Nina Metivier’s first Doctor Who
script proves to be a distillation of all that is terrific about the programme.
She brings her historical characters to life with economy and heart, allowing
us to feel for both Tesla and Edison, avoiding the easy route of making Edison
the villain of the piece; her monsters have a simple, clearly-defined plan and
there’s space for a rollicking chase sequence, perhaps the most exciting and
well-shot of the series since Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner. This is
an extremely accomplished episode of Doctor Who and as solid an example of the
show as one is likely to find. If a stranger to the programme were to ask what
the whole thing was about, you’d do worse than to point them in the direction
of this exciting adventure.
Director Nida Manzoor is also a
newcomer to the Doctor’s world, but judging by her display here, you’d be hard
pressed to tell. Like Metivier, her first voyage into the time vortex establishes
her as a more than worthy TARDIS pilot. There is an assuredness on display
here. From that first slow pan down from Niagara Falls to the kinetic train
sequence, and the lovely reveal of the TARDIS crew in situ, the episode feels
confident, measured and well-paced. Were the next episode written by Metivier
and directed by Manzoor (one out of two ain’t bad!), I wouldn’t be worried
about quality for a minute, such is their obviously refined talent.
Manzoor also shoots the Queen of
the Skithra carefully, usually in full, angry close-up, possibly to disguise
the shortcomings of a costume which doesn’t quite chime with the fellow CG
scorpions. Anjli Mohindra puts in a creepy performance and sells the psychotic
nature of the sting-tailed foes, but she’s lumbered, like Sarah Parish before
her, with a costume which isn’t quite fit for purpose. Whereas Parish was
clearly immobile but definitely a spider, here Mohindra is clearly mobile but
definitely not a scorpion, her tail only appearing in a couple of shots as a CG
addition. It’s telling that we never see her in a long shot and the only scene
in the episode that doesn’t completely work is the first one on the ship: there’s
a lot of dialogue here but because of the shot limitations, it feels cumbersome
and long-winded. When we get back down to Earth, things quickly pick up again
as Manzoor broadens the scale of her storytelling.
Star of the show, perhaps
unexpectedly, is Goran Visnjic, as the titular Tesla. He brings a real edge of
class to proceedings and oozes actorly charisma. His turn as Tesla is
affectionate, subtle and all the more powerful for that. He’s not doing the mad
scientist bit; he’s inhabiting this very real man. Robert Glenister too, puts
in a fine performance as Edison. He is almost unrecognisable as the Salateen of
yesteryear and in the end both he and Metivier expose a little of his otherwise
unseen charm. Sadly, after what I felt was a real improvement this year, Jodie
Whittaker’s Doctor returns to a more leaden form of delivery, her hands in the
last scene with Yaz doing more than her voice. Watching the two leads in scenes
together (especially that penultimate one) exposes sharply the quiet talent of
Mandip Gill, again excellent, and the overreaching, try-hard measure of
Whittaker. She has more rabble-rousing speeches and history lessons to deliver
this week and sadly, like the wet wedding speech in Demons of the Punjab, she just hasn’t got the patter or the power
to make them sing.
Speaking of Demons, this is the first historical story of the Whittaker era to
feel joyous, truly celebratory of humankind’s achievements. Rosa and Demons, whilst powerful, were understandably earnest and sombre. Witchfinders was haunting and Spyfall – Part Two serious and dark.
Here, we’re having fun again and it feels good and so right for Doctor Who to
be a bit more freewheeling. To encapsulate the differences in the miniscule: Rosa does everything it can, very
obviously, to not rob Rosa of her
agency. However contrived that feels, it would after all be distasteful. A
fortnight ago, Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan were mind-wiped to allow them
to continue their Earthly stories with ideas all of their own. Chris Chibnall’s
take on history is cautious and careful, not wishing to tread on the toes of pioneers
and heroes. However, that caution is thrown to the wind here by Metivier and
Tesla and Edison end the episode memories intact, having seen a glimpse of a
new world, just as Shakespeare was enlivened by the Doctor or Dickens chose to
write of aliens in his final novel. This feels like such a positive shift after
the worthier historicals of last season. Because who better to steal from, who
better to look up to - whoever you are, however famous - than the Time Lord who
stands for all that is good? Yes, we have our Earthly heroes whose talents and
achievements should never be devalued, but can’t we also allow them a bit of fun
escapism with the Doctor too, a hero to everyone?
When the credits role on Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror, there’s
a real sense that the show has its joy back, that it is content and assured
enough to be a rollicking adventure again. With such a strong script, beautifully
rich costume and set designs, an extremely effective musical score from Segun
Akinola and a new sense of joie de vivre, this is as lavish and confident as
Doctor Who is ever likely to be.
8/10
JH
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