Doctor Who TERROR OF THE ZYGONS DVD review BBC DVD

STORY PLOTLINE

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry return to Earth in response to the Brigadier's summons. UNIT are investigating a series of attacks on North Sea oil rigs and have set up a temporary HQ in the Scottish village of Tullock.

The attacks are the work of a huge cyborg, the Skarasen, controlled by a group of aliens called Zygons whose spaceship lies at the bottom of Loch Ness.

DVD extras for TERROR OF THE ZYGONS:

TWO-DISC RELEASE
DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED PICTURE AND SOUND QUALITY
OPTIONAL DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 SOUNDTRACK
PROGRAMME INFORMATION TEXT
RADIO TIMES LISTINGS
COMING SOON TRAILER - THE MOONBASE
PHOTO GALLERY
ISOLATED MUSIC
SOUTH TODAY - AN INTERVIEW WITH TOM BAKER
DOCTOR WHO STORIES - ELISABETH SLADEN
DOCTOR WHO STORIES - TOM BAKER (INTERVIEW FROM 2003)
THE UNIT FAMILY - PART THREE (THE TIME WARRIOR onwards)
REMEMBERING DOUGLAS CAMFIELD
DIRECTOR'S CUT - INCLUDING A SCENE DELETED BEFORE TRANSMISSION
COMMENTARY - PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE, ROBERT BANKS STEWART, GEORGE GALLACCIO, SLYVIA JAMES, DICK MILLS. Moderated by Mark Ayres.

COMMENT #1 (SIMON CUNNINGTON)

From the golden age of Tom's first two years, we get Elisabeth, Ian, and Nick (in a kilt, no less), plus the UNIT lads. And, if that wasn't enough, you get the great man in a tam o'shanter. A selling point is the new opening to episode one which includes some nice back-and-forth between the TARDIS trio cut from the original broadcast. Yes, the picture has been remastered, but this is a studio video image: this means that edges and colours are stable but studio video just does not have the vibrancy of film.

However, the DVD extras are so-so: nothing special.

It's the one with the "wave a tentacle" ad lib from Tom. This story, set in Scotland and filmed in West Sussex, rehashes the Loch Ness legend. The Zygon costumes still look pretty good and the designer, James Acheson, gets his due in the SCOTCH MIST IN SUSSEX documentary,

The oil rig and space ship model work are superb and Hinchcliffe is justifiably proud of it but Nessie is ropey as a glove puppet and the stop motion, what there is of it, seems like an outtake rather than a finished shot.

The first disc contains the serial and the second contains the extras. I watched the story with the programme information subtitles and commentary running. You also have the option of a "music only" track, which is worth trying because Geoffrey Burgon's score is thoughtful and elegant. The info subtitles are competent but any regular reader of the monthly will know most of this stuff, e.g. the dramatic dip in audience numbers for the second episode due (according to legend, anyway) to the debut of Space 1999 (the audience was back with episode three!).

The commentary chemistry is sound and there are many highlights, e.g. Ian Marter is dubbed "the Hugh Grant of DOCTOR WHO" and the 'doughnut wiggling' that passed for the Zygons working the controls in their spaceship. Dick Mills (sound) is chatty, Hinchcliffe (producer) is statesmanlike as usual and Sylvia James (make-up) is just charming in her unabashed affection for the show and its team. They all agree that the set felt like a "family". Banks Stewart is quick to flash his credentials (having written for a lot of TV shows before and after DOCTOR WHO) but you can hardly blame him. Tom's performance is praised without demur but Nick's portrayal of the Brigadier is basically summed up as a comedy performance.

The ON-SCREEN INFORMATION NOTES offer up some gems, such as Tom providing the following home address information on production records: "No fixed abode". We are also informed that Banks Stewarts script needed a lot of work in the Action rehearsal rooms, underlined by the comment "Everyone wrote [the story]". We also find out that the cast worked six day weeks but for this story were asked by Douglas Camfield to come in on the seventh to iron out the bugs in the script. And the text writer closes the story in playful mood: when the Zygon spaceship blows up at the climax (a pretty impressive pyrotechnic display in a real lake), the text reassures us, "No fish were harmed in the making of this production".

