Long before their recent appearances in Series 9’s ‘The Zygon Invasion’ and ‘The Zygon Inversion,’ the rubbery monsters first appeared in this Tom Baker classic.
It’s kind of funny to think that Robert Banks Stewart only wrote two Doctor Who serials, considering both of those serials are two of the most popular stories of the Classic Series: ‘Terror of the Zygons’ and ‘The Seeds of Doom.’ Even a serial that didn’t make it to television, ‘The Foe from the Future,’ is absolutely brilliant, as that story’s Big Finish audio adaptation proves. It’s a shame that he didn’t write more.
So what makes ‘Terror of the Zygons’ so easily memorable? First, there are the Zygons themselves. While shapeshifters are admittedly rather common in science-fiction, I think the Zygons are presented rather well, here. There’s none of the moral complexity you see in ‘The Zygon Invasion’/’The Zygon Inversion’ – as an attack force that wants to take over the Earth and radically change the environment to suit their own purposes, they are clearly the villains of the piece, and they make rather excellent ones.
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The shapeshifting aspect is used well within the story, allowing for the occasional moment of paranoia when the main characters aren’t sure who to trust. One of my favourite moments in particular is a Zygon double of lovable companion Harry Sullivan menacing Sarah Jane Smith – it’s a very chilling and rather effective scene.
Related: REVIEW: ‘The Zygon Invasion’
But what really makes the Zygons so memorable is the design. It’s really not very surprising that, for their second TV appearance in ‘The Day of the Doctor’ almost four decades later, the updated look matched the original design as closely as possible, much more so compared to the Silurians updated look in 2010. It’s funny to think that this is the Zygons’ sole appearance in the original series, as they’re a monster that everyone remembers. Even David Tennant said that he loved them long before his Doctor got to meet them. Their look really is such a fantastic design, especially for 1975, and helps to sell the contrast between their human disguises and their natural forms.
The story overall also has the distinction of being one of the last UNIT stories of the 1970s, including the last appearance of the Brigadier until ‘Mawdryn Undead’ seven seasons later. It’s also quite possibly one of the best serials, certainly the best UNIT story the show had seen in awhile. In contrast to their previous appearance in Tom Baker’s first story ‘Robot,’ which saw them deal with a giant robot and was exactly as cheesy as you’d expect, in ‘Terror of the Zygons’, the organisation is treated much more seriously.
The story has a rather grim tone and levels of violence that feel almost uncomfortably real, at times. One scene in particular that makes me flinch is a Zygon hitting a soldier on the back of the head with a large rock. It’s a great return to form for UNIT, so it’s a shame that this was one of their last appearances along with ‘The Android Invasion’ until 1989’s ‘Battlefield.’
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‘Terror of the Zygons’ is in some ways a typical Doctor Who story. There are no moral dilemmas to explore, just your everyday “monsters invading the Earth” scenario. But it’s a typical story done very, very well. Even with the weak effect of the Skarasen, it is more than made up for with great direction, a grim tone, and some of the best designed monsters since the Daleks. It’s easy to see why this story is so fondly remembered by fans.