2nd Opinion: “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror”

JC and Gustaff give their takes on the fourth episode of Series 12.

JC’s Verdict – Goran Visnjic’s Doctor Who Audition

This post contains full spoilers for episode 4 of Series 12.

All I can say is thank Tesla, this episode wasn’t as disappointing as “Orphan 55”! While “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” doesn’t really do anything special to break out of the well-worn “celebrity historicals” of Doctor Who’s past, it was enjoyable enough way to pass 50-minutes.

As a fan of the short-lived time travelling show Timeless, I was very happy when I first heard that Goran Visnjic had been cast as Tesla (Though at first, I had to remind myself this wasn’t Flynn posing as another famous historical figure). Visnjic’s performance as the tragically underappreciated inventor didn’t disappoint. I’d go as far to say he was the best thing about the episode. I particularly loved his entrance into the TARDIS for the first time – “The internal dimensions transcends the external!”. In fact, he looked like a natural when he was standing alone there in the TARDIS at the end too, didn’t he (hint, hint, BBC).

Much like how Jodie Whittaker improved when she was playing off of Sasha Dhawans’s Master, I found a similar situation here with Tesla. Whittaker’s scenes with Visnjic were her strongest. In many ways the characters mirrored each other, and it was fun to watch that dynamic. It’s just a shame it only lasted a single episode. We also saw some traces of a darker Doctor with Jodie threatening the monsters (though pinning down her morals is still proving problematic).

I was worried that Thomas Edison would be portrayed as another one-dimensional money-hungry American, in the vein of Robertson (Chris Noth) from “Arachnids in the UK”. Thankfully, while it started like that, veteran actor Robert Glenister was able to afford the character some nuances even if the script didn’t always allow it. Haley McGee was okay as Tesla’s secretary, but she didn’t really have much to work with.

In the same way, I’m left unimpressed with how the companions have been handled. While they at least had a little more to do than last week, there’s very little character development, or acting required of them. The thing is, I can hardly blame any of the writers for struggling with this. There’s only so much you can do in 50 minutes, and then when you factor in balancing all the guest stars as well, it’s a huge juggling act that even experienced writers would struggle with, let alone the relative newcomers Chibnall hires. Perhaps though it is becoming increasingly evident that having three companions wasn’t such a good idea after all.

I’m mixed on the monsters this week. On the one hand I really quite liked the henchmen of the Skithra. The way they were introduced as cloaked shapeshifters with red eyes and Sith electric powers was menacing and allowed for some creepier moments (especially the transformation scenes). On the other hand, the Queen and their CGI forms were more generic. Anjli Mohindra was great in The Sarah Jane Adventures, but I felt her performance as the Queen went too far into hammy villain territory, and the costume didn’t help. While resembling the Racnoss somewhat, that was a more impressive design with a large spidery body to make her all the more imposing. Here we got and more typical bipedal look with knock-off tyre shoulder pads.

All in all, this was a serviceable Doctor Who historical, elevated by a strong performance from the titular guest character. The episode perhaps just lacks a certain spark to make it one of the true greats like “Vincent and the Doctor”.

Gustaff’s verdict – “Possibly Whitaker’s best script so far”

…Series 12’s answer to Vincent and the Doctor…maybe?

I honestly did not believe it would happen. Not in this season. Not only did I enjoy this episode, but I’d go so far as to say that it might just be Jodie Whitaker’s best script so far. Don’t believe me? Let’s unpack.

First and foremost, the entire episode belongs to Goran Visnjic. Not only is he a phenomenal actor (see much better time-travel show Timeless for more proof) but his portrayal of Nikola Tesla oozes raw passion and charisma. He effortlessly steals the spotlight from everyone he’s onscreen with. Then you combine how far this episode goes into exploring his struggles as an inventor, the hardships he faces from his peers and you can easily see the similarities to “Vincent and the Doctor”.  Like Vincent van Gogh, both are misunderstood individuals. Minds born way before the rest of history has sufficiently grown to appreciate their brilliance. Both are plagued by monsters that they don’t understand and both become inspired by the Doctor upon meeting her but are fated for tragedy. Now this is how you do homage. You don’t just copy/paste the plotline and change a few names and places – you demonstrate the spirit of what has come before but make sure to do your own thing.

The episode contains strands of anti-capitalism messaging, but unlike the more blunt means of conveyance, this episode actually explores both sides of the commentary, in not that much detail so it distracts from the episode, but it also allows both sides of the message to make great, well-founded arguments. Tesla accuses Edison of taking the easy way out by outsourcing these days and profiting off the ideas of others, while Edison counters that inventions without funding are just ineffective ideas on paper. Both have a valid point. You have to have money to spend money, but at the same time if you don’t have the means to sell your idea, what good is it? With the benefit of hindsight, the audience recognizes that despite how passionate Tesla comes across, history ultimately sided with Edison. The episode makes sure you sympathize with Tesla and his monetary plight. It also makes you wonder what the world would be like had these two men put aside their differences and embraced the best of both worlds.

The pacing, exploration and even the villain feel like an episode right out of the RTD era. Structuring the episode to make it look like Tesla is the focus character is also a stroke of brilliance. It’s not completely new to Doctor Who but it’s not done as often enough, so we can still clap hands for it. This also isn’t the first occurrence of a famous historical figure being the target of aliens, but the steady drip-feeding of information and subtle foreshadowing adds to the experience. The Doctor picks up a gun early on which is Silurian in origin. It’s a basic red herring that pays off well near the end. Not only that but the Skithra steal the appearance of others during their mission, further hinting at the way they aren’t a very original species. Heck, stealing weapons, stealing spaceships, stealing faces and the fact that they bear such a close resemblance to the Racnoss design almost feels like the writer is going ‘well duh, stupid’ when fans point out they feel like a knock-off.

Edison feels surplus in some places, but Robert Glenister’s acting more than makes up for it. Also surplus in some places is better than surplus in all places which is what the companions feel like…again. This is now the fourth week in a row in which at least 2/3s of them have been rendered useless. Yaz gets hit with it the worst. The Doctor and Tesla both have to come up with excuses as to why she should be kept alive. It’s funny that the episode seems to acknowledge how useless the character is. At least Graham has good comedic moments to lighten the mood. This week I’m not as opposed to the lack of companion importance since the episode’s Edison vs Tesla theme is as much of a hook as ever. This will not be Tesla’s last meeting with the Doctor from his perspective as he encounters the Seventh Doctor later on in his life.

Stray Observation:

• The Doctor has a few genuinely good moments in this episode. This is amongst some very typical Chibnall era cringe moments. You can easily tell where Nina Metivier’s writing stops and Chibnall’s meddling begins. Thankfully, these scenes are more bearable than usual. The episode continues the Chibnall Era strategy of explaining to audience exactly what they are seeing just in case we’re too stupid to understand it.
• Can we just acknowledge how this episode wasted Anjli Mohindra as the Queen of Skithra? I mean she did good with the part and the Queen will never come close to being as irritating as the Racnoss Queen, but honestly, you had the opportunity to bring back Rani from The Sarah Jane Adventures and you didn’t even try to cash that nostalgia cheque?