#queen skithra

[evviejo]

thirteen’s era appreciation: 223/?

[quietwings-fics]

more trouble than she's worth

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Fandom: Doctor Who Ship: ThirteenSkithra Queen Additional Tags: Episode: s12e04 Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror, Biting, Drabble Wordcount: 100 Summary:

The Skithra Queen considers uses for the Doctor.

“And I could find a use for you, Doctor,” the Skithra Queen hisses as she eyes her like so many stolen tools. “Bedwarmer, perhaps.”

“I’m more trouble than I’m worth, really,” the Doctor snaps, teeth bared against the Queen’s multitude, glittering as she stalks closer.

“I love toys that fight.” A claw at the Doctor’s bare throat as the Queen leans in. “The more they rebel, the more they beg when they breaks.” The Queen’s claw drags over her skin.

If it’s a distraction she needs, then this is it. A few more seconds, and they’ll run.

The Doctor bites.

(Enjoyed it? Any interaction is welcomed. You can even support me on Ko-Fi <3)

[quietwingsinthesky]

Drabble 180 - Doctor Who

“And I could find a use for you, Doctor,” the Skithra Queen hisses as she eyes her like so many stolen tools. “Bedwarmer, perhaps.”

“I’m more trouble than I’m worth, really,” the Doctor snaps, teeth bared against the Queen’s multitude, glittering as she stalks closer.

“I love toys that fight.” A claw at the Doctor’s bare throat as the Queen leans in. “The more they rebel, the more they beg when they breaks.” The Queen’s claw drags over her skin.

If it’s a distraction she needs, then this is it. A few more seconds, and they’ll run.

The Doctor bites.

[lesbicosmos]

i made a list of all the people i could think of that had multiple roles in the whoniverse and damn this show rly likes reusing cast members

peter capaldi

12th doctor

caecilius (4x02: the fires of pompeii)

john frobisher (torchwood: children of earth)

karen gillan

amy pond

soothsayer (4x02: the fires of pompeii)

freema agyeman

martha jones

adeola oshodi (2x12: army of ghosts)

eve myles

gwen cooper

gwyneth (1x03: the unquiet dead)

anjli mohindra

rani chandra (sja)

queen of the skithra (12x04: nikola tesla's night of terror)

julian bleach

davros

the ghostmaker (torchwood 2x10: from out of the rain)

the nightmare man (sja 4x01/02: the nightmare man)

mark gatiss

richard lazarus (3x06: the lazarus experiment)

danny boy (5x03: victory of the daleks)

gantok (6x13: the wedding of river song)

captain lethbridge-stewart (2017 special: twice upon a time)

david bradley

solomon (7x02: dinosaurs on a spaceship)

first doctor (2017 special: twice upon a time)

bradley walsh

graham o'brien

elijah spellman (sja 2x03/04: the day of the clown)

dan starkey

strax

several other sontarans

ian the elf (2014 special: last christmas)

chipo chung

chantho (3x11: utopia)

fortune teller (4x11: turn left)

miriam margolyes

beep the meep (voice) (the star beast)

leef apple glyn slitheen-blathereen (voice) (sja 3x06: the gift)

adjoa andoh

sister jatt (2x01: new earth)

francine jones

vinette robinson

abi lerner (3x07: 42)

rosa parks (11x03: rosa)

alexander armstrong

reg arwell (2011 special: the doctor, the widow and the wardrobe)

mr smith (voice) (sja)

[daughter-of-the-clayr]

i think one of the reasons yaz is often overlooked/underrated is how she's treated by the narrative, especially compared to other companions (the same goes for Ryan, graham, and Dan, btw, but im focusing on yaz bc it's most obvious with her). she doesn't get a fancy nickname, and she's not important to the lore - she's not impossible, of the bad wolf, or the first cyberman, she's just yaz. even the villains treat her that way - swarm, the skithra queen, even the daleks. in demons of the punjab you never get any inkling that prem's death is a fixed point, that it'd be the end of the timeline if the doctor saved him - not like pete, where the reapers got summoned. the only thing that would happen, if prem lived, is yaz and her family would vanish (and, at this point, we don't know half of what yaz would go on to do, so). and it would be tragic, but it wouldn't matter.

