Terror of the Zygons

The Doctor is summoned to Scotland, where UNIT is investigating the destruction of some oil rigs in the North Sea. The evidence suggests that the platforms were destroyed by a gigantic sea creature, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Harry gets captured by shape-shifting aliens, the Brigadier gets gassed and Sarah is nearly suffocated. The Zygons have begun their conquest of Earth and only the Doctor stands in their way. Terror of the Zygons definitely shares some DNA with serials like Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Sea Devils but it still manages to be an entertaining adventure. The Zygons are well designed and their use of organic technology is both clever and gross. At the end of the serial, Sarah and the Doctor leave Scotland in the TARDIS while Harry chooses to stay behind on Earth, ending his time as one of the Doctor's companions.

 

Rating: Sounds like the Brigadier%

The Highlanders

In the beginning, Doctor Who's producers tried to balance the tone of their show by contrasting the sci-fi serials with ones based around historical drama. The First Doctor certainly spent a lot of his time rubbing elbows with famous figures. But, by the Second Doctor era, the historical serial had fallen out of favor. The Highlanders would be the Doctor's last historical adventure that didn't contain sci-fi elements for a long time. While this serial is hardly one of the best of the historical serials, it's not without it's charms. The new Doctor continues to assert himself with a series of comical disguises and accents. William Hartnell's Doctor never had as much in the past as Troughton's Doctor does in this serial. We're also introduced to Jamie McCrimmon, who joins the Doctor, Ben and Polly as the newest companion. Jamie will go on to be one of the longest lasting companions in the show's entire run.

Rating: ___% (Rating Missing)

(Image from naturalscotlandfilms.org.uk)