‘Nikola Tesla, you’re going to change the world. But first, you’re going to save it.’ I think this is the first time I switched off a Doctor Who story halfway through. Watching it now, in full for the first time, I can’t remember what I found so objectionable. It’s utterly inoffensive. Or perhaps that was the problem – on the back of Orphan 55, the series desperately needed something more than middle of the road. By this point, the procedural, “another case solved!” approach, which had seemed somewhat fresh in Series 11, has started to wear thin, and, as yet, Chibnall’s show doesn’t seem to have anything else in its arsenal.

This has some funny moments, mostly involving Graham (I especially like Yaz challenging him to name one of Tesla’s inventions, and then later his reaction to the little phut his ‘death ray’ projects). Goran Višnjić is charming as this week’s guest personage, even if his facial hair makes him a dead ringer for Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda. The Skithra drones look cool, even if Anjli Mohindra’s reigning queen makes me fondly recall both the Racnoss and The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s amusing to see the Fam in period costume.

But I still find this pretty dull stuff, rinse and repeating story beats done in the previous series – right down to the Doctor’s closing elegy for Tesla’s future which only needs a quick visit to a space rock to complete the Rosa parallel. We learn practically nothing about Tesla or Edison, except that they existed. It’s got all the excitement and inspiration of episode 17 out of 26 of a made-for-syndication American sci-fi drama. It isn’t objectionable, it just is.

Next Time: Fugitive of the Judoon