Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #40

by Terrance Dicks

Why is Doctor Who suddenly summoned to the shores of Loch Ness? Terror and panic spread as the third oil rig is smashed into the sea by a mysterious force... the monster?The controlling power must be the Zygons — alien creatures who have lived hidden on Earth for thousands of years, and now feel strong enough to take over the planet... The Doctor, Sarah and UNIT have different ideas — but can they outwit the supreme cunning of the ruthless Zygons?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Media Tie In

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1976

About the author

Terrance Dicks was an English author, screenwriter, script editor, and producer best known for his extensive contributions to Doctor Who. Serving as the show's script editor from 1968 to 1974, he helped shape many core elements of the series, including the concept of regeneration, the development of the Time Lords, and the naming of the Doctor’s home planet, Gallifrey. His tenure coincided with major thematic expansions, and he worked closely with producer Barry Letts to bring a socially aware tone to the show. Dicks later wrote several Doctor Who serials, including Robot, Horror of Fang Rock, and The Five Doctors, the 20th-anniversary special.
In parallel with his television work, Dicks became one of the most prolific writers of Doctor Who novelisations for Target Books, authoring over 60 titles and serving as the de facto editor of the range. These adaptations introduced a generation of young readers to the franchise. Beyond Doctor Who, he also wrote original novels, including children’s horror and adventure series such as The Baker Street Irregulars, Star Quest, and The Adventures of Goliath.
Dicks also worked on other television programmes including The Avengers, Moonbase 3, and various BBC literary adaptations. His later work included audio dramas and novels tied to Doctor Who. Widely respected for his clarity, imagination, and dedication to storytelling, he remained a central figure in Doctor Who fandom until his death in 2019, leaving behind a vast legacy in television and children's literature.

Reviews

[Otherwyrld · Rating 4 out of 5]

In honour of Hogmanay I decided to read something with a Scottish feel to it, and - well - this is what I came up with. This book was a novelization of the story Terror of the Zygons which was a 4 part episode shown in August/September 1975 and which featured the 4th Doctor Tom Baker along with companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan (here making his last regular appearance, as was the Brigadier and UNIT, who were not to appear on the show again for a number of years). I remember this one quite fondly, though probably for the wrong reasons.

This book was a thrilling story from start to finish. There's a lot of atmospheric horror, with gloomy Scottish moors and castles, interspersed with terror as the Loch Ness monster attacks oil rigs and people, and quite a lot of action for the Doctor as he fights off the menace of the Zygons. The characterisations are all well done and the story just zips along, with a lot less running along corridors than usual (in other words, no padding). The Doctor's life is seriously threatened several times in this story, from the horror of being trapped in a decompression chamber, to getting trampled by the monster, to being electrocuted and nearly blown up.

The Zygons themselves are the stars of the show, being a very creepy mix of giant human embryo with octopus suckers all over their bodies, though the book itself doesn't really do justice to describing their appearance. The Skarasen, an alien cyborg that has been mistaken for Nessie for centuries, is rather less impressive on screen than it is on the page. It's funny but there seems to be a number of mythological creatures in this show that turn out to be not of this world such as Yetis (robots)and Mummies (also robots), and Nessie just follows this pattern.

There's some interesting passages about the clash between the old (represented by the aristocratic Lord Forgill with his seven centuries of ruling over the peasantry) and the new (here represented by the oil rigs which were beginning to transform Scotland at this time). This also factors in with the proposed attack on the Energy Conference in London, which highlighted the real life energy crises of this era. The Scots are perhaps portrayed a little stereotypically here, but having had a Scottish companion in Jamie it wasn't that bad. The Doctor also practises some Tibetan methods for slowing down his breathing to almost zero to survive one incident (and hypnotises Sarah Jane to save her with the same method) - it's not the first time Buddhism makes an appearance on the show.

Needless to say, the show was not filmed in Scotland, as it would have been far too expensive. According to Doctor Who on Location, it was filmed mostly in West Sussex which seemed to provide a pretty good stand in.

