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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Loch Ness is the setting of this very traditional 1975 Doctor Who monster story, even though it was actually filmed in southern England with local atmosphere provided by Scottish character actor Angus Lennie (The Great Escape). The Doctor (Tom Baker) is called in to investigate a mystery involving the destruction of several oil rigs and it's not too long before the Loch Ness Monster is revealed as the culprit. But it's actually just a biomechanical weapon being manipulated by the evil Zygons who have been living at the bottom of the Loch plotting world domination. The organically designed sets and monsters are very striking, as are the visual effects with one notable exception: Really Big Creatures have always been a bane for the series with its limited budget to pull off and this story's reliance on an obvious puppet monster, especially during the climax, diminishes its impact. But there is still much to relish, particularly the dialogue of writer Robert Banks Stewart (who would go on to create the long-running BBC series Bergerac) that provides a number of gems including the Doctor admonishing the Zygons that if they succeed in their plans, "you'll have to come out on the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle". With much derring-do, the Doctor saves the day as usual but not before four exciting episodes of fun and action. --Ryan K. Johnson
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This belongs to the 'gothic' era when Philip Hinchliffe was producer and a lot of tributes were done to hammer horror style films and if 'Pyramids of Mars' is 'Curse of the Mummy' then 'Terror of the Zygons' is 'The Bodysnatchers'. It does benefit though from being set in contemporary ish Britain which gives it a little 'reality' to ground it and the use of drilling for Oil off Scotland adds to this as I think this was something that had only recently started when the show was filmed in 1975. I still think it has one of the best Who effects in it, that of the Zygon space ship leaving Loch Ness, the filming of the model and the detail in it does almost fool you into thinking it's real until you see a little juddering of wires in the actual flying of the thing (mind this could be my video jumping it is rather old now), shame I can't say the same for the monster really but Tom Baker does his best in reacting to it to try and make it look like a threat. It is also nice to see the Brigadier as always and is Harry Sullivan's last regular story with him just deciding to take inter city as a nice understated departure. All the guests are good too. Definetly a must for the collection!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of the best Doctor Who adventures. All the performances are excellent (although John Woodnutt's attempt at a Scottish accent is a bit iffy!). This was the last appearance by the Brigadier for a very long time (which was a bit of a shame because I thought that he worked well with the fourth Doctor in this adventure). Lillias Walker and Robert Russell are very sinister villains in this story even though they don't say too much. The brilliant incidental music and the contributions of Ian Marter, Nicholas Courtney and John Levene mean this is better than its sequel 'The Seeds of Doom'.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of the best episodes from the Gothic Hinchcliffe/Holmes era. It features UNIT, the horrific Zygons and a rather embarrassing Loch Ness Monster (obviously not the idea of it, but how it turned out) which is the only let down in an otherwise faultless episode that should be regarded as a vintage slice of Doctor Who. This was written by Robert Banks Stewart and directed by Douglas Camfield who both also went on to do the excellent 'The Seeds of Doom'. It is also worth mentioning that the music score by Geoffrey Burgon is magnificently eerie, especially when the nurse escapes through the wood. He was also the composer used for 'The Seeds of Doom' which again was just as brilliantly eerie.
Finally, aren't the Zygons brilliant! No disrespect to the new show which is fast and fun to watch (mostly), but they haven't quite mastered how to do monsters & aliens just yet (at the time of writing), for example: The Slitheen anyone!
Finally, aren't the Zygons brilliant! No disrespect to the new show which is fast and fun to watch (mostly), but they haven't quite mastered how to do monsters & aliens just yet (at the time of writing), for example: The Slitheen anyone!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Doctor Who's Highland Fling
This extremely entertaining story is set in the highlands of Scotland, with sinister goings-on at Loch Ness. Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2010 by L O'connor
terror of the zygons
the location filming is of great benefit, all the key performances are good (with the principals coming out especially well and the nurse and the gillie being quite effectively... Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2002
Um it's okay but a classic? Nah.
This is typical of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era. As such it drags quite badly alot of the time. There is a lot of running around moors and dark corridors for no real reason other... Read more
Published on 18 Dec 2001
Douglas Camfield magic.
The acting is up to the usual standard, with Tom Baker on particularly good form as the Doctor. The Brigadier makes his best contribution to the series since The Green Death. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2001
Atmospheric and spooky
The only flaw in this story is the Loch Ness Monster, and he's not around all that much. Everything else is great. Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2000
Not a bad monster story
I like the Zygons, they whisper to each other through a phaser guitar pedal. Their ship interior is organic and slimy. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2000
Poor!
To be honest I was so dissapointed with terror of the Zygons. I had allways liked the look of the Zygons and even though the story was reasnobly good(Robert Banks Stewart)the... Read more
Published on 5 May 2000 by Mr. C. Lewis
An excellent Doctor Who adventure.
A really enjoyable story involving UNIT. A good blend of mystery, adventure and (for Doctor Who) some evil looking and well crafted monsters!
Published on 25 Mar 2000
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