Description :
The Doctor, Harry and Sarah come to the aid of the Brigadier in Scotland. Oil rigs have been
mysteriously sunk, and the remains have giant teeth marks in the soild concrete. Investigation
reveals the mysterious shape changing Zygons to be behind events, but their ambitions are far
greater than the destruction of a few oil rigs..
Information :
Running time: 4 episodes, totalling approx. 91 minutes
Original air dates: 30th August to 20th September 1975
Rating: Parental Guidance (mild scary scenes)
Writer: Robert Banks Stewart
Director: Douglas Camfield
Producer: Philip Hinchcliffe
The Doctor: Tom Baker
Sarah Jane Smith: Elizabeth Sladen
Harry Sullivan: Ian Marter
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart: Nicholas Courtney
Review :
Terror of the Zygons is a highly enjoyable story. It has some tense scenes, and the
atmosphere is very well made. One particuarly memorable scene to me is the one in which the
Zygon disguised as Harry Sullivan looks out from the darkness at Sarah, as he prepares to attack
her with a pick.
The titular Zygons are pretty effective, and their ship isn't too bad either, although could be
better. The Zygon's whispering voices are hard to make out at times. The only thing that stands
out as being terrible as far as the Zygons go is their pet monster, the Skarasen. The worst
scene with it in is probably when it is sticking it's head out the water of the Thames in
London, with poor sound effects to match. It's disappointing in a production that is otherwise
very good. Special mention must go to some of the spaceship shots, especially those underwater
and those in the quarry in part 4.
It's nice to see the Brigadier again, and it's his last performance for quite some time. UNIT
seem a little unnescessary, and should maybe have either been given a bit more to do or be
written out. They only seem to be there so the Doctor isn't regarded as some crackpot and
ignored, rather than being an official crackpot.
I enjoyed this story very much. Scary atmosphere, good monsters, good plot, it only falls a bit
short in some of the effects.
Rating :
Four Stars (Out of Five)
Notes :
At the beginning of the video, there is a short piece of footage showing the Doctor reading the
message from the Brigadier, walking up the steps and inviting the viewers to join him on
Saturday for a new adventure, before entering the TARDIS, which subsequently dematerializes
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