but that's the trap.

because if you get caught up in the fact that she is presented as unimportant, you fall into the same mistake as the villains, and even yaz herself to some degree (and she gets some insane shots at her insecurities, like even the daleks get personal), you miss just how much she matters. (and I could talk about recklessness stemming from yaz seeing herself as less important than what she's trying to achieve but rhats not the point of this post)

because then we come to "can't have a universe with no yaz", the person who always comes - the doctor, and graham "keep making humanity proud" and ryan pledging that he'll never let her die and dan talking about how amazing she is and, if you haven't been paying attention, it can feel like character shilling, bc it runs counter to how she's framed in the narrative, by herself, and by enemies.

by the standards of doctor who companions, yaz is ordinary, unimportant - but doctor who is always been about how important a single person, who is willing to try, can be.

[cipher-fresh]

The Skithra queen hasn’t gone down as one of the show’s greatest villains or anything but I think Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror is a fun historical. I haven’t seen anyone discuss it since series 12 aired, we’re not appreciating:

-The companions in historical outfits

-Nikola Tesla being a really fun character, and the narrative hating Thomas Edison, as it should

-The Doctor’s incredible inventing skills being demonstrated

-American accents better than “distracting”

-The storytelling opportunities of the Thassor species and spreading their knowledge across the universe

-Yaz and Ryan’s intelligence and people skills being emphasized

I’ve also been interested in exploring Ryan’s passion of engineering and mechanics, and the narrative directly compares Ryan and Dorothy (Tesla’s assistant) as people who help talented inventors and have had their lives transformed by them. It would have been fun if Ryan got to work more with Tesla’s inventions and/or the alien technology in the episode.

[kateeorg]

Y'know what would be amazing (but probably won't happen), since Russell T Davies is coming back to Doctor Who?

Have Rani Chandra from Sarah Jane Adventures as the de facto TV reporter.

Like, y'know how there was that one reporter who always appeared when something alien was going on in modern London during Davies' run?

What if that was Rani?

It would make sense, it's been 12 years since SJA, Rani could plausibly have that journalist career she always wanted by now. It would tie in SJA and keep it sort of in the Whoniverse, but the actress wouldn't have to full-on guest on the show to appear on a TV screen, so availability wouldn't need to be an issue.

The actress, Anjli Mohindra, has come back to Who before as the Skithra Queen in the Nikola Tesla episode (under heavy prosthetics) and did the Farewell, Sarah Jane pandemic special, so she still has a good relationship with Who.

Even if she just appeared as a reporter in one episode, during the 60th specials (bonus, since Tennant's Doctor did meet Rani) I'd be thrilled.

(And if it opened the door for the other SJA kids to guest star, even better.)

PS - Anjli is in a relationship with Sacha Dhawan, aka the most recent Master. Let THAT one sink in.

[thebadtimewolf]

i feel like today its time to put yall on a blast reminder today

[The setting is within Thirteenth Doctor's Tardis Interior. Queenie the Rebel Skithra - who in appearance mimic that of Racnoss yet in green and bipedal, a humanoid scorpion with tail and the pincers being her forehead and her eyes more "human" than the pitch black of the Racnoss - offers a plan. Its a partial close up of her determined brow and frown.]

[Sea Devil Rose is in the background of the ship, arms fully crossed, ready to fight - ready to battle - ready for war. A frown along her face as well. She is in a black tank top and green cargo pants with a simple brown belt. She looks to Queenie the Rebel Skithra.]

Queenie the Rebel Skithra: (to Thirteenth Doctor) We shall destroy the ship of my people, and save this planet.

Sea Devil Rose: Sounds like a plan. Got any weapons on this thing?

