Terror of the Zygons
Encyclopedia
Terror of the Zygons is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 August to 20 September 1975. It was the last Adventure in the TARDIS for Ian Marter
as companion Harry Sullivan
, who would return once more in The Android Invasion
.
is summoned to Earth
by an emergency signalling device he left with the Brigadier
who is in Scotland
investigating the mysterious loss of oilrigs.
, a strange, high pitched beeping sound echoes through the structure, and it begins to break apart, collapsing into the North Sea
.
The Fourth Doctor
, Harry
and Sarah
hitch a ride with a passing motorist to the town where the Brigadier
and UNIT
have set themselves up in an inn. The Brigadier is talking to Huckle, an official of Hibernian Oil, who owned the rig. Huckle complains that three such rigs have been destroyed in the last month, two of them belonging to Hibernian. The Brigadier assures Huckle that UNIT is also concerned, especially about the loss of life.
The Doctor, Harry and Sarah arrive at the Inn. It turns out that their ride is the Duke of Forgill, a local landowner. The Duke warns Huckle that if his men are caught trespassing on his land, they will be shot. He also wants to know what UNIT are doing here, but the Brigadier says that it is a sensitive matter. Though not pleased, the Duke leaves.
On the shoreline, a survivor of the destroyed rig washes up, just barely alive. The Brigadier brings the Doctor, Harry and Sarah to Hibernian Oil, where Huckle briefs them on the injuries of the rigs' crew. Harry decides to examine the injuries at the Sickbay, while Sarah goes to talk to some of the locals. Huckle cannot understand it: the rigs were designed to be unsinkable, and the seas were calm and empty prior to the incidents. The Doctor darkly notes that the sea is never empty.
Back at the Inn, Sarah talks to Angus, the landlord. Sarah admires a stuffed stag's head above the fireplace, a gift from the Duke just this past week. Angus observes that the Duke has not been himself since the oil companies came. His servants have left to work for them, leaving Forgill Castle cold and empty. All this while, something alien watches her and Angus on a monitor screen. Angus tells Sarah about Tulloch Moor and how people have disappeared over the centuries when the mist came down. Sarah is sceptical, however — evil spirits do not destroy oilrigs.
The rig survivor, Munro, is spotted by the Duke's man, the Caber, as Munro staggers from the surf. Harry is driving by and sees Munro too, and goes to him as Munro collapses. Before Munro can tell Harry about what smashed the rig, the Caber fires a rifle, killing Munro and creasing Harry's forehead with a second shot. Harry falls, unconscious. Back at the Inn, the Doctor is working on a radio probe to check for localised jamming when a call comes in informing them about Harry.
Alien hands manipulate strange, organic controls. A high pitched beeping summons a creature from the depths that heads towards the Ben Nevis rig. The rig's communications with Huckle are suddenly jammed by the beeping.
The Doctor and Sarah visit Harry, who is sedated and being looked after by Sister Lamont, the nurse. The Brigadier arrives, telling him of the Ben Nevis
rig's destruction. Sarah stays with Harry while the Doctor goes with the Brigadier. Outside, the Doctor spots a piece of wreckage from the earlier rig with some odd holes in it. The Doctor asks Sergeant Benton
for some plaster of Paris
, and makes a mould of the holes, revealing that something with very large teeth had bitten into the rig. The aliens, watching, decide that the Doctor knows too much and must be destroyed.
Harry awakens. Sarah goes to inform the Doctor, while Sister Lamont tells Harry that he will be very well looked after. A high-pitched beeping echoes through the room, and Harry looks up in fear. As Sarah calls the Doctor, a suction-tipped hand clamps down on her shoulder. She turns and is grabbed by a large, orange biped: a Zygon
.
