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Peter Capaldi
The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion
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Synopsis


A Zygon
A Zygon
 The Zygons, a race of shapeshifting aliens, have been living in secret amongst us on Earth, unknown and unseen - until now!

 When Osgood is kidnapped by a rogue gang of Zygons, The Doctor, Clara and UNIT must scatter across the world in a bid to set her free.

 But will they reach her in time, and can they stop an uprising before it is too late?

Source: BBC Website


General Information

Season: Thirty Five (New Series 9)
Production Code: 9-7/9-8
Story Number: 258 (New Series: 102)
Episode Numbers:820 - 821 (New Series: 124 - 125)
Number of Episodes: 2
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Working Titles:"Invasion of the Zygons/Inversion of the Zygons"
Production Dates: April - May 2015
Broadcast Started: 31 October 2015
Broadcast Finished: 07 November 2015
Colour Status: HD Colour
Studio: BBC Wales (Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff)
Location: Fuerteventura, Canary Islands (for the New Mexico scenes)
Writers:Peter Harness and Steven Moffat
Director:Daniel Nettheim
Producer:Peter Bennett
Executive Producers:Brian Minchin and Steven Moffat
Assistant Directors:Chris Thomas and Gareth Jones
Script Executive:Lindsey Alford
Script Supervisor:Steve Walker
Script Editor:David P. Davis
Editors:Will Oswald, Becky Trotman (Assistant) and Robbie Gibbon (Assistant)
Head of Production:Gordon Ronald
Production Manager:Steffan Morris
Production Assistants:Jamie Shaw and Sion Crowle
Post Production Supervisor:Samantha Price
Production Designer:Michael Pickwoad
Director of Photography:Mark Waters
Casting Director:Andy Pryor CDG
Line Producer:Tracie Simpson
Costume Designer:Ray Holman
Make-Up Designer:Barbara Southcott
Cameramen:Cai Thompson (Assistant), Matthew Lepper (Assistant), Scott Waller (Assistant) and Mark McQuoid (Operator)
Visual Effects:Milk
Special Effects:Real SFX
Prosthetics:Millennium FX
Special Creature Effects:Millennium FX
Stunt Co-ordinators:Crispin Layfield and Dani Biernat
Stunt Performers:Andy Smart, David Newton, Lloyd Bass and Lucy Allen
Incidental Music:Murray Gold
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Harry Barnes
Sound Recordist:Deian Llyr Humphreys
Music Orchestrated By:Alastair King
Music Conducted By:Alastair King
Music Performed By:The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Music Recorded By:Gerry O'Riordan
Music Mixed By:Jake Jackson
Title Sequence:Billy Hanshaw
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold
With Thanks To: Sur-Film Production & Services S.L.
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Peter Capaldi (The Twelfth Doctor)
Number of Companions: 1The Companion: Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald) Guest Cast: Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Ingrid Oliver (Osgood) Additional Cast: Jaye Griffiths (Jac), Cleopatra Dickens (Claudette), Sasha Dickens (Jemima), Rebecca Front (Walsh), Abhishek Singh (Little Boy), Samila Kularatne (Little Boy's Mum), Todd Kramer (Hitchley), Jill Winternitz (Lisa Drone Op), Gretchen Egolf (Norlander), Karen Mann (Hitchley's Mom), James Bailey (Walsh's Son), Aidan Cook (Zygon), Tom Wilton (Zygon), Nicholas Asbury (Etoine), Jack Parker (Zygon), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Zygons)Setting: London; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; Turmezistan (21st century) Villains:Bonnie and Zygons

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
820The Zygon Invasion31 October 201545'27"5.8Yes
821The Zygon Inversion07 November 201546'12"6.0Yes

Total Duration 1 Hour 32 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 5.9
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2016)82.40%  (Position = 1 out of 9)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 7 out of 35


Archives


 This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.



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Notes

Only the First 50 Story Notes are shown below - Click to Show All Story Notes


This story sees the return of the Zygons, who were last seen in "The Day of The Doctor". It also sees the return of Osgood, who last appeared in "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" during an invasion of Earth by an army of Cybermen led by Missy - the new female incarnation of The Master.

