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DOCTOR WHO
TERROR OF THE ZYGONS
Written by
Robert Banks Stewart
Part Four
(Overlap from the ship rising into the sky)
[EXT. Beside the loch]
BRIGADIER: Mister Benton, prepare to move out.
BENTON: Sir. Okay, move it!
[INT. Room on spaceship]
(ZYGONS push the DOCTOR into the room. They converse as he lies on the floor.)
BROTON: The humans will be following our course by radar. Transmit a jamming signal.
ZYGON: Immediately, Commander.
(The ZYGON exits.)
DOCTOR: You've been hiding too long, Broton. It's become a habit.
BROTON: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: I thought the plan was to conquer the world.
BROTON: The plan has not changed.
DOCTOR: But you can't rule a world in hiding. You've got to come out onto the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle, if you'll pardon the expression.
BROTON: In a few hours, there will be no further need of secrecy. Have no doubt, Doctor.
[EXT. Stand of trees]
(The BRIGADIER speaks into the R/T from back near the Land Rovers.)
BRIGADIER: Greyhound Leader to Trap One. Emergency alert to all radar stations. Alien spacecraft heading south from Loch Ness.
[INT. Fox Inn]
(A hand is seen taking notes.)
BRIGADIER [OC]: Second, alert Strike Command, but warn them there is to be no attack. I repeat, no attack until further orders.
[EXT. Stand of trees]
BRIGADIER: Have our aircraft standing by at Inverness for immediate return to London HQ. That is all. Out.
SARAH: Brigadier, before leaving, we should search that castle.
BRIGADIER: But why? There's nobody there now.
SARAH: I know, but we might find something that'll tell us where the Zygons have gone.
HARRY: Or what they're up to.
BRIGADIER: Yes. Worth looking, I suppose. All right, I'll drop you two at the castle. Get in.
(They leave by Land Rover.)
[INT. Forgill Castle]
(SARAH rummages through the correspondence on the duke's desk.)
SARAH: Didn't the duke - I mean Broton - didn't he give you any idea of what he's planning?
HARRY: (at the bookshelves) Not a clue, Sarah. Some grand gesture of destruction, I expect. Cosmic firework display perhaps.
SARAH: Definitely bigger than oil rigs.
HARRY: If I don't find out what opens this thing, I'll go mad.
SARAH: Yes. Well, as long as you don't change into a Zygon.
HARRY: What?
(Disconsolately, SARAH picks up more papers.)
HARRY: Oh, I give up, old girl. Come on, let's get back to-
SARAH: No, just a minute, just a minute! (She stands as she reads.)
HARRY: I don't think you're going to find any scandals.
SARAH: No, listen, listen. The duke is chieftain of the Antlers Association; trustee of the Golden Haggis Lucky Dip, whatever that might be; and president of the Scottish Energy Commission.
HARRY: Sarah, we're wasting time.
SARAH: Hmm. Agreed. Agreed.
[INT. Spaceship control room]
(Controls are operated throughout.)
BROTON: We have a suitable landing zone. Prepare for descent.
ZYGON: Reducing dynacon thrust. Dynacon thrust at phase two.
BROTON: Initiate descent trajectory.
ZYGON: Descending now.
BROTON: Complete touchdown procedure.
(The ship sets down gently amid sand.)
[INT. Room on spaceship]
(An alien tri-tone alert is heard from the ship's internal communication tube.)
BROTON [OC]: Receive a message from Commander Broton. To avoid detection, all outward signals are forbidden. Internal communication will remain on half power.
DOCTOR: Halfwit.
[INT. Fox Inn]
(BENTON is relaying a telephone message to the BRIGADIER.)
BRIGADIER: Lost contact?
BENTON: I'm afraid so, sir, yes.
BRIGADIER: What, all of them?
BENTON: Okay, thanks. (returning the receiver to its cradle) They tell us there's a complete blackout all over the country, sir. No radar working anywhere. London seem to think it's some kind of jamming device.
