OK, I have finally conceded and decided to do another post revisitation and the post in question will be on a Doctor Who story, which i have already reviewed, which is Terror of the Zygons.
So, after 42 years let's see how this Tom Baker era classic holds up....
And yep the usual warning is coming up....
SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
OK, so the story is set in Scotland and starts with the collapse of an oil rig as a high pitched beeping echoes throughout the rig and it breaks into the North sea. Meanwhile the Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry (Ian Marter) who have been summoned by the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney). They receive a lift from the Duke of Forgill (John Woodnutt) who is a local landowner, who drops them off a local inn, where the Brig has set up his operations and is accompanied by his squad and RSM Benton (John Levene). The Doctor is irked by the Brigadier summoning him as at first he doesn't seem concenred by the troubles at sea, but the Brig soon convinces him to help investigate.
Harry investigates the medical files of the injuries of the men's crew while Sarah goes to talk with the local inn's landlord, Angus (Angus Lennie). Angus admits to Sarah that the Duke has not been the same since the oil companies have come as all his servants have gone to work for them. Sarah also notices a stag head in the inn, which Angus warns her not to touch as it was gift from the Duke.
Meanwhile Harry while driving enroute back to the inn spots a survivor of the wrecked rig stumble and collapse on the shore, where Harry goes over to help him. The survivor tells Harry they had no chance as the rig was smashed to pieces, then out of nowhere the man is shot dead, and Harry is shot also by the Caber (Robert Russell) one of the Duke's men.
Back at the inn Sarah receives a call about Harry and Sarah goes to see him, and as Harry awakes he mutters about the rig, and the hospital head nurse, Sister Lamont (Lillias Walker) tells Sarah that Harry should rest. Sarah then goes to call the Doctor and she tells him that Harry is in stable condition, however at that point Sister Lamont transforms infront of Harry's eyes. Sarah while chatting to the Doctor on the phone is suddenly attacked by the transformed sister, who is revealed to be an orange alien biped, a zygon.
The Doctor goes to the sick bay where Sister Lamont tells him that Sarah had gone and Harry's bed is empty. The Doctor looks around the sick bay and finds Sarah inside a decompression chamber, but before they can leave the door is locked by a Zygon, who removes the oxygen from the chamber. The Doctor then puts Sarah in a hypnotic trance so she does not need to breath and the Doctor does the same for himself.
Harry in the meantime is brought to the Zygon spaceship which is deep underwater and he speaks to their leader, Broton (also John Woodnutt) who tells Harry that their planet was destroyed centuries ago and they have been stranded on Earth ever since, but they intend to claim Earth for their themselves along with aid of a cyborg creature called the Skarasen, which is said to resemble the myth of the "Loch ness monster".
Benton soon manages to find the Doctor and Sarah at the sick bay and opens the decompression chamber, where the Doctor comes around and tells Benton that he learned a trick from a Tibetan monk that helped them. Meanwhile the Brigadier and his men have been knocked out by nerve gas which has hit the village, but they soon revive, and the Doctor deduces that this must be a diversion so that something can make its way past them unseen.
The zygons meanwhile use Harry by scanning his brain print in order for them to assume his human form, and one of the zygons disguised as Harry goes to the village and recovers a tracking device, used by the zygons, which the zygons takes from Sarah, who runs after him. Sarah follows the Zygon Harry into a nearby barn, and the zygon attacks Sarah with a pitchfork in the upper level of the barn, but the zygon falls off to its death and reverts back to its normal form. Broton then orders for the zygon to be disintegrated before it is found, which is gone by the time Sarah brings Benton to the barn.
Broton decides to unleash the Skarasen and in doing so it activates the tracking device, which the Doctor takes and uses to divert the creature away, and the Brigadier eventually get's a signal on it as it originated from Loch Ness, meanwhile the Doctor barely survives an attack from the Skarasen, as Harry sabotages the Zygons control console onboard the ship just in time. And from here the Doctor decides to pay the Duke a visit at Forgill castle, where ultimaltey the story begins to unravel as the Doctor will soon encounter his foes and try and find a way to stop their plans of world domination...
THOUGHTS
Terror of the Zygons easily stands as one of the best of Tom Baker's early stories and it also proved to be the last full proper UNIT story of the original series run until Battlefield in the Sylvester McCoy era (Android Invasion did follow later in the same season but it didn't feature UNIT as much only Benton).
And in that regard it really did signal the end of the UNIT era as the new producer at that time, Philip Hinchcliffe decided that it was time to move the show on from that era and see the Doctor return fully to his time travels. However as the last hurra for UNIT there is no doubt that it was an excellent one and the story itself written by Robert Banks Stewart is great, as it nicely uses the whole Loch Ness monster theme very well. The zygons themselves remain one of the most creepy and unique villains in the original show's run and their bizarre design and appearance is something you won't forget quickly.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
Performance wise Terror of the zygons is pretty strong all round.
Tom Baker, who has grown well into playing the Doctor at this point provides another fine performance, and his potrayal of the Doctor starts to show signs of him becoming a bit darker in tone, yet he still allows for some levity as well, and this tone would continue to be developed in the same season of the time (which was Baker's 2nd season and 13th season of the show overall).
Tom has plenty of fine scenes in the story, some of which I will mention, and to start with there is the scene where the Doctor meets with the Brigadier, who tells him about the disappearance of the rigs but the Doctor is not really interested.
So, the Doctor interrupts the Brig and says "Brigadier! Brigadier! Have you brought me two hundred and seventy million miles just to sort out a little trouble at sea?!". The Brig then firmly says "Three serious disasters, Doctor!" and the Doctor shouts back "When I left the psionic beam with you, Brigadier, I said it was only to be used in an emergency!". The Brig then says "This IS an emergency" and the Doctor mockingly says "Oh, an emergency???!! It's about time the people who run this planet of yours realised that to be dependent upon a mineral slime just doesn't make sense!". The Brigadier then says to the Doctor "Doctor, the destruction of these rigs is a complete mystery. Do you want more men to die?". The Doctor then gives in, groans and says "Very well! When do we start?".
Then there is the scene where the Doctor, Brig, S and H meet with Mr Huckle, one of Hibernian oil's representatives says about the oil rigs "These babies are meant to be unsinkable!" and the Doctor replies "Yes and so was the Bismarc and we all know that story!". So, the Doctor asks Mr Huckle "You say these radio blackouts have happened before?" and Huckle replies "Each time a rig has disappeared" and the Doctor asks "No strange craft in the area? Nothing suspicious?" and Huckle says "Difficult to be sure. It was at night. The radio picked up some strange sound, but as far as we know, the sea was calm and empty". And then the Doctor replies "It may be calm but its never empty....".
Also the scene where the Doctor is in the hypnotic trance in the decompression chamber and Benton finds him and Sarah inside, the Doctor whispers "It worked Mr Benton!" and Benton whispers back "What worked?" and the Doctor whispers "Why are you whispering?". And Benton says in a normal level voice "What worked, Doctor?" and the Doctor replies "Oh, just a trick I picked up from a Tibetan monk. Don't touch her. It could be fatal to break the spell incorrectly". So, the Doctor gently leans forward and tilts Sarah's neck, which brings her around and she gasps and looks up and says "What happened??".
Then there is the scene where the Doctor, being held captive onboard the Zygon ship is met with by Broton (in his native Zygon form). And the Doctor smiles and says "Social call?" and Broton asks him "You admire our technology, human?" and the Doctor says "Well, I'm not human and I've seen better". And Broton defiantly says "Better than this?!" and he changes form back into the Duke of Forgill and the Doctor mockingly applauds and says "Very good! Very good! Almost impressive. But why bother?". Broton then explains part of his plan for conquest of the Earth and that the planet must be restructured for the arrival of more Zygon ships "It will be many centuries before the fleet arrives. In that time, the whole of this Earth must be restructured" and the Doctor smiles and says "I'll say one thing for you, Broton, you think big!". Broton then tells the Doctor he intends to use humans as forced slave labour to carry out the task and the Doctor tells him "You're underestimating human beings, Broton" and Broton turns to him and says "We shall see. Tomorrow I shall demonstrate my ultimate power".
Then there is the scene where the Doctor releases the humans that were being kept by the Zygons, the Duke, Caber and Nurse Lamont and he starts to sabotage the ship's controls. So, the Doctor get's Caber to break off one of the controls and the Doctor says "Right, let's see what other damage we can do!" and he looks to a piece of tech and says "Anyone know what this?" and the Duke says "I haven't faintest idea and the nurse says "You tell us" and the Doctor says "I will. Its the self destruct and it works like this!" and he activates it. The Doctor then turns to them and says "Right, we've got about sixty seconds before the whole ship blows up!". And after they escape the ship and it blows up and are reunited with Sarah, Harry and the Brigadier, the Doctor says to the Brig "Was that bang big enough for you, Brigadier??".
WARNING: THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REFERS TO THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY, SO IT IS ONE BIG SPOILER!!!
And last of all is the scene where the Doctor has his final confrontation with Broton, who is set to use the Skarasen to attack London but the UNIT troops come in and shoot Broton dead and the Doctor then uses the signal device Broton had and throws it at the Skarasen outside, which towers over the Thames. And the Doctor in the scene goes out onto a balcony of Stanbridge house and he aims the signal device toward the Skarasen and says "Go on, boy....fetch!" and he throws it and Skarasen ends up chewing it up.
So, as Sarah and Harry join the Doctor, Sarah asks him "Where's the signal device?" and the Doctor says "He's chewing it!". Sarah then looks as the Skarasen goes back down below into the waters and she says "Its going back down under the surface!" and the Doctor says "He'll go home now he's eaten the device" and Harry asks "Home?" and the Doctor says "Loch Ness, Harry. The only home he knows".
Elisabeth Sladen does another fine job as Sarah Jane and she has some good moments in the story that include the scene near the start where Sarah Jane and Harry are both amused when they see the Brigadier wearing a kilt. So, Sarah says to the Brig "Anyway, its nice to see you again, Brigadier" and the Brig says "And you, Miss Smith" and Sarah grins and says "Though I didn't expect to see you in a kilt!". However, the Brigadier says to her "My dear Miss Smith, as you remember, my name is Lethbridge Stewart. The clan Stewart!" and Sarah laughs and says "Oh, sorry. I thought you were doing a Doctor!".
Then there is the scene where Sarah walks into the inn and we hear the bagpipes being played in the background. So Sarah says to the Doctor "If you're interested, the Brig's on the quayside watching wreckage being brought ashore" and the Doctor tinkering with a circuit board is not so interested and merely says "Hmm". So, Sarah says "Thought that might interest you! He's being very secretive. He's wasting his time if you ask me. Well you can forget about security in Tulloch, the landlord here's got second sight!" and the pipes all of a sudden stop! Followed by Liz's funny line when she answers the phone in a heavily exaggerated Scottish accent "Hello, Fox Inn!" and there is a pause and she looks concerned and says to the Doctor "Harry's been shot!".
And lastly there is the scene where Sarah and Harry (the real one!) search the Duke of Forgill's castle for clues as to what the Zygons might be up to as they have taken off in their spaceship at this point (with the Doctor). And Harry searches for the secret lock that opens the door leading down to the Zygon ship. So, Harry dispairs and says "If I don't find what opens this door, I'll go mad!" and Sarah says to him without looking up "Well as long as you don't turn into a Zygon!" and Harry turns around and says "What?!".
Ian Marter, in his last regular appearance in the show (followed by his last one in Android Invasion) also does really well, although he is slightly sidelined in the story, but his performance is really good.
And Ian's best scene is actually one where Harry having being shot (as the Zygon Caber, fire a bullet grazing Harry's head) is taken to hospital and in the scene, he lies restlessly in bed in the sick bay, and his reaction to the sister Lamont transforming into the Zygon is great. And in the scene Ian deliriously says out loud "The rig, the rig was smashed to pieces. Nothing left. Munro in the water, struggling. Cold, exposed, hypothermia..". And then we hear a strange noise and see a red glow as Harry comes round he sits up startled and shouts in horror "No! No!".
Another good scene from Ian is when the Zygon version of Harry goes to the inn to take the signalling device and Sarah is surprised to see him. So, in the scene Harry flatly says "Hello" and Sarah in disbelief says "What do you mean "hello"??! Are you alright? What happened to you?!" and Harry says "Nothing. I escaped". Sarah then asks "Escaped? Escaped from where? What do you?!" and Harry then picks up the signalling device and Sarah asks "Where are you going with that?!" and Harry coldly says to her "The Doctor asked me to collect it". Sarah then asks "Did he?! When did you see him?" and Harry says "Its not important" and as Harry tries to leave Sarah grabs his arm and says "Hey, just a minute!" and Harry pushes her away and rushes out the door.
Then there is the scene where onboard the Zygon ship, Sarah finds the real Harry trapped behind a chamber. So, Sarah asks Harry "Sarah! Well, come on, open the door. Look, Sarah, we've got to get out of here. Look, sorry. Put your hand on the panel!". However, due to her encounter with the fake Harry, Sarah is wary of him and Harry says "Is it you?" and Harry puzzled asks "What do you mean is it me?" and Sarah asks "Is it REALLY you?". And Harry replies "Well of course its me! What's the matter with you, old girl?!" and on hearing this, Sarah automatically knows only Harry would say this and smiles and opens the door.
And lastly there is the moment near the end where the Doctor invites everyone (except the Duke of course) for a trip in the TARDIS and the Brigadier says "No, thank you" and Harry says "I think I'll stick to Inter-city this time, Doctor" and the Doctor looks a little disappointed.
Nicholas Courtney, is great as ever also here in his last outing as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart for another eight years until the Peter Davison era (in Mawdryn Undead and then The Five Doctors).
And Nick has his share of good scenes such as his first one where the at the inn, the landlord Angus play his bagpipes loudly in the background. So, the Brigadier says to Benton "You get on well with the landlord, don't you?" and Benton says "Well yes, sir, I guess I do" and the Brig says "Well try to use your influence to get him to play the pipes when we're out would you?" and Benton grins and says "Right, sir".
Then in the next moment, the Doctor, who is wearing some Scottish attire of his own walks in suddenly and says "I want to know one thing, Brigadier...." and he suddenly notices the Brig is wearing a kilt. So, the Doctor points at the kilt and asks "What's that?" and the Brig responds "That, Doctor, is a kilt" and Sarah and Harry are both trying to contain their laughter and the Doctor smiles and says "It suits you very well".
And then after this, Sarah says to the Brig "Anyway, its nice to see you again, Brigadier" and the Brig says "And you, Miss Smith" and Sarah grins and says "Though I didn't expect to see you in a kilt!". However, the Brigadier says to her "My dear Miss Smith, as you remember, my name is Lethbridge Stewart. The clan Stewart!" and Sarah laughs and says "Oh, sorry. I thought you were doing a Doctor!" and the Brigadier says "What an absurd idea!".
Then there is the scene, where after the Brig and his soldiers have been knocked by gas, he comes around in time for the Doctor to arrive at the inn. And the Brig sees the Doctor and says "Ah, there you are, Doctor!" and he looks around and asks "What was I doing on the floor?" and the Doctor replies "You've been asleep, Brigadier" and the Brig replies "What are you talking about? You know there are times where you talk absolute nonsense, Doctor. Excuse me!" and he walks off, leaving the Doctor and Sarah to have a small giggle.
Another scene, which is quite amusing from Nick is when Benton puts the prime minister on the phone to the Brigadier and the PM just so happens to be a woman (which is a unique piece of foreshadowing as the Maggie Thatcher days that were yet to come!). And in the scene the Brigadier takes the phone and speaks to the PM and says "Lethbridge Stewart speaking. Oh, absolutely understood, madam. No public announcement. Yes, madam. Discreet action. Discreet but resolute action!".
And lastly there is the scene at the end where all is put to rights and the Doctor, Sarah, Harry and the Brig all walk through a woodland area with the Duke. And the Duke asks the Brig regarding the whole Zygon encounter "Tell, I imagine this whole business has caused quite a stir" and the Brig says "No, the Cabinet's accepted my report and the whole affair's now completely closed". The Duke then says "You mean it never happened" and the Brig tells him "Well, a fifty foot monster can't swim up the Thames and attack a large building without some people noticing, but you know what politicians are like!".
John Woodnutt is great also in his dual role as the Duke of Forgill and Broton, the Zygon's warlord and leader, who has plans of world domination. Woodnutt's Forgill is wonderfully snooty and he also even delivers a fine Scottish accent and he also has some good lines of dialogue, particularly when the Doctor says to him how aliens have been causing the trouble at sea, and Forgill replies "You're all utterly unhinged! Aliens with wireless sets?!".
I also like the line at the start of the story where he drops off the Doctor, Sarah and Harry at the local inn, and he has a cross word with Mr Huckle, the rep from Hibernian oil. And the Duke turns to the Brigadier and asks "I trust the army isn't going to help these people. Is that why you were sent here?" and the Brigadier says "No, sir. We're a military investigation team". So, the Duke then asks "Investigating what?" and the Brig is reluctant to divulage and says "I'm afraid our mission is a sensitive matter, sir". And the Duke says "Official secrets and all that twaddle, eh? Well, I won't pry, although my family have served this country for seven centuries, but that doesn't seem to count these days, does it. Good day to you".
Woodnutt as Broton is also suitably creepy and his raspy and at times whispering voice (treated by some sort of electronic device no doubt courtesy of sound effects man, Dick Mills) really adds to the character. And in his climactic scene as Broton is a good one, where the Doctor turns up in the cellar of Stanbridge house looking for Broton. And we hear Broton's voice "I thought you were dead" and the Doctor says "Loose thinking, Broton!" and Broton then says "This time, I will make certain!".
The Doctor tells Broton "Broton, your starship has been destroyed. This building is surrounded by soldiers!". And this finally provokes Broton into coming out of the shadows and he shouts "I control the Skarasen! I can destroy this planet or become its master. That is the choice I offer your world!". Broton then screeches at them and ends up fighting the Doctor and quickly gains the upper hand. However one of the UNIT soldiers distracts Broton long enough for the Doctor to break free and the Brigadier soon comes in with his men and shoots Broton, who staggers and says with his dying breath "The Skarasen...will destroy you all!" and he collapses, dead.
And lastly at the end of the story where the Duke (the real one at this point) walks with the Doctor and the Brig and Sarah and Harry through the woods to the TARDIS. And the Duke says to them "By the way, I was coming to meet you people. I could swear I caught a glimpse of the monster in the Loch" and Sarah asks him "But you're not sure" and the Duke cops out and says "The sun was in my eyes!". And as the TARDIS dematerialises, the Duke looks on in amazement and says "Well, I'll be...." and he asks the Brig "Do they have return tickets?" and the Brigadier says "Yes, I imagine so" and the Duke quips "You should taken your return tickets and got a refund, I thought you were a Scotsman!".
John Levine is also once again great in his role as the ever reliable and likeable Regimental Sgt Major Benton. And I will only mention one of his scenes, which is the one where Benton sweeps the Fox Inn for the hidden bug the Zygons have planted to spy on the inn, much to the disapproval of the landlord, Mr McRanald.
And in the scene, McRanald testily asks Benton "What are you all doing here?" and Benton says "Brigadier's orders, Mister McRanald. We're looking for bugs" and McRanald grumpily says "We you can tell your Brigadier from me that this is a clean house!" and Benton tells him "Yes, well its not that sort of bugs we're looking for. Microphones". And McRanald says "Acchh you're all mad! Who'd be hiding microphones here??" and Benton says "Yes, well, you'd better ask the Brigadier that". McRanald then insists "Sergeant Major, you're all wasting your time!" and Benton says "Yes, well you never know. So, if you don't mind, we'll carry on looking". McRanald then says "Here in Tullock we don't need any clever contraptions to tell us what people are up to. Everybody knows everybody else's business. It's a matter of principle" and Benton grins and says "Yes, and you in advance with your second sight, eh?". And as Benton starts to look at the mounted deer head, McRanald snaps at him "Don't touch that! It was a gift from the Duke of Forgill!" and Benton says "Alright, Mr McRanald, keep your hair on".
As for the supporting cast members Lillias Walker is effectively creepy in her dual role as Sister Lamont (with a beside manner equivalent to Nurse Ratchett) and one of the Zygons, who is quite clipped and icy in her delivery.
And Lillias has two notable scenes with the first one being where Sister Lamont talks to the barely conscious Harry in hospital although its quite apparent from her tone that she isn't as she seems. So, Sister Lamont says to Harry "It's all right, Doctor Sullivan. You're quite safe. Your worries are over now. You're going to be very well looked after!".
Then there is the scene where the Sister wanders the woods (really a Zygon in disguise), and a UNIT soldier finds her with her arm badly injured and bleeding. And the soldier says to the Sister "Sister, what are you doing here?" and she says "I was told somebody was injured" and the soldier says "Not injured, killed!" and the Sister asks "Who?" and the soldier tells her "Angus, the landlord. Hey, you've hurt yourself!" noticing her wound. However the Sister says "Its not important" but the soldier says "Let me see" and as he goes to examine the wound, the Sister hits the soldier in the head with a big rock, knocking him out and she gives a sinister look as she is about to move off.
Angus Lennie (who was well known for his role in The Great Escape) is also very good as the landlord of the Fox Inn, Angus McRanald, who claims to have second sight and happens to play his bagpipes a bit too much!
And Angus has his moments also that include the one where Sarah questions McRanald about the goings on with the oil rigs. So, Sarah asks McRanald about previous events surrounding the oil rigs and his ability for second sight and he tells her " Well, I am the seventh son of the seventh son. you know, the fellow with you, the Doctor, he looks likes a man who might see around a few corners himself" and Sarah simply says "Quite a few...".
So as Sarah presses McRanald about his second sight abilities of foreshadowing disaster of the oil rigs, he becomes a bit defensive and says "Do they now? You seem to have done a fair bit of clacking in the village, my dear!". And Sarah asks him "Is it true?" and McRanald says "I'm no saying, but only bad luck comes to them who set over Tullock Moor". Sarah then asks why and McRanald says "Tullock Moor's a strange, murky sort of place. When the mist comes down, it's like steam frae a witch's cauldron. Nobody from these parts will cross the moor after dark".
Sarah then asks if there were any mysterious goings on that ever happened there over the years and McRanald tells Sarah of a case surrounding two brothers. So, McRanald tells Sarah " It was, let me see, 1870. They went out cutting peat and the mist came down. Donald just disappeared. They found the older brother, Robert, two days later, wandering about, off his head. His eyes, his eyes were terrible to see! For the rest of his life he never spoke again. Take my word for it, my dear. There are ancient mysteries here. Evil spirits haunt Tullock Moor". However, Sarah is more sceptical and says to McRanald "Maybe, but I'm certain of one thing, Mister McRanald. Evil spirits don't destroy oil rigs".
And the last two cast members I will mention are Tony Sibbald as Mr Huckle, the oil company representative. And Tony has a couple of good moments that include his first scene where Mr Huckle tries to talk to the Brigadier over the noise of McRanald's bagpipes in the background and he raises concerns over the oil rig destruction "If this keeps up, pretty soon there won't be a man willing to work out there". And the sound of the bagpipes finally makes him snap "Do we have to put up with this hullabaloo?!!" and the Brigadier tells Huckle "I'm afraid we've rather imposed ourselves on the landlord. If he wants to play his pipes, there's not much I can do about it".
Then there is the moment where the Duke drops of the Doctor, Sarah and Harry and goes into the inn and speaks to Mr Huckle, who he doesn't like and amusingly mispronounces his name on meeting him. And before they meet, the Brigadier sees the Duke's jeep pull up and he asks "Who is that man in the driving seat?". And Huckle says "Him? That's the Duke of Forgill, the local big shot. He doesn't make things easy. He owns just about everything in this part of Scotland, except our shore base, and frankly, he doesn't like us. Not one little bit!". And the Duke later says "I had to pass my way on here to the oil bass" and Huckle says "To see me" and the Duke sharply says "To see YOU, Mr Hickle!" and Huckle corrects him and says "Huckle".
And last of all is Robert Russell, who does well enough in his small role as the Caber, who I think is the Duke's gamekeeper and turns out to be copied by one of the Zygons. And Russell's most notable scene is when one of the Zygons transforms into the Caber (using the real Caber's body print) and Harry witnesses this in disbelief. And the Zygon Caber says "We have the power to turn ourselves into replicas of your unpleasant form whenever it is necessary!".
DIRECTOR, MUSIC, SOUND AND DESIGN
Getting onto the show's direction, well it would be hard to argue with its director, the late great Douglas Camfield, who was widely acclaimed as one of the very best directors of the show. And here Camfield does a terrific job as he paces the action nicely, and builds up some suspense and his reveal of the Zygons is particularly effective at the end of the first episode when the Zygon at the sick bay attacks Sarah. Camfield who was also ex-army was said to have been by reputation good to work for but he directed and ran his shows like a military operation as well, which given it is a UNIT story is quite appropriate here!
In fact Camfield funnily was the director to have directed the first ever proper UNIT story back in the Troughton era, The Invasion, so its rather fitting he was the one to direct the last regular UNIT story of the original series (until Battlefield of course but by then Camefield had passed away).
The music score is also worthy note, as it was score by Geoffrey Burgon, and it is very good and a nice change from the show's regular composer Dudley Simpson (whom Camfield had a falling out with years ago, which is why they never worked together again, and Camfield always used different composers afterward). Burgon would then go on to compose the music for the 13th season finale, The Seeds of Doom, which was also directed by Camfield.
Dick Mills sound effects are also worthy note here and he makes great use of his effects, particularly in the scenes where the zygons transform their appearance, and also the deep atmopsheric rumbles of their spaceship. And special mention finally has to go to the set designer Nigel Curzon who did a great job with creating the truly strange and original design for the Zygon spaceship, which looks like you are stepping into a giant Mozzrella pizza! Not to mention the costume design of the Zygons themselves remains truly unique in the series and very impressive although they would never win the award for the most prettiest of alien races!
FLAWS (This section may contain spoilers!)
So, flaws....yes OK, Terror of the Zygons does have some.
So, to start with it has to be said that the story's biggest letdown is of course the Skarasen itself, as a monster it just isn't convincing as it looks like some that belongs out of Ray Harryhausen film. And in its last scene with the Doctor throwing the signal device into the ocean for it to go after, the close up of it rising over London is just ridiculous, but I guess given the show's limited budget of the time its to be expected.
I also felt the story has one or two other silly moments in it, such as Broton's final confrontation with the Doctor as it attacks him and Sarah and UNIT soldiers when they shoot Broton and he collapses and dies, we can see the join in the top and bottom half of his alien costume! It kind of takes away from the alien-ness of the Zygon costume design to make you aware of how it is just a costume!
Another rather silly and amusing moment is after the real Duke is rescued from the Zygon spaceship by the Doctor, Sarah tells the Doctor that the Duke is the president of the Scottish energy commission which will allow them entrance to an important conference in London, and all of sudden the Duke says "That's right I am!" like he had forgotten all about his position, like "Oh I had forgotten all about that!". But the show is of course guilty of silly moments like that now and then so I suppose you can forgive that.
It also has to be said that while the flangered whispy effect used for the zygons voices is undeniably effective and rather creepy, it is also makes their voices quite indistinct at times when you are trying to make out what they are saying, particularly when Broton goes on a rant and talks quite fast, which he does quite often.
Then there is the whole idea of the Doctor being able to use the Zygon controls so efficiently given the fact none of them marked at all and are just some sticky, gooey looking organic erm...things rather than proper panels! Yet, somehow the Doctor being the Doc, knows instinctively what sticky buttons to press or manipulate to make things happen such as the ship's self destruct mechanism. How does he do it???? Well....cos he's the Doctor I guess!
I also found it a bit unclear just why the Zygons needed the Skarasen in order to survive as all Broton says is that they "depend on its lactic fluid for our survival". OK, but why??? And if so, how does the Skarasen transfer that fluid to the Zygons in the first place??? I can only guess it is dispersed into the ship in some way through its sticky, organic system. However it is an example of a subplot that is never fully explained and just brushed over in a couple of sentences within the series.
And last of all....why the hell doesn't the Doctor know what a kilt is????! I mean, the Doctor was already wearing a tartan scarf and a Tam O' Shanter hat, so by that rationale if he knew to wear that as Scottish attire, then why DIDN'T he know what a kilt was???! It just didn't quite ring true and ultimately it is used for an admittedly funny moment where the Doctor's potential rant is stopped short when he sees the Brigadier wearing the kilt!
Anyway, so that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So, so in summing up, Terror of the Zygons remains a very entertaining and strong entry in Tom Baker era, especially back in the show's golden era of the producer/script editor: Philip Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes partnership. And not only does it feature an enjoyable, witty script but some fine performances from the regular cast not to mention a standout performance by John Woodnut in his dual role as Broton and the Duke of Forgill.
The story is also notable as being the last proper UNIT story until Battlefield in the Sylvester McCoy era some 14 years later in 1989, so this in itself does mark an end of an era for the show of the time as I previously mentioned, the then producer, Philip Hinchcliffe was keen to move on from the UNIT days.
So overall, Terror of the Zygons still remains a very enjoyable and solid story that is still well worth checking out 42 years onward.
Right, so that's it for now and I will return possibly with another post before the end of the month.
Till the next one, its bye for now!
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