The supporting cast are all superb, lead by John Woodnutt as the Laird, who we later hear was pleased with being able to portray three characters: head Zygon, Broton; the Laird; and Broton impersonating the Laird. The production notes tell us that Woodnutt, while waiting for a shot to be set up, ".would amuse himself by tap-dancing on his mark."

The DVD extras disc is worth a look. The MERRY-GO-ROUND documentary is a bona fide curio and REMEMBERING DOUGLAS CAMFIELD is a worthwhile salute to a talented man. The two DOCTOR WHO STORIES are ho-hum pieces featuring talking heads of Lis. and Tom vintage 2003 but you get the inevitable Tom-ism: he argues that his brand of blunt observation used to "amuse" the recipients. Well, if you say so, Tom. Michael Wisher is summed up as "terribly funny" with no sense of humour. Ouch. And I think Lis. at one point refers to "Barry Letts" as "Chris Barrie". However, she additionally delivers her own Tom-ism gem: when getting his permed coif groomed, she recalls that he told the make-up assistant, "I'm saving the universe; I don't have time to comb my hair".

The SCOTCH MIST IN SUSSEX featurette is a workmanlike behind-the-scenes piece, memorable for the seemingly innocuous comment from John Levene about dealing with Tom from the perspective of a supporting player: "When an ego is that big, you're like an ant on an elephant's leg." Additionally discussed was that the Zygon costume design was a merging of the appearance of a human embryo ("zygote") with an octopus, and the distraction from the impact of the debut of SPACE: 1999 is also dealt with wittily: as a Lew Grade production, it was tailored for a British/American audience, and a critic is quoted as saying that the show ".landed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic with a dull splash". Nice.

COMMENT #2 (MATTHEW WALTER - Site Editor)

In 1975, I wasn't even 10 years old when the Zygons gripped me by the throat and thrilled & chilled me to the bone in equal measure, so to have it beautifully restored and professionally assessed (by the cast & crew) in this 2013 DVD release was to be again thrilling. Sadly, it has left me chilled and unimpressed.

It's my all-time favourite DOCTOR WHO story and I feel bereft. The picture restoration is shaky, leaving incursions of 'horizontal' TV inference on screen, and the sequences on 35MM (location shots) are washed-out of colour. Now, perhaps, I've been spoilt by the SUPERB Blu-ray release of Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space (Special Edition) [Blu-ray], but, surely, restoration of this epic could have been more diligent (cost restraints, perhaps?).

However, the inherent faults are quickly dismissed just to watch-and-rewind the highlight of this two-disc release; Douglas Camfield's (superb contributor to the 50 year DOCTOR WHO legend) DIRECTOR'S CUT EPISODE ONE. This features the TARDIS materialising 'invisibly' in the forest with the time travellers appearing from nowhere (akin to DOCTOR WHO - INVASION (2 Disc Set) [DVD] [1968]). Wonderful.To watch a scene from the CLASSIC SERIES afresh for the first time is simply beguiling, and isn't Ian Marter effortless in his role of Harry Sullivan.

One mention for the re-mastered 5.1 Dolby Sound edit (courtesy of Mark Ayres) - exemplary.

Ironically, one of the better (or best) featurettes is non-DOCTOR WHO related in its content which is, even though it was recorded/broadcast in 1977, thoroughly informative and entertaining in equal measure. Travelling 168km off the United Kingdom mainland, Elisabeth Sladen is transported to an isolated "space station" like habitation in the middle of the North Sea, Dundee Kings North Drilling Platform as she uncovers the story of oil exploration. Recorded as part of the BBC's Schools' programming, MERRY-GO-ROUND was aimed at seven to nine year olds to supplement their classroom curriculum, I am certain that seeing the recently TARDIS departed Sladen taking their collective hands and guiding them safely across the cold, choppy sea to another alien world but this one man-made. Donning a bright yellow oilskin jacket (I wonder if she pilfered the SAME outfit from the costume van after 1975'S DOCTOR WHO - THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT..?), Sladen's gentle (scripted) humour and engaging personality ensures that the complicated process in drilling for oil in the hostile depths of the ocean is clearly explained as well expediently assessing the inherent dangers of working on the rig. It's a fascinating documentary even for this middle-aged bloke who still cannot believe that she is no longer with us.