The Doctor hears Sarah's cries over the telephone and rushes over to the Sickbay. When they get there, Sister Lamont tells them that she found Sarah gone and Harry's bed empty. The Doctor snoops around further, and finds Sarah hiding in a decompression chamber. As Sarah starts telling the Doctor about what happened, a Zygon locks them in and starts to remove the air from the chamber. The Doctor hypnotises
Sarah into not needing to breathe and convincing her that she cannot feel any pain. He closes her eyes and then, breathing in so loudly that he seems to scream, places himself in a similar trance.
Harry is brought to the Zygon ship deep underwater, where he meets their warlord, Broton. Harry is told that centuries ago, their spaceship was damaged and they landed on Earth
. They were waiting for rescue when they heard that their world had been destroyed in a stellar explosion. Now, they intend to claim Earth for their own, using the sea monster under their command, an armoured cyborg
of great power. Broton explains that the Zygons depend on the lactic fluid of the Skarasen, and Harry realises that if the monster is destroyed, the Zygons will die. Broton declares that "none of your puny human weapons" can affect the Skarasen.
The Brigadier is briefing one of his officers at the Inn when gas floods the room, knocking them all out. Meanwhile, Benton has found the Doctor and Sarah. He manages to open the pressure door, and with air restored, the Doctor exhales and awakens, carefully reviving Sarah from her hypnotic trance. He tells Benton that the trance was a trick he picked up from a Tibet
an monk
.
Benton, Sarah and the Doctor discover that the entire village has been drugged by some kind of nerve gas, but they soon revive. The Doctor deduces that this was done so that something could get around unseen. The Zygons watch Huckle give the Doctor a device he found in the wreckage: the signal device that summons the Skarasen. Broton says it must be recovered. Harry is taken to another room in the ship, where he sees other humans hooked up to booths, providing the Zygons with "body prints" that they use to assume human form.
The Doctor hypothesises that the signal device sends out a kind of primeval mating call, attracting the beast to whatever it is attached to. The savaged body of a UNIT soldier is found on the Moor and the Doctor and the Brigadier go to see it, leaving Sarah behind in case Harry turns up. He does, but it is his Zygon duplicate. He takes the signal device, saying that the Doctor asked him to collect it. Sarah notices his curious behaviour and questions him, but he pushes her aside and runs away. Sarah and some soldiers pursue him.
Sarah discovers "Harry" hiding in an upper level of a barn, and he attacks her with a pitchfork. She steps aside at the last moment and he falls, injuring himself fatally and turning back into a Zygon. The signal broken, Broton realises his man is dead, and remotely disintegrates the corpse. Harry, however, is freed from his body print booth.
Sarah wonders how the aliens knew that they had the signal device. The Brigadier orders the Inn to be searched for bugs. Seeing this, Broton in turn orders that the Skarasen be unleashed, even if it means revealing their presence on this planet. The signal device begins to beep. The Doctor grabs the device to lure the creature away while the Brigadier tries to get a fix on the activating signal.
The Skarasen catches up to the Doctor on the Moor, and he finds that he cannot get rid of the semi-organic signal device, which has fastened itself to his palm. The Brigadier manages to trace the incoming signal to Loch Ness
. As the Doctor stumbles, Broton orders the Skarasen to destroy him.
Harry rushes into the Zygon control room and randomly hits the controls, causing the device to fall off the Doctor's palm and allowing him to roll out of the Skarasen's way. Since the device is dead, Broton assumes that the Doctor is, too and recalls the Skarasen. The Doctor retrieves the device and makes his way back across the Moor as the Skarasen glides away. In the ship, Harry is dragged away by the other Zygons.
The Doctor is met halfway by the Brigadier and Sarah, who tell him that the signal came from Loch Ness. The Doctor decides to go visit Forgill Castle, which is right next to the loch. They get a frosty reception from the Duke, who does not believe them when they tell him about the monster, aliens and their intention to drop depth charge
s in Loch Ness.
At the Inn, Angus discovers the Zygon surveillance link in the stuffed deer head that was the Duke's gift. As he tries to pry it loose, Sister Lamont enters the Inn. Before his eyes, the sister turns into a Zygon and kills him, removing the link after. Angus's dying cries are heard by Benton and some UNIT soldiers, who discover the body and go off in pursuit of the killer. The UNIT troops sweep through the nearby forest, and fire on the Zygon.