All in all, despite the terrible Skarasen model, this was a pretty good Doctor Who adventure, and this book was a good adaptation of it.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novelization of the first Doctor Who adventure of the thirteenth season of the show. It was broadcast in August and September of 1975 under the title Terror of the Zygons. Terrance Dicks adapted the original teleplay of Robert Banks Stewart for the book. It's a favorite of many fans of the character, as it features the fourth Doctor and some of the most popular companions, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT facing some of the most popular antagonists, the Zygons, not to mention Nessie herself. The Doctor and his friends are investigating the destruction of oil rigs in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland, apparently by a kaiju monster. Harry is captured by the Zygons, a group that's been marooned undersea for centuries in their giant spaceship that crashed. They awaited rescue, learned their planet had been destroyed, and decided to take over Earth with a giant cyborg monster. The Doctor lures them to London, the site of an energy conference they intend to sabotage, Harry is rescued, the evil leader killed, and the monster returns home to Loch Ness... it's a very fun, action packed story, and one of the best of the Baker era. Dicks does a good job in summarizing the story in a straight and clear fashion, but I thought it might have been done better by Ian Marter, who wrote several of the other adaptations and was the actor who portrayed Harry. It was his last time as a regular cast member, and was also the swan song for the Brigadier for quite a long time. This edition was printed by Pinnacle Books, and was the sixth in their ten volume series American series of reprinted adventures intended to introduce the character to North American readers. Pinnacle included a lengthy and enthusiastic introduction written by Harlan Ellison in each book.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You have to come out on the balcony and wave a tentacle, if you'll pardon the expression."

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a novelization of my first acquaintance with the world of the Doctor when I was a mere lad. And to be honest the show showed me a different scifi than my beloved Star Trek (the original series which aired first om my day of birth). It was more scary and yet closer to my comprehension and fantasy than the adventures on a spaceship far away.
This reread was instigated to the simple matter of receiving season 14 in a bluray box with the marvelous Tom Baker as the Doctor. This man more than any other Doctor personifies that mad Time traveler, with Matt Smith being in a wicked second place. When you read this book you can hear Toms voice and visualize his wicked laugh that was brilliant and a bit scary at the same time.

In this famous little tale we meet the fabulous Zygons which have been stranded on the planet Earth and finally have found their footing to conquer the planet with the help of an alien sea creature, of course called the monster of Loch Ness. The Doctor, in the Tom Baker period, working with UNIT and recalled to earth by the Brigadier due to some unidentified danger, comes back to eart hwit Sarah jane & Harry in order to stop the threat. A thrilling short read simply because it gave me a window at my youth and my mother being unreasonable when I wanted to watch that scary show that only gives you bad dreams. Well that is kids for you.

An easy read as all these old novelisations are but fun to re-acquaint yourself with an old friend that gave you plenty of hours of fun and scares.

My kids also like the Doctor but they as it should be have their own Doctor they really like.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off the shores of Scotland something is methodically destroying oil rigs and killing all on board. UNIT calls in the one man who can get to the bottom of the mystery... The Doctor.
Wouldn't it be great if you could feed tv shows into a machine and out pop novelisations with crisp no-nonsense prose? Target had such a machine. It was called Terrance Dicks. The Target books were the DVDs of the 70s but using the most powerful special effects suite on the planet... children's imagination. Unlike a lot of Mr Dicks early output this one would have to be the vanilla release with little or no extras - he basically transcribes the tv story onto the page. The only really noticeable change is he makes the Prime Minister a bloke. In the tv story the Brigadier refers to a 'madam' on the other end of the line whereas here Dicks switches it to 'sir'. I suppose after serving up a story featuring a bunch of shapeshifting evil-baby terror-ists trying to take over the world armed only with a pet Nessy and a weakness for blowing their own trumpet, a female Prime Minister was just a bit too far fetched.
It's all great fun. Aged ten reading this I couldn't be happier. I already had plans to visit Loch Ness with my best mate and discover the beastie for ourselves, so this was the next best thing and much closer to my weekly pocket money budget.
Original artwork, features on script to novel, Terrance Dicks, Robert Banks Stewart and a new introduction by Michael Moorcock.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is regarded as a fans favorite, there's one of the best TARDIS teams with The Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry. Iconic monster with The Zygons, whilst UNIT also appears.

