Terror of the Zygons

Tom Baker's second season begins with his first alien threat against contemporary Earth. The basic storyline is nothing we haven't seen before- the Zygons want to conquer the Earth and use their cyborg monster, the Skarasen, to help them accomplish this. There are some plot problems, as we shall see later. However, if there is one story that is genuinely a 'triumph of style over substance' it is this one.

The Zygons themselves are one of the best realised alien races the programme has ever had. A fantastically designed costume is seamlessly blended with make-up onto the faces of the actors. Even today, a Hollywood budget would only slightly improve on the look. As in The Claws of Axos, there is an organic spacecraft, but one which is far easier on the eyes and far more subtle and interesting. All this is helped by Douglas Camfield's great skill in selecting the shots and supervising editing- the first full reveal of a Zygon is brilliantly done. Camfield manages to make the programme more 'edgy'- there is a real sense of danger in scenes such as the Zygon Harry's escape. Much has been made of the believability of the Skarasen. The creature is realised through a mixture of puppetry and a few shots with stop-motion animation. Although the creature is not particularly convincing, it is mobile and quite well designed. The end, where it rises out of the Thames fails mostly because it combines film and video elements- there have been far worse special effects on the programme.

The script is quite good, if somewhat half-baked. Despite the fact that the very first line by a Scottish character is aboot haggis, characterisation is good, with some nice moments. There is some clunky info-dumping- Broton explains things to Harry for no good reason, and some rather unbelievable plot points- the removal of the bug from the inn only alerts UNIT to where the bug came from and Sarah stumbles into the tunnel to the spaceship after being left alone by the Zygons, who have fetched a step-ladder for her to reach it. Any thought that they did that deliberately is scotched when they angrily discover the tunnel open.

The performances throughout are first rate, from Lillias Walker's spooky performance as Sister Lamont to John Woodnutt's excellent Broton/ Duke of Forgill. Tom Baker's detached, yet playful performance further distances the Fourth Doctor's personality from his predecessor. It's sad to see Harry go as a regular- Ian Marter made him entertaining and convincing throughout. This is also the last we'll see of the Brig for a good long while and Nicholas Courtney works his usual magic.

Terror of the Zygons has its problems, but it is thoroughly entertaining throughout and highly recommended.

Next: Planet of Evil