The Brigadier is informed that a Zygon is being cornered. He and the Doctor leave Sarah behind at the Castle to research into the monster. In the woods, the wounded Zygon disguises itself once more as Sister Lamont, and fools a UNIT soldier long enough to knock him out and steal his jeep. At the Inn, the Doctor notices the missing eye in the deer head, and realises that the Duke might be a Zygon facsimile.
At the Castle, as Sarah examines the upper bookshelves, she triggers a hidden switch and a section of the bookcases slides open, revealing a hidden passage. She takes a torchlight and goes in, following a long dark tunnel that leads to the Zygon ship. The "Duke" (in reality Broton) discovers the open bookcase. He and the "Caber" take the wounded "Sister Lamont" down into the ship; the crew must be alerted and the intruder found and destroyed.
Exploring, Sarah finds the cell where Harry is being kept. She frees him and they sneak back to the Castle, just in time to meet the Brigadier and the Doctor. Sarah tells the Brigadier about the Zygon ship. The Doctor enters the tunnel, but does not get far a scream is heard. The Zygons emerge in their true forms, Broton telling the humans that they are leaving, with the Doctor as their prisoner. He warns them that the oilrigs were only a test; the "big event" is yet to come. Broton then retreats, sealing the entrance to the tunnel.
The Brigadier orders the loch to be depth charged, to try and bring the Zygon ship to the surface. The Zygon ship does rise, but keeps on rising into the sky, flying away.
Broton orders a jamming signal to be transmitted to block the humans' radar tracking systems. The Brigadier prepares to move his troops out, but Sarah and Harry suggest they search Forgill Castle before they leave to see if they can find a clue to the Zygons' plans. There, Sarah finds some papers that indicate the Duke is the President of the Scottish Energy Commission, but Harry dismisses the information as useless. They return with the Brigadier to London
.
The Zygon ship lands in a disused quarry, with UNIT unable to track it as radar stations are knocked out all over the country. However, there are reports of a large underwater object heading South at high speed. Broton enters the Doctor's cell and, taking the Duke's form again, tells him that Phase I of the conquest of Earth is complete. A great Zygon refugee ship is on its way, but will take some centuries to arrive. In the meantime, Earth's environment must be restructured, using human labour and Zygon technology to turn it into a new homeworld.
Left alone, the Doctor rigs some of the organic technology in his cell, electrocuting himself but sending a transmission to aid UNIT in tracking the ship to the quarry. By the time Broton and his men manage to open the Doctor's cell door, the Doctor is apparently dead. However, when Broton leaves, the Doctor comes to. He makes his way to the body print chamber and frees the real Duke, Sister Lamont and the Caber.
Broton leaves the ship to plant a signal device on his intended target, which the Skarasen will then destroy, proving the power the Zygons hold. When Phase II is complete, he will broadcast his demands to the world. Inside the ship, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver
to set off the fire sensor, triggering an alarm. When the Zygons go to investigate, the Doctor ushers the humans out of the ship, jamming the hatches on the way out and activating the ship's self-destruct.
The Brigadier has arrived, and the escapees reach UNIT's position, the Doctor shouting for everyone to get down just before the Zygon ship explodes. However, Broton is still out there and has control of the Skarasen. The target is in London, and has to be close to the River Thames
. The Brigadier says that Prime Minister
will be attending a conference at Stanbridge House, near the river. The Duke adds that it is the 1st International Energy Conference, with delegates from all over the world in attendance. As the Duke is the President of the Scottish Energy Commission, Broton will have a pass into the meeting. They leave for London.
