School Reunion: SARAH: Daleks! ROSE: Met the Emperor. SARAH: Anti-matter monsters. ROSE: Gas masked zombies. SARAH: Real living dinosaurs. ROSE: Real living werewolf. SARAH: The Loch Ness Monster! ROSE: Seriously?
In terms of the well-known _Doctor Who_ monsters, Sarah probably beats all other companions. Maybe even all Doctors. Daleks. Cybermen. Sontarans. Ice Warriors. Davros. Zygons.
@@EdSigma I thought a bit more about Sarah's tally vs the Doctors'. Sarah has encountered those 6 major recurring villains so far. The ones introduced up to this point that have returned in the new era are those 6 plus Autons, Silurians / Sea Devils and the Master. The tallies for the Doctors (excluding encounters in stories not yet watched on this channel): 1st-2 2nd-3 3rd-6 4th-5 (already) 5th-? 6th-? 7th-? 8th-1 9th-2 10th-6 11th-7 12th-8 13th-5 So some Doctors have met more than Sarah (by this stage). (The 12th met Sontarans and Silurians only in the form of Strax and Vastra.)
A strong start to a strong season, Terror of the Zygons is an absolute classic. The Zygons have never been more chilling and horrifying than here, and the whole story is just steeped in mood and atmosphere that really adds to the gothic horror/sci-fi tones of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes Era.
The Fourth Doctor on top form, Sarah Jane, Harry, the Brigadier, Benton, Zygons, Scotland, a sinister nurse, "The. Loch Ness. Monster!" What's not to love? Well, maybe Zygon-Harry, he creeps me out. Ian Marter plays menacing a little too well in that barn scene, it's like something out of a slasher movie. This is when Who really ramped up its horror but Season 13 is one of the best seasons, probably my all-time favourite after Season 7.
@@rnw2739 Well I’ve never heard of DWAS, but everywhere on the internet when you get into discussions about best seasons, 7, 13 and 26 are usually the most popular answers, and I don’t think you can find a more diverse circle than the internet. And I’m talking about more than just one site.
@@rnw2739 I’d never seen it abbreviated before but okay, there’s no need to be a dick. It being from the 70s probably explains why you don’t like or know anyone who likes S26 anyway as the 70s fans generally dislike McCoy’s era for some weird reason.
Terror of the Zygons, total classic. The Brigadier looks magnificent in his kilt, very smart indeed. The return of UNIT and we have the Loch Ness Monster! Have to wonder if the Loch Ness Monster is related to 'Preston' from Carnival of Monsters....😂 And the introduction of one of the best classic aliens. Also the Actor playing Angus McRanald was Angus Lennie who appeared in The Ice Warriors(1967) and was even in the Great Escape (1963)! Loving your energy and enthusiasm for this story, Jess. It's a corker.☺❤👍
So was William Russell with The Great Escape and Jean Marsh from The Daleks Masterplan and Battlefield was in the 1976 Sir Michael Caine film The Eagle Has Landed playing Joanna not long after Terror Of The Zygons was released.
There is a brilliant deleted scene (1 min 48 sec) that was cut before transmission that originally opened Part 1. It’s a fantastic character scene w/Sarah, Harry, and the Doctor landing the TARDIS. The scene includes a split-screen effect as the Doctor exits an invisible TARDIS, a shot which proved problematic at the time, so it was abandoned. In 2008, monochrome footage of the scene was rediscovered by the widow of film editor Ian McKendrick and, by huge coincidence, the location audio recording had also been discovered a year prior, on eBay of all places. The original music that accompanied the scene still existed in composer Geoffrey Burgon's own library, so it was possible to recolorize & reconstruct the scene completely, as originally intended. It’s included as an extra on the Terror of the Zygons DVD and is well worth seeking out, perhaps for a future Doctor Who December reaction? Watching that missing scene for the first time was like experiencing time travel itself... getting to see a “brand-new” moment with this particular TARDIS team some 40 years later. Highly recommended!
