" said so profoundly was the best line for me.

[Mabinogia]

7 minutes ago, HouseofBeck said:

The way she keeps THINKING no matter if she's in pain or confused or just witnessed yet another death in a long, long life that has seen too many deaths. The way she runs like she's running toward the next experience. The way she's piecing together who she is even as she acknowledges that she doesn't know all of who she is. It's all rather marvelous.

So true. My only previous experience with Jodie was Broadchurch (TOTALLY different character) so I was prepared for another emo Doc but she is just so fun as the Doctor and that is exactly how I like my Doctor. Running towards the next adventure. Working this out as she goes along. 

I'm fine with the plots being a little thing and, well, not great, because I am just enjoying spending time with this Doctor and quite frankly, if the episode was just her at a dinner party telling me stuff I'd be all in on that too. 

I'm enjoying the companions. I love Graham the most, because Bradly Walsh (hubba hubba), then Yaz because I like her can do spirit. Ryan I don't feel I know as well as the other two but I like what he brings out in Graham and would miss him if he were gone. 

[ganesh]

8 hours ago, AudienceofOne said:

Jesus this is hardly gender identity politics. Firstly, sex and gender are two different things and we're talking about a pregnancy, which is a sex-specific thing - i.e. has nothing to do with gender. And as somebody already said, this 'men giving birth' trope is not new in fiction by about 1000 years - let alone in modern television in which it's so old to be creaking.

They did it on Sliders in the 90s, and I'd hardly call that a political show. 

 

5 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

My only previous experience with Jodie was Broadchurch (TOTALLY different character) so I was prepared for another emo Doc but she is just so fun as the Doctor and that is exactly how I like my Doctor. Running towards the next adventure.

Me too. I was like, "her?" #ArrestedDevelopment. I was hoping she would do well, and I think she's been just as good as anyone else in the role. 

I'd really like to see something coming up a smidge more dramatic/scary just to let her stretch those acting chops. 

Then again, with 'fate of the universe' chasing the Doctor since Ten, I can see why she'd just want to have some proper adventures. 

[ganesh]

On 11/4/2018 at 8:49 PM, AudienceofOne said:

I thought it was rating well? Not that I monitor ratings or behind-the-scenes or anything but I heard a mad Who fan say the ratings were going gangbusters. 

I believe it's higher than last season, but they are on par with the series overall. 

I like how the fist bump is a running gag now too. 

Is this the first time in the new season that other people have heard of the Doctor? I always liked all the asides that the show throws in. Graham was talking about some exotic trip they just went on, and there's a huge book where the Doctor takes up a volume of. 

[murdock]

Watching this episode I realized Ryan is kind of ruining the show for me. He's so flat and constantly looks like he's not quite sure how he stumbled onto a TV set. I feel bad, because the actor has been great in all the behind the scenes stuff, but I feel like I can't tell if the episodes are good or not any more because I'm so distracted by how rubbish he is. It's a shame, because Yaz, Graham and the Doctor are brilliant. Particularly Yaz, I love the relationship they're building between her the the Doctor.

[Galileo908]

On 11/4/2018 at 10:22 PM, Lantern7 said:

Right. The other blonde Doctor, and one with three companions. And now I'm wondering which of them will die in a crashing spaceship, mutter a line just as sad as "Now I'll never know if I was right."

If it happens, I'm betting on Graham.

I'll agree that I wish we saw more with the general, her brother, and the android. I don't think the android even did anything. He was the only one who could've held the Pting (I really liked this monster, btw), and his thunder was stolen by Yaz. Otherwise I liked this one, I always enjoy the classic base under siege stories.

[Triskan]

As many other, I did overall enjoy the episode, but it's clearly not gonna be a very memorable one.

I just wanted to point out one point I liked : that whole neuropiloting and the disease that comes with it. I found that to be a very interesting concept and storyline. Not revolutionary but it's a theme I'd be interested in seing more ! 

[truther]

1 hour ago, Triskan said:

I just wanted to point out one point I liked : that whole neuropiloting and the disease that comes with it. I found that to be a very interesting concept and storyline. Not revolutionary but it's a theme I'd be interested in seing more ! 

 

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

If it happens, I'm betting on Graham.

I'll agree that I wish we saw more with the general, her brother, and the android. I don't think the android even did anything. He was the only one who could've held the Pting (I really liked this monster, btw), and his thunder was stolen by Yaz. Otherwise I liked this one, I always enjoy the classic base under siege stories.

 

9 hours ago, ganesh said:

I believe it's higher than last season, but they are on par with the series overall. 

I like how the fist bump is a running gag now too. 

