Doctor Who Series 12, Episode 4
“Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror”
Posted by Sage
It’s possibly too soon to tell, but once the Chibnall era is over, we may look back on it and find that its legacy was stellar historicals. “Rosa,” “Demons of the Punjab,” and “The Witchfinders” were the best of Series 11, and this week, it was a trip back to Gilded Age New York City that gave us the most solidly constructed and cohesive story of Series 12 so far. (“Spyfall Part 2” skidded through the landing, and “Orphan 55,” well…at least we had Holiday Graham.) Written by Nina Metivier and directed by Nida Manzoor, “Nikola Tesla’s” is anchored by an outstanding guest performance by Goran Višnjić as the man himself. It’s such a fun ride that I’ll even forgive production for denying me Jodie Whittaker in period-appropriate wardrobe.
In a series that, so far, has prompted a lot of “wha?” and “but why??” moments, “Nikola Tesla’s” thankfully achieves the following: 1. monsters with a clear goal and sensical methods that present a real threat; 2. the Doctor, her companions, and their local allies countering that threat with a reasonable and easy-to-follow plan. We also get to see that plan enacted. Unlike the second part of “Spyfall,” this episode doesn’t rely on the Doctor putting on her Captain Exposition hat and telling the audience all the clever things she did when we weren’t looking.
Does the Skithra queen look like the Empress of the Racnoss after a rough night? Of course she does. But alien scorpions and alien spiders aren’t exactly apples and oranges, so I’m not that bothered. More important than their appearance (not that the scorpion minions and their red-eyed human forms weren’t extremely freaky) is their motivation, which is to scavenge technology, innovations, and the innovators themselves from other planets. They don’t create anything (and therefore don’t risk failing at it) – something which a builder like this incarnation of the Doctor can’t respect at all.
Which makes Nikola Tesla such a great partner for her in this adventure. (Even if he is, at first, a “big fat liar” who’s a bit paranoid about having his ideas stolen.) The Doctor lives to store up information and knowledge for the sake of it, just in case it ever comes in handy, whether that’s by using it herself or passing it along to others. There’s no tangible gain, not endgame. So it would be Tesla, who struggled for respect in his time and suffered financially because he didn’t have the patience for or interest in monetizing his discoveries, that she’d buddy up to, not Thomas Edison – a perfect grumpy foil who gets dragged along for the schadenfreude. (“You do realize that it’s killing Edison that they want you and not him?” the Doctor says to hype him up for the battle ahead.)
The episode gives us Tesla right away, as he speaks to potential investors in front of an impressively believable Niagara Falls green screen. But I liked the way the script staggered the reveal of the big bad. We move from mysterious, glowing orb to resurrected human skin suit assassins (how perfect that one took the form of one of Edison’s spies) to Tesla’s rival and finally to the queen and her hive. The orb was a clever device that hinted at the monsters’ malevolence straight off the bat. What could be more selfless and progressive than an invention developed by an ancient race to share knowledge and stories with species they’ll never meet? The Skithra pervert that wholesome intention, using that same technology to spy on the earth and locate their new mechanic: Tesla. They’ve determined that he’s the inventor with the vision to grasp alien tech, and little does he know, but he swiped right on their test message.
Unlike “Orphan 55,” which spread the companions out too quickly and introduced way too many characters than we should be expected to care about, “Nikola Tesla’s” pairs up and re-pairs up folks in interesting ways. Yaz encourages Telsa not to give up and helps him figure out the purpose of the orb. (And, as Kim pointed out, Mandip Gill continues to have chemistry with everyone.) Ryan bonds with Tesla’s assistant Dorothy about no longer being satisfied by an ordinary life. Graham warns Edison that he’s not stripping the TARDIS for parts he can sell, so back off. And, best of all, the Doctor and Tesla share their love of learning, pushing, and proving their critics wrong. (“So you can understand how it feels when you have an idea and to make it real. I don’t think there’s any greater thrill.”)