This story served as a sequel to events set up in the 50th Anniversary Special "The Day of The Doctor" having a beginning sequence dedicated to the relative plot point of this story.

This story continued the thematic concept of The Doctor apparently facing death, with the end of the first episode setting up yet another opportunity for The Doctor to reflect on his mortality.

This two-part story was written by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat. Peter Harness previously wrote "Kill the Moon". He also wrote for Wallander and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

This story was produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Daniel Nettheim – who has previously directed episodes of Line of Duty, Glue and Whitechapel. Although this is Daniel Nettheim's first work on Doctor Who in 2010 he directed four episodes of K9 - the British/Australian television series that featured an updated version of K9 - The Doctor's robot dog.

Having being killed by Missy in last season’s finale "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" The Doctor’s biggest fan and UNIT scientist Osgood, played by Ingrid Oliver, has been brought back.

It has been revealed that when Ingrid Oliver read the script for "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" she was ‘gutted’ to find her character was to be killed by Missy! At that point she did not know that Steven Moffat intended her return. In fact he deliberately wrote the scene in "The Day of The Doctor" where Osgood and her Zygon ‘sister’ bond, intending it to be a central element of a future adventure with the shape-shifting aliens.

Steven Moffat, Lead Writer and Executive Producer, stated that ‘Osgood is back, fresh from her recent murder at the end of last series. We recently confirmed that Osgood was definitely dead and not returning - but in a show about time travel, anything can happen. The brilliant Ingrid Oliver is back in action. This time though, can The Doctor trust his number one fan?

Speaking on set, Ingrid Oliver commented on her reappearance ‘As every actor who’s worked on Doctor Who will tell you, there’s always the secret hope you'll get the call asking you to come back. To actually receive that call is both unexpected and brilliant. The word ‘honour’ gets banded about a lot, but it really is, it’s an honour. Especially because I was so sure Osgood was a goner after the last series!

Also joining the guest cast is Jemma Redgrave, who once again plays UNIT's Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.

The BAFTA award-winning Rebecca Front joins also joins the guest cast. This is Rebecca Front’s first appearance in Doctor Who. She is well-known for playing regular roles in Inspector Lewis and more recently the BBC Four sitcom Up the Women. In the BBC’s Death Comes to Pemberley she took the role of Mrs Bennet, mother of Lydia Wickham, played by Jenna Coleman. She also previously starred alongside Peter Capaldi in the BBC's political comedy series The Thick of It. She also appeared in two of Big Finish Productions’ Doctor Who audio stories: "The Mind's Eye", as Major Takol, and "The Jupiter Conjunction", as Patricia Walton.

Aidan Cook, who plays a Zygon in this story, will be a familiar name to Doctor Who fans. He has appeared in a number of previous stories including "The Rings of Akhaten", "The Time of The Doctor" and "The Day of The Doctor" which saw his first stint as a Zygon! He also played the part of the Crooked Man in "Hide" and played the titular "Mummy on the Orient Express".

Peter Capaldi is on record as saying that he ‘loved’ Bonnie and thought Jenna Coleman played this role brilliantly.

The read through for the first episode, "The Zygon Invasion", took place on the 29th April 2015 and filming started on the 5th May and included studio shoots plus location work in Wales and (for the New Mexico scenes).

There really is a place called Truth or Consequences in Sierra County, New Mexico, USA and, as Bonnie indicates, it was named after a NBC radio program in 1950. Originally called Hot Springs, the city is a popular tourist resort and is known locally as T or C. Incidentally, the country ‘Turmezistan’ is entirely fictional!

The Doctor resumes the position of the 'President of the World' and uses the airplane afforded by that position. Both were previously mentioned in "Dark Water/Death in Heaven". However, when he introduces himself as the President of the World, he is told, 'yes, we know who you are'. This is a continuation of a running joke, from earlier in the revised show, when Prime Minister Harriet Jones was regularly told this after introducing herself. This occurred multiple times in both "The Christmas Invasion" and in "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End".

The line ‘I snogged a Zygon once...’ The Doctor is referring to the events of "The Day of The Doctor" in which he shared a kiss with a Zygon who had assumed the features of Queen Elizabeth I.

