Terror of the Zygons Part Two

The one where the Doctor is chased by the Loch Ness Monster...

As fantastic as that cliffhanger is, I'm not totally clear on what follows. The Doctor finds Sarah cowering in the decompression chamber, but was she imprisoned there by the Zygon, or is she hiding there? And if she is hiding, how did she escape the Zygon and get into the chamber without it seeing her? I always used to assume the Zygon that attacks Sarah is the one disguised as Sister Lamont, but it can't be, as Sarah has only just left Sister Lamont in the sick bay, and the Zygon comes from a different direction. The fact we don't see what happens between Sarah and the Zygon makes her discovery in the chamber slightly puzzling.

Nevertheless, Douglas Camfield continues to direct this story like it's a horror film. The fleeting glimpse we get of the Zygon before it slams the chamber door shut is masterful, and the bit where the Zygon snaps the blinds shut so the Doctor can't see out only adds to the chill factor.

The full reveal of the Zygons in their underwater spaceship is an arresting moment. The ship is lit by John Dixon in gorgeous reds and greens, making it look and feel alien, and the Zygons, in all their embryonic weirdness, match their surroundings perfectly. Designer Nigel Curzon manages to create a totally believable alien environment that is quite unlike anything seen in the series before, and the Zygons themselves are works of genius by James Acheson and John Friedlander. The Zygons would make a celebrated return to Doctor Who in 2013's The Day of the Doctor, but to be honest, the 21st century versions are nowhere near as effective as the originals.

The Zygons are terribly open about their plans, their lifestyle and their technology, explaining an awful lot to Harry and giving information quite freely. These monsters are the sort that gloat and boast about their stunning plans for world domination, blind to the possibility that puny humans could derail them. Warlord Broton says he intends to turn Earth into the new Zygon homeworld (theirs was destroyed in a solar explosion), although I'm not yet clear on how destroying oil rigs will help that cause.

We're also introduced to the Skarasen, a huge sea monster which is, to all intents and purposes, the Loch Ness Monster. Some fans mock the Skarasen, but I think it's highly effective, and very good for the time. It's not up to Ray Harryhausen standards, but it's certainly approaching that quality of animation/ puppetry. When this story was made, Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (starring Tom Baker as baddie Koura) wasn't long out of cinemas, and I truly believe that the Skarasen effects seen in Doctor Who are highly reminiscent of the master animator's work. Audiences at the time would not have scoffed at the Skarasen at all. Audiences these days are spoiled by the miracles of CGI. Personally, I prefer physical effects, and would certainly not welcome a CGI Skarasen.

Ian Marter looks terribly handsome in this episode, as square-jawed as the finest Boy's Own hero, and it's good that he gets something juicy to do when he plays Zygon Harry. In fact, Zygon Harry is really rather scary, and the scene of him stealing the signal device from Sarah, and then running off is wonderfully unsettling. We're not used to seeing our dear Harry being nasty, and Marter manages it beautifully. The following scenes - in which Sarah chases after Harry with three UNIT soldiers in formation, as if rehearsing for The Sarah Jane Adventures - are atmospherically directed by Camfield, and when Sarah finds Harry hiding in the barn, the whole thing takes on a real horror movie vibe.

It's scary stuff! Nothing good ever happens in barns in Doctor Who (see also Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Visitation), but seeing Zygon Harry loom out of the shadows and thrust a pitchfork at Sarah's face is truly terrifying. No wonder TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse had Doctor Who in her sights with violent scenes such as this. Marter is magnificently nasty, and it's all directed and lit so well, so adult. The bit where the Zygon falls over the edge and is seen gasping for air, moaning balefully, is the stuff of nightmares. It's one of my favourite scenes in all of Doctor Who, and has lost none of its power all these decades later.

Tom Baker is also really good in this episode. His boggly eyes stare madly at any given opportunity, and Camfield takes every chance to make him look as crazy and alien as possible. Tom might have hit the ground running with his Doctor, but it's with this story that he really clinches it for me. It's in the way he hypnotises Sarah with his Tibetan training, then moans "Ohhhhhhh" as he falls into a trance. It's in the way he asks Benton "Why are you whispering?". It's in the climactic scenes where he leaps into a UNIT jeep to draw the Skarasen away, eventually clambering over the heathery moor (and aren't the scenes of the Doctor running, leaping over and toward the camera, directed beautifully?). It's in the sombre way he looks at the dead UNIT soldier, and states that he was killed by "something very large and very heavy". Tom Baker really was the best Doctor Who ever.

Some other observations about this episode:

• The Skarasen was brought to Earth as an embryo thousands of years ago, and the Zygons live off its lactic fluid. I really do not welcome the images that conjures in my imagination.
• The wheel lock on the decompression chamber door is barely hanging on, and John Levene isn't quite sure which way it should turn!
• If the entire village of Tullock has been knocked out by nerve gas so that a gigantic sea creature can lumber through, how come the Doctor, Benton and Sarah are unaffected? They were at the sick bay, which would surely have been included in the Zygons' gassing plans? Even if they were outdoors on their way to the inn, surely there were other villagers outdoors who'd be unaffected too? How did the Doctor and co fail to see the gigantic Skarasen themselves?
• The scene where the Zygon demonstrates bodyprinting to Harry gives away the fact that the Caber, Sister Lamont and, most tellingly of all, the Duke of Forgill are actually Zygons. This undermines the revelation that the Duke isn't real later in the story.
• Why is Sarah writing an essay called 'Another Bermuda Triangle'? The events at Tullock bare little resemblance to those in the Bermuda Triangle, where ships and airplanes allegedly disappear. There are no disappearing vehicles here.
• Why do all three UNIT soldiers split off from Sarah when searching for Harry? Surely one of them should accompany her?
• What exactly does Tom mutter when trying to prise the signal device off his hand? It sounds very much like the f-word!

The cliffhanger boasts some classic ripe dialogue when Broton declares: "Die, Doctor! Die!" Anthony Ainley would be proud!

First broadcast: September 6th, 1975

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The scene with Zygon Harry attacking Sarah in the barn with a pitchfork is pure horror.
The Bad: Why are the Zygons making the Skarasen destroy oil rigs? And why are they making it pass through the village? Where is it going?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★★

"Would you like a jelly baby?" tally: 05

NEXT TIME: Part Three...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part One; Part Three; Part Four

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/06/terror-of-zygons.html

Terror of the Zygons is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Terror-Zygons-DVD/dp/B00BPCNO00