BRIGADIER: I see. Well, we'll just have to hope that somebody spots them. All right, carry on, Mister Benton.
BENTON: Right, sir.
(BENTON leaves as HARRY and SARAH enter.)
BRIGADIER: Ah, Sullivan, Miss Smith. You're only just in time.
HARRY: It's a very, very long walk, sir.
BRIGADIER: Yes, well, we're heading back to London. Advance party's just left. Did you find anything at the castle?
SARAH: No, nothing.
HARRY: Any news of the spacecraft, sir?
BRIGADIER: It was last reported heading south over Leicestershire, and then they lost it. We've also had a report of a large underwater object travelling south at high speed.
SARAH: Guess what.
[INT. Spaceship control room]
BROTON: How far from the target is the Skarasen now?
ZYGON: One hundred and fifty-two Earth miles. It is approaching the mouth of the estuary.
BROTON: That is close enough. Sever contact. The skeletar will bring it to the target from that range.
[INT. Room on spaceship]
(The DOCTOR has pulled the organic tube that is the horn for the internal communication system part of the way from the wall. He turns and lets go. It is sucked back to the wall with a slurping sound. BROTON and another ZYGON enter.)
DOCTOR: Social call?
BROTON: You admire our technology, human?
DOCTOR: Well, I'm not human, and I've seen better.
BROTON: Better than this?
(He turns into the duke by appearance.)
DOCTOR: (clapping) Very good, very good. Almost impressive. But why bother?
DUKE: It is necessary to activate a body print every few hours. Otherwise, the original pattern dies and cannot be used again.
DOCTOR: Ah. So you still have a use for the real duke.
DUKE: (pulling gloves from his pocket) One.
DOCTOR: Formal occasion?
DUKE: Perhaps.
DOCTOR: I gather we've landed. Where are we?
DUKE: You like asking questions.
DOCTOR: Well, it's the only way to learn. When does this great operation begin, this conquest of the world?
DUKE: Phase 1 is already complete.
DOCTOR: And what are you going to do with it when you've got it? Isn't it a bit large for just about six of you?
DUKE: Other Zygons are on their way. When our planet was destroyed in a recent catastrophe, a great refugee fleet was assembled.
DOCTOR: Mmmm. And they're coming here at your invitation.
DUKE: Exactly, Doctor. It will be many centuries before the fleet arrives. In that time, the whole of this Earth must be restructured.
DOCTOR: I'll say one thing for you, Broton. You think big.
DUKE: Polar ice caps must go, the mean temperature raised several degrees, thousand of lakes with the right mineral elements constructed. I shall re-create my own planet here on Earth.
DOCTOR: Using forced labour.
DUKE: That is my intention. Human labour and Zygon technology. The task is challenging but not impossible.
DOCTOR: You're underestimating human beings, Broton.
DUKE: We shall see. Tomorrow I demonstrate my ultimate power.
[INT. UNIT headquarters comms room]
(BENTON holds out some CHOCOLATE to SARAH. She declines.)
SARAH: It's been hours now. Not a word from anywhere.
BENTON: Oh, don't worry, Miss. Something's bound to happen. I mean, they've got to make a move soon, haven't they?
SARAH: It's the Doctor I'm worried about. Could be dead for all we know.
BENTON: Oh, come on. If I know the Doctor, he's most likely working out a way to escape right at this minute.
SARAH: Oh yes, I know that. It's just not hearing anything!
(The BRIGADIER steps in.)
SARAH: Any news?
BRIGADIER: Er, nothing on the spaceship, but we've had another report of that underwater object. It's been sighted off the coast. The Navy are sending some frigates from Chatham.
(SARAH answers the telephone and hands the receiver to BENTON.)
BENTON: UNIT Headquarters. Who? Oh, yes, he's here. Just a moment, please. It's for you, sir. The Prime Minister.
