SPOILERS ABOUND!!!

Production Details

• Doctor: The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker)
• Companions: Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill)
• Writer: Nina Metivier
• Director: Nida Manzoor
• Producer: Nikki Wilson
• Guest Starring: Goran Višnjić (Nikola Tesla), Robert Glenister (Thomas Edison), Anjili Mohindra (Queen Skithra), Haley McGee (Dorothy Skerritt), Paul Kasey (Harold Green), Robin Guiver (Bill Tallow)
• Music: Segun Akinola
• Script Editor: Fiona McAllister
• Executive Producers: Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevans
• Running Time: 50 minutes
• Release Date: 19th January 2020

Introduction

Nina Metiver is no stranger to Doctor Who as she was the script editor behind ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ and ‘It Takes You Away’. Apparently she did so good of a job that she was offered to pen a script of her own for series 12. Thus came ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’, a story about a famous inventor who never became successful due to his poor business practices and public rivalry with the more successful Thomas Edison but pioneered the alternating current system and wireless technology.

With Tesla growing in popularity thanks to the late David Bowie’s portrayal in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and the brand of cars of the same name, it seemed right that a Doctor Who episode should focus on him, especially with the show’s focus on science. Does it work? Well it’s no classic but it’s certainly a fun ride.

Trailers

Next Time Trailer

TV Trailer

Synopsis

Nikola Tesla has fallen onto some hard times. His projects are getting rejected, Thomas Edison is turning the public against him and he is under attack from a man with a Silurian blaster. When the Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan save him, they discover that he is in possession of an alien orb and that he has been contacting aliens from Mars. Soon the Doctor discovers that a race of alien scavengers called the Skithra are after him and she must stop them before they tear the world apart to get Tesla.

Review

Easily the best part of this episode is Goran Višnjić’s portrayal of Nikola Tesla. He commands every scene he’s in with his energy that clearly shows his love of inventing. His joy is just infectious and he makes the historical exposition sound natural with his delivery. The episode doesn’t shy away at his failures but it’s more bittersweet. His final lines in the episode is genuinely inspiring as it encourages the viewer to keep going in the face of failure. It’s a nice message and a strong note to end the episode on. If I do have issues with how Tesla is portrayed is that it does fall into the same trap as other celebrity historicals in that it hero worships said historical celebrity. Though his failures are shown, they aren’t shown to be his fault (besides ones line). That’s just a minor thing though as they do try to keep it fair to both sides of the rivalry.

Speaking of which, Robert Glenister’s Thomas Edison can be seen as cartoonish but the episode thankfully doesn’t portray him as a villain like a Tesla-centric episode could have. Though he is presented as treating Tesla unfairly, he isn’t a bad person as he genuinely cares about his workers and he doesn’t hesitate to help save the world. He also gets some good points towards the debate between theory vs execution as while his ideas aren’t exactly original, they at least work and he’s a good enough businessman to sell them.

But let’s not forget that this is a Doctor Who episode and for Team TARDIS, it’s a mixed bag. Jodie Whittaker continues to shine as the Doctor as shares the same excitable energy as Tesla. It’s always great to see the Doctor so passionate about science and this is no exception. I also like that her happy-go-lucky veneer is slowly edging away to reveal an inner rage at her lost homeworld and her threats to the Skithra are genuinely chilling.

Yaz surprisingly gets a lot to do this time around as she constantly helps both Tesla and Edison out of sticky situations and her ‘what would the Doctor do?’ mentality works well in the episode. The same cannot be said for Graham and Ryan who are this week’s window dressing. I’m starting to think that they should have picked one companion at a time for the standalone episodes as three is clearly too much. Especially when other characters like Dorothy Skerritt get pushed to the wayside as a result.

As for the villains, they represent the biggest problem with the episode: they’re out of place. The problem with historicals such as Vincent and the Doctor and Rosa is that they shoehorn in a monster or sci-fi element when one really isn’t needed and it’s no different here. The Tesla/Edison conflict is enough to carry an episode and they should have used that time to really delve deep into Tesla’s character because it kind of feels shallow as a result. It touches on those themes and explores them for a bit but puts them aside for an alien subplot that takes up most of the episode.

That isn’t to say the aliens themselves are bad however, because they are inventive. Not only are the designs of the Skithra creepy and animated with a lot of personality but they’re a unsubtle but still effective metaphor for Edison as they too have never had an original idea in their life. This even extends to a meta-level as the design of the Skithra Queen is similar to the Racnoss from ‘The Runaway Bride’ and she is being played by Anjili Mohindra, who played Rani Chandra in the popular Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s a nice touch and the casting pays off as Mohindra is clearly having a blast chewing the scenery as the Skithra Queen.

As for the plot, it doesn’t feel deep or complex but it’s well-paced and well-structured. Each scene flows nicely into the next and each plot point is introduced organically. However the lack of depth may hurt rewatches as it does feel by-the-numbers. The production values are also a mixed bag as the set design, costume and music are all excellent but the cinematography and editing feel off. For example, there is one scene where The Doctor and Tesla escape from a warehouse only for it to immediately cut to a train with no indication of how they got there. It’s touches like that that make the episode feel a little disjointed.

Conclusion

Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror is an enjoyable if slight episode with stand-out performances from Goran I-can-no-longer-be-bothered-to-spell-his-last-name, Anjili Mohindra, Jodie Whittaker and Robert Glenister with a somewhat unbiased take on the pair of them and a nicely structured plot. However, with the alien subplot taking centre stage, it does feel shallow and by-the numbers. It’s a solid episode but one that won’t be considered a classic anytime soon.

Score: 7/10