Doctor Who Series 12: Ten Huge Questions After Nikola Tesla’s Night Of Terror
All the major talking points as Doctor Who meets the Serbian inventor, Nikola Tesla.
Sparks were flying in Doctor Who as the Doctor got to meet one of her heroes, the Serbian inventor, Nikola Tesla. But for all the Star Wars-like whizzes, bangs, and lightning bolts, it was a fairly run-of-the-mill story that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Russell T Davies years. Thankfully, it was made better by some top notch casting and splendid locations and set designs.
Companions, Graham, Yaz and Ryan had precious little to do, which after their heavy involvement in the first three episodes, though not a game-breaker, was the biggest disappointment. This could have worked even better as a between-series special, with Tesla himself as a one-off companion.
That said, Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror (in the daylight) was inoffensive and competent, a promising first script from Nina Metivier. Whittaker, not at her best it has to be said (with the irritating return of those gormless series 12 expressions), is nonetheless wonderfully energetic and the chemistry between her and Goran Višnjić is well… electric.
But exactly how does the story fare when it comes to the delicate challenge of working with historical figures and events, and what other questions does it raise?
10. How True To History Was It?
Like Ryan, Graham and Yaz, most of us would have heard of Nikola Tesla without being able to say exactly what he is famous for. A vague association with cars and coils might be the limit of that knowledge, or the fact that David Bowie played him in The Prestige (2006). It is clear that writer Nina Metivier wants to fix that ignorance. We are constantly reminded of the extent of Tesla’s influence, reference is made to as many of his inventions as possible, and he is given a personality and mystique to rival even that of the Doctor.
The attention to detail is superb and Goran Višnjić, a Croatian himself (Tesla was a Serbian born in Croatia) is the closest any actor has come to matching Tesla’s real-life appearance. Robert Glenister plays his rival, Edison, with more creative licence, but the Current Wars were an actual thing as well as most of the backstory behind the pair’s rivalry.
The focus is very much on what Tesla achieved, with the most eccentric aspects of his character ignored, such as his love for pigeons. The campaign to drive him out of the neighbourhood is simplified by being stripped of any obvious racist motivation (although one of the crowd shouts ‘go back to Mars’ and another ‘you don’t belong in America’). It’s all about the AC and fears over safety. To be fair, after the bungled approach to the important environmental issues last week, this is no bad thing, even if Tesla himself was a strong advocate for renewable fuel.