BRIGADIER: Lethbridge-Stewart speaking. Oh, absolutely understood, Madam. No public announcement. Yes, Madam. Discreet action - discreet but resolute action.
[INT. Room on spaceship]
(The DOCTOR has the communication tube pulled way out and folded over. Its innards are exposed. He holds it in his right hand and gestures with the left.)
DOCTOR: Right, now for the big question. Is half power lethal?
(He touches the door with his right hand and screams as the electricity flows through his body.)
[INT. Spaceship control room]
DUKE: A relay must have jammed in the diastelic circuit.
ZYGON: No, Commander. The circuit panel is in order.
DUKE: Trace the source, quick. We must stop that transmission.
[INT. UNIT headquarters comms room]
(We hear BENTON tuning in a modulating signal.)
BENTON: Sir! I think this is it.
[INT. Outside the room on the spaceship]
(We hear the DOCTOR still screaming, and electricity is flowing, as he generates a signal.)
DUKE: Whatever he's doing has jammed the door. It is the Doctor!
[INT. UNIT headquarters comms room]
SARAH: It's the Doctor, I know it is.
BENTON: Well, I've checked the triangulations, sir, and I make it about, about here.
BRIGADIER: (looking at the referenced point on the desk map) Just beyond Brentford. A disused quarry. We've got 'em, Mister Benton!
(The signal ceases a moment later.)
BRIGADIER: Right, let's move out.
[INT. Room on spaceship]
(The DOCTOR lies on the floor, with the tube next to him.)
DUKE: Is he dead?
ZYGON: Yes, Commander. The power destroyed him.
DUKE: It is well. I underestimated his intelligence, but he underestimated the power of organic crystallography. Come, it is almost time for me to leave.
(The ZYGONS leave, and the DOCTOR opens his eyes and looks about.)
DOCTOR: I'm alive!
[INT. Spaceship control room]
DUKE: Distance?
ZYGON: The Skarasen is fifty Earth miles away, Commander.
DUKE: Excellent. It is time for me to place the activator on the target. Humanity is at our feet.
(He has a signalling device in his hands.)
[INT. Body-print hall]
(The DOCTOR enters and walks past various of the humans in storage for their body prints. He checks the DUKE's pulse and then turns the four-pronged organic control wheel next to his compartment. The DUKE wakes up, and the DOCTOR helps him out of the alcove where he has been stored.)
DUKE: Who are you?
DOCTOR: His Grace the Duke of Forgill, I presume?
DUKE: Yes. Where the blazes am I?
DOCTOR: On a spaceship.
DUKE: Spaceship?
(He puts his hand to his head. The DOCTOR starts to wake the CABER in the background.)
[INT. Spaceship control room]
DUKE: In two minutes, close down diastetic transmission and maintain monitor contact.
ZYGON: Understood. Commander.
DUKE: Open the escape hatch. (at the door) When Phase 2 is completed, I shall broadcast my demands to the world.
(The Broton DUKE leaves the ship.)
[INT. Body-print hall]
(Sister LAMONT, now freed, watches in puzzlement as the DOCTOR works on the controls with his sonic screwdriver.)
LAMONT: What are you doing?
DOCTOR: We've got to lure the Zygons out of the control room somehow. This is also a fire sensor. If I can heat it sufficiently, it-
(An alien alarm begins to sound.)
DOCTOR: Quick, back into your alcoves! We'll soon see how good their fire drill is.
(The DOCTOR too hides in an alcove. Two ZYGONS walk through the room, exiting at the far end.)
DOCTOR: (sotto) Okay, quick, everybody out. It won't take them long to realise it's a false alarm.
[INT. Spaceship control room]
(The Time Lord and humans run into the control room.)
DOCTOR: Come along, quick. Break that vacuum mechanism to jam the door.
CABER: This one?
DOCTOR: Yes, that one, man. Get on with it.
CABER: (ripping off a control pseudopod, which he throws to the DOCTOR) Is that broken enough?
DOCTOR: It's more than enough.
