Doctor Who – Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

Nikola Tesla (Goran Visnjic) is demonstrating energy working wirelessly and pitches a “world wireless system.” He just needs an investment of $50,000. Mr Brady (Russell Bentley), a potential investor, calls Tesla’s ideas “poppycock” as he’s heard about his far-fetched stories about a signal from Mars. Tesla’s assistant, Dorothy Skeritt (Haley McGee), tells them not to believe everything they read, but Tesla tells them it’s true. He says that he received an electrical signal and calculates comes from Mars. As investors leave the electrics sparks. They have an emergency. They are led to a dead body, the cause of death believed to be an electric shock.

Tesla tells Dorothy that there isn’t a flaw in his machines, but someone must have stolen parts. He follows the sound of electrical whirring which leads him to a floating, glowing green sphere. Dorothy approaches, but they both hear another clang. Tesla tells her they need to leave and takes the sphere. As they hide from the noise, The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) bursts through the door. She asks them if they’ve seen anything weird before they’re shot at. They run as a green laser is fired towards them.

The Doctor, Tesla and Dorothy make it onto the night train which is right on schedule. Waiting for them are Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). The Doctor explains that she found an unexpected energy reading and asks her new friends to introduce themselves. Despite being excited about meeting Nikola Tesla we see The Doctor call him a big fat liar. Before she has chance to explain the train is attacked by the hooded figure with the laser gun. As the team run through the carriages, The Doctor knocks the figure out and steals their gun. The Doctor unhooks the carriage of the train and the figure reveals itself as the dead man (Robin Guiver) in Tesla’s lab but with red eyes!

The Doctor puts her newly acquired Silurian Blaster down and asks Tesla why someone is chasing him with an alien gun. She tells him to hand over whatever he has. Dorothy says that if anyone can make sense of what they found, it’s Tesla. The Doctor says they leave her no choice, she’s not letting the pair out of her sight until they’ve worked it out. She excitedly asks where Tesla’s lab is located.

In New York the team make their way through protesters outside Tesla’s lab. They are protesting Tesla’s idea of alternating current (“AC”), referring to it as “the death current” (which would ironically make it “DC”). The Doctor was expecting more from Tesla’s bare lab. The Doctor explains that Nikola Tesla dreamed up the 20^th Century before it happened. Tesla shows The Doctor the sphere he found. He pushes it towards her and says he thinks it’s what she calls a remote control. The Doctor says it’s an Orb of Thassor, but she’s no idea what it’s doing there. The orb is a way of spreading information through the stars. The Doctor scans it with her sonic screwdriver and finds it’s been repurposed. Tesla asks about the screwdriver and The Doctor tells him she made it mainly out of spoons. They bond over being inventors and people not seeing the world the way they do. One of Thomas Edison’s (Robert Glenister) men, Harold Green (Paul Kasey), photographs him through the window. Tesla says Edison has plagued his career by championing direct current (“DC”).

The Doctor, Ryan and Graham approach Edison who is giving a speech on why the Niagara Generator should be shut down. The Doctor tells him they need to talk, but he refuses until Ryan shows him the Silurian laser blaster hidden under his coat. Edison’s lab is much fancier than Tesla’s. Edison explains he gave Tesla a job when he first arrived in the country, but he ended up digging ditches for two dollars a day. Edison said whoever fixed his generator would get $50,000. Tesla fixed it, but when Edison only offered him a ten dollar raise he quit.

Yaz asks Tesla about his Wardenclyffe project. He tells her to imagine all human knowledge being shared freely. He can’t understand why no-one else can see it will change the world. The orb gains more energy and in Edison’s lab the red eyed man from the train attacks the workers with the electricity he has gathered. Harold approaches The Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Edison but he too has red eyes and a monstrous snarl. They find a room to hide in and find Harold’s body. The Doctor realizes that something is using a projection of the dead bodies to hide its true form. The Doctor sets a trap with Edison’s zinc. As the creature sets foot in the circle The Doctor sets it alight. Trapped, the creature screeches and disappears.