A portrait of the First Doctor can be seed displayed by the stairs in the Unit Safe House in South London. It opened to reveal a safe.

The Doctor plays his electric guitar again. He is heard playing the opening to the hymn Amazing Grace (see "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar", "Under the Lake/Before the Flood" and "The Woman Who Lived").

As well as identifying himself as 'Doctor Disco' The Doctor also calls himself 'Doctor Funkenstein' after a song of the same name by the band Parliament.

The Doctor jokes to Osgood that his real name is Basil and that he is over 2000 years old and so old enough to be the Messiah. The Doctor also jokes around with Bonnie, using puns, calling himself ‘Doctor Pun-tastic’.

The Doctor wears his sonic sunglasses again ("The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar", "Under the Lake/Before the Flood", "The Girl Who Died" and "The Woman Who Lived").

When Osgood's glasses are broken The Doctor lends her his sonic sunglasses. When doing so he reveals that they keep a browser history – warning Osgood not to look at it.

Osgood's comment that killing The Doctor would require her to shoot him twelve times is both a reference to his limited regeneration cycle (see "The Deadly Assassin" and "The Time of The Doctor") and an indication that The Doctor still possesses a full cycle of regenerations after the events of "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar".

This story is effectively the second companion-lite story in a row as Clara is revealed to have been kidnapped and replaced with a Zygon duplicate called Bonnie. Therefore Clara only appears at the very beginning of the first episode and during the second.

Clara Oswald claims to have memorised obscure facts to help her win at Trivial Pursuit. She also explains, from her knowledge of this popular trivia quiz board game, how the town of Truth or Consequences got its name from the television game show Truth or Consequences.

As she did in "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar" Clara is once again shown having authority with UNIT up to and including being able to command UNIT soldiers to use deadly force.

When Clara investigates what’s happened to Sandeep, she goes into his parents’ flat and stands in a room, believing she’s talking to the boy’s father. Just before Bonnie takes her form, a couple of visual clues eerily hint at what is to come... We see Clara reflected in a full-length mirror, meaning that for a moment we glimpse two of her and on the wall to her right there is a solitary mask - indicating something that will disguise a face.

This is the fifth occasion that a companion or assistant has been copied by a Zygon. Kate Stewart and Osgood were both copied in "The Day of The Doctor". As was Harry Sullivan in "Terror of the Zygons" and Lucie Miller in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio story "The Zygon Who Fell to Earth").

Clara's flat (or, at least, the building) is seen again (see also "The Time of The Doctor", "Listen" and "Dark Water/Death in Heaven"). She no longer appears to be living in the same building as seen in "Last Christmas".

Clara's voicemail greeting says she's either on the tube or in outer space.

A weapon, that can kill Zygons called Z67, is mentioned. Also named ‘Sullivan’s Gas’ this name suggests a link to the Fourth Doctor’s companion, Harry Sullivan who stopped travelling with the Fourth Doctor (see "Terror of the Zygons"). ‘One of our staff was a naval surgeon...’ Kate Lethbridge-Stewart states when discussing the UNIT member who developed Z67, adding that the medic ‘Worked at Porton Down...’. This further strengthens the Harry Sullivan connection as he was a naval surgeon and in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead", The Brigadier told The Doctor that Harry had been seconded to NATO and was doing something ‘very hush hush’ at the chemical and biological weapons facility at Porton Down.

The Doctor also refers to Harry Sullivan as ‘the imbecile’ - a reference to the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Revenge of the Cybermen" - where The Doctor shouted ‘Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!’ after Harry Sullivan triggered a rockslide and then tried to remove a Cyberbomb from The Doctor without first deactivating the booby trap.

This story saw the return of Osgood, curiously after her death in the Season Thirty Four (New Series 8) finale "Dark Water/Death in Heaven", with this story revealing that before Missy's Cyberman invasion, Osgood and her Zygon duplicate had become so identical to each other that they refused to say which was the Zygon and which was the human, so making it unknown which Osgood had been killed by Missy.

