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Nikola Tesla Brings That Needed Spark to Jodie Whittaker's "Doctor Who" Era

Tesla, not Edison.

By Lewis JefferiesPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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'Doctor Who' [Credit: BBC]

Doctor Who; a loved show by millions of fans. When it was announced in 2017 that Peter Capaldi would be stepping down as the Doctor, the question of who will replace him was raised. During the Wimbledon final, it was revealed Peter Capaldi will regenerate into Jodie Whittaker – the show’s first ever female Doctor.

Series 11 (Whittaker’s first series as the Doctor) received heavily mixed reactions from the fans. A lot of fans loved the series, whereas others despised it. The series was promoted to have ten episodes, all of which having brand new creatures, never seen before. Whilst some of these proved to be unique and interesting, others didn’t deliver as well, which is a shame as they had a lot of potential.

However, Series 12 is well underway now, and this series is already proving to a leap up from the previous story. We’ve already bumped into the Master, who is rocking a new face (Sacha Dhawan), as well as meeting more new creatures, like the Skithra. This week’s episode took us back into the past – 1903 to be precise – where we meet two famous faces: Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison.

'Doctor Who' [Credit: BBC]

This week’s episode “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” is the first episode this series to be set in the past. Travelling back to New York City in 1903, the Doctor and her TARDIS team bump into Nikola Tesla [portrayed by Goran Višnjić] and Thomas Edison [portrayed by Robert Glenister] before all the action kicks off.

Višnjić stole the episode with his electric (if you’d pardon the pun) chemistry with Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor. Whittaker’s era has been missing that boost to really show off what her Doctor actually has to offer. Facing Tesla, her true self came into the light (I’m not sorry for these puns). The charisma between the two of them proved to be a big hit with the fans. Despite Tesla being stubborn, he got the recognition he so deserved.

Doctor Who is no stranger to bringing in important historical figures. In 2018, the Doctor landed in America and met Rosa Parks, keeping a close track on her right up until her arrest. But, despite this week also being a sort of history lesson, “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” was filled with ten times more action, adventure and humour. “Rosa”, which I should mention is a fan favourite of Series 11, lacked in excitement and a tidy adventure plot. Comparing the two, Tesla become superior with a full-on Classic Who styled episode, written by newcomer writer, Nina Metivier.

'Doctor Who' [Credit: BBC]

Whilst we sit here and praise the writing, other notable moments from the episodes are Segun Akinola’s superb score this week, the direction, but more interestingly the monster design. This week’s monster was the Skithra, particularly Queen Skithra [portrayed by Anjli Mohindra – we’ll come to that in a second], who – as seen above – is wearing some fascinating clothing and… a car tyre. Queen Skithra – never before seen in Doctor Who – quickly got fans talking with the ever so similar design to the Racnoss, who was seen in “The Runaway Bride”, the 2006 Christmas Special.

Hardcore Doctor Who fans were also quick to point out that Queen Skithra was played by a familiar face. Anjli Mohindra put on an outstanding performance tonight, just like she did in 2008 in The Sarah Jane Adventures as Rani Chandra. Mohindra first stepped into the Doctor Who universe during the spin-off show’s second series. Since then, she has appeared onscreen in multiple shows, including Bodyguard (2018).

With Series 12 receiving very positive reviews, the next episode is set to be another fan favourite. Space rhinos – the Judoon – return to the show for their first full story since 2007. You don’t want to miss “Fugitive of the Judoon”!

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About the Creator

Lewis Jefferies

MA Media and Communication graduate from the University of Portsmouth - Massive Doctor Who Fan.

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