An Autist Reviews: Nikola Tesla's Night Of Terror (NuWho Episode 12.4)

*This is an older review, it is not as detailed as my more modern reviews*

*All Reviews Are Spoiler-Free Aside From Any Spoiler Sections*

*This is a bare-bones/lite review made after only a single viewing. (Hence there not being any replay rating)*

As Nikola Tesla sources out funding for his latest project and Edison greedily watches him, something strange is going on. The Doctor and her fam are about to turn Nikola’s, his assistant’s, and Edison’s lives all upside down. A thieving alien queen and her army of shapeshifting aliens have come to earth… and they seek Nikola’s brilliance.

After last week I was afraid of how the rest of this season would go… but oh boy was this good! The plot is simple, but it’s smart, it’s fun, and it has a few fun twists and turns here and there. There are interesting references strewn throughout, and the message, unlike in last weak, is subtle. I’m not saying it’s hard to discern or is well hidden, but it isn’t beat over your head with a baseball bat. The message is that you need to look to the future and that those who create change will always be better than those who steal and cheat. It’s a wonderful message, and I think it’s well delivered. Children who watch this will get it, but adults who watch it won’t groan as it’s delivered. It could be toned down, but it’s good. Nikola is written well, as is Edison, but the companions are a little left behind, not to say they are bad though. I have heard that there are bad misrepresentations in the writing of Tesla, and I'm sure there are, but they got away with ignoring the true story of Rosa Parks (it was NOT a sudden decision, look it up) and frankly, I hope Big Finish takes 13 and Tesla on adventures together like 8 and Shelly. The only writing problem lies with Tesla’s assistant who has the worst dialogue of the story, but who honestly still has grand dialogue.

The Acting is superb except for Tesla’s assistant, who really shines as the weak spot of this episode, but she is still very good for most of the episode. The acting is at its worst at the very beginning and then steps before even minute 10.

The effects are also very good, the monsters are beautiful and whoever did the costumes needs an award for those period clothes and the queen! Her face looks so good and the fact that she’s bipedal took me by surprise but looks SO good! The weakest part is the actual effects for, say, teleporting or lightning. But they are still really good and interesting! I cannot, however, speak about the music as I wasn’t really paying attention to it… but what I do recall hearing was very good indeed.

All in all, this is a FIRM step up from the last episode. It moves fast and certainly could use more time to flesh out some of its ideas, but it’s still a beautiful and fun experience. The side characters are fun and well-acted, the main characters are handled well, and this just proves that you CAN make good stories with this many characters… even if it seems to be a rare skill. The costumes are gold, the effects are really good, if not perfect, and the only real negative is the assistant, but she gets better as the episode progresses.

Total - 9

Plot - 8
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Story - 8
Writing - 7
Enjoyment - 8

Acting - 10
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MCs - 10
SCs - 9
BGs - 10

Effects - 9
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Music - NR
Vocals - 10
Actions - 8
Costumes - 10

Replay - NR
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Re-Enjoyment - NR
Details - NR
Twists - NR

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