Douglas Camfield's perfect direction and Geoffrey Burgon's beautiful score are the perfect production pairing. They help this be one of my favourite stories of all time... doesn't hurt that the story is amazing either
I think was one of the first DW I ever watched, back when PBS started showing them here in the late 70s. So fun to watch your reactions to as you get into my favorite seasons of the show. (Can’t wait till we get to my favorite companion, but that’s a long way off yet). Thank you for your alert, clever and humorous reactions!
Omg yes! You’re starting my favourite Season of all time. It’s the real start of the gothic horror era for me. Brilliantly atmospheric but still campy fun. Can’t wait to continue to see what you think of this season!
It's funny how Zygons were a one and done threat, but they had so much love that they've appeared many more times on NuWho. I think this story was originally meant to end the last season, but they decided to carry this over.
Terror Of The Zygons was excellent as one of the last UNIT stories for 70s Doctor Who. It was understandable why they decided to take a long break from UNIT stories after this. It helped to make the Brigadier's returns in the 80s all the more special.
I'd love to see a fun Doctor Who story set in prehistoric times, a group of Silurians come under attack from the Zygons and the Doctor & co. have to aid them in defeating the invaders... Oh, and have lots of prehistoric animals, such as Dinosaurs, etc., in it.
This era of Dr. Who was what I was first introduced to. Baker gave such a mind blowing performance and the darkness and horror element just added to the greatness. Its a shame some of the effects like the Loch Ness monster weren't up to par but overall 1975 to 1977 was the golden era of this show. Still this was a very solid episode with Baker's Doctor, the Brig and UNIT, Sarah Jane and the Zygons. I give this one an 8.5 out of 10!
The 50th anniversary ties in to this episode by suggesting that some of the Zygons who escaped the destruction of their planet due to the Time War made it to this time on Earth. The others, of course, used the cup-a-soup painting method.
I also couldn't make out a word the Zygons were saying. Very much enjoyed all the love for Benton in this reaction though! He's my favourite member of UNIT.
Love this story. I think the zygons are written and directed way better here than any of there appearances in modern who. The composer for this story also does the final story of season 13, his score is so eerie and atmospheric and totally different to any other music in classic who.
Factoid: This was made as the final story of season 12 but it was held back to start season 13 as they advanced the screening from the normal January 1976 to September 1975.
Hey Jess, I watch all your Who reactions but rarely comment as I leave it to others to chime in with their facts and opinions. However, at the end of a rough week, this was much needed. You are a delight, as always 😊
That might be down to the accents but for me i had absolutely no trouble with what the Zygons were saying. Tom Baker was moody at the time of during filming and wasn't a fan of UNIT stories as he felt it was more stuck in the Pertwee era instead of Tom doing his own thing which he wanted to do. I love The Brigadier and Benton but the reason why The Doctor is always shady with him as you should know by now is he has a habit of shoot first ask questions later and the fact thats he's a military man and has a military mind as The Doctor on the other hand doesn't like the military and wants to sweet talk the villains out of troubled situations instead of killing but that's the reason The Brigadier is popular as a character. When i first saw this story on VHS years ago when Harry got shot i thought he was done for.
This story was originally supposed to be in Season Twelve, but was held over for Season Thirteen when the BBC decided to move up Doctor Who's season from a January debut, which it had throughout the Pertwee era, to a September one. It's too late for your reaction to this story, but you might want to consider using the closed captioning option for future stories where you find an "alien" voice difficult to hear or comprehend. Or you could do what my grandmother used to do and have your tv so loud everyone in the neighborhood can hear it. 😂
I'd always wondered that. ToftheZs feels like a season closer, while Planet of Evil really feels like a season opener (particularly the Doctor/Sarah scenes in the Tardis).
Literally the only thing wrong with this story is the Skarasen model. Apart from that it's an absolute classic, and very dark in places. The sequence 13:00 to 13:30 is one of those "I can't believe they got away with showing that" scenes. And Geoffrey Burgon's music really adds to the creepy atmosphere.
@@mmattson8947 You know what's wrong with the Skarasen? The eyes. No animal that size has eyes _that_ size. Imagine it with much smaller eyes and it works a lot better.... I've thought about this too much, haven't I?
