Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons (BBC) featuring the 4th Doctor, Tom Baker – first aired in 1975.
This was the last regular appearance by Ian Marter as companion Harry Sullivan, who would later return in The Android Invasion. It was also the last regular to feature Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
Returning to Earth, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry arrive in the Scottish Highlands to investigate the mysterious destruction of several oil rigs in the North Sea. Local superstition speaks of a deadly threat that lurks in the mists on Tulloch Moor, but the truth is even more disturbing: the legendary Loch Ness Monster is a terrifying cyborg beast which is controlled by the Zygons, an advanced alien race who are desperate to ensure their own survival, at any cost…
Special Features
- Director's Cut
- Commentary
- Scotch Mist in Sussex, Remembering Douglas Camfield
- The Unit Family – Part Three
- Doctor Who Stories – Tom Baker
- Doctor Who Stories – Elisabeth Sladen
- South Today
- Merry-Go-Round The Fuel Fishers
- Easter Eggs
- Isolated Music, Photo Gallery, Radio Times Listings
Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons Review
"..The first part of Terror Of The Zygons certainly embraces all things Scottish and has more of the native clichés than you can shake a haggis at. Surprise, surprise – it’s the first thing that we hear, about 30 seconds in, when laconic rig worker Munro requests a supply of haggis, since the local chef’s evidently not up to Masterchef standard. Before you know it, The Brig’s taken to wearing a kilt, a character’s called The Caber, while the landlord insists on playing bagpipes…But despite these clichés, Terror Of The Zygons always feels totally real. Now this is no mean feat considering that the main monster alternates between something that looks like it’s escaped from Trumpton and a novelty sock puppet. Nevertheless, Terror builds on the gritty realism that Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes mastered in the 12th season.
A good litmus test is to take a latter day Pertwee UNIT story and compare it with Terror. Excellent though the Pertwee years are, they still are geared towards family entertainment. Which is no bad thing, but if you like your Who full of shocks and uncompromising moments, then Terror is the obvious choice. For one thing, UNIT are straight-ahead soldiers again rather than the lovable goons of seasons 10 and 11. The Brig has evidently got his brain back after the poor showing in Planet Of The Spiders, and while the good humour is still in evidence, he’s still full of shrewd ideas and grit at the same time. Look how he stands up to a sulky Doctor, using the obvious ploy of pointing out the possibility of more deaths at sea. Benton too is more of a no-nonsense capable character rather than the blundering number two. John Levene would make one more appearance in The Android Invasion, but sadly, it’s the last we’ll see of the ever-brilliant Nicholas Courtney for quite a while. Courtney’s excellent acting and twinkle in the eye rightly made The Brig an iconic character in Doctor Who history, and at least Terror is a good story for his last regular appearance.
Another difference between the two is the increasingly alien Doctor. By the latter day Pertwee stories, the third Doctor had evidently mellowed and gelled well with the UNIT family. However, after the good-humoured Doctor of Robot, we now get a slightly different proposition. The cheer and the toothy grin are still in evidence, but this is a darker, more mysterious Doctor than ever before. Take the instance when Huckle and The Brig exchange awkward glances after The Doctor just sits boggle-eyed, staring into space without saying a word. This is no longer a Doctor that you can get a reading on. You never know what’s coming next, and without warning, The Doctor emerges from his reverie to jump up like a Jack-In-The-Box to proclaim that the sea may be calm but never empty.
And there are many instances of this distant, alien persona dotted throughout the story. The rather creepy scene in which The Doctor hypnotises Sarah in the decompression chamber is one that springs to mind. In this case, The Doctor is almost scary, the distorted close up of his wide-eyed face is not comforting, and neither is his gurgling, hissing voice to Sarah. Or take the moment when he’s being hilariously rude about The Duke Of Forgill in part three, doing a rather bad impersonation and then acting like’s nothing happened once the genuine article walks in. But this good humour is turned on its head after The Duke proves to be unmoved by UNIT’s theories. “I do believe you’re serious,” says The Duke incredulously, to which The Doctor booms: “OH WE ARE! VERY!”
Terror Of The Zygons is another good indicator of why Tom Baker is still regarded by many as the definitive Doctor. Going from mood to mood in the blink of an eye and making it seem so easy takes some doing – but Baker does this effortlessly. And despite his many bad moods, you can’t help but cheer for a Doctor who has such a witty sense of humour. “You can’t rule the world in hiding. You have to come out on to the balcony sometimes to wave a tentacle – if you’ll pardon the expression!” is one such killer line delivered with deadpan wit by the great man himself.
