Doctor Who: Every episode of season 12, ranked from worst to best
By Lacy Baugher
Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror
One of the best things about the Chris Chibnall era is the return of historical period-set adventures for the Doctor and her companions. And “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror” is a great example of why this format works so well, combining a story that involves aliens attempting to kidnap the famous inventor with an educational look at a complex man that history ignored for too long.
Guest star Goran Visnjic (RIP, Timeless) is a delight as Nikola Tesla, and the inventor and the Doctor make a charming pair. The duo’s deep understanding of what it feels like to be a person out of time is surprisingly moving – the Doctor herself is always something of an outcast, and Telsa’s ideas are so far ahead of his contemporaries that he has little in common with them.
The story’s real-life tie-ins are fascinating (the real Tesla did spend a lot of time trying to communicate with Mars), Team TARDIS all get great period costumes to run around in and even though the Skithra are a straight rip-off of the Racnoss from Christmas special “The Runaway Bride,” they’re scary enough when it counts. You can’t ask for a much more entertaining way to pass an hour.