The Duke places the signal device in the basement of Stanbridge House, while the Skarasen has been sighted mere minutes away. The Doctor finds Broton, back in his true form, who swears he will make sure the Doctor is dead this time and attacks him. Sarah calls for the Brigadier, who arrives to shoot Broton dead. The Doctor finds the signal device in his pocket, and feeds it to the Skarasen as it rises out of the Thames. After it consumes the device, the beast sinks back into the river and heads back to Loch Ness, the only home it has ever known.
Returning to Scotland, the Brigadier tells the Duke that the incident will be kept quiet, even the appearance of a fifty-foot monster in the Thames. The Doctor leads them into the woods where the TARDIS
is, and offers all of them a lift, but the Brigadier and Harry decline. Sarah agrees on the condition they do go straight back to London. The Doctor promises, and the TARDIS takes off. The Duke tells the Brigadier that, as a Scotsman, he should have got a refund for Sarah and the Doctor's return train tickets.
, was published by Target Books
in January 1976 under the title Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster. It was later republished under the original title. The Zygons have a deadly sting, the TARDIS momentarily disppears after landing and the Prime Minister is a man.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 August to 20 September 1975. It was the last Adventure in the TARDIS for Ian Marter
Ian Marter
Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
as companion Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor...
, who would return once more in The Android Invasion
The Android Invasion
The Android Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1975. It marks the last appearance of UNIT Character Sergeant Benton...
.
Synopsis
The Fourth DoctorFourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
is summoned to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
by an emergency signalling device he left with the Brigadier
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
who is in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
investigating the mysterious loss of oilrigs.
Plot
On an oil rig off the coast of ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, a strange, high pitched beeping sound echoes through the structure, and it begins to break apart, collapsing into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
The Fourth Doctor
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
, Harry
Harry Sullivan
Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor...
and Sarah
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
hitch a ride with a passing motorist to the town where the Brigadier
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
and UNIT
UNIT
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
have set themselves up in an inn. The Brigadier is talking to Huckle, an official of Hibernian Oil, who owned the rig. Huckle complains that three such rigs have been destroyed in the last month, two of them belonging to Hibernian. The Brigadier assures Huckle that UNIT is also concerned, especially about the loss of life.
The Doctor, Harry and Sarah arrive at the Inn. It turns out that their ride is the Duke of Forgill, a local landowner. The Duke warns Huckle that if his men are caught trespassing on his land, they will be shot. He also wants to know what UNIT are doing here, but the Brigadier says that it is a sensitive matter. Though not pleased, the Duke leaves.
On the shoreline, a survivor of the destroyed rig washes up, just barely alive. The Brigadier brings the Doctor, Harry and Sarah to Hibernian Oil, where Huckle briefs them on the injuries of the rigs' crew. Harry decides to examine the injuries at the Sickbay, while Sarah goes to talk to some of the locals. Huckle cannot understand it: the rigs were designed to be unsinkable, and the seas were calm and empty prior to the incidents. The Doctor darkly notes that the sea is never empty.
Back at the Inn, Sarah talks to Angus, the landlord. Sarah admires a stuffed stag's head above the fireplace, a gift from the Duke just this past week. Angus observes that the Duke has not been himself since the oil companies came. His servants have left to work for them, leaving Forgill Castle cold and empty. All this while, something alien watches her and Angus on a monitor screen. Angus tells Sarah about Tulloch Moor and how people have disappeared over the centuries when the mist came down. Sarah is sceptical, however — evil spirits do not destroy oilrigs.
The rig survivor, Munro, is spotted by the Duke's man, the Caber, as Munro staggers from the surf. Harry is driving by and sees Munro too, and goes to him as Munro collapses. Before Munro can tell Harry about what smashed the rig, the Caber fires a rifle, killing Munro and creasing Harry's forehead with a second shot. Harry falls, unconscious. Back at the Inn, the Doctor is working on a radio probe to check for localised jamming when a call comes in informing them about Harry.
Alien hands manipulate strange, organic controls. A high pitched beeping summons a creature from the depths that heads towards the Ben Nevis rig. The rig's communications with Huckle are suddenly jammed by the beeping.