Tesla notices that the orb is emitting energy and Yaz says it’s like a radar, using energy to seek out what’s around them. Tesla says he’s been working on a similar theory himself – his exploring ray. The Doctor calls Yaz to tell her to lock all the doors, but Dorothy is being pushed into the room by two of the creatures. The creatures say that they didn’t come for the orb, but they came for Tesla. As they grab him Yaz tries to help but her and Tesla are transported to a spaceship overrun by big, bad scorpions. The queen of the Skithra (Anjli Mohindra) bears her sharp, upside down teeth as she welcomes Tesla.

The Doctor lands her TARDIS in Tesla’s lab. She sets about finding Yaz and Tesla. As Edison explores the TARDIS, Graham tells him to get the dollar signs out of his eyes. Back on the ship, Queen Skithra explains that their ship is hidden high above the city. She wants Tesla to work on their ship and weapons, they’ve gathered supplies- including what was missing from Tesla’s generator. In the TARDIS we see Dorothy realize that Tesla did get a signal from Mars. She says they need to go to Wardenclyffe. Once there The Doctor finds the signal readout.

Yaz tells Tesla they shouldn’t surrender to the giant alien scorpion because they’re in this together. Tesla tells Queen Skithra that he won’t help her, if he achieves anything it will be in the name of progress and this isn’t his idea of progress. The Queen orders for Yaz to be killed. The Doctor teleports to the ship just in time to stop the kleptomaniac scorpions from killing Yaz. The Doctor plays for time whilst her means of teleportation recharges and asks why they needed Tesla. The Queen tells them that he discovered their signal and that Tesla signaled back. The Doctor asks Tesla why he didn’t think to mention this, but he didn’t think it worked. The Doctor finds a camera and flashes it to distract the scorpions whilst she teleports Yaz and Tesla back to Wardenclyffe.

Tesla is surprised to find Edison in his lab. He’s even more surprised when he enters the TARDIS. Tesla figures that the internal dimensions transcend the internal. The Doctor tells him he’s spot on, much to Edison’s annoyance. The Doctor transmits a warning to the Skithra Queen to move their ship away from Earth. The Queen tells her that if they don’t give them Tesla that they’ll kill everyone on Earth. Tesla says they can’t place this burden on him, but eventually tells her he must surrender himself. The Doctor tells Tesla he will change the world, but first he’s going to save it.

Tesla shows everyone how his wireless system will work to transmit energy, which Ryan realizes is the birth of Wi-Fi. Tesla tells The Doctor if they can generate enough energy that they can beam it up from the tower to destroy the Skithra’s ship. Edison says the idea won’t work and Tesla tells him that at least he has ideas since half of Edison’s inventions were thought up by other people. As the pair argue Graham tells “AC/DC” to stop squabbling whilst they try and save the planet. The Doctor explains how they are going to use the TARDIS shields to protect Wardenclyffe whilst her and Tesla prepare the tower. Edison and Yaz need to clear the streets, but this won’t be easy with all the scorpions chasing them! Dorothy, Graham and Ryan start to defend Wardenclyffe with anything they can find, including a prototype death-ray.

The Doctor tells everyone that they just need to take out the Queen as the Skithra are a hive species, but once they power up the tower, the TARDIS shields will drop and it will be 30 seconds before they can blast the ship. The Doctor and Tesla go to the TARDIS to power the tower. As the shields drop, the rest are confused as to why the Skithra aren’t attacking. The Doctor realises that the Queen is no longer on the ship.

The Queen asks where Tesla is and no one responds, but The Doctor appears to tell her if she knew they were having a royal visit she’d have put the kettle on. The Doctor asks her what she’s queen of, a stolen ship? The Doctor looks towards the teleport device she used to board the Skithra’s ship and the Queen asks her if she’s ever seen a dead planet. Two Skithra’s hold The Doctor as the Queen takes the teleport device and asks The Doctor what she was planning on doing with it. She soon finds out as she is teleported to her ship which Tesla then uses his tower to blast. He marvels at what his invention has done.

Edison asks Tesla to work for him again. If he keeps working on Wardenclyffe he’ll be bankrupt within the year. Tesla says he can’t give up now. Yaz asks the Doctor if things change, but The Doctor says that in a few year Wardenclyffe is torn down. Tesla dies penniless. History leaves him behind, but the idea of a wireless world starts with him. Tesla asks The Doctor if he can study the TARDIS, but The Doctor tells him never mind that since he’s got enough magnificent inventions of his own. The Doctor and Yaz tell him not to give up. He tells them he works for the future and the future is his.