[Tenth Doctor is in a sighed position, the side of his head rested on the palm of his hand. It gives a 'oh if only...' implications. His mind only thinking back to his Rose, almost as if the whole current situation didn't matter - as if it didn't matter that this wasn't his Rose. In one ear, out the other. A clear direct contrast to Age of Steel two-parter where it's reversed. His tone implies pity - albeit misplaced and misdirected at the wrong one. We see this through Sea Devil Rose view - a bored, heavily moral dependent man projecting a past that never and will never happen. The light cast more shadow, almost like in mind, he is still relying to be in the dark.]

Tenth Doctor: Oh Rose... the conquest of Earth has not been good for you.

[Sea Devil Rose makes an x shape with her arms, a physical no to his comment, hands open to wave away yet again of Tenth Doctor's (and the audience's/reader's) projections/pre-conceived assumptions based strictly on her face and name and not her as her own separate self and the bigger picture. She is contained through the opposite view point of Tenth Doctor - almost tunnelvisoned in an angelic glow from Thirteen's Tardis. She. Is. Done. With. Him. She shuts him down immediately. The tone is genuine irritation and her facial expression conveys it as such that she had said this to him way too many times.]

Sea Devil Rose: Yeah, yeah. I'm not like the Rose Tyler you knew. Getting sick of hearing that. Did what I had to in order to protect my people. My family.

[Doctor Who: Alternating Current Part 4 - Sea Devil Rose, Tenth Doctor, Queen of the Skithra with visual description]

_

‘So,’ I said at last. ‘You’re the interface.’

The physically manifested AI of the deadliest weapon in the history of the universe shrugged girlishly. ‘They must have told you the Moment had a conscience.’ She gave me a little wave. ‘Hello! I’m the officiating conscience of the weapon of universal destruction known to you as the Moment, known to most others as the Galaxy Eater.’ She let the truth of that land for a moment. Whatever look she saw on my face must have satisfied her. She laughed, and with a toss of her hair, asked: ‘So, my dear, who will we be slaughtering today?’

I had so many questions I found myself saying nothing at all, which made her laugh again. ‘Oh, look at you. Stuck between a girl and a box. Story of your life, eh, Doctor?’ She knew me? I didn’t think I’d spoken aloud, but she replied anyway. ‘I know you,’ she said. ‘I hear you. All of you, jangling away in that dusty old head. I chose this face and form especially for you—do you like it? It’s from your past. Or possibly your future—I always get those two mixed up.’

She wasn’t from my past, I was certain I’d have remembered her. But the alternative was impossible. ‘I don’t have a future,’ I snapped.

‘I think I’m called Rose Tyler,’ she said. I searched my memory for the name but there was nothing. She was frowning now. ‘No, hang on. Oh, that’s interesting. Bit confusing! In this form, I’m called …’ Her eyes seemed to glow, and somewhere I heard that howling again. ‘Bad Wolf,’ she said. ‘Are you afraid of the big bad wolf, Doctor?’

‘I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, but please stop calling me Doctor.’ ‘

It’s the name in your head.’

‘It shouldn’t be. I’ve been fighting this war for a very long time, I am not the Doctor any more.’ ‘

Then what do people call you now?’ I thought of Cass Fermazzi, how she’d snatched her hand from mine. ‘Nothing. I travel alone.’ She frowned like a petulant child. ‘Not today,’ she informed me, primly. ‘Today you’re traveling with me. The question is, why? What does the Doctor want with a little old galaxy eater like moi?’

- War Doctor (John Hurt) & The Moment/Galaxy Eater/Bad Wolf (Billie Piper)

[Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor: Target Novellisation - Chapter 1 The War of the Doctor pg. 54 - 55]

Anyway, Sea Devil Rose got to meet Thirteenth, Ten, Eleven before our Rose could meet the Doctor again and when she does its with a Doctor that's not interested in her at all. And Eight is completely disinterested in our Rose but interested in Sea Devil Rose - I find this all hilarious but also knowing the Eighth Doctor comics, novels and audios, I'm not surprised he's into human resistance leader-now space dictator sea devil universe rose than our canonical 'from shop girl to dimension cannon-weilding torchwood leader' Rose. Like the infantication of the doctorrose is jarring. And when its jarring, well..... at least our Rose got a mortgage and a daughter and a rather relaxed torchwood life in comparison thank god. We got three billie characters now. If we get one more, Billie can have her orphan black moment, doctor who style.