The Doctor and Sarah visit Harry, who is sedated and being looked after by Sister Lamont, the nurse. The Brigadier arrives, telling him of the Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....
rig's destruction. Sarah stays with Harry while the Doctor goes with the Brigadier. Outside, the Doctor spots a piece of wreckage from the earlier rig with some odd holes in it. The Doctor asks Sergeant Benton
Sergeant Benton
Sergeant Benton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by John Levene. He was the senior NCO of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
for some plaster of Paris
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, and makes a mould of the holes, revealing that something with very large teeth had bitten into the rig. The aliens, watching, decide that the Doctor knows too much and must be destroyed.
Harry awakens. Sarah goes to inform the Doctor, while Sister Lamont tells Harry that he will be very well looked after. A high-pitched beeping echoes through the room, and Harry looks up in fear. As Sarah calls the Doctor, a suction-tipped hand clamps down on her shoulder. She turns and is grabbed by a large, orange biped: a Zygon
Zygon
The Zygons are a fictional extraterrestrial race in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They first appeared in the Fourth Doctor serial Terror of the Zygons, where it was revealed that centuries ago, the Zygon homeworld was destroyed in a stellar explosion. A...
.
The Doctor hears Sarah's cries over the telephone and rushes over to the Sickbay. When they get there, Sister Lamont tells them that she found Sarah gone and Harry's bed empty. The Doctor snoops around further, and finds Sarah hiding in a decompression chamber. As Sarah starts telling the Doctor about what happened, a Zygon locks them in and starts to remove the air from the chamber. The Doctor hypnotises
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
Sarah into not needing to breathe and convincing her that she cannot feel any pain. He closes her eyes and then, breathing in so loudly that he seems to scream, places himself in a similar trance.
Harry is brought to the Zygon ship deep underwater, where he meets their warlord, Broton. Harry is told that centuries ago, their spaceship was damaged and they landed on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. They were waiting for rescue when they heard that their world had been destroyed in a stellar explosion. Now, they intend to claim Earth for their own, using the sea monster under their command, an armoured cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
of great power. Broton explains that the Zygons depend on the lactic fluid of the Skarasen, and Harry realises that if the monster is destroyed, the Zygons will die. Broton declares that "none of your puny human weapons" can affect the Skarasen.
The Brigadier is briefing one of his officers at the Inn when gas floods the room, knocking them all out. Meanwhile, Benton has found the Doctor and Sarah. He manages to open the pressure door, and with air restored, the Doctor exhales and awakens, carefully reviving Sarah from her hypnotic trance. He tells Benton that the trance was a trick he picked up from a Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an monk
Marco Polo (Doctor Who)
-CD and DVD releases:*In 2003, a three-CD set of the audio soundtrack was released, as part of Doctor Who's 40th anniversary. This CD set is unique in containing a map of Cathay as represented during the period of the Doctor's visit to China, and also explaining historical inaccuracies...
.
Benton, Sarah and the Doctor discover that the entire village has been drugged by some kind of nerve gas, but they soon revive. The Doctor deduces that this was done so that something could get around unseen. The Zygons watch Huckle give the Doctor a device he found in the wreckage: the signal device that summons the Skarasen. Broton says it must be recovered. Harry is taken to another room in the ship, where he sees other humans hooked up to booths, providing the Zygons with "body prints" that they use to assume human form.
The Doctor hypothesises that the signal device sends out a kind of primeval mating call, attracting the beast to whatever it is attached to. The savaged body of a UNIT soldier is found on the Moor and the Doctor and the Brigadier go to see it, leaving Sarah behind in case Harry turns up. He does, but it is his Zygon duplicate. He takes the signal device, saying that the Doctor asked him to collect it. Sarah notices his curious behaviour and questions him, but he pushes her aside and runs away. Sarah and some soldiers pursue him.
Sarah discovers "Harry" hiding in an upper level of a barn, and he attacks her with a pitchfork. She steps aside at the last moment and he falls, injuring himself fatally and turning back into a Zygon. The signal broken, Broton realises his man is dead, and remotely disintegrates the corpse. Harry, however, is freed from his body print booth.