This novelization is a quick fun read and it's pretty much faithful to the TV episodes.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first story appearance of the Zygons is a clever one that managed to tie in the notion of a Loch Ness monster, body doubles, and an alien invasion all in one adventure! I can see why the Zygons became so memorable over the years because this grand debut of their shape-changing abilities and their fearsome technology is certainly stand out.

The Doctor has a lot of lucky breaks in facing the various challenges of the Zygons, but that is rather par for the course for everyone's favorite traveling Time Lord. I loved how forward Sarah Jane was throughout the story, thus stressing why she is such a great companion for the Doctor.

I really enjoyed this novelisation.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Who and Sarah Jane, along with Harry are summoned back to Earth by the Brigadier. There is something very strange going on with oil rigs and the men on them disappearing into the sea.
Not exactly the same as the TV episode because this episode was planned for earlier in the season and then not filmed until late, so there were some changes made when it was actually filmed and the book was mostly written from the script. The differences were interesting.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recalled to Earth by UNIT after some oil rigs are destroyed, the Doctor and his Companions soon face off against a dangerous enemy threat: the Zygons, who are intent on taking over the world and are able to use their shape shifting abilities to assume any form.

Dicks' writing is ideal for 'Doctor Who'. His use of simple descriptive portraits help bring characters to life on the page and his legacy of Target novelisations are a testament to his dedication.

[Zacharia Caporale · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightful AND charming

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth of the classic (Target) Doctor Who books and I will admit although I know of the episodes the books are taken from I have never seen them and I have really enjoyed the experience of discovering them. The books are fast paced and set to read just as I would have imagined watching the actual episode (although the special effects are much better in my imagination than they were when aired on TV back in 1975)
The book is by Terrance Dicks who by all accounts was the seminal Doctor Who author of them time - I will admit this is the first of his books I have read but I have found nothing to contradict that. My sentiment stated in other reviews - that I will be looking for others from this series to read most certainly still stands true.

[Ilsa Bonaparte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's just say it was very interesting, and leave it at that.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“DOCTOR WHO AND THE LOCH NESS MONSTER” by Terrance Dicks (1976) [based on 'Doctor Who and the Terror of the Zygons']

Most (hostile forces throughout the galaxy) seemed to consider the Earth an attractive little planet, just ripe for conquest. (p10)

Recently, a large number of off-shore oil-rigs had been set up to drill for North Sea oil. In the past few weeks three of them had been totally destroyed, smashed into the sea by some incredible force.
“Doctor, this IS an emergency.!”
“Oil, an emergency? .. It's high time this planet ceased to be so dependent on a mineral slime. If you ask me ...” (p16)

Harry was struck by the note of colossal arrogance in the voice. Whatever these weird things were, they certainly thought a lot of themselves. (p41)

“Even in the bright morning sunlight, Forgill Castle looked like that place in Transylvania where Frankenstein carried out his dreadful experiments, and Count Dracula flitted round the battlements at sunset. Sarah was glad they'd come in the morning. She'd have hated to visit the place after dark.” (p79)

“You've been hiding too long, Broton. It's become a habit.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought your plan was to rule the world?”
“The plan has not changed.”
“Well, there you are then. You can't rule the world if you're in hiding. You have to step out on a balcony from time to time and wave a gracious claw.”
It was obvious Broton didn't share the Doctor's sense of humour. (p100-101)
- - -

[Baroness Ekat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor (#4), Sara Jane and Harry arrive in Scotland because the Brigadier has called for help. Something is attacking Oil Rigs and UNIT needs help stopping it.

