Terror of the Zygons
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Terror of the Zygons is the first serial of the 13th season of the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', which was the first broadcast in four weekly parts on
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
from 30 August to 20 September 1975. It was the last regular appearance by
Ian Marter Ian Don Marter (28 October 194428 October 1986) was an English actor and writer, known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC science-fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from December 1974 to September 1975, with a non-regular, one-s ...
as companion Harry Sullivan and
Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...
as
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...
. The serial is set in and around
Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...
and in London. In the serial, the alien shapeshifters the
Zygon The Zygons are an extraterrestrial race in the long-running British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Zygons have shape-shifting abilities, allowing them to replicate the appearance of another being. Limited by the sma ...
s plot to use their cyborg sea monster the Skarasen to take over the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
after they discover their home planet was destroyed.


Plot

The
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
,
Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien t ...
and Harry Sullivan arrive via the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
in Scotland near the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
where
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...
and U.N.I.T. are investigating the destruction of
oil rig {{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling. Kinds of oil rig include: * Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling * Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling * ...
s. The survivors' assertion that the rigs were destroyed by a huge sea creature is corroborated by giant teeth marks in the wreckage. During their investigation, Harry is captured by the
Zygon The Zygons are an extraterrestrial race in the long-running British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Zygons have shape-shifting abilities, allowing them to replicate the appearance of another being. Limited by the sma ...
s, a shape-shifting alien race hiding in their submerged spacecraft. Their leader, Broton, tells Harry that their spaceship had sustained damage and landed on Earth centuries ago to await rescue, but when they discovered that their home planet had been destroyed in a stellar explosion they decided instead to conquer the Earth and terraform it to suit their physiology. To achieve this goal, they have captured several humans to use as "body prints" to infiltrate key leadership positions, including the influential Duke of Forgill who serves as head of the Scotland Energy Commission. They had also brought an embryonic sea creature called the Skarasen to Earth and augmented it with cyborg technology until it has reached giant proportions. They are directing it with a signalling device to attack the rigs as part of their larger plan. Whilst investigating the similarity between the Skarasen and the monster in nearby
Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...
, Sarah Jane stumbles upon a secret passageway at the Duke of Forgill's mansion. She follows the passage to the Zygons' submerged spacecraft. Whilst searching the ship she locates and frees Harry, who reveals the Zygon stratagem. With their presence discovered, Broton accelerates their plan. He takes the Duke's form and leaves for London, while the remaining Zygons fly their ship to a nearby quarry, starting reactors to convert the Earth's atmosphere to one hospitable to Zygons but poisonous to humans. The Doctor sneaks aboard the ship, frees the remaining humans and sets the ship to self-destruct, killing the Zygon crew. Among the rescued humans, the Duke warns that he was scheduled to attend the first international energy conference in London that day, at which several high-level dignitaries will be in attendance. With the conference located in a building near the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, the Doctor fears that Broton will lure the Skarasen to attack the conference. U.N.I.T. races them to London but, before the Doctor can stop him, Broton activates the signalling device. The Brigadier kills Broton, and the Doctor recovers the device just as the Skarasen surfaces. The Doctor throws the device into the Thames, the creature eats it and, no longer a threat, returns to Loch Ness. The group returns to Scotland to close up the investigation, with the Brigadier reporting that the Cabinet will cover up the incident. The Doctor offers them all a return trip back to London via the TARDIS, but the Brigadier and Harry decline.


Production

Interested in gaining new writers for ''Doctor Who'',
script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...
Robert Holmes discussed ideas for the programme with
Robert Banks Stewart Robert Banks Stewart (16 July 1931 – 14 January 2016) was a Scottish screenwriter, television producer and former journalist. He was sometimes credited as Robert Stewart early in his career. Banks Stewart contributed extensively to drama for th ...
. After their meeting in early 1974, Stewart devised a storyline for a six-part adventure called ''The Secret of Loch Ness''. Stewart felt that Scotland's legendary
Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...
would make an ideal basis for a story because there were so few details about the mythical creature. Although at first focusing on the Loch Ness Monster itself, Holmes encouraged Stewart to concentrate more on the
Zygon The Zygons are an extraterrestrial race in the long-running British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Zygons have shape-shifting abilities, allowing them to replicate the appearance of another being. Limited by the sma ...
s, the shape-shifting aliens of the story. As the story evolved, it was known variously as ''The Loch'', ''The Secret of the Loch'', ''The Loch Ness Monster'', ''The Zygons'' and finally ''Terror of the Zygons''. ''Terror of the Zygons'' was originally intended as the finale for Season 12, ending the TARDIS crew's continuous adventures and delivering Harry Sullivan back to Earth. Instead, due to scheduling concerns, the serial was held back as the first story of Season 13. Due to budgetary constraints, location filming in Scotland was not possible and outdoor scenes for ''Terror of the Zygons'' were all shot in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
. The North Sea beach scenes were filmed on the beach at
Climping Climping (also spelt as Clymping) is a village and civil parish containing agricultural and natural sandy land in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The parish also contains the coastal hamlet of Atherington. It is three miles (5 km) ...
; scenes on Tulloch Moor were shot on the common at
South Ambersham South Ambersham is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the Chichester (district), Chichester Districts of England, district of West Sussex, England. It lies 0.7 miles (1.2 km) south of the A272 road and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Midhurst. Until ...
in the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
; and the landing area for the Zygon spaceship was filmed at Hall Aggregates Quarry in
Storrington Storrington is a small town in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. it has a population of around 4,60 ...
.