That and both Rose's take charge on two opposite sides? Rose Tyler took charge in a near compassion route and in turn got the happiest and normal ending versus a rose tyler who took charge in a very 'must survive by any means necessary, compassion is not an option' and took a very loud 'im turning into the exact plot from 8th doctor-The Emperor speed run' in Empire of the Wolf

The fact we got TWO BILLIE CHARACTERS IN CANONICAL MATERIAL BONKING YOU LOT ON THE HEAD LITERALLY SAYING 'IM NOT THE ROSE TYLER THAT MET NINE AND TEN' AND YALL JUST 'im not listening lalala its rose its always monogamy rose x alien lalala' ya'll i didnt know ya'll was the nile personified.

And THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE MOMENT MEETING ROSE HERSELF WITH 'Ooh I got sarcasm now! Rose Tyler's fun, isn't she?' I WOULD LOVE TO OUR ROSE X THE MOMENT PLEASE?? Pretty please IM ON MY KNEES.

The Moment's eyes canonically turn black when the objective is just murder but, glow bad wolf gold for hope and then settle into warm brown for neutral IM PLEASE PLEASE I WANT THE MOMENT BACK SO MUCH

[jennyandvastraflint]

C: How did you come up with the title to "Until the dance ends"?

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

P: Where did you find the most inspiration for your story "Halloween Wars"?

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories? Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?

:)

(I'm so sorry, I am too tired now to read the Strax fic. But I read the beginning/introduction and I already love him for wanting to conjur some celebration for Jenny <3 I am sure he'll do great!)

Ahhhh, thank u for the ask!

C: How did you come up with the title to "Until the dance ends"?

Well, originally I saw a TikTok of two people dancing and one of them not showing up in a mirror, and that kicked off the initial thought process, and since I wanted them to be dancing, it's basically "Until the dance ends, they're happy together". It kinda fits as well with them having limited time (and Vastra making the music last longer because she isn't ready to face it ending) and all, I think!

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

Gosh, I love Turn Loose the Mermaids because it's such a sweet AU and I managed to put so many other characters I love in! And mermaid!Vastra sparks so much joy (Hi, Jenny's obsession with mermaids, I see you <3)

A few other favourites would include Butterfly Queen (it's so fucking fluffy and adorable okkkk), Like Leaves Falling (the healing for me because I've put in personal experiences), a kindest heart made me believe the world as I wish it to be (I'm a sucker for hair braiding as a love language and I am a touch-starved bastard), and Your beauty never ever scared me (I do love me a good fairytale AU... There's a reason I have like four published on my AO3).

P: Where did you find the most inspiration for your story "Halloween Wars"?

Well, I had the concept of Strax throwing a party that escalates into fighting lying around since shortly after Halloween 2020, but I never got round to writing it (said WIP would have included Jenny trying to get Vastra to dress up as a mermaid with a wig of long golden locks btw, and Vastra vehemently refusing, and Strax stealing the wig because he thinks he looks awesome with it...)

Apart from that, it was a lot of spontaneous ideas in the moment. I kinda sat down and wrote 9k in a day, so I don't remember that much XD I did go through a list of Doctor Who monsters to find a whole bunch I'd like to include. Fitting them all in was a bit of a struggle at first (also, I noticed a lot of the ones I had show up began with "S".... Sontaran, Silence, Slitheen, Sea Devil, Skithra... Oops), but I think it turned out fairly well!

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories? Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?

