10 Most Hated Doctor Who Episodes

To its credit, The Tsuranga Conundrum tries to do something interesting with its villain of the week, by making the Pting a tiny adorable alien who wants to eat the ship not because he’s evil, but because he’s hungry. A strong concept... executed very badly.

The supporting cast in this episode is perhaps the weakest of the series, and neither of the B-plots are remotely entertaining. Firstly, we have the under-developed side plot involving a pilot with a heart condition, and secondly, we have Ryan and Graham performing midwife duty for a pregnant man. At this point, Ryan projects his insecurities regarding his own father walking out on him, and pressures a man who clearly isn’t ready to be a father into keeping a baby he planned to put up for adoption. Ryan is played as the hero for this... for some reason.

Another reason this episode is hated is because it spends the first half of its runtime pointlessly treading water. The Doctor wakes up in a hospital bed after being injured by a sonic mine, and attempts to take control of a situation that is, at that point, under control. This results in an awkward and embarrassing climb-down for the Doctor that makes her look incompetent, and serves no purpose whatsoever.

This never feeds into any story arc - it just damages Thirteen, and takes authority away from the character.