Doctor Who: All Chris Chibnall Episodes Ranked From Worst To Best
Showrunner incumbent is put under the ranking microscope.
'Much-maligned' is a term that could definitely be used to describe Chris Chibnall's involvement with Doctor Who. Having written several passable episodes of Who over a five year time frame, 'Chibs' became the showrunner in 2018. It would be an understatement to say that he has received a very mixed reception, with the accusation of lazy scriptwriting, and an all too apparent political agenda being frequent criticisms.
The one thing that is interesting to note with Chibnall is how consistent he is as a writer, with few exceptionable episodes, but few out and out stinkers. The difference between his best and worst episodes are nowhere near that of Stephen Moffat or Russell T Davies, the two previous show runners of the series.
The Chibnall episodes all have similar traits, some good, some not so good. On the plus side, most episodes have strong introductions and a unique villain, while on the negative side, the endings are usually quite rushed, and the over reliance on the Sonic Screwdriver to solve all problems is really frustrating.
So get ready to sit back into the world of solid but not great, as we rank all the episodes penned (or co-penned) by showrunner incumbent, Chris Chibnall.
16. The Tsuranga Conundrum
There will be little argument that this episode deserves its place at the bottom of the list, but that's not to say the episode is completely hopeless. The first ten minutes is exciting stuff, with the Doctor and the 'fam' aboard a spacecraft that is gradually falling apart. with creepy noises afoot that may or may not be from an alien.
Unfortunately the episode goes downhill from here, thanks to some very poor choices. The decision to show us the alien creature that is putting everyone's life in danger proves the worst of the lot, especially as completely removes even the thought of this creature being grotesque and terrifying in appearance alone. The ensemble cast is also quite weak, with the one engaging character killed off in the first ten minutes.
The episode suffers from a plethora of exposition spat out by Whittaker, while scenes designed to explore the companions feel tacked on and out of place. The disappointing thing for this episode is it still could have worked in spite of its weaknesses, if only they'd not shown us the 'big bad', or in this case, the cute children's toy accidentally put through the wash once too often.