In his enigmatic way, Tom Baker is uncharacteristically restrained in an interview with a local TV reporter during the filming of DOCTOR WHO - TERROR OF THE ZYGONS. Admittedly, SOUTH TODAY deserves credit for a rare snippet of television history that sees Baker at his most relaxed, discussing the need to be (mentally) ".fresh." for his role as the Fourth Doctor eschewing his pre-WHO lifestyle of ".bachelor benders." (read: drunken debauchery, it can be assumed). What is surprising, given that the interview was conducted in March 1975 and less than a year into his new job, is that Baker even then seemed wholly 'affectionate' towards the character of the Time Lord that he has inherited, and a 'love' that continues to this day too. The segment opens on the Sussex Beach - doubling for that remote Scottish headland onto which Oil Rig worker, Munroe, is washed ashore - and, if you look carefully, you'll catch a glimpse the story's Director, an animated Douglas Camfield.

On this disc two new DOCTOR WHO STORIES (DWS) featurettes are presented, featuring Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen edited from interviews recorded in 2003. Surely, there are more recent interviews from which DOCTOR WHO reminisces could be culled from? Indeed, initially I thought that the Tom Baker DWS was merely a repetition of his Confessional contribution to the (underrated) THE FOURTH DOCTOR TIME CAPSULE, giving me time to boil the kettle, make the tea and rustle-up a dozen sultana scones. How wrong could I have been? Baker's memories are as perceptive, diligent and creative as ever even if you have heard them for the third or fourth time.

A raconteur of the 'first order', Baker knows his (captive) audience and pitches his tales with garrulous precision. One prime example is his recollection of rehearsing DOCTOR WHO - GENESIS OF THE DALEKS (1975) with ".the most serious actor I have ever met.was terribly funny because he found nothing funny." Michael Wisher (Davros) as the actor took the 'Method' too far courtesy of a copious shopping paper bag and strategically cut holes.

Additionally he admits that he was ".so sorry that I was so rude to Paddy (Russell)." during the filming of ".the best." DOCTOR WHO - THE PYRAMIDS OF MARS, and was appreciative of Douglas Camfield's approach for both DOCTOR WHO - TERROR OF THE ZYGONS and THE SEEDS OF DOOM.

Equally as absorbing is Elisabeth Sladen's DWS compilation of recollections, delivered with an eternal effervescence that resonates through the screen and one that will be dimmed. Like Baker before her, Sladen is modestly appreciative of how being a part of the drama series had changed her life and how the memories of those formative years remain as defined as the day they were created. However, there are two incidents that will be intriguing for fans to hear. Firstly, just how did 'they' do ".some rude things with that doll afterwards." during the special visual effects filming during the making of DOCTOR WHO - ROBOT? Secondly, does the Sladen family archive still include unseen footage given to the actress following the filming in Somerset's Wookey Hole for DOCTOR WHO - REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN as she is rescued by Terry Walsh during a self-performed stunt in the caves' waterway?

Concluding THE UNIT FAMILY - PART THREE, this linear assessment of the paramilitary organisation's contribution in aiding their Scientific Advisor is thoroughly entertaining, and like any 'family' there is an inherent affection for each other. With contributions from Barry Letts & Nicholas Courtney - to whom this featurette is duly dedicated to (".wonderful chaps." declares the graphics slide) - in addition to John Levene, Richard Franklin, Terrance Dicks and, surprisingly, Tom Baker ("Benton was straight out of The Phil Silvers Show" - an American comedy series set within the USA Army), the documentary plots its analysis of how important UNIT was in being the glue that held the narrative together through an ever diverse series from DOCTOR WHO - THE TIME WARRIOR to DOCTOR WHO - BATTLEFIELD. Overall, the most charming and honest of contribution is from Nicholas Courtney, and will remind fans that for 'us' DOCTOR WHO is a more than ordinary drama series but for its actors & crew it's a 'living'. Candidly, Courtney says that his role as the Brigadier effectively ".kept the Bank Manager very happy."

