Nikola
Tesla's Night of Terror
The fourth episode of Series 12. Now that's more like it! A great
improvement upon the previous episode. The Doctor and her 'fam' meet
Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison during their DC/AC rivalry. But that's
getting ahead. Niagara Falls, where Tesla has his hydro generator
plant. Tesla and his assistant Dorothy Skerrit have found a
mysterious orb, and the Doctor and rest of Team TARDIS stumble in.
Then Tesla is under attack and they flee aboard a train to New York.
This whole sequence was done very well.
In New York, the Doctor suspects that the orb may have a link to
Thomas Edison, and investigates the possibility. But the aliens
attack Edison's factory at Menlo Park (The name isn't mentioned, but
it's obvious that it's meant to be). The Doctor's surprise is done
well. As is Edison's compassion for his lost workers, and his
reaction to the TARDIS interior. Meanwhile, Tesla has been abducted
by the aliens. His reaction to the situation, including his
incredulity that advanced aliens would want his help, was done very
well.
The Doctor uses a teleport device to get aboard the Skithla ship,
where it was revealed that it was they who were responsible for the
mysterious orb Tesla had captured. (Sure they are similar to the
Racknoss, but it's been 13 years, and designs can inspire later
designs.) It also is revealed that they aren't original thinkers,
they take what they need (similar to the Pakled from Star Trek:
The Next Generation.) The parallels between them and Edison's
business model were quite apt. (As was Graham's comparison of him to
one of his old bosses.)
Wardenclyffe! The Doctor and Tesla come up with an idea to use the
tower to defeat the Skithla ship. (But first, Tesla in the TARDIS.
“The interior dimensions transcend the external,” was a great
line.) The sequence with the Tower, using the TARDIS to power it to
send the electric shock, and also defending against the Queen's
forces was done quite well. The way the Doctor outwits the Queen with
the teleport device was quite inspired (and well set up.) Thus the
crisis is resolved without either Edison nor Tesla knowing anything
about the future.
The ending, where the Doctor tells the 'fam' about the fate of
Wardenclyffe isn't heavy handed. (At least, not in comparison with
the previous episode.) Overall it was a rather good episode. 9/10.
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