Doctor Who - Terror Of The Zygons (1975)
Oil rigs are being mysteriously destroyed & The Doctor, Sarah, & Harry have responded to The Brigadiers message after kicking some Cy butt via the Nerva Beacon, in Revenge Of The Cybermen. The TARDIS lands in a village in Scotland in response to The Brigs message. There, he discovers that there's an alien plot to take over the Earth via a gigantic cyborg, monster known as a Skarasen & not only is it being controlled by a race of refugee aliens known as the Zygons, it also appears to be the basis of a centuries ye olde legend that still "exists" to this day. The Doctor must stop these very patient invaders from starting with the governments of the World & destroying & enslaving what rests of Humanity. Will he succeed & save us all?!
I really find myself absorbed by this classic, as it is truly rated thus! Robert Banks Stewart wrote this as he did Seeds Of Doom, something which strangely escaped me until my last viewing, for this blog! As we all know, he created Bergerac. Yes, Britain's answer to Miami Vice, we know. Sarah gets a buzz from The Brigadiers kilt. After all, we now know, from Web Of Fear of his Highland routes. Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart of the Clan Stewart, there can be only one? The Docs reaction to, "OIL. AN EMEGENCY?!" has me in hysterics. Still, The Brig uses emotional bribery, in regards to the lives of oil rig crews, to finally get our hero convinced to take on the case. Let's not forget The Doc's fashion sense for this outing as well!
The Zygons are amongst the most well realised monsters in Classic Doctor Who history. Strange how they never got a much needed comeback until the Capaldi era. The Duke of Forgill is resentful of "Yankee doodles", Mr Huckles' roughnecks trespassing & hunting on his land & threatens to have them shot, & that's no idle threat! A Lord of the Manor, or something completely different? Angus insists on 'torturing' his latest guests with a bagpipe rendition of Flowers Of The Forest. a lament for the dead, A fact which The Doctor informs Sarah after her 'prophecy' of Angus' second sight comes true, much to her surprise. Meanwhile, beneath a dark loch, all these Centuries. Yes, a spaceship, of course!
The Duke who ever so kindly gave them a lift to the tavern, where The Brig is stationing his temporary HQ, has been acting ever so strangely lately, according to our bagpipe maestro innkeeper, Angus. Angus mentions the "English" soldiers, no red coats. Surely UNIT has a Highland regiment? Zygon, Broton is very nosey. Was The Doctor acknowledging the fact that Angus might have been showing his respect for the oil rig crew, & in his way did so, too?
Broton is one, very nasty, illegal alien ( I'm sure I don't need to refer you all to the new series?). Our hero knows too much, as you keep complaining, Broton. The Zygons have a secret weapon. A cyborg, if you will. Known as the Skarasen, or Nessie, to you & I. Just like The Yeti, there's a perfectly, logical, alien-related, reason for it's existence, It gets its kicks from eating oil rigs which happen to get in it's way, nothing to do with Scottish oil at all. Locals are gassed into a siesta. So that it can go across land in time for tea in the Loch. The Zygons also need Nessie for nutrients that they live on. So it's a tea as well as a destructive weapon. A weapon of mass destruction & an all you can eat buffet?! The Doctor must hypnotise Sarah for her own good. In order to save her. For her own good!
Harry having been captured by the creepy, Zygon nurse, is replaced with a Zygon, which upon being discovered attacks Sarah, in a barn & ultimately (whoops!) slips to his death on some farming equipment. Seriously, Sarah & some UNIT soldiers go after the thing. She goes one way, alone, in a freaking barn that the monster is hiding in. Meanwhile the soldiers all clumsily trundle off in another direction? Did not one soldier think, hang on, maybe at least a couple of us should go with the girl, there's a dangerous alien on the loose?! Harry's pretty brave considering he's a POW of barely humanoid aliens, he even has the decency to call Broton by name.
I bet Lord Forgill/Broton regrets giving them that lift at the beginning (?) All his attempts to kill both The Doctor, Sarah, & Harry are as successful as the Coyote trying to catch the Roadrunner. Suffocating Sarah & The Doctor sucked, (The Doc's hypnosis, remember?) The aforementioned barn was a desperate needle in a haystack (grabs hat & long scarf, again..), even the Skarasen found the zygon tracking device more palatable than our hero, or just needs to go to Spec-savers? The Doctor's just too clever for you, Broton! And am I the only one who thinks that the Zygons pet Loch Ness monster is cute? I would happily adopt it as a pet! It would definitely keep any burglars, peeping toms, nosey neighbours, Jehovah's witness', etc, away!
Season 13 starts off with a literal bang! Of course oil rigs as pet food. But, what about the poor actor who plays Angus (Angus, yes, Angus!) glutton for punishment or what? He's killed by that Zygon shape-shifting nurse. But also the equally scary, in appearance, Ice Warriors in their debut story! I LOVE 70's Doctor Who's habit of the surreal, still looking, images of mansions, castles, etc, in this case Lord Forgill's castle. Now c'mon, Doc, surely not even you are that silly (to put it mildly) to leave Sarah alone at that castle?! Zygons are squatting there incognito, in that lair that Sarah is all alone in. Nobody's perfect, not even you, Doctooor! The groundskeeper is "worthless" according to the Zygons. Yet, so need his body print to imitate him! Yes, I get a few giggles thinking of The Simpsons Groundskeeper Willie when Broton says that! Meanwhile Sarah is still alone in "Zygons-ville". Thank you, Doctor...
The Brigadier finally finds an alien menace that is not immune to bullets in Broton. Still, what about those dozen Cybermen in 1968's Invasion? Okay, you had grenades & rocket launchers, surely that counts? Brilliant prediction in regards to the Prime Minister, yes, madam. Broton claims it'll take the Zygon refugee fleet Centuries to reach Earth. They must have found a wormhole or something, seeing as they're here, in the current series. Still, as the Doc mentions, surely you must wave a tentacle? How can six of you manage to occupy Earth, even with the Skarasen? Okay, about that filming location. A village in Sussex not Scotland? Apparently, London is closer to Paris than Edinburgh or Glasgow. So it must be cheaper to film in France, four years later for City Of Death?! Defying logic or the reverse?
Everyone leaving Sarah to put up with Zygons aside, this is a televisual treat of an adventure. After defeating Broton & his attempt at taking over the government, our hero, fed up of being UNITS lap-dog! Wants to fly off to another adventure in time & space. Harry's had more than his fill & would rather rely on late, train transport. Sarah, on the other hand, is conned into another adventure through time & space. Where will they end up this time? Fab answer to a fab question? Zeta-Minor, the last planet in the known Universe...
To be continued? Already blogged about,
Stewart alias Borgduck.
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