Not at all. It might have to do with my most "popular" fics being in for instance Legend of Korra and The Owl House spaces, which is y'know, slightly annoying when my main business is Paternoster Gang. And from those, I know with archive locking lots of my stuff, I lost guest readers, so many of my older works will show up with more kudos despite imo being nowhere near the quality and depth in characterisation of more recent fics. It's a bit disheartening, honestly, to see the works for some side fandoms be my most popular ones, and it's actually made me stop writing for most of them entirely. Like sure, I do wish my fics were read more, but I am (painfully) aware that the Paternoster fandom consists of like. Maybe three dozen people? Compared to that, LOK with KyaLin has a huge following, and TOH or The Dragon Prince are fairly recent shows and thus receive more attention. But honestly, I treasure each kudo and comment I get, because I know the people who are reading my stuff are loyal readers! I see their names pop up repeatedly and I remember them <3 So, huge thank you to those people who read regularly!

I hope you are satisfied with my answers <3

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #296: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

New Post has been published on http://esonetwork.com/timestamp-296-nikola-teslas-night-of-terror/

Timestamp #296: Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror

Doctor Who: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror (1 episode, s12e04, 2020)

Two great minds collide at the turn of the century!

The place is Niagara Falls. The time is 1903. The man is Nikola Tesla and he is marketing his new method of harnessing electricity through a wireless system. The assembled group is impressed until he names the price tag of $50,000. That ask is one too far, and an investor named Brady publicly flounces after recalling Tesla’s claims about a signal from Mars. The whole affair is interrupted by the discovery of a corpse nearby.

Tesla and his assistant Dorothy Skerrit wonder if the man may have been killed by electric shock. That night, Tesla realizes that some parts have been stolen and discovers a green orb floating nearby. Tesla and Dorothy find the Doctor, then Brady holding a gun. When Brady is killed by a laser blast, the Doctor helps Tesla and Dorothy escape.

They end up on a passing steam train heading to New York City. After introducing the fam in their period costumes, the Doctor helps everyone escape from a cloaked attacker wielding a Silurian blaster. The attacker is one of the investors from the meeting.

The Doctor explains that her team was visiting the area when they found a strange energy reading that led them to Tesla. When Tesla doesn’t cooperate, the Doctor decides to stick to his side. When they arrive in New York City, they run into a protest staged against Tesla and his science of alternating current. Once past the protest line, the Doctor talks to her companions about Tesla’s future achievements. Tesla eventually shows her the orb, a device she identifies as an Orb of Thassor. It belongs to an ancient race who created it to share knowledge, though this model has been modified.

The Doctor and Tesla bond before Dorothy arrives with a letter from Mr. Morgan, an investor who just withdrew his support. When a spy for Thomas Edison snaps a photo from a window, the Doctor decides to visit the rival inventor. Edison decides to give the Doctor and companions a private audience when confronted with the Silurian weapon, but he denies wanting to steal from Tesla and explains their history together, claiming that Tesla is bitter.

Meanwhile, Yaz asks Tesla about his Wardenclyffe project. He muses about his plans to transmit all of humanity’s knowledge wirelessly – the dreams of databases and mobile phones – but he has no investors to realize his dreams. The orb activates just as the red-eyed assassin arrives at Edison’s facility and electrocutes all of the engineers. Edison theorizes that the Doctor’s team is trying to sabotage his work. They are interrupted by the assassin and flee, realizing along the way that it can mimic people. Specifically, dead people. She uses zinc to trap the creature behind a wall of fire, but it disappears after being confronted.

The Doctor tries to warn Yaz, but Dorothy arrives, the hostage of two assassins wearing dead men’s bodies. The creatures teleport Tesla and Yaz to a room filled with scorpion-like aliens. The Doctor arrives moments later with Edison in the TARDIS and takes Dorothy along as they pursue the aliens. The Doctor realizes that the orb has been hacked to receive information about the period. It has been searching for Tesla, and after Dorothy recalls the claims about signals from Mars, the Doctor sets a course for Wardenclyffe.

