Terror of the Zygons Part Three

The one where UNIT goes Zygon-hunting...

OK, so despite me lavishing praise on the Skarasen's realisation in episode 2, it does actually look rather silly in this third episode. Its eyes swivel rather randomly, and when it looms over the Doctor with its giant flipper, it looks nothing other than comical.

The Skarasen is apparently a cyborg, a hybrid of half-animal and half-machine (which bit produces the lactic fluid, I wonder?). The word cyborg was coined in 1960 by scientists Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline, but the idea of a half-mammal, half-machine creature stems back as far as the 19th century, in Edgar Allan Poe's The Man That Was Used Up (1843), and really took off in science-fiction literature in works such as Jean de La Hire's Nyctalope and the works of Edmond Hamilton. But the word itself was very fresh by 1975, so all credit to Robert Banks Stewart for having his finger on the pulse.

There are some inconsistencies in Bank Stewart's work however, which leave me asking questions such as: Why does Broton send a Zygon to retrieve the stag's head monitor link which Benton has clearly failed to discover? And why does that Zygon go in the form of Sister Lamont? Would it not be more realistic for it to disguise itself as the Caber, or the Duke (can a bodyprint be used by more than one Zygon at a time?). And although we finally find out why the Skarasen is destroying oil rigs - as a "trial of strength" before the "main event" - it still isn't clear why the giant sea creature has needed to regularly cross Tullock Moor all these thousands of years. What's it been doing?

I shouldn't poke too harshly at the sense of it all though, because Terror of the Zygons just looks so amazing, and drips with atmosphere. This is helped enormously by Geoffrey Burgon's haunting score, especially during the scenes in which UNIT hunt for Zygon Lamont in the woods. The wind instruments used add a wistfulness to the autumnal location filming, and the way Douglas Camfield shoots the Zygon hunt is wonderfully spooky. Benton and his men fan out through the dank woodland, and then silence falls as they wait for the Zygon to break cover. A fleeting glimpse of a rust-red Zygon in the distance, shots fired, then a further pursuit. The initial stillness and sound of fluttering birds builds the tension beautifully, and when Zygon Lamont comes down out of the trees to confront the soldier (and ultimately smash him over the head with a rock), it all goes very horror film again. Lillias Walker's possessed, wide-eyed glare is also deliciously evil.

The foray to Forgill's castle is a little contrived, but it still makes for an atmospheric setting, and the hall is dressed spookily by Nigel Curzon. The Doctor's run-in with the Duke/ Broton is well played by Tom Baker and John Woodnutt. I love the look of momentary anger on the Doctor's face when Forgill dares to interrupt him (or is that Tom momentarily angered by Woodnutt's perhaps mistimed interjection?).

Sarah discovers a secret doorway behind the bookshelves and ventures down the tunnel leading to the Zygon ship beneath the loch (which is all very convenient). I adore how Elisabeth Sladen handles the scene where Sarah finds the sliding door. When Sarah approaches the door, it slides open (activated by a motion sensor), but she thinks it means someone's coming, so runs and hides. When she works out that it's her opening the door, she goes through, but when it begins to slide shut behind her, she darts back under just in case it's a trap. Her third attempt brings with it the confidence of knowing exactly how it all works. All of this is done wordlessly, and comes over so naturally thanks to Sladen's realistic performance.

She soon finds Harry - who's barely in this episode - and the two escape back into the castle, where they're reunited with "the Brig and the Doc". But Broton and his pizza-faced pals are onto them ("What the devil are they?" asks an exasperated Brigadier) and take off in their spaceship, with the Doctor imprisoned aboard. The scenes of UNIT depth-charging the loch, and the model ship rising from the water, are done really well, and as the ship zooms off into the distance, we're left wondering where it's headed, and whether we'll ever see the Doctor again...

First broadcast: September 13th, 1975

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Benton hunting Zygon Orla in the woods.
The Bad: I'm still not understanding why the Skarasen needs to regularly cross the moor.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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

NEXT TIME: Part Four...

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