Interestingly though, Terror also proves that this incarnation is a big old screamer. It’s the first story to establish what’s known as The Baker Bellow – or AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! as he yells it. It sounds like a lion who’s just swallowed a wailing baby whole, and it threatens to destroy the eardrums. The Baker Bellow crops up with alarming regularity, so much so that for once Sarah’s trailing in the screaming stakes…Still, this story is full of piercing shrieks and is another example of how Terror differs from later Pertwee stories. Several characters come to sticky ends. Munro is shot by the Zygon Caber. Some UNIT extra is flattened by the Skarasen. And most memorably, poor old Angus is throttled by the Zygon Sister Lamont. Angus is an interesting chap. He actually gets no more than ten minutes of screen time, but Angus Lennie’s acting is impressive enough to make him stick in the mind. He’s a rather dour, humourless grunt of a landlord, whether he's not getting Sarah’s jokes or complaining to Benton about UNIT’s bug hunt – but his eerie monologue about the Jamieson brothers is rather haunting and certainly convincing enough to make him a shoo-in for Creepy Seer Of Scotland 1975. But his death is expertly handled: After initially chatting with what he thinks is Sister Lamont (“It’s a while since we’ve seen you”) his initial banter turns to disbelief and then pure horror as Lamont shimmers in 1975 TOTP video effects to the Zygon. And his last pained screams certainly give the impression that Zygon claws have some sort of sting. It’s a mini-masterclass in how to send kids behind the sofa.
And guess what? Douglas Camfield’s back. After a five-year absence, Camfield proves that he hadn’t lost the knack of directing first class Who. Camfield really knows how to make a sequence come alive. A hunt for Harry in the barn doesn’t sound like much, but this is something special. This sequence is filmed with dedicated precision, with subjective close-ups of Zygon Harry’s evil eyes and then the greatly shocking rapid cuts as Zygon Harry threatens Sarah with a pitchfork. Gripping stuff. Camfield’s direction really sells the scene, but then so does Ian Marter’s fantastic portrayal of Zygon Harry, all creepy looks and vicious dismissal. Sadly, Ian Marter’s time as a regular is nearly up, and although the character never really lived up to its full potential, he always turned in reliably good performances to make Harry a popular, endearing companion.
Camfield also knows how to introduce the Zygons. They are kept to a minimum in the first part with sneaky close-ups of eyes and effective cross fades of claws and gurgling voices. And then that all-important reveal at the end of part one. It’s done with appropriately (given Camfield’s background) military timing. Harry screams “No! No!” as Lamont changes into a Zygon. We then cut to a distorted shot of The Doctor saying “No, no” on the telephone to Sarah. Then a shot of an alien claw. And finally the rapid zoom-in into the Zygon’s ugly visage as the climatic theme scream blends in with Sarah’s. Now that’s what I call a cliffhanger.
The Zygons themselves are excellent aliens, and it’s too bad that they’ve never come back on screen. Admittedly, they do have quite a lot in common with the Axons, what with their enforced exile on Earth, their organic technology and their shape-shifting techniques. But they are very well designed and also their leader Broton is superbly portrayed by John Woodnutt in the finest of his four guest appearances in Who. Even the human-form Zygons are well done, with Lillias Walker’s supremely creepy Sister Lamont nabbing the Eeriest Sidekick Of The 1970s title.
In fact, there’s very little wrong with Terror Of The Zygons. The location filming may have taken place in Sussex rather than Scotland, but it’s still convincing enough. There’s some beautiful photography, such as the silhouetted shot of a dazed Munro walking out of the sea or The Doctor’s getaway from the Skarasen. The model shots are strike one, with the impressive launch of the Zygon ship and its presence in the English quarry being particularly effective. And Geoffrey Burgon’s lilting music makes for a nice change of pace too, nicely summing up the atmosphere of each scene without being too intrusive. But alas, the Skarasen does fail to convince. The jerky stop-motion shots on the moors are pretty ropey, but then we get the all-important climax ruined by the sock puppet Skarasen waggling its head around like Sooty on drugs in front of a fake CSO backdrop.
Even so, does this goof really matter? After 90-odd minutes of sheer scary perfection, it doesn’t really. It’s like saying that The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is rubbish because of the rat. Or that The Caves Of Androzani fails because of what looks like Green Claws blundering about at the end of part two. Admittedly, you need a sympathetic eye to ignore the fake tack of the Skarasen puppet, but in my book, it doesn’t matter a jot. While Terror Of The Zygons bids adieu to the past (with the exits of The Brig and Harry) it also says hello to the classic mid-70s style of storytelling with a confident swagger. The start of a near-perfect 26 weeks of television magic." shadowlocked.com