Sarah wonders how the aliens knew that they had the signal device. The Brigadier orders the Inn to be searched for bugs. Seeing this, Broton in turn orders that the Skarasen be unleashed, even if it means revealing their presence on this planet. The signal device begins to beep. The Doctor grabs the device to lure the creature away while the Brigadier tries to get a fix on the activating signal.
The Skarasen catches up to the Doctor on the Moor, and he finds that he cannot get rid of the semi-organic signal device, which has fastened itself to his palm. The Brigadier manages to trace the incoming signal to Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
. As the Doctor stumbles, Broton orders the Skarasen to destroy him.
Harry rushes into the Zygon control room and randomly hits the controls, causing the device to fall off the Doctor's palm and allowing him to roll out of the Skarasen's way. Since the device is dead, Broton assumes that the Doctor is, too and recalls the Skarasen. The Doctor retrieves the device and makes his way back across the Moor as the Skarasen glides away. In the ship, Harry is dragged away by the other Zygons.
The Doctor is met halfway by the Brigadier and Sarah, who tell him that the signal came from Loch Ness. The Doctor decides to go visit Forgill Castle, which is right next to the loch. They get a frosty reception from the Duke, who does not believe them when they tell him about the monster, aliens and their intention to drop depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s in Loch Ness.
At the Inn, Angus discovers the Zygon surveillance link in the stuffed deer head that was the Duke's gift. As he tries to pry it loose, Sister Lamont enters the Inn. Before his eyes, the sister turns into a Zygon and kills him, removing the link after. Angus's dying cries are heard by Benton and some UNIT soldiers, who discover the body and go off in pursuit of the killer. The UNIT troops sweep through the nearby forest, and fire on the Zygon.
The Brigadier is informed that a Zygon is being cornered. He and the Doctor leave Sarah behind at the Castle to research into the monster. In the woods, the wounded Zygon disguises itself once more as Sister Lamont, and fools a UNIT soldier long enough to knock him out and steal his jeep. At the Inn, the Doctor notices the missing eye in the deer head, and realises that the Duke might be a Zygon facsimile.
At the Castle, as Sarah examines the upper bookshelves, she triggers a hidden switch and a section of the bookcases slides open, revealing a hidden passage. She takes a torchlight and goes in, following a long dark tunnel that leads to the Zygon ship. The "Duke" (in reality Broton) discovers the open bookcase. He and the "Caber" take the wounded "Sister Lamont" down into the ship; the crew must be alerted and the intruder found and destroyed.
Exploring, Sarah finds the cell where Harry is being kept. She frees him and they sneak back to the Castle, just in time to meet the Brigadier and the Doctor. Sarah tells the Brigadier about the Zygon ship. The Doctor enters the tunnel, but does not get far a scream is heard. The Zygons emerge in their true forms, Broton telling the humans that they are leaving, with the Doctor as their prisoner. He warns them that the oilrigs were only a test; the "big event" is yet to come. Broton then retreats, sealing the entrance to the tunnel.
The Brigadier orders the loch to be depth charged, to try and bring the Zygon ship to the surface. The Zygon ship does rise, but keeps on rising into the sky, flying away.
Broton orders a jamming signal to be transmitted to block the humans' radar tracking systems. The Brigadier prepares to move his troops out, but Sarah and Harry suggest they search Forgill Castle before they leave to see if they can find a clue to the Zygons' plans. There, Sarah finds some papers that indicate the Duke is the President of the Scottish Energy Commission, but Harry dismisses the information as useless. They return with the Brigadier to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The Zygon ship lands in a disused quarry, with UNIT unable to track it as radar stations are knocked out all over the country. However, there are reports of a large underwater object heading South at high speed. Broton enters the Doctor's cell and, taking the Duke's form again, tells him that Phase I of the conquest of Earth is complete. A great Zygon refugee ship is on its way, but will take some centuries to arrive. In the meantime, Earth's environment must be restructured, using human labour and Zygon technology to turn it into a new homeworld.