Following on from her appearances in "The Day of The Doctor" and "Dark Water/Death in Heaven", both Osgoods are shown wearing costume elements of The Doctor's earlier incarnations. In addition to the Fourth Doctor's scarf, one Osgood is shown with a bow tie similar to that worn by the Eleventh Doctor, while the other wears a question mark-decorated tank top similar to that worn by the Seventh Doctor. Both have shirts with question marks on the collar points, a common element of the Fourth Doctor (from "The Leisure Hive" onwards), the Fifth Doctor and the Sixth Doctor. Osgood asks The Doctor why he does not use the question mark motif anymore, to which he replies that he still does - on his underpants. Osgood is also seen wearing a brown duffle coat, very similar to one worn by The Doctor in "The Curse of Fenric".

Osgood is not the first character to imitate The Doctor’s sartorial appearance. Harry Sullivan wore the Fourth Doctor’s scarf in "Terror of the Zygons" and Romana sported a long scarf and a very ‘Doctorish’ coat in "Destiny of the Daleks".

The Doctor suggests that Osgood is a hybrid between a Zygon and human so continuing the theme of hybrids mentioned in the previous three stores of this season - "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar", "The Girl Who Died" and "The Woman Who Lived".

Osgood has the TARDIS's phone number. She uses a question mark as its contact photo.

It revealed that Osgood's first name is Petronella, but did not elaborate if the human Osgood or Zygon double was still alive, instead having Bonnie fill the vacancy in the form of a replacement double for the one of the two who had been killed by Missy in "Dark Water/Death in Heaven".

As he departs, The Doctor tells the Osgoods that ‘I'm a very big fan’. This is the same thing Osgood said to the Eleventh Doctor in "The Day of The Doctor".

This story is the Zygons’ third full adventure. These shape-changing aliens first appeared in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Terror of the Zygons" - which also featured Kate’s father - The Brigadier. The Zygons next showed up, 28 years after their first appearance, in "The Day of The Doctor". They were glimpsed in flashback during "Logopolis" and "Mawdryn Undead" and they were mentioned in several stories including "Remembrance of the Daleks" and more recently "The Power of Three".

It is revealed that after the Human-Zygon peace treaty (seen in "The Day of The Doctor") 20 million Zygons were relocated around the United Kingdom. It quickly became clear that these Zygons had seized control of the United Kingdom and had slowly spread across the entire globe. Places the Zygons have invaded include the Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa and Australia.

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart reveals that she dealt with the Zygon in New Mexico with ‘Five rounds rapid! ’. The line was first used by her father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, in the 1971 Third Doctor story "The Dæmons". In that story The Brigadier instructs a UNIT solider to open fire on Bok, specifying ‘Chap with wings, there: five rounds rapid!’. The expression ‘Five rounds rapid!’ became so identified with The Brigadier that the actor who played him, Nicholas Courtney, took it as the title for his 1998 autobiography.

This story saw a new way of Zygon-transformation for the first time, showing the immense pain of a lengthy forced transformation from human-form into Zygon-form.

Bonnie is asked by The Doctor about the ‘brave new world’ her revolution will create, citing William Shakespeare's play The Tempest: ‘O brave new world, that has such people in it’.

When Bonnie threatens Clara she urges Bonnie to kill her by saying ‘go on, then’. She previously did the same with the Half-Face Man, a trick she in turn learned from Courtney Woods in "Deep Breath".

The strong subtext in this story, concerning contemporary immigration and terrorism, has been noted by many commentators and reviewers, and was widely discussed on social media.

Events from the "Terror of the Zygons" are brought up in this story. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart mentions this previous Zygon attack taking place in either the 1970s or 1980s, referring to the UNIT dating controversy regarding in which decade the Third Doctor and the Fourth Doctor UNIT stories actually took place.

When Kate Lethbridge-Stewart examines documentation around the cases concerning ‘Brits’ in T or C, locations on the paperwork include ‘Made Up Crescent’ and ‘Fictional Close’!

The Doctor refers to the two schoolgirls, Jemima and Claudette, as 'Monster High' and 'Cinderella'.


