It seems that showrunner and executive producer Steven Moffat is making sure classic and new fans of ‘Doctor Who’ will have something to be excited about with the 50th anniversary episode. A couple days ago, the BBC released a photo of David Tennant and Matt Smith together after a read through of the script and now we have the announcement of one of the monsters who will be making an appearance in the episode – and the news should make classic Whovians very happy. Get ready, because the Zygons have returned!

Updated Zygon for the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary special

The Zygons first and only appearance on the series was over 30 years ago when the Fourth Doctor first encountered them while in Scotland with Sarah Jane in the episode ‘Terror of the Zygons.’ Longtime fans are familiar with these alien refugees who were bent on conquering the Earth after their home planet was destroyed by an explosion. Zygons can take the form of a living person by placing them in a special receptacle. As long as the person was alive and unconscious, the aliens would be able to mimic both the voice and appearance of the person (much like the clone of Martha in ‘The Poison Sky’).

Classic Zygon

Since then, the Zygons has mainly been relegated to novels and audio dramas but have been kept alive within the television series with recent mentions of their existence in ‘The Pandorica Opens’ when they joined the Alliance at Stonehenge and during ‘The Power of Three’ when the Doctor took Amy and Rory for an anniversary getaway to the Savoy Hotel in 1890 only to find out that half the staff was replaced by Zygon imposters.

Filming has commenced on the 50th anniversary episode and below are some fan photos taken during the location shooting of a Zygon in action:

 

The photos suggest that the scene being filmed is set during Medieval times considering the look of the tent. Also posted was a photo labeled as the 10th Doctor’s TARDIS:

 

The more I read and see about this special 50th episode, the more excited I get! While there are many fans who are still a bit upset that no other versions of the Doctor have been announced nor some fan fave companions like Donna or Martha included (or even Captain Jack), I’m still going to hold out hope that there will be more surprises to come. So far, Moffat seems to be doing a great job with balancing the old and new aspects of the series which is not an easy thing to do considering there is so much material to draw upon.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited to see the return of the Zygons? Do you think the 10th Doctor and Rose may actually be Zygons in disguise? Let’s hear your theories in the comments below!

The untitled special anniversary episode of ‘Doctor Who’ will be shown in 3D on BBC and in UK theaters in November. No word if a 3D version will air on BBC America at this time.

 

SOurce: BBC, Doctor Who TV