They arrive to discover that aliens, specifically the shapshifting Zyygons, are working a plot to take over and rule the Earth by using their cybornneticly engineered creature (The Skarasen) to play upon the legend of the Loch Ness monster.

Working together, the Doctor, his companions and UNIT needs to stop the Zygons and save the Earth.

******

I f0und this book just kinda eh. But then again, I'm not really much of a Classic Who fan. In fact, I'm in the vast minority who was not impressed with what episodes I've seen with Tom Baker as The Doctor. What I will say is that it's a quick and easy read (being only 141 pages long). And it was written for the audience the show was originally aimed at - kids and teens. I honestly can't say that this book changed my mind on the Fourth Doctor or is encouraging me to find other Doctor Who books. But if you like this era of Doctor Who and need a quick read - you will probably like it.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly adequate adaptation with a cool-sounding title Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster sticks fairly closely to the original serial. Restoring the invisible TARDIS scene, the unused Zygon sting, and a few other details, it is otherwise workmanlike and brisk. Added and admirable details include the Doctor’s propensity for porridge with salt (acquired during the Jacobite rebellion), as well as the Brigadier’s disbelief that anyone in the aristocracy could be up to no good! (“The Brigadier’s conservative temperament boggled at the idea that a member of the aristocracy could be mixed up in shady doings”). While the prose is fairly so so, especial credit goes to Dicks for the description of the Zygons as resembling “a grotesque, evil baby”. Indeed, Broton is much more arrogant here (“He needed to tell one of his cleverness, to overawe someone with the might of Zygon technology”), making the Doctor’s eventual decision to self-destruct the ship seem more deserved.

It’s a relief that the original title — Doctor Who Meets the Loch Ness Monster was changed — for I didn’t fancy the Doctor’s encounter with the Skarasen coming across like a Parkinson interview!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terror of the Zygons, which is the television story this book is based on, is the first Doctor Who story I remember watching. Aged 4. I don't remember the whole thing, just bits.

This is another Terrance Dicks special. He knows how to tell a story, he knows how to drive the prose along. There's nothing pretentious or spectacular in it except how sharp and exciting it is.

I'm not going to break down the story. You should watch the TV version then read the book, which was republished fairly recently. It's a classic though. One of my favourite stories of all time. Terrance doesn't add as much as either Gerry Davis or Malcolm Hulke but there are additions here and there. For example he gives an explanation for why the Doctor's jeep breaks down on the Moor whilst he's being chased by the Skarasen, which in the TV version just looks disturbingly convenient. It doesn't need much, just a line. But it is good.

When your so familiar with a story as I am with Terror of the Zygons I can't help but see the actors and hear their voices. It's a lovely bit of nostalgia.

[Mikes Dw Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

While drwho and the loch ness monster is a straight forward re-telling of the original tv story "The terror of the zygons" its a fantastic adaption.

The story is well paced, got plenty of great action and scares and the characters are great too. The companions each get time to shine, particularly Harry when he's trapped in the zygon ship. The zygons are well written here too. Nasty and brutish. Being a book it doesn't have the slower pace some of the orginal stories had.

Part 4 in the orginal tv story is admittedly the weakest part. Broton the zygon goes to London to try and take over the world whilst in his Duke disguise. In the book we get more detailed and just overall better scenes of him going undercover, rather than being stuck in a cupboard room. The monster also gets some great scenes to shine too, especially in London towards the end.

Overall this a very good target book, it's a shame it didn't have any real expansion to it, but the book itself is a brilliant read.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of a bittersweet one for me this one. Is the last 'proper' UNIT story for me, in as much as the last one with the Doctor as Scientific Adviser, the Brigadier and Benton all in the one story. Happily not the last story for the Brigadier, but will be quite some time before he does feature again, though I'm glad he did.
Story itself is a pretty good one I think, featuring the Zygons for the first time (and certainly a very long time before they featured again), with potentially a run of the mill sort of plan on their side, but the mechanics of it with the Loch Ness Monster, and with some quite cool scenes throughout, help make it more than a run of the mill story.
While a lot of characters in the story, I think they all get good moments, and is a good send off for Harry really, and another UNIT story does help highlight the differences between the Third and Fourth Doctors.
All round a good read.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another cracking adaptation by Terrance. He did so many he must have had the process down to a fine art, simply taking the script and fleshing it out with all the narrative text required for a book. Even the structure of the book mirrors the broadcast version, with 3 chapters being 1 eposode and finishing with the cliffhanger.