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First and Last

The Firsts:

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Daniel Nettheim.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
Two Osgoods
Two Osgoods

In the aftermath of the previous Zygon attack on Earth, and The Doctor's actions to ensure the creation of a peace treaty (see "The Day of The Doctor"), there existed two versions of UNIT scientist Osgood: one human and the other a shapeshifting Zygon duplicate who do not divulge which is which since they considered themselves as both hybridized sisters and the personification of the treaty. Though the treaty allowed 20 million Zygons to remain on Earth, peacefully living out as disguised humans, The Doctor warned the Osgoods of the Nightmare Scenario should the treaty break, and left the two Osgoods with a mysterious container they called the Osgood Box. However, since that time, one of the Osgoods was killed by Missy (see "Dark Water/Death in Heaven"). Following her death the remaining Osgood left UNIT and disappeared.

In the present, the remaining Osgood is captured by Zygons, in the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, United States of America, just after sending a warning to The Doctor that the Nightmare Scenario has occurred. Realising that a break in the ceasefire, between the humans and Zygons, has finally come The Doctor arrives on Earth and speaks with two known Zygon commanders, disguised as schoolgirls, but they are kidnapped by a Zygon splinter group before The Doctor can learn more. He attempts to call Clara as he travels to UNIT headquarters at the Tower of London. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and her assistant Jac show him a video of Zygons killing the two commanders, followed by Osgood being forced to read a message from a small village in Turmezistan, declaring the Zygons' intent to go to war. The Doctor surmises this must be a small splinter group as the bulk of the Zygons want to live in peace. Kate reveals that she knows of Z67, a nerve gas that UNIT had developed that would only affect Zygons but that The Doctor had took away which could end this current situation, but The Doctor refuses to let them have it as he much prefers to find a peaceful solution.

Meanwhile, Clara is leaving for work and checks her mobile phone, to discover that The Doctor has left over 174 messages for her. She starts to listen to her voicemail, but finds a child crying on the stairs of her apartment complex. Clara recognises that the boy is Sandeep who lives in a nearby apartment. Learning that he cannot find his parents, Clara follows the child back to his apartment, finding it empty; however, the moment she turns around, the child's parents appear, saying nothing is wrong despite the boy's screams. Clara is concerned by this, but is next seen leaving without much of a care and soon meets The Doctor. Tacking command of the situation The Doctor sends Kate to Truth or Consequences, to learn more about that town, while he will travel to Turmezistan, via the airplane afforded him by being President of the World, to rescue Osgood. He instructs Clara and Jac to keep the homeland safe.

Osgood is Attacked
Osgood is Attacked

In Turmeszistan, The Doctor speaks to UNIT Commander Walsh, who explains how the Zygons have been able to take on the appearance of her soldiers' loved ones to prevent any attack on the village. With a bombing run planned, The Doctor joins Walsh and other troops as they converge on the chapel in town. The Zygons then appear as relatives and friends and, against Walsh's orders, lure all the soldiers into a chapel and kill them. The Doctor and Walsh enter through a back door, finding all the Zygons have escaped. Walsh gives The Doctor a few minutes before she will start the bombing run. The Doctor finds Osgood safe under the chapel, but they are cornered by a Zygon when they try to leave. However, the bombing creates debris that knocks the Zygon out. The Doctor and Osgood return to the airplane and fly back to England, during which The Doctor attempts to ply information from the Zygon. The Doctor believes that Missy killed the Zygon version of Osgood because the Zygons need the original person they're copying alive to maintain their disguise. However, Osgood reveals that she can be either one (but won't tell him which she is), since Zygons only use that method for spying on enemies; if they don't need to copy personalities, Zygons can keep someone's form without the original being alive.