Maybe it’s a little ridiculous to praise this episode for having such a strong sense of theme, but let’s face it, that’s not always the case. There are historicals especially where the monster adventure and the real-life inspiration feel clumsily stitched together, but not here. In my first viewing, I was along for the ride. On my second, I appreciated all the elegant ways in which the writing shows us why this had to be Tesla’s story and no one else’s. And the casting couldn’t have been better, not just because we have a Croatian-American actor playing a Serbian-American innovator, but because Goran struck the right tone: weary but determined, arrogant but always in pursuit of the greater good.
Now that we find ourself in a series with actual stakes (hallelujah), this episode serves as an example of how to weave in reminders about the season arc without alienating sometimes viewers. Anyone who wasn’t around for “Spyfall” or generally just isn’t here for long game storytelling can interpret the Doctor’s reaction to the Skithra queen asking, “Have you ever seen a dead planet?” however they like, because lord knows it’s not just Gallifrey she’s thinking about. But for those of us who want to be reassured that we’re not just moving on and forgetting about what the Master did (or claims that he did, because WHO KNOWS), it hit. (A little on the nose, but it hit.)
The Doctor the Skithra queen threatens isn’t the same one who was full of hope after her regeneration. She’s backsliding into “no second chances, I’m that sort of man” territory, and I LOVE it. One qualm I have about this episode is that there was no time to track her companions’ reactions to this speech. Last week, we saw them acknowledging her “mardy mood,” and it would have been a nice bit of continuity and widening of the divide between them if they had done some sideways glancing. Considering that my favorite arc of the past decade of Doctor Who was Twelve and Clara’s destructively codependent relationship, I’m biased. But I’m begging for just a little less niceness among the TARDIS fam. The premiere seemed to be seeding it, with the humans finally wondering aloud why the Doctor is so secretive; the Master as O even tries to trick Graham into questioning her. I want the show to trust that we will still love and appreciate these characters even if they’re sometimes at odds with each other. And it’s simply not realistic that three regular people from Sheffield who hitched a ride with a funny time-traveling alien wouldn’t, I don’t know, have at least a few concerns to raise when she threatens genocide.
But alas, we end on a mostly positive note. The world is saved. Edison and Tesla somehow get away without having their minds wiped. (Male privilege on Doctor Who at its finest!) In a very “Vincent and the Doctor” way, Yaz wants to know if the good press Tesla gets changes his fate at all. It doesn’t, the Doctor tells her. But at the same time, no one can take his achievements away from him. Ideas can be exploited, stolen, ignored, and ridiculed. Once they’re out in the world, they’re almost impossible to control. “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” leaves us with the lesson that what happens to them is almost irrelevant; it’s the curiosity that generates them that matters.
Timey Wimey Observations:
- I’m not even a big Thasmin shipper and I saw it this week.
- Graham has no idea what his Orient Express reference did to me.
- I’ve been loving the continued deepening of Ryan and Yaz’s friendship. See: her running into his arms when the Doctor beams them back from the Skithra ship.
- No, Silurians aren’t technically alien. Yes, you sound like a dick when you complain about it on Twitter.
- “Dapper doo-doo, dresses for the opera.”
- RIP to the bickering scientists in Edison’s lab, which had big open-office-plan energy, except they couldn’t put in their earbuds to signal that they should be left alone.
- “With your levels of technology, you must understand there’s no need for violence.” This line struck me both times I watched, not only because it speaks to Telsa’s dream of a future where humanity is unified, but also because it shows how his idealism failed him. Technology should lead to the eradication of violence, but instead, it’s been used to enhance it.
- “She’s good at impossible too.”
- “I suggest we don’t surrender to the giant alien scorpion.”
- Snaps to Anjli Mohindra for doing work under all of that creature makeup.
- TAKE RYAN AND GRAHAM TO THEIR FIRST RODEO.
What did you think about “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror,” besides that it has a killer episode title? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: BBC
I quite enjoyed this episode; but I did note that The Doctor didn’t seem to want to erase Tesla’s memories as she did with the two ladies in Spyfall. I wish the erasing or memories would just go far, far away.
Thanks for your recap as always!