There’s a few minor dialogue changes, but I suspect a lot of those might be changes made during rehearsals. Adlib quips from Tom Baker.

One small difference I did find curious was in the broadcast version the Brig receives a phone call from a female PM, but in the book it’s changed to a male PM.

This is a great story from what I consider the high point in all of Doctor Who. The Zygons are excellent aliens with they’re camouflage technic. It ties in, and explains, the myth of Nessie. There’s a few plot twists to keep the story interesting. Classic who at it’s finest. And they didn’t ruin the Zygons when they were bought back in NuWho.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster (1976) by Terrance Dicks is the novelisation of the first serial of the thirteenth season of Doctor Who and the eightieth serial overall. The serial was called Terror of the Zygons.

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry are called back to help UNIT after a number of oil rigs have been destroyed. They encounter the Zygons who are up to their usual bad deeds. The Zygons also control a sea monster from which the title of the book derives.

The Zygons are quite amusing villains who shape shift into human form which is something of a trop for Doctor Who.

It’s all quite amusing and a decent adventure.

[Kaotic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen the episode (Terror of the Zygons) and must say that I quite enjoyed it, it was fun and Nessy was quite amusing to look at.

The book is pretty close to how the episode was, with minor changes that are discussed at the end in an afterward.

It is certainly a fun, quick read and an interesting look at the Zygons (first encounter) and answering the question of what is really in the Loch Ness.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third and final book in the omnibus titled The Adventures of Doctor Who, with all novelisations of episodes done by Terrance Dicks.
This one is again familiar as it was repeated on many occasions n the 70's and 80's by the ABC.
The shortest of the three tales, and probably the most average, although it was always good to see old brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart bob up.
An entertaining enough story, but more so for the nostalgia factor than the quality I think.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. These episodes are the 4th Doctor adventure 'Terror of the Zygons,' and it's Terrance Dicks, who, when novelizing his own screenplays, writes a solidly reliable Doctor Who story. This one's the 1st Zygons, so you don't know anything about them yet, and there's Sarah Jane and Lethbridge-Stewart. VERY straightforward; more of a quick hit of Who than a meander down the trail.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great novelisation of the serial "Terror of the Zygons". I was gripped by the story, and feel that Dicks' writing was a great factor in this.

I would recommend this highly to any Doctor Who fan, as the Zygons which appear both in the Classic and new series so in my opinion it has much to offer fans of both shows.

[Ivana Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant adaptation by Terrance Dicks, who manages to capture the televised story really well despite the page limitation set by Target. One minor quibble, given that while Sarah is looking at books in Forgill Castle, one is described as "medieval Latin" - pretty sure that's completely impossible.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

very happy with this one, Terrance Dicks is faithful to the original production whilst offering small tweaks and changes here and there, the only thing missing would be some drawings to show how truly terrifying the zygons were.

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s an awful lot of “Little did they know…” in this otherwise entertaining adaptation of a genuine Who classic. As the first story of a new season, this is chicken soup for the nerd soul. It just feels a little slight compared to the source material.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I've ever LOVED a Dicks novelisation, but there's bits here I really like - the opening image of the oil rig before it's attacked, the comparison of the Zygons to the noise their ship makes as though one's grown out of the other...pretty solid stuff!

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from a few reinstated deleted scenes, this is a pretty straightforward Target novelisation.

The audiobook reading, however, features some great impressions from Jon Culshaw and I like the more gritty reimagining of the Zygon voices.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Doctor Who novel.