Left alone, the Doctor rigs some of the organic technology in his cell, electrocuting himself but sending a transmission to aid UNIT in tracking the ship to the quarry. By the time Broton and his men manage to open the Doctor's cell door, the Doctor is apparently dead. However, when Broton leaves, the Doctor comes to. He makes his way to the body print chamber and frees the real Duke, Sister Lamont and the Caber.
Broton leaves the ship to plant a signal device on his intended target, which the Skarasen will then destroy, proving the power the Zygons hold. When Phase II is complete, he will broadcast his demands to the world. Inside the ship, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver
Sonic screwdriver
The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...
to set off the fire sensor, triggering an alarm. When the Zygons go to investigate, the Doctor ushers the humans out of the ship, jamming the hatches on the way out and activating the ship's self-destruct.
The Brigadier has arrived, and the escapees reach UNIT's position, the Doctor shouting for everyone to get down just before the Zygon ship explodes. However, Broton is still out there and has control of the Skarasen. The target is in London, and has to be close to the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The Brigadier says that Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
will be attending a conference at Stanbridge House, near the river. The Duke adds that it is the 1st International Energy Conference, with delegates from all over the world in attendance. As the Duke is the President of the Scottish Energy Commission, Broton will have a pass into the meeting. They leave for London.
The Duke places the signal device in the basement of Stanbridge House, while the Skarasen has been sighted mere minutes away. The Doctor finds Broton, back in his true form, who swears he will make sure the Doctor is dead this time and attacks him. Sarah calls for the Brigadier, who arrives to shoot Broton dead. The Doctor finds the signal device in his pocket, and feeds it to the Skarasen as it rises out of the Thames. After it consumes the device, the beast sinks back into the river and heads back to Loch Ness, the only home it has ever known.
Returning to Scotland, the Brigadier tells the Duke that the incident will be kept quiet, even the appearance of a fifty-foot monster in the Thames. The Doctor leads them into the woods where the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
is, and offers all of them a lift, but the Brigadier and Harry decline. Sarah agrees on the condition they do go straight back to London. The Doctor promises, and the TARDIS takes off. The Duke tells the Brigadier that, as a Scotsman, he should have got a refund for Sarah and the Doctor's return train tickets.
Continuity
- The Brigadier refers to the Prime Minister as "Madam". Although already the leader of the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
when the story was made, Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
would not become Britain's first female Prime Minister until 1979. Douglas Camfield intended this to be a reference to Shirley WilliamsShirley Williams, Baroness Williams of CrosbyShirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby PC is a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party in 1981...
, a prominent member of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, which, led by Harold WilsonHarold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, formed the government at the time. Shirley Williams is the Prime Minister in the Virgin New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novel No FutureNo FutureNo Future is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Cornell, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #209...
by Paul CornellPaul CornellPaul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
, set in 1976. - This serial concludes a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of RobotRobot (Doctor Who)Robot is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1974 to 18 January 1975...
and ending with this story. - Harry Sullivan (Ian MarterIan MarterIan Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
) leaves the TARDIS crew with this story. Marter would return to play Sullivan and his android duplicate in the fourth story of this season The Android InvasionThe Android InvasionThe Android Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1975. It marks the last appearance of UNIT Character Sergeant Benton...