Is this the first time in the new season that other people have heard of the Doctor? I always liked all the asides that the show throws in. Graham was talking about some exotic trip they just went on, and there's a huge book where the Doctor takes up a volume of. 

 

On 11/6/2018 at 5:59 PM, Mabinogia said:

So true. My only previous experience with Jodie was Broadchurch (TOTALLY different character) so I was prepared for another emo Doc but she is just so fun as the Doctor and that is exactly how I like my Doctor. Running towards the next adventure. Working this out as she goes along. 

I'm fine with the plots being a little thing and, well, not great, because I am just enjoying spending time with this Doctor and quite frankly, if the episode was just her at a dinner party telling me stuff I'd be all in on that too. 

I'm enjoying the companions. I love Graham the most, because Bradly Walsh (hubba hubba), then Yaz because I like her can do spirit. Ryan I don't feel I know as well as the other two but I like what he brings out in Graham and would miss him if he were gone. 

See the theme here?  I too am really enjoying this season's return to a *fun* show where people are having *fun* and the emphasis is on being entertained.  One of the great things about this ep was how it was full of little snippets of interesting ideas -- the general, the "pilot's heart" disease, the cloned servant, etc. -- that simply provided background.  Your imagination can fill in the rest, the show's got other places to go.  Jodie's Doctor is great, just an enjoyable character to watch.  I was always rooting for Capaldi but the show let him down, shackling him to these angsty melodramas, and Jodie's performances so far, and the episodes she's been given, totally illustrate that.  

[ganesh]

That's what I'm hoping will be different here - no tragic end for the Companions. Traveling with Thirteen is fantastic. Thank you Doctor, we love you, but we need to live our lives now. 

[benteen]

There was some good stuff and some not so good stuff.  Like the last episode, this episode was LOADED with explosion, which still managed to be confusing is regards to the plot.  The heavy accents made it difficult too to figure out what was going on.  I get wanting to go with all new monsters this season and I liked the Pting but Chibnall is not delivering when it comes to villains so far this year.

I liked the General and her brother (and her bodyguard too).  I wish we could have seen more of them separated from this plot.  I liked that this episode reminded me of the RTD years.

Continued to like the new Doctor and the companions.  I like a crowded Tardis.

Edited November 8, 2018 by benteen

[phalange]

I love that Thirteen is a Hamilton fangirl. Most relatable Doctor ever. And I'm jealous that she's seen all 900 casts when I haven't even seen one. ;)

The Pting is adorable despite how destructive it is. It just looked so cute there at the end, floating around, happy and full from the all the energy.

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, phalange said:

I love that Thirteen is a Hamilton fangirl. Most relatable Doctor ever. And I'm jealous that she's seen all 900 casts when I haven't even seen one. ;)

 

I wanna watch the version of Hamilton where Lin-Manuel Miranda is a robot! 

I like that this season is generally low key, at least compared to previous seasons. For such a long time, Who seemed to be constantly saving the world, or liberating entire galaxies, or dealing with the wiping of whole species, every single episode. And so many of the characters, especially the companions, had to be Big Epic Heroes who had special destinies and there was just enormous stakes constantly, that it all got exhausting, and, ironically, it made the stakes somehow lower, when all we had was mega drama. I like that these season has normal people as companions, and most of the episode, while certainly life or death, are mostly about saving just a few people, or dealing with some small thing that has much bigger implications. Its a fresh change that makes the season so much more down to Earth (so to speak) and its easier to get invested. 

[DanaK]

There were suggested bits in the episode that indicated some dark times for the century they were in (67th?). Has this century been explored before in the show?

The guy playing Astos was great and I wish he hadn't been offed so quickly. The show has had some pretty good guest stars this season.

[DanaK]

I thought it was interesting that this episode showed that the Doctor can be rather pushy and rude (and not just in this episode) at times, but comes around to be more gentle (but still in charge). Astos really had to talk her down from her self-centered behavior when she wanted to turn the ship around to get back to the Tardis. Just goes to show that a powerful being who likes helping others can sometimes forget how to behave properly

[ganesh]

The Doctor is also usually going 100 miles and hour, but on top of that, she was freaking out about losing the TARDIS *again*. 

[rab01]

43 minutes ago, DanaK said:

I thought it was interesting that this episode showed that the Doctor can be rather pushy and rude (and not just in this episode) at times, but comes around to be more gentle (but still in charge). Astos really had to talk her down from her self-centered behavior when she wanted to turn the ship around to get back to the Tardis. Just goes to show that a powerful being who likes helping others can sometimes forget how to behave properly

I loved that moment especially because I can't remember any other newWho episode doing it.

As for Astos' death, I admit not being surprised or disappointed by it.  The best people the Doctor meets usually bite it early.  

