Who Review: Terror of the Zygons

The Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry respond to the Brigadier’s summons, landing in present-day Scotland. A North Sea oil rig has been attacked, but no-one is to be able to trace the attacker. It seems three other rigs were similarly attacked in the past month. Harry attempts to talk to one of the attack survivors, but his attempt lands him in hospital with a serious head injury. Meanwhile, the Doctor examines a piece of the rig that has washed ashore, only to discover giant tooth holes in the metal. When Sarah visits Harry in hospital, she is accosted by a strange orange creature that, apparently, used to be the attending nurse. An alien plot is unfolding in that Scottish village, and the TARDIS crew is finding it hard to tell who they can trust…

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

While this story begins a new season of Doctor Who, it was, in fact, recorded as part of the previous season, and hence it serves as the conclusion of the loose arc that started with “Robot.” It also marks the end of Harry Sullivan’s time on the TARDIS, and, indeed, the end of the UNIT era. UNIT will make an appearance once more in this season (see “The Android Invasion”), and again 13 years later in “Battlefield,” but from this point on, they are no longer a regular feature of the show.

The Zygons themselves are a great Who baddie, and it’s puzzling that this was their only story in the Classic run. Not only are they a great design, but they are interesting conceptually, with their shape-shifting ability that keeps you guessing who’s who. Fandom cheered when the Zygons returned for the Fiftieth Anniversary special.

Speaking of great design, the Zygon ship is superbly realized, the way it continues the organic look of the monsters, with squishy controls and tentacle-like wires. It’s a very different take on a spacecraft, which is not something you often see in sci-fi, where all space ships tend to look alike.

For his last major role in Doctor Who, Ian Marter does an outstanding job not only playing “normal” Harry Sullivan, but also playing Zygon Harry. The menace he conjures in his eyes as he attacks Sarah Jane is totally convincing. There’s no question this is not the same Harry Sullivan, despite appearances.

Overall, the show is a win for the effects and costume teams, with the possible exception of the “Nessie” monster. We could give them a bit of a pass because it was supposed to be a cyborg in the story, so it shouldn’t matter if it looks like the dinosaurs from “Invasion of the Dinosaurs.” But after doing so well elsewhere, it’s a bit of a disappointment.

In summary, “Terror of the Zygons” is very much worth your time–maybe even essential, given it’s the only time you see the Zygons in Classic Who. The Zygons are a creative and challenging foe, and the effects and costumes are above standard for the era. And, most importantly, it’s a great story.

By the way, I believe the DVD release of “Terror of the Zygons” was the last complete Doctor Who serial to come out on DVD. The soundtrack has been remixed for 5.1 surround, possibly by keeping the core mono track, and re-applying sound effects and incidental music. Did they do this to mark the occasion? I don’t know. But they did a good job.