. He would also go on to write several novelisations of Doctor Who television stories (including some in which he had appeared as Sullivan), as well as the spin-off novel Harry Sullivan's War. The character returns to assist the fourth Doctor in the Past Doctor AdventuresPast Doctor AdventuresThe Past Doctor Adventures were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures...
novels System ShockSystem Shock (Doctor Who)System Shock is an original novel written by Justin Richards and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry and is followed by the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures novel Millennium Shock, also by...
and Millennium ShockMillennium ShockMillennium Shock is a BBC Books original novel written by Justin Richards and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fourth Doctor and Harry, and is a sequel to Richards' Virgin Missing Adventures novel System Shock....
by Justin RichardsJustin RichardsJustin Richards is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day...
and be mentioned in the Fifth DoctorFifth DoctorThe Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....
serial Mawdryn UndeadMawdryn UndeadMawdryn Undead is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts from 1 February to 9 February 1983...
in which he is said to be working for NATO. The Doctor would not have another male companion until AdricAdricAdric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the...
in season 18. - The Eighth Doctor AdventuresEighth Doctor AdventuresThe Eighth Doctor Adventures are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. 73 books were published overall...
novel The BodysnatchersThe Bodysnatchers (Doctor Who)The Bodysnatchers is an original novel written by Mark Morris and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
by Mark MorrisMark Morris (writer)Mark Morris is an author known for his series of horror novels, although he has also written two novels based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who. He currently lives in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, with his wife . He has used the pseudonym J. M...
also features the Zygons with a plan to conquer the planet in 1894. He also meets them in the 1980s in the audio story The Zygon Who Fell to EarthThe Zygon Who Fell to EarthThe Zygon Who Fell to Earth is an audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was produced by Big Finish Productions.-Plot:...
. - This story is referred to in two later episodes: in Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
, the Doctor refers to "the Zygon gambit with the Loch Ness Monster"; and in "School ReunionSchool Reunion (Doctor Who)"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
", Sarah Jane Smith talks to Rose TylerRose TylerRose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
of her encounter with the Loch Ness Monster during her travels with the Doctor. - An original novel featuring the Tenth DoctorTenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
was published in 2007, entitled Sting of the ZygonsSting of the ZygonsSting of the Zygons is a BBC Books original novel written by Stephen Cole and based on the long running science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones...
. - In this adventure the Loch Ness MonsterLoch Ness MonsterThe Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
is identified as being the Skarasen - a cyborgCyborgA cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
weapon of the Zygons. The season 22 adventure TimelashTimelashTimelash is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 9–16 March 1985.-Synopsis:...
introduces the Borad who is thrown back in time and also becomes the legendary creature.
Production
Working titles for this story included The Loch Ness Monster, The Loch Ness Terror and The Zygons.Cast notes
- John Woodnutt had previously appeared playing Hibbert in Spearhead from SpaceSpearhead from SpaceSpearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1970. The serial opened Series 7 of the show and was the first to be produced in colour. The serial introduced Jon Pertwee as the...
(1970) and as the Draconian Emperor in Frontier in SpaceFrontier in SpaceFrontier in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 24 to March 31, 1973...
(1973) and would go on to play Consul Seron in The Keeper of TrakenThe Keeper of Traken-Cast notes:Denis Carey, who plays the Keeper, also played Professor Chronotis in the uncompleted Fourth Doctor serial Shada, and the Old Man in the Sixth Doctor story Timelash....
(1981). - Angus Lennie previously played Storr in The Ice WarriorsThe Ice WarriorsThe Ice Warriors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 11 to December 16, 1967...
. - This would be Nicholas Courtney's final appearance on the series for almost eight years; the Brigadier would not be seen again until Mawdryn UndeadMawdryn UndeadMawdryn Undead is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts from 1 February to 9 February 1983...
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance DicksTerrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in January 1976 under the title Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster. It was later republished under the original title. The Zygons have a deadly sting, the TARDIS momentarily disppears after landing and the Prime Minister is a man.
DVD, VHS, Laserdisc and CD release
- This story first came out on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in November 1988; this was in an "omnibus" format. - This story was first released in episodic format on LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in 1997, followed by a new VHS release in August 1999 in the United Kingdom, and released in 2000 in the United States and Canada. - Music from this serial was released on the CD Doctor Who: Terror of the ZygonsDoctor Who: Terror of the ZygonsDoctor Who: Terror of the Zygons is an album of music by Geoffrey Burgon of his music for the Doctor Who serials Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom...
- The story will be released on DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2012 .