After the exquisite Jon Pertwee life-story featurette from the recent (2013) Blu-ray release of DOCTOR WHO - SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE, I was expecting a similar visual approach and journalistic depth for REMEMBERING DOUGLAS CAMFIELD.

Whilst marginally 'dry' in its approach, the featurette is certainly affectionate it skims far too much over Camfield's non-DOCTOR WHO directing work in his later life.

With this DVD release, it was probably the final opportunity to truly celebrate his contribution to British broadcasting and it has been unceremoniously shrugged off. Yes, the links between his productions are discussed (say, his direction of Robert Banks Stewart's TERROR OF THE ZYGONS lead to his working with the writer on TARGET and then the superb SHOESTRING, via THE NIGHTMARE MAN [with EARTHSHOCK's James Warwick] which introduced a new actress, Celia Imrie [THE BELLS OF ST JOHN] who was later suggested to Banks Stewart for a on-going role in his new series, BERGERAC), but I wanted to know more. Nevertheless, the featurette did have heart and substance through the amicable contributions from DOCTOR WHO colleague, Graeme Harper (recounting how a mix-up of UNIT-themed knitwear lead to a playful heated argument between Camfield and himself) and from his Son, Joss.

The main featurette, SCOTCH MIST - REMEMBERING THE TERROR OF THE ZYGONS, is, sadly, disappointing, and having to have to wait for nearly 13 years for this four-parter to be released I feel 'short-changed'. For what is my 'all-time favourite story', was I expecting too much from the DVD? Probably, yes.

(And I still attest that with that volume of 'film recording' content that this story it should have been released on crystal-clear Blu-ray first, restored to a near perfect standard).

Nevertheless, SCOTCH MIST collates the key players of the story (originally a six-parter); its writer, Robert Banks Stewart and producer, Philip Hinchcliffe, along with contributions from John Levene ('Benton'), Nigel Curzon (Designer), Steve Bowman (Visual Effects Designer), James Acheson (Costume Designer) and, from a 1993 archive fan interview, John Woodnutt ('Broton'/'The Duke').

Robert Banks Stewart: "I'm not very good at imagining planets. I would feel much more at home with a twisting, frightening story on Earth." As a story device; "The Loch Ness Monster - was a 'sitting duck' for a DOCTOR WHO."

John Woodnutt on filming in Sussex rather than in the Highlands: "Dougie (Camfield) inspired people it think that was Scottish."

John Levene on the Zygon spaceship interior control systems: ".breast fondling scenes."

James Acheson on his design of the Zygon alien: ".wonderful exciting time. half embryo and half octopoid. (John Friedlander) sculpted the actual head."

Sadly, missing from the DVD release is a NOW AND THEN featurette showing the village of Charlton (Sussex), any initial sketches of the Zygons, floor plans of the studio sets, or even 'restoration' coverage of the only surviving Zygon costume as it prepared itself for it appearance at the DOCTOR WHO EXPERIENCE in 2012.

The COMING SOON trailer is for part-animated DVD release of DOCTOR WHO - THE MOONBASE. This is now expected to be released in the Spring of 2014.

Overall, disc two is a "Curate's Egg" topped with a grinding of sea salt and lactic fluid to make it acceptably palatable for an eager DOCTOR WHO to devour and only come back for another helping. It just didn't hit the mark.

To conclude, I'm slightly deflated by the release of my much beloved, forever watchable, breathless DOCTOR WHO - TERROR OF THE ZYGONS by the lack of care & attention by the restoration process (unless the original print was so degraded that this is the highest level of quality that digital professionals can achieve with the equipment available).

If only this DVD format can be used a 'body print' for Zygon technology to 'morph' it into a Blu-ray format.