 "Terror of the Zygons" was originally planned as the final story of Season Twelve and was recorded at the end of the twelfth recording block. Its broadcast was postponed so that it would start Season Thirteen which began at the end of August 1975. This shift in the broadcast schedule, from a January start (as had been the case since 1970) to September, was done to offset the challenge of ITV's new show Space: 1999.
This story was originally due to be a six-part story but it was reduced to four when it was decided this story would start Season Thirteen.
Douglas Camfield returned to the program for the first time since he directed the 1970 Third Doctor story "Inferno". "Terror of the Zygons" was the eighth Doctor Who story he directed.
This was the final story to feature Harry Sullivan as a regular cast member, although Ian Marter, who played Harry Sullivan, would later return briefly, as an android duplicate of Harry Sullivan, in "The Android Invasion". The character of Harry Sullivan would return to assist the Fourth Doctor in the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures novels "System Shock" and "Millennium Shock" by Justin Richards. He was also mentioned in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead" in which Harry is said to be working for NATO.
This was the first UNIT story since "Robot". It was also the final story in which The Brigadier and Sergeant Benton would appear as regulars. Sergeant Benton would make one final appearance in "The Android Invasion" while Nicholas Courtney would not return to the show for almost eight years. The Brigadier returned to the show, as a retired civilian, in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead", the 1983 Twentieth Anniversary Special "The Five Doctors" and in the 1989 Seventh Doctor story "Battlefield". The Brigadier also returned for the Thirtieth-Anniversary Children In Need special "Dimensions in Time", in 1993, two radio plays starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor ("The Paradise of Death" and "The Ghosts of N-Space"), and "Death Comes to Time", the first original Doctor Who webcast. Nicholas Courtney also can be heard in a number of the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio stories. Including "The Spectre of Lanyon Moor", "Minuet in Hell", "Zagreus", "Sympathy for the Devil", and instalments of the UNIT series. Away from Doctor Who, Nicholas Courtney continued to work prolifically. His television appearances have included shows like All Creatures Great and Small, Yes, Prime Minister and The Bill.
John Woodnutt makes a guest appearance playing the part of the Duke of Forgill. He also played the part of Broton, one of the Zygons, in all four episodes. The Radio Times credits John Woodnutt as Duke of Forgill for Part One, Broton for Parts Two and Three, and Duke of Forgill/Broton for Part Four. All the on-screen credits read Duke of Forgill. Previously John Woodnutt appeared in the show in two Third Doctor stories. In the 1970 story "Spearhead From Space" (playing the part of Hibbert) and as the Draconian Emperor in the 1973 story "Frontier in Space". He would return to the show to play Consul Seron in the 1981 story "The Keeper of Traken".
Angus Lennie, who played landlord Angus McRanald, had previously appeared as Storr in the 1967 Second Doctor story "The Ice Warriors". He is better known for his role as Shughie McFee in the soap opera Crossroads.
It is revealed that the Zygons arrived on Earth 'centuries ago' in a crashed spaceship. Having sent out for a rescue mission, they then heard that their home planet had been destroyed in a stellar explosion. Broton decided that Earth would make a perfect new home. A large Zygon fleet left before the disaster and is presently making its way to Earth but it will be 'centuries before they arrive'.
This story establishes the Loch Ness Monster as being a cyborg weapon of the Zygons. It is revealed that the Loch Ness Monster (or Skarasen to give it its correct name) is grown from an embryo. It is the Zygon's life source, providing them with the lactic fluid they need to survive. The 1985 Sixth Doctor story "Timelash" later presents the Borad who is thrown back in time and becomes the legendary creature.
The design of the Zygons was based partly on a human embryo and originally they were designed to glow internally by the provision of a series of lights inside the rib cage and the head, all powered from a concealed battery pack. However, this idea was not used much during recording.
The Skarasen was achieved by using two puppets, a small stop-motion one and a larger one for the Thames emergence sequence. Unfortunately, this material proved to be of inferior quality, and so Douglas Camfield decided to use as little of it as possible.
In the scene where The Doctor mesmerises Sarah to prevent her from suffocating when they are locked in the decompression chamber he is heard to state that this is: 'A trick I picked up from a Tibetan monk'. This may refer to a visit to the Det sen monastery in (the 1967 Second Doctor story "The Abominable Snowmen") or even to K'Anpo (the 1974 Third Doctor story "Planet of the Spiders").
The Brigadier is heard to mention that UNIT was formed before he joined it.
The Brigadier is heard speaking to the Prime Minister and referring to her as ‘madam’. This seems at first to be a prescient piece of writing. However, although Margaret Thatcher was already the leader of the Conservative Party when this story was made, she would not become Britain's first female Prime Minister until 1979.
In the DVD commentary for "Frontier in Space", Terrance Dicks is heard to say that the reference to the Prime Minister as being a woman was an ad-lib by Nicholas Courtney. It has though also been revealed that Douglas Camfield intended this to be a reference to Shirley Williams, a prominent member of the Labour Party, which, led by Harold Wilson, formed the government at the time. Shirley Williams is the Prime Minister in the Virgin Books New Adventures novel "No Future" by Paul Cornell, set in 1976.
A scene of the TARDIS arriving invisibly at the start of part one was dropped after filming because of technical difficulties discovered. The Target novelisation of this story features this ‘lost’ scene as well as turning the Prime Minister into a male.
The Doctor states that he has been dragged '270 million miles' by The Brigadier. However, they left Nova Beacon orbiting Jupiter and the distance from Jupiter's furthermost satellite to Earth is closer to 370 million miles.
The story is one of the times when a gravel pit is used to portray a gravel pit rather than as a stand-in for an alien world.
This story concludes a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from "Robot" and ending in this story, although the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventures novel "Wolfsbane" is set between "Revenge of the Cybermen" and "Terror of the Zygons".
This story is referred to in two later stories: in the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks", The Doctor refers to ‘the Zygon gambit with the Loch Ness Monster"; and in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "School Reunion", during Sarah Jane Smith's comparison of travels with Rose she mentions the Loch Ness Monster.
The Eighth Doctor Adventures novel "The Bodysnatchers", by Mark Morris, also features the Zygons and the Skarasen, in this case another ship that crashed to Earth in the 16th century and implemented a plan to conquer the planet in 1894. The Eighth Doctor also meets them in the 1980s in the audio story "The Zygon Who Fell to Earth". Zygons and Skarasens also feature in the 2007 BBC Books Tenth Doctor Stories novelisation "Sting of the Zygons" written by Stephen Cole.
The 1988 compilation video release was previously only available in Australia – having been released their first in April 1987.
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The Firsts:
The first story of Season Thirteen.
The first (and only) appearance of the Zygons.
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Robert Banks Stewart.
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(Position = 25 out of 159)
(Position = 17 out of 200)