(There are now two ZYGONS trapped on the other side of the door.)
[INT. Outside control-room door]
ZYGON: Open this door, [indecipherable].
[INT. Spaceship control room]
DOCTOR: Right, let's see what other damage we can do. Anybody know what this is?
(He refers to a large glowing membranous device with yellow and red skin.)
DUKE: I haven't the faintest idea.
LAMONT: You tell us.
DOCTOR: I will. It's a self-destructor, and it works like this.
(He operates some protrusions on the device, which begins glowing more brightly yellow as we hear a pulsing sound added to the alarms.)
DOCTOR: Right. We've got about sixty seconds before the whole ship blows up.
(All of them run down the escape hatch.)
ZYGONS [OC]: Open this door. Open the door. Hear us, humans. Open this door!
[EXT. Disused quarry]
(Two Land Rovers arrive on the scene. HARRY has had time to don his Navy uniform. We hear the alarm in the ship and a whining that increases in pitch.)
SARAH: There it is!
(The UNIT people run toward the spaceship. The DOCTOR helps Sister LAMONT out of the ship, and the other two are not far behind.)
SARAH: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Everyone get down!
(They sprint over a bank of sand, joining SARAH and the UNIT people a couple of seconds before the ship explodes. Pieces of it, and rocks, fly everywhere. A burnt-out hulk remains. SARAH removes her hands from her ears.)
BRIGADIER: Well.
DOCTOR: Was that bang big enough for you, Brigadier?
HARRY: Nicely done, Doctor. Well, that's the end of the Zygons, eh?
DOCTOR: Not entirely. Broton escaped, and he still has control of the monster. He plans to attack some target in London.
SARAH: Close to the Thames, huh?
DOCTOR: Exactly. And this time it'll be something really spectacular.
BRIGADIER: I've just remembered. When I spoke to the PM earlier, she was about to leave for Stanbridge House. And that's on the river.
DOCTOR: What's happening there?
DUKE: The Fourth International Energy Conference. The place'll be full of VIPs from all over the world. It's a meeting of crucial importance.
DOCTOR: Ah. That could be it, Brigadier.
BRIGADIER: Yes, but he'd need a pass to get in. The security's very tight.
SARAH: But he'll have a pass. The duke, the real duke, is president of the Scottish Energy Commission.
DUKE: That's right, I am.
DOCTOR: Well, come on. Let's get to London.
(We cut to the cellar of Stanbridge House. Applause can be heard from above. The fake DUKE moves about in the gloom. The Skarasen-signalling device in his hand is activated, and he looks for a suitable place to position it.)
[INT. UNIT headquarters comms room]
BENTON: Tell the Brigadier the monster's been sighted again. It'll be at Stanbridge House in another four minutes. I repeat, another four minutes. Over.
[INT. Stanbridge House]
(We see ripples in the water.)
BRIGADIER: Three and a half minutes, Doctor, and still no sign of Broton in the conference hall.
DOCTOR: Well, he was checked into the building. What's behind the conference hall?
BRIGADIER: Catering section and river terrace.
DOCTOR: You search there. Sarah and I'll take the cellar.
[INT. Cellar of Stanbridge House]
(The light switches have no effect.)
DOCTOR: Not much light.
SARAH: Maybe somebody should tell the Energy Congress.
DOCTOR: Stay there.
(He begins to descend the steps.)
BROTON [OC]: I thought you were dead.
DOCTOR: Loose thinking, Broton.
BROTON [OC]: This time, I shall make certain.
DOCTOR: (to SARAH, sotto) Get the Brigadier. (more loudly) Broton, your spaceship's been destroyed. This building is surrounded by soldiers.
BROTON: (stepping out of hiding) I control the Skarasen! I can destroy this planet or become its master. That is the choice I offer your world.
(SARAH hasn't really moved, and BROTON grabs at her. She sets off running, with a yelp.)
[INT. Stanbridge House]
SARAH: Brigadier! Brigadier!