I love this story so much. Everything about it works perfectly...even the Skarasen. I still think the Zygons were better used here than in Invasion/Inversion and...and I think they look better too (the new versions are too tall and the faces don't look right). 🥰🥰🥰
I love this episode, one of the best from early Tom Baker's run, and to this day the Zygons and this episode are the only part of classic who that ever truly scared me. I grew up watching tv reruns and old vhs copies of classic who in the 90s and I was generally fine with anyone the monsters hit for some reason the Zygons gave me actual nightmares.
"That's not how Zygons work. They don't grow duplicates. They kidnap the originals. So these... These are the humans..." I don't know, watching this episodes, just reminds me of those lines...
It's kinda interested to see someone knowing what the Zygon's are before seeing their first story. And yes Benton for the win. :) I do hope they get him involved in new who at some point.
In my top three 4th doctor stories a classic start to my favourite 4th dr season it's sooo good stories I could rewatch over again and the zygons have arrived too yeah
@@tokublwhovian Hello strange person carrying on something from a different platform which has nothing to do with this channel or this story of Dr Who. A channel which has not encountered the character played by JF, so shush, no spoilers. I did nothing of the sort and I wasn't "owned". JF is charming and I have no issue with her. Grown-ups can disagree on things you know.
@@Payne2view “so, sush” it’s not a church or restaurant, it’s the internet where people like me can say what they want and bigots like you are weeded out 😊 I see you deleted the tweet, because you know you’re wrong. Let that interaction with JF be a lesson, keep your bigoted mouth shut going forward
@@Payne2view I wouldn't worry about him Robert, he likes to comment things and then delete said comments for some incredibly bizarre reason unknown to me.
@@markmckeown87 Oh I'm not worried about him and is elk. As for me, if I ever delete a tweet or comment, I always have very good reasons. Usually I stand by what I say but sometimes I can't leave a thing there when people are determined to take it the wrong way.
I do say this if the season 12 and 13 stories had, been done with Jon Pertwee as the Dr then he only would have had one companion Sarah Jane there would never had been a male companion Harry or any male companion with Dr 3 at all. I also have noticed this story is the second story, to have the 4th Dr driving a motor car in this the car is not Bessie but a UNIT LandRover and also the way the LandRover breaks down o the moors is really scary . The Dr then is stuck and cannot drive the LandRover back to the pub.
I really enjoy this story and Harry is brilliant. Can I suggest if it is possible, to toggle the subtitles? It will help in those scenes you are struggling with. What I would love (and realise it may not be possible) is for you to react to the audio book version of Doctor Who: Scratchman. It's a book written by Tom Baker and is set during the Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan era. The audio book is narrated by Tom Baker himself and the story is told in the first person as the doctor. Perhaps you could react to it a chapter at a time. I would love to see your reaction to it and could be good when you run out of classic who to react to.
This is a brilliant story. The Zygon design and execution shows how they were able to remain popular even though they only had one appearance before the 50th. Wish the NuWho stories bring back the Skarasen and gave the aliens more time outside their disguise. UNIT are brilliant in this story. A perfect archetype for a UNIT adventure
I was considering watching classic Who. I was curious where do you watch it at. The episodes that are on Netflix don't have a release order. So other than getting a list and comparing there isn't a quick way to tell if I watching in the right order.
Yes, ensembles of characters, forming a background + sharing the action, is more fun: it's more personally involving of us, we can more readily feel like part of the crowd as we watch them. It works for UNIT stories, for "crowded tardis" 3 companions eras, and in Nu Who for seeing the companions' wider families. Eras with all just the Doctor and one companion doing it on their own are a far less watchable. They are rootless, just things happening to 2 folks in a bubble. Less still if they don't meet regular foes often, but mostly one-off foes in each story . That makes the worst type of DW era: dullest, least gripping, most alien, least identifiable with.
I find this story overrated. Anyway, if you believe the end of UNIT is set in 1979-1981, there’s a Thatcher reference here(even though it’s not like they predicted a female prime minister 4 years prior).
Overrated? Each to their own but OK but it is the last time the 1970s UNIT HQ is featured in that very scene with the radio room in communication with the PM.