[DanaK]

I love how brave the Doctor is. She approached the PTing to examine it with her sonic, not knowing what it was but realizing it was dangerous, only to have it eat the device (but luckily, spit it back out) when it could have also taken her hand. The humor in that scene was priceless (especially the Doctor's reaction after the PTing ate the sonic), as was the scene at the end trying to get the PTing to eat the bomb, with the Doctor sure about her solution, but not quite that sure

I also love that she's constantly standing up to the danger whatever it is, telling others to get behind her to protect them. And that the writers don't write her as weaker now that she's a woman

[DanaK]

British phrase question: The Doctor said this episode (and at least once more in a previous episode) "Get a shift on" (to the PTing). Does that essentially mean to hurry up or get a move on?

Edited November 9, 2018 by DanaK

[DanaK]

A question on the Doctor's powers. I have read that the Doctor has occasionally communicated with some animals via telepathy in previous seasons. In this episode she shouted at the PTing to leave and in previous episodes she would talk to an animal in a gentle way to sooth it (I'm thinking the spiders in the spider episode for sure). Does this suggest she's actually communicating with the animals/creatures or just being gentle and empathetic with them like most humans do?

[Llywela]

28 minutes ago, DanaK said:

British phrase question: The Doctor said this episode (and at least once more in a previous episode) "Get a shift on" (to the PTing). Does that essentially mean to hurry up or get a move on?

Yes, that is pretty much what it means.

[QuantumMechanic]

Ugh. Vanilla straight line plot. And. So. Much. Talking.

Still liking Thirteen. And Graham is such a find.

But overall a “is anything going to happen?”    non-entity of an episode.

Well, it was written by Chibnall so I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t worse.

[elle]

On 11/5/2018 at 10:34 AM, Chaos Theory said:

The TARDIS is a time machine that gets them to places and mostly into trouble and most often then not abandons them there so there is no easy way out of.     They have never spent an entire episode on the TARDIS.  

In the NuWho era, there is the 11/Clara episode "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS".  While not completely on the Tardis, bookended with scenes on the other ship, it comes close.

There are also what are called supplemental episodes set on the Tardis.

"Space" and "Time" are two mini-episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were broadcast on 18 March 2011 as part of BBC One's Red Nose Day telethon for the charity Comic Relief.

Night and the Doctor is a series of five made-for-DVD mini-episodes of Doctor Who which were written by Steven Moffat. They were released as bonus features in the Complete Sixth Series DVD and Blu-ray box sets in November 2011. (the last of these episodes takes place outside of the Tardis)

On 11/5/2018 at 7:16 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Thst being said.  It wasn’t the storyline I had a problem with.  There were parts I found rather cute.  Graham and Ryan feeling the baby kick and Graham saying he could help with child birth because he had watched “Call The Midwife” but then admitted he never watched the icky bits. 

Hee, that is how I watch "Call the Midwife" and I bet we are not the only ones too.

[Llywela]

On 11/5/2018 at 5:34 PM, Chaos Theory said:

The TARDIS is a time machine that gets them to places and mostly into trouble and most often then not abandons them there so there is no easy way out of.     They have never spent an entire episode on the TARDIS.  

 

5 hours ago, elle said:

In the NuWho era, there is the 11/Clara episode "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS".  While not completely on the Tardis, bookended with scenes on the other ship, it comes close.

There are also what are called supplemental episodes set on the Tardis.

Plus, the first Doctor and his companions once spent an entire two-episode adventure trapped aboard a malfunctioning TARDIS, very early on in their time together - an absolutely classic Bottle Show that one, and a very important step forward for a team that was still getting to know one another, learning to trust.

In general, though, it is true that the TARDIS is mostly a device to enable the anthology-style storytelling of the show, moving the cast to a new location every week.

[John Potts]

12 hours ago, DanaK said:

Does this suggest she's actually communicating with the animals/creatures or just being gentle and empathetic with them like most humans do?

The Doctor has been shown to have limited telepathic powers in the past. But like many things in Who, whether he has them or how strong they are is wildly inconsistent!

[AudienceofOne]

12 minutes ago, John Potts said:

The Doctor has been shown to have limited telepathic powers in the past. But like many things in Who, whether he has them or how strong they are is wildly inconsistent!

Don't get me started. This is one area where Moffatt really pissed me off.

The Timelords are telepathic but mainly within their own species i.e. they can communicate telepathically with each other and can always recognise another Timelord even after a regeneration. They can sometimes communicate telepathically with other telepathic species and form telepathic bonds through the use of technology. Part of the Timelords' piloting of the TARDIS is telepathic.

