science

Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror rather than just read about it. In short: "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" is the fourth episode of the twelfth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 19 January 2020. It was written by Nina Metivier, and directed by Nida Manzoor.

Key takeaways

Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" is the fourth episode of the twelfth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 19 January 2020. It was written by Nina Metivier, and directed by Nida Manzoor. In 1903, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) helps Nikola Tesla (Goran Višnjić) escape from being kidnapped by the Skithra aliens, along with the assistance of her companions Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill). The episode was watched by 5.20 million viewers, and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

At Niagara Falls in 1903, Nikola Tesla is unsuccessful in getting investors for his wireless power transmission system as it is seen as dangerous and crazy. After working late fixing his generator, he comes across a floating orb. Feeling endangered, he makes a run with his assistant, Dorothy Skerritt, as a cloaked figure shoots at them. The Doctor arrives in time to help them escape aboard a train headed to New York City, ditching their pursuer by detaching the carriage. In New York, the group finds protesters waiting outside Tesla's lab, having been goaded into fearing Tesla and his inventions by his competitor Thomas Edison. The Doctor identifies the orb as an Orb of Thassor designed to share knowledge, but repurposed for an unknown cause. After spotting a spy for Edison, the Doctor, Graham and Ryan visit Edison's workshop, suspecting him to be behind the attack on Tesla. The cloaked figure arrives at Edison's lab and fatally electrocutes everyone in the workshop before pursuing Edison. The group escapes and traps one of the creatures in a chemical ring of fire, but it escapes by teleportation. The Doctor tries to warn Tesla and Yaz back at his lab, but the two are captured and transported to an invisible alien ship above the city. The Queen of the Skithra demands they fix her ship. When Tesla refuses, the Queen threatens to kill Yaz, but the Doctor transports herself onto the ship just in time. She learns that the Skithra ship is just a collection of stolen parts from various species and the Skithra just use others to do their work for them. The Skithra also chose Tesla as their "engineer" because he was able to discover their signal while he had been working on his wireless power system. The Doctor transports herself, Tesla, and Yaz back to Tesla's Wardenclyffe lab. The Doctor warns the Queen to leave, but the Queen refuses, threatening to destroy Earth if Tesla is not handed over. While Tesla and the Doctor hook up the TARDIS to help power Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower, Graham, Ryan, Yaz, Dorothy and Edison ward off the invading scorpion-like Skithra. The Tower activates, and electrical bolts shoot through the Skithra ship, forcing it to leave Earth. Yaz is disappointed that despite Tesla's heroics, his reputation in the future remained unchanged, but the Doctor reminds her that Tesla's vision for a wireless world will still come to pass.

Production

Development "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" was written by Nina Metivier, who had worked as a script editor on the previous series.

Casting Robert Glenister and Goran Višnjić were cast, as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla respectively. Glenister previously appeared on Doctor Who as the android Salateen in the 1984 serial The Caves of Androzani. Anjli Mohindra, who had previously portrayed Rani Chandra in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, played Queen Skithra. Further cast members were announced in Doctor Who Magazine #547 in early January 2020.

Filming Nida Manzoor directed the third block, consisting of the fourth and fifth episodes. The sets for 1903 New York City were located at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Promotion The trailer for the episode was released after the broadcast of the previous episode, "Orphan 55".

Broadcast and reception

Television "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" aired on 19 January 2020.

Ratings "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" was watched by 4.04 million viewers overnight, making it the sixth most watched programme for the day in the United Kingdom. The episode had an Audience Appreciation Index score of 79. The episode received an official total of 5.20 million viewers across all UK channels.

Critical reception The episode holds an approval rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average of 7/10 based on 18 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "If a tad light on meaning, "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" is still an enjoyable historical romp that benefits greatly from Jodie Whittaker and guest star Goran Visnjic's crackling chemistry."

References

External links

"Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage

"Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" at IMDb

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

In research: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2020 British television episodes, Cultural depictions of Thomas Edison, Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror in simple terms?

Why does Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror.