Terror of the Zygons

Terror of the Zygons is the first serial of the thirteenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 1975.In the serial, the alien shapeshifters the Zygons plot to use their cyborg sea monster the Skarasen to take over the Earth, after they discover their home planet was destroyed.The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan arrive in Scotland, where Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT are investigating the destruction of oil rigs.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.Whilst investigating the Skarasen and the Loch Ness Monster, Sarah Jane stumbles upon a secret passageway at the Duke of Forgill's mansion, which leads her to the Zygons' spacecraft.[8][1] However, Stewart could not complete the script in time so the serial was held back and became the first story of season 13, with a reduced order of four episodes instead of the original six.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.[22] 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".Nevertheless, he praised the cast, the action sequences, and the Zygons, which he described as a "wonderfully surreal triumph of Doctor Who visual design", though otherwise they functioned as a typical monster-of-the-week.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), an oil rig setting (Fury from the Deep), biomechanical technology (The Claws of Axos) and the revelation of an ancient Earth legend to be alien in origin (The Dæmons).[26] A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1976 under the title Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster.
The Zygons, as they appear at the Doctor Who Experience
Doctor WhoDoctorTom BakerFourth DoctorCompanionsElisabeth SladenSarah Jane SmithIan MarterHarry SullivanNicholas CourtneyBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartJohn LeveneRSM BentonJohn WoodnuttRobert RussellZygonsAngus LennieBruce WightmanDouglas CamfieldRobert Banks StewartRobert HolmesPhilip HinchcliffeGeoffrey BurgonSeason 13Revenge of the CybermenPlanet of EvilList of episodes (1963–1989)thirteenth seasonscience fiction televisionElizabeth SladenLoch NessshapeshifterscyborgTerrance DicksScotlandterraformLoch Ness MonsterTARDISDoctor Who ExperiencefinaleseasonThe Seeds of Doomseason 12The InvasionWest SussexClimping beachSouth AmbershamSouth DownsStorringtonJon PertweeThird DoctorSpearhead from SpaceFrontier in SpaceThe Keeper of TrakenThe Ice WarriorsMawdryn UndeadThe Day of the DoctorAppreciation IndexDavid J. HoweRadio TimesDVD TalkThe A.V. Clubmonster-of-the-weekJohn Kenneth MuirThe Faceless OnesFury from the Deepbiomechanical technologyThe Claws of AxosThe Dæmonsglove puppetInvasion of the DinosaursDoctor Who MagazineChris AchilleosTarget novelisationsTarget BooksAustraliaUnited KingdomLaserDiscUnited StatesCanadadirector's cutStuart HumphryesDisney TimeSoundtrack albumProducerMark AyresDoctor Who soundtrackDoctor Who Opening Title ThemeRon GrainerDelia DerbyshireBBC NewsDigital SpyHowe, David JWalker, Stephen JamesBBC BooksInternet ArchiveAmazon.co.ukCornell, PaulDay, MartinTopping, KeithThe Discontinuity GuideVirgin BooksHaining, PeterPanini ComicsBBC OnlineInternet Speculative Fiction DatabaseOriginal seriesSeason 1Missing episodesRevived seriesSeries 12008–2010 specials2013 specials2022 specials2023 specialsPyramids of MarsThe Android InvasionThe Brain of MorbiusThe Ark in SpaceThe Sontaran ExperimentGenesis of the DaleksSeason 14The Masque of MandragoraThe Hand of FearThe Deadly AssassinThe Face of EvilThe Robots of DeathThe Talons of Weng-ChiangSeason 15Horror of Fang RockThe Invisible EnemyImage of the FendahlThe Sun MakersUnderworldThe Invasion of TimeSeason 16The Ribos OperationThe Pirate PlanetThe Stones of BloodThe Androids of TaraThe Power of KrollThe Armageddon FactorSeason 17Destiny of the DaleksCity of DeathThe Creature from the PitNightmare of EdenThe Horns of NimonSeason 18The Leisure HiveMeglosFull CircleState of DecayWarriors' GateLogopolisPlanet of the SpidersThe Name of the DoctorThe Witch's FamiliarThe Five DoctorsDimensions in TimeHornets' NestDemon QuestSerpent CrestThe Renaissance ManThe Wrath of the IceniEnergy of the DaleksTrail of the White WormThe Oseidon AdventureThe Auntie MatterThe Sands of LifeDoctor Who and the PescatonsNight of the StormcrowThe KingmakerMissing AdventuresEvolutionThe Romance of CrimeSystem ShockManagraThe English Way of DeathThe Shadow of Weng-ChiangThe Well-Mannered WarPast Doctor AdventuresMillennium ShockCorpse MarkerTomb of ValdemarFestival of DeathAsylumPsi-ence FictionWolfsbaneMatch of the DayNovellasGhost ShipDalek AttackLego DimensionsDoctor Who and the SiluriansThe Ambassadors of DeathInfernoTerror of the AutonsThe Mind of EvilDay of the DaleksThe Time MonsterThe Three DoctorsThe Green DeathBattlefieldThe Christmas InvasionThe Sontaran StratagemThe Poison SkyPlanet of the DeadThe Power of ThreeDeath in HeavenThe Zygon InvasionThe Zygon InversionSurvivors of the FluxThe Power of the DoctorThe Star BeastThe GiggleThe Legend of Ruby SundayEmpire of DeathEnemy of the BaneDeath of the DoctorThe War Between the Land and the SeaColony in SpaceThe MutantsThe Time WarriorAliens of LondonWorld War ThreeThe Sound of DrumsLast of the Time LordsFragmentsTurn LeftThe Stolen EarthJourney's EndThe End of TimeThe Bells of Saint JohnThe Magician's ApprenticeThe Return of Doctor Mysterio73 YardsWartimeDowntimeThe Web of FearScream of the ShalkaResolutionThe Paradise of DeathThe Ghosts of N-SpaceLost SoulsThe Spectre of Lanyon MoorDeath Comes to TimeHistory of UNITThe Body SnatchersSting of the Zygons