In New Mexico, Kate finds the town of Truth or Consequences seemingly empty. While at the sheriff's office, she meets Sheriff Norlander who claims to be the last human alive after Zygons that lived among them turned and attacked them when their secret was discovered. While Kate is looking for more clues, Norlander is shown to be a Zygon, and prepares to kill Kate. Meanwhile at UNIT headquarters, Clara has Jac help her to get some things from her flat. While there, they see Sandeep's parents dragging a large bag into a lift. When the lift returns, they discover Zygon control units within it. They use the lift which take them to a series of tunnels under London where they discover many other lifts across the city connect to. They return with a troop of UNIT soldiers to explore the tunnels, and find thousands of Zygon pods which Clara announces must be where the Zygons are cloning themselves, and they must be destroyed. When one pod is revealed to contain Clara, Jac realises too late that Clara is a Zygon herself (having been switched when she first went to Sandeep's flat). The Zygon, that looks like Clara and calls itself Bonnie, states that the invasion has already occurred, with many of the humans in London already captured and replaced by Zygons. Jac and the troops are killed by Zygons when they attempt to escape. Bonnie then travels back to UNIT headquarters to obtain some equipment.

The Doctor
The Doctor

Aboard the airplane The Doctor interrogates the Zygon, learning that an all-out war is the only thing the Zygon splinter group want. He also learns that they have infiltrated numerous countries. Unbeknown to those aboard the airplane Bonnie has travelled to the coast and is watching the airplane approach. The Doctor calls Clara, only to get Bonnie, learning that he is talking to the leader of the splinter group. The Doctor immediately realises they are in danger when Bonnie tells The Doctor that his incoming airplane will never land. As it approaches Bonnie uses a shoulder-fired rocket launcher to fire a missile at the airplane. Saying good-bye to The Doctor she smiles when an explosion is heard.

Clara awakens in what seems to her apartment. However, she soon finds many inconsistencies with her home, such as the lack of windows and being unable to leave. Clara checks a magazine, finding it filled with gibberish; she's dreaming. She soon hears Bonnie's voice as the television in the living room turns on, showing exactly what she sees. Clara realising that she is able to control Bonnie's actions to a small degree, due to a telepathic connection between them, and seeing that The Doctor is in danger, makes Bonnie miss her first shot with the missile launcher. Clara though is unable to prevent Bonnie firing a second missile which strikes and destroys the airplane. Though Bonnie thinks The Doctor is dead, Clara pauses the image on her television, zooming in on a shadow falling away from the smoke. She relises that The Doctor is alive!

Having managed to parachute out of the plane, due to the delay created by Clara, The Doctor and Osgood land safely on a beach. Later, Bonnie finds a peaceful Zygon disguised as a human, and causes his body to revert to its Zygon nature in front of a shopping mall south of London. She uses Clara's mobile phone to record and upload the footage, starting a panic across news broadcasts. Meanwhile, Clara, through her telepathic connection, uses Bonnie to text The Doctor saying 'I'm Awake'. Osgood deduces from this that Bonnie didn't know that it was Clara who sent the text. The Doctor video calls Bonnie and, from the winks she exhibits, he recognises that Clara is able to give him small clues through Bonnie as to her pod's location. The Doctor and Osgood converge on the shopping mall where Bonnie's footage was taken, finding it empty save for the lone Zygon that Bonnie revealed. Fearing that he might have started a war due to revealing himself, he opts to kill himself instead of being discovered. Bonnie meanwhile goes to UNIT's headquarters to try to find information on the Osgood Box, but learns that The Doctor has given that information to Clara. In interrogating Clara via their telepathic connection, Bonnie learns the Osgood Box is in the Black Archives under the Tower of London. As The Doctor and Osgood prepare to look for Clara, they are met by the Zygon that has disguised itself as Kate Stewart, and two guards, who capture him and take him to join Bonnie. As they near the Black Archives, Kate reveals that she is not a Zygon, having shot and killed the one that cornered her in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and falsified the report of her death to Bonnie. She then kills their Zygon guards. Her actions though annoys The Doctor who expresses his frustration at her violent methods.

Clara
Clara

Meanwhile, Bonnie has brought along Clara's pod so as to gain access to the Black Archives. Inside, Bonnie is furious to discover that there are two identical Osgood Boxes, only differing by colour. She calls The Doctor, who explains that one box has a button that contains a means that will remove the disguises of all 20 million Zygons on Earth, which would start a mass panic and likely lead to war, while the other box's button will release the Zygon-targeting nerve gas that would kill all of the Zygons. Bonnie demands Clara be removed from her pod to ask her directly of which is the proper box, but Clara does not know which box is which. By the time The Doctor, Osgood, and Kate arrive, Bonnie has found that either box's button reveals a second set of buttons labelled ‘Truth’ and ‘Consequences’ within both boxes.