Unless of course you have a showrunner who throws whatever rules he wants out the window to make his incoherent plotlines work (and then they don't work anyway so why throw out the baby with the damn bathwater in the first place).

Nothing means anything in Doctor Who. This entire post was meaningless. Why did I even type it? 

PS I think Chibnall seems to have a better grasp on who the Doctor is and has been historically. While this season is generic, it's generic in all the right ways. I feel he gets the Doctor far more than Moffatt did - especially since Moffatt saw the Doctor mostly as a prism for his own penis issues. As one of Doctor Who's Unicorn non-penis fans, this was annoying in about 7,000 ways. Especially since us non-penis fans aren't Unicorns at all.

[ganesh]

The Doctor also speaks baby! 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

The Doctor also speaks baby! 

Stormageddon! To this day, when I see James Corden I think Stormageddon's dad!

[WatchrTina]

On November 5, 2018 at 8:16 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Ok first off this isn’t the first science fiction show that had a male give birth.  If you can find it you should give Alien Nation try.

And before that there was the 1985 movie Enemy Mine wherein Dennis Quaid is marooned on a planet with an alien played by Lou Gosset Jr.  They start off as enemies (hence the title) but come together to help one another survive when Lou's character realizes he's with child.

This episode was fine.  Nothing special -- nothing I want to see again.  I thought it was interesting that The Doctor was being so mistrustful and suspicious of the two medical aides when, in the end, they were both "good" guys who were just trying to do what was best for their patients.  She blamed it on her being disoriented and in pain following that whatchamacallit bomb on the junkyard planet but I thought it was interesting that The Doctor was the only one who suffered any ill effects.  She was in pain for most of the first 15 minutes of the show and then it just . . . stopped.  I think that was bad writing.  Either that or that unexplained pain is going to surface in a later episode -- some residual injury that is going to come into play in a later plot.

I thought the critter was too cute to be very threatening.  I felt like this episode was written for the younger crowd -- a throw-back to the time when the show was aimed primarily at children. But all things considered it was an okay ep.  Just a bit . . . crowded.

One thing to take note of . . . there wasn't a "bad" guy in the episode.  The critter was just doing what came naturally and everybody else was doing their best to care for the people around them.

Edited November 10, 2018 by WatchrTina

[ganesh]

Aside from the Doctor, all the rest of the patients were humans, so the medical techs wouldn't be able to treat her because they thought she was human too. 

[rab01]

30 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

She was in pain for most of the first 15 minutes of the show and then it just . . . stopped.  

I only watched this episode once so I may be wrong but I thought there were a couple of call-backs to the pain in the second-half, like she was recovering throughout but not yet fully healed.   

[clack]

Just once I'd like to see a TV episode wherein a character lacking confidence is told "I believe in you. You can do this!" -- but still that character fails.

One of the themes of this episode was confidence. The brother proves himself to his sister. The clone proves himself to the brother. The medic proves herself to herself. The pregnant alien is given the confidence that "he" is capable of being a good parent. It was all too neat.

It was if Chibnall was exhorting himself. "You can do this! You can run Doctor Who!"

[Kromm]

On 11/4/2018 at 4:07 PM, 100Proof said:

Wish they'd be more cognizant of keeping clear sounding dialog, especially since Who has a big american audience. Could barely understand a flippin' word. Gonna have to heavily rely on subs for this one

 

On 11/4/2018 at 9:18 PM, cardigirl said:

Couldn’t understand a lot of what was said. Why wouldn’t Ryan fist-bump Graham? 

No issues here, although it may help that I also watch a lot of UK panel shows and other programming, so I have exposure to more than just Who to gain knowledge of how to decipher regional UK accents and idioms.

6 hours ago, ganesh said:

Aside from the Doctor, all the rest of the patients were humans, so the medical techs wouldn't be able to treat her because they thought she was human too. 

I'd have to think that even if they didn't know what a Time Lord was, they'd have plenty of indications she wasn't the same species as the others, despite externally looking similar, based on fairly simple things, like two heartbeats, different organ locations, really odd brain activity, and other odd readings.

[Llywela]

8 hours ago, ganesh said:

Aside from the Doctor, all the rest of the patients were humans, so the medical techs wouldn't be able to treat her because they thought she was human too. 

The pregnant dude was very much not human. I wondered, same as OP, why the Doctor seemed to be the only one still affected by the sonic mine when they were all stood right on top of it. Then again, I also wondered why they all just stood there and let the thing explode at them instead of at least trying to run for cover!

I can buy that the space ambulance is better at other species than Time Lord - but it might have been better, perhaps, if the Doctor was going to be the only one with ongoing issues from her injuries, to explain why this was the case, because without that it looks like a plot hole.