Cast notes

John Woodnutt had previously appeared as Hibbert in ''
Spearhead from Space ''Spearhead from Space'' is the first serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1970. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' ...
'' (1970) and the Draconian Emperor in ''
Frontier in Space ''Frontier in Space'' is the third serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 24 February to 31 March 1973. It was the last serial to ...
'' (1973), and would go on to play Consul Seron in ''
The Keeper of Traken ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1981). Angus Lennie previously played Storr in ''
The Ice Warriors ''The Ice Warriors'' is the partly missing third serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 11 November to 16 December 1967. In this serial, the ...
'' (1967). This was Nicholas Courtney's last regular appearance in the series. The Brigadier would next be seen in ''
Mawdryn Undead ''Mawdryn Undead'' is the third serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 to 9 February 1983. The serial is set in an Engl ...
'', almost eight years later.


Broadcast and reception

In ''The Television Companion'' (1998),
David J. Howe David J. Howe is a British writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian. Biography David Howe was born 24 August 1961 and established himself (in the early 1980s) as an authoritative media historian through writing articles for fanzin ...
and Stephen James Walker wrote that ''Terror of the Zygons'' gave a stereotypical portrayal of the Scottish and showed how much the show had changed since abandoning its regular UNIT premise. They felt that the story gave UNIT its "dignity and believability" and praised the conception of the Zygons, though they noted that the shape-shifting concept was not original. Despite classifying the Skarasen as the "major weakness", they said "the story remains a strong one". In 2010, Mark Braxton of ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' praised the "exquisitely horrible" design of the Zygons and the cliff-hanger of the first episode where a Zygon attacks Sarah. He also was positive towards guest actor John Woodnutt and the incidental music, calling the whole production "a class act", aside from the Loch Ness Monster.
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
's John Sinnott gave the story four and a half out of five stars, praising the cast and the design of the Zygons. Ian Berriman of '' SFX'' felt that it was "churlish" to criticise the Loch Ness Monster effect when the story "gets so much right, including first-class direction, pitch-perfect performances and a hauntingly eerie, folky score". He also was positive towards the design of the Zygons and their spaceship, though he found their scheme far-fetched. Christopher Bahn, reviewing the story for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', described it as "fun" but noted that it could be formulaic instead of trying to be "groundbreaking"; he criticised the scene in the second episode in which Broton tells Harry everything about the Zygons, which did not leave much surprise for the later episodes. Nevertheless, he praised the cast, the action sequences, and the Zygons, which he described as "wonderfully surreal triumph of Doctor Who visual design", though otherwise they functioned as a typical
monster-of-the-week "Villain of the week" (or, depending on genre, "monster of the week", "freak of the week" or "alien of the week") is an antagonist that only appears in one episode of a multi-episode work of fiction. A villain of the week is commonly seen in Bri ...
. Reviewing the serial in 1999, literary critic
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Born ...
acclaimed ''Terror of the Zygons'' as "a riveting and horrifying adventure", singling out the fleshy Zygon costumes for particular praise. He drew parallels with a number of historic ''Doctor Who'' serials, noting that the Zygon story drew on some familiar ''Doctor Who'' ingredients, including alien invasion ('' The Invasion''), "body snatchers" (''
The Faceless Ones ''The Faceless Ones'' is the mostly missing eighth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 April to 13 May 1967. In this serial, the Sec ...
''), an oil rig setting (''
Fury from the Deep ''Fury from the Deep'' is the completely missing sixth serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 16 March to 20 April 1968. In this serial, the D ...
''), biomechanical technology (''
The Claws of Axos ''The Claws of Axos'' is the third serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971. In the serial, set in Britain, ...
'') and the revelation of an ancient Earth legend to be alien in origin (''
The Dæmons ''The Dæmons'' is the fifth and final serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in five weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 May to 19 June 1971. In the serial, the alien ...
''). However, he was disparaging of the use of a
glove puppet Glove puppetry () is a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of China's Fujian province, and historically practised in the Min Nan-speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaosh ...
to represent the Loch Ness Monster, comparing it to "the ''
Invasion of the Dinosaurs ''Invasion of the Dinosaurs'', simply titled ''Invasion'' in Part One, is the second serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 12 Januar ...
'' debacle".


Commercial releases


In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by
Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English people, English author and television screenwriter, script editor and Television producer, producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fictio ...
, was published by
Target Books Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well ...
in January 1976 under the title ''Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster''. It was later republished under the original title, in 1993, with a cover by Alister Pearson. In the novelisation, the Zygons have a deadly sting, the TARDIS momentarily disappears after landing and the Prime Minister is a man.


Home media

''Terror of the Zygons'' first came out on VHS in November 1988, having been previously available only in Australia; this was in an omnibus format. It was first released in complete and unedited episodic format on
Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
in 1997, followed by a new VHS release, also in episodic format, in August 1999 in the United Kingdom, and released in 2000 in the United States and Canada. Music from this serial was released on the CD '' Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons''. The story was released on DVD on 30 September 2013. It features a "director's cut" version of Part One with a previously unseen and newly restored 1 min 40 second opening scene featuring the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arriving in the TARDIS, which has materialised invisibly due to a faulty fusion plate. The restored scene has been recoloured by
Stuart Humphryes Stuart Humphryes (born 10 December 1969) is an English multimedia artist for print, film and television, and a social media content creator, chiefly known for his work enhancing early colour photography. He first rose to prominence colourising ...
. A single disc version (with no extras) of the DVD formed part of the Fourth Doctor Time Capsule released on 29 July 2013.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * Haining, Peter. ''Doctor Who: 25 Glorious Years'' W H Allen (1988)


External links

*


Target novelisation

* {{Zygon stories Fourth Doctor serials Doctor Who serials novelised by Terrance Dicks 1975 British television episodes Doctor Who stories set on Earth Loch Ness Monster in television UNIT serials Television episodes set in Scotland