When Bonnie prepares to press a button on the blue box, which would either expose the Zygons or make their human forms permanent, Kate prepares to do the same on the red box despite knowing she would either release the Zygon nerve gas or activate the nuclear warheads under London. The Doctor tries to talk both of them out this action - the Osgood Boxes have been a means to assure peace because of the consequences of the actions of either revealing all the Zygons or killing them all.

The Doctor explains that the Osgood Boxes are based on the Moment, a powerful weapon from the early days of Gallifrey, which, when he was known as the War Doctor, he considered using to end the senseless violence between the Daleks and the Time Lords that was destroying reality. However, with the help of his former incarnations, he thought better of it and was able to find a better solution. The pain from that still lives with him, allowing The Doctor to never again attempt something so horrible that it would make him discard his name. This revelation results in both Bonnie and Kate backing off with the former realising that the boxes are empty and were only a ploy to avoid a disaster. Kate points out that since they know this, this could cause the peace treaty to still break apart, but The Doctor tells them they've been in this situation fifteen times before, each time ending with The Doctor wiping their memories, as he initiates another memory wipe using the Black Archives defence system to achieve this again.

Realising that this time Bonnie has been swayed by The Doctor's words he spares Bonnie from the memory wipe, allowing her knowledge of the truth that this time will help resolve peace. Bonnie calls off the splinter Zygon group, telling her comrades that the revolution is over and that they are safe and so will live peacefully. Later, as The Doctor and Clara prepare to leave, The Doctor offers Osgood a chance to ride in the TARDIS, but she refuses saying that she needs to be around to prevent the Nightmare Scenario occurring again. Osgood then reveals her new duplicate - Bonnie, who has taken a new form after giving breaking her connection with Clara. Neither Osgood admits to which of them is human or Zygon, or if they are both Zygon. Both though agree to continue to protect the Osgood Box. After the TARDIS departs, both Osgoods decide to get an ice cream before heading back to UNIT.

 
Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
Osgood
Osgood
Kill The Doctor
Kill The Doctor
Clara in a Zygon Pod
Clara in a Zygon Pod
 
Clara with a Zygon
Clara with a Zygon
Kate or a Zygon?
Kate or a Zygon?
Bonnie
Bonnie
Two Osgoods, Again
Two Osgoods, Again




Quote of the Story


 'I don’t understand? Are you kidding? Me? Of course I understand. I mean, do you call this a war, this funny little thing? This is not a war! I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know! I did worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes… I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count! And do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight… 'til it burns your hand, and you say this… No one else will ever have to live like this! No one else will have to feel this pain! Not on my watch!'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
DVD
Doctor Who Series 9 Part 2 Box SetJanuary 2016BBCDVD 4084Photo-montageDVD boxed set containing 4 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
Doctor Who Series 9 Part 2 Box SetJanuary 2016BBCBD 0331Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 4 stories
Video
DVD
The Complete Ninth Series Box SetMarch 2016BBCDVD 4066Photo-montageDVD boxed set containing 8 stories plus the 2014 & 2015 Christmas Specials
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Ninth Series Box SetMarch 2016BBCBD 0327Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 8 stories plus the 2014 & 2015 Christmas Specials
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Ninth Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)March 2016BBCBD 0357Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 8 stories plus the 2014 & 2015 Christmas Specials
Audio
CD
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 9April 2018Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold


In Print

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)PublisherAuthorCover ArtRemarks
Novel
Novel
The Zygon InvasionJuly 2023BBC BooksPeter HarnessTarget Collection. ISBN: 978-1-78594-791-9
CD
CD
The Zygon InvasionSeptember 2023BBC AudioPeter HarnessAudio version of the BBC Books Target Novel read by Dan Starkey.
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 492 (Released: December 2015)
Doctor Who Magazine - ReviewIssue 493 (Released: Winter 2015/16)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 580 (Released: August 2022)

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Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 493
Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 493

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Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 580

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