The leader of the scorpions introduces herself as the Queen of the Skithra. She has been scavenging Tesla’s equipment and wants the inventor to prepare them for battle. When Tesla refuses, the queen decides to kill Yaz. Luckily, the Doctor arrives with a Braxium Bouncer (Mark III) to teleport the humans home. The Doctor realizes that the Skithra ship is made from stolen tech and the queen needs someone to fix it. Once the bouncer recharges, the Doctor teleports herself, Yaz, and Tesla away.

Of course, Tesla is surprised to find Edison in his private lab. He’s even more surprised by the TARDIS. Once inside, the Doctor issues an ultimatum to the Skithra to leave Earth. The queen sends her disguised minions to find Tesla while he ponders her decision to either take him or destroy the Earth. The Doctor asks him to explain his Wardenclyffe project, realizing that could generate an electric bolt and hit the Skithra ship. Edison disagrees, but the Doctor presses her plan into action.

Tesla and the Doctor work on the tower after extending the TARDIS shields around the area. Edison and Yaz clear the streets while Dorothy, Graham, and Ryan fortify the laboratory. The Skithra attack as the tower charges – there’s not enough energy to keep the shields up at the same time – and the queen lands at Wardenclyffe before the tower can fire.

The queen threatens the group as the Doctor confronts her. The Doctor tries to take the bouncer, but the queen takes it instead. The Doctor activates the device with her sonic screwdriver, teleporting the queen back to her ship. Tesla activates the tower and blasts the ship, forcing the Skithra to teleport back before leaving the planet for good.

As everyone recovers, Edison offers Tesla a job, but Tesla turns him down. Yaz wonders if the events they witnessed will change history, but the Doctor laments that Tesla still dies forgotten and penniless. His inventions still change the world, though, and as the team says farewell, Tesla promises to work for the future.

In what seems to be a better version of the previous episode, we get a good monster mystery with a good historical basis to go with it. The setting of 1903, which is never directly stated in the episode, is an approximation based on events: The real Wardenclyffe Tower was completed around 1902 and was primarily funded by investor J.P. Morgan; the real letter from Mr. Morgan was dated July 14, 1903, and was a refusal to fund Tesla’s project after the inventor changed the project’s scope; and that night, the tower apparently came to life with bright flashes of light.

Indeed, we don’t speak enough about Nikola Tesla. I spent a lot of time learning about him in my physics studies, but the rest of the world thinks more about Thomas Edison when considering electricity. The resurgence of popular interest in Tesla over the last few decades has been amazing to watch.

The villains of this piece, the Skithra, could have easily been the Racnoss. True, the Empress and her people that we met in The Runaway Bride were supposed to be the last of their kind, but this is Doctor Who, where everything is made up and the continuity has been fluid since 1963. The queen was a mindbender since I’m used to seeing actress Anjli Mohindra as Rani Chandra on The Sarah Jane Adventures. She and Bradley Walsh crossed paths in the Whoniverse during The Day of the Clown.

Robert Glenister, the actor who played Edison, is also a familiar face. We last saw him as Salateen in The Caves of Androzani.

I loved the mystery behind the Skithra, and even though they come across as more violent versions of Star Trek‘s Pakleds, the menace and creepiness were a lot of fun. The Braxium Bouncer (Mark III) bit was a nice double-cross in an era where the Doctor seems more reactive than proactive.

All told, I really enjoyed this episode and consider it a great step forward for the season.

Rating: 4/5 – “Would you care for a jelly baby?”

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Fugitive of the Judoon

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[cynicalclassicist]

If you want to know the way my mind works, I was looking at the Digital Dante Inferno Canto 26 (https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-26/…) for comparisons with Tecteun and on thinking about the transgressor in relation to scientists saw Thomas Edison and the Skithra Queen parallel her.

[billdecker]

Doctor Who Rewatch | Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

[evviejo]

thirteen’s era appreciation: 93/?

[crazyrichxplainr]

Anjli Mohindra

[magiclovingdragon]

[inevitable-anna]

Doctor Who S12X04 Minor Spoilers

[[MORE]]

Queen Skithra: “Have you ever seen a dead planet?”

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