Review by Scott Lopes

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Zygon Century: Infiltration is a fantastic start to a celebration of 50 years of the Zygons from Big Finish. Set across decades as the Zygons begin a plot to take over the world in one century, the three stories in this set take us to 1901, 1935, and 1957 respectively.

Starting in 1901 with The Unknowing Mirror, by Jonathan Barnes, Zygon Century immediately offers something I never would have expected from a Zygon series: a ghost story. The story centers around Herbert Scott, an occult investigator looking into the apparent possession of a young girl. What appears to be the work of demons, however, turns out to be the effects of a plan far worse than the detective could ever imagine. The Unknowing Mirror is a fantastic story that kept me interested and hooked the entire time, but it unfortunately suffers from being in this specific box set. On its own it’s a great idea, mixing occult horror and mystery with science fiction, but its attempts to be a part of Zygon Century‘s larger narrative feel weak and a bit forced. Unlike the following stories, it never takes full advantage of the fact that it’s telling a Zygon story with the Zygons having little more than a background role, and while I appreciate it setting up the series and introducing a few plot threads that would be important later on, this would have worked much better as a standalone idea with another alien.

Moving up into Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle‘s 1935 story The Miracle of Pendour Cove, we get possibly the best Zygon story in years. Big Finish have always been masters at crafting stories that give us a sympathetic view of characters that we generally consider to be completely irredeemable; just look at the Master, and once again they’ve outdone themselves in this category. The Miracle of Pendour Cove is told from the perspective of Vorvoren, a Zygon who becomes disillusioned with what her people are doing and leaves their base to attempt to live with humans. At the start it’s a beautiful love story between her and Freddie, a lonely fisherman who’s just lost his wife, but it soon takes a very disturbing turn, making you have to question if the Zygons are really the monsters here. It’s a fantastically well-told story that fully takes advantage of the Zygons as a concept. Once again it’s maybe a bit too disconnected from the larger storyline until the end, but it makes up for that by using the Zygons in a way that makes them feel necessary to the story.

Our last year is 1957, featuring Trevor Baxendale’s Zygon spy thriller Double Agent. This is where the overarching plot really comes into focus. It’s set during the height of the Cold War. Distrust is at an all-time high, and spies are everywhere. What better time for the Zygons to infiltrate? But the British government is ready. They’ve been investigating these Zygons, and they’ve found their base, and it’s the job of special agent Caldwell, alongside a mysterious operative known only as the Doctor, to investigate and put a stop to the Zygons operations. Double Agent is a great story and something you’d very much expect from a Zygon series. A spy thriller, specifically during the Cold War, is the perfect setting for a shape-shifting species, especially in the context of their plans in this series, and Double Agent doesn’t disappoint. The use of the CIA Second Doctor from the Beyond War Games range is also a perfect choice for this type of story, and while initially I was worried he’d just be here so the Doctor was on the cover, he was very much a welcome addition to the episode.

It can’t go without saying that the performances in this series are phenomenal, with Jonathan Rigby, Charlie Russell, James Northcote, and Michael Troughton being the standouts. Charlie Russell specifically gives an incredible performance in The Miracle of Pendour Cove, and I hope she continues to do more at Big Finish in the future.

Overall, Zygon Century: Infiltration is a fantastic set that, while occasionally suffering from being slightly too disconnected at times, still proves how creative Big Finish can be. If you’re a Zygon fan, you won’t be disappointed in this start to their 50th anniversary, and if you’re interested in occult horror, folklore, spy thrillers, or the Second Doctor, you’ll be just as interested in this set.

Infiltration is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com