[INT. Cellar of Stanbridge House]
(BROTON attacks the DOCTOR, who is looking for the signalling device. The two begin to fight, and the DOCTOR weakens rapidly.)
BRIGADIER: Morton, through the other door! Right, come with me.
(MORTON approaches BROTON, who has dealt with the DOCTOR for the moment, and the roaring BROTON throws him down by the neck. The BRIGADIER, joined by a SOLDIER, begin to shoot at BROTON, who stumbles against a packing crate, ending up nearly on the ground.)
BROTON: The Skarasen will destroy you all.
(He falls onto his front and expires.)
SARAH: Doctor!
DOCTOR: The signal device, quickly. Broton's hidden it in this room somewhere. Brigadier, evacuate the building. The monster will tear the place down to get the device.
BRIGADIER: Right. Ferguson, with me.
(Only HARRY remains to help the DOCTOR and SARAH search.)
DOCTOR: Quiet, both of you. Listen. I can almost feel it.
(He discovers the device planted in his pocket and pulls it out.)
DOCTOR: The monster must be allowed to destroy it.
(He runs from the cellar. HARRY checks on MORTON.)
HARRY: There's nothing I can do for him.
SARAH: And as for this one. (She refers to Broton, out of shot.)
(We hear faint screams.)
HARRY: Sarah, I think we've been left behind.
SARAH: Harry, you're right.
[EXT. Emergency exit]
(The DOCTOR steps out, and just above the railing in front of him is the Skarasen. Sirens can be heard in the background, along with screams.)
DOCTOR: Here, boy. Fetch it. Fetch it.
(He throws the device. It lands in the river, and the creature ceases bellowing and ducks down to retrieve it. The screaming continues.)
[INT. Stanbridge House]
HARRY: He must have gone this way.
SARAH: Well, let's hope so.
[EXT. Emergency exit]
(The DOCTOR is looking on. SARAH and HARRY step out and join him.)
SARAH: It's huge! Where's the signal device?
DOCTOR: He's chewing it.
SARAH: It's going back under the surface.
DOCTOR: He'll go home now he's eaten the device.
HARRY: Home?
DOCTOR: Loch Ness, Harry. The only home he knows.
[EXT. Stand of trees]
(The BRIGADIER and the DUKE are walking along a path beside the trees. Both are in Scottish dress.)
DUKE: Tell me, I imagine the whole business caused quite a stir.
BRIGADIER: No, the Cabinet's accepted my report, and the whole affair's now completely closed.
DUKE: You mean it never happened.
BRIGADIER: Well, a fifty-foot monster can't swim up the Thames and attack a large building without some people noticing, but you know what politicians are like.
DUKE: Yes, quite. By the way, I was coming to meet you people. I could swear I caught a glimpse of the monster in the loch.
SARAH: But you're not sure.
DUKE: The sun was in my eyes. Now, where is this contraption of yours?
DOCTOR: My contraption, your Grace, is this way. I think. Follow me. Come on.
(Up a slope and across the way is a blue police box.)
DUKE: That's the TARDIS?
DOCTOR: Yes, that's the TARDIS. And I'm going to pilot it all the way to London. I can be there five minutes ago.
SARAH: (pauses) Just a minute, Doctor. I thought you couldn't do that.
DOCTOR: Of course I can. (he unlocks the door) Coming?
BRIGADIER: No, thank you.
HARRY: I think I'll stick to InterCity this time, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Sarah?
SARAH: Um.
DOCTOR: (looking hurt) No?
SARAH: All right. Providing we do go straight back to London.
DOCTOR: Oh yes, we will. I promise.
(She shrugs. The DOCTOR waits for her to enter the TARDIS. He follows, and it dematerialises a moment later.)
DUKE: Well, I'll be... Do they have return tickets?
BRIGADIER: Yes, I imagine so.
DUKE: You should have taken them and got your refund, man. I thought you were a Scotsman.
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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