The Zygon Isolation was a Doctor Who: Lockdown! webcast set in the Doctor Who universe. It was created to accompany the watchalong of Peter Harness's two-parter The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion, serving as a loose sequel by returning to the characters of the two Osgoods.
The webcast tied in more literally than most with the COVID-19 crisis, as it featured the Osgoods communicating via Zoom whilst themselves in self-isolation. The Thirteenth Doctor was a part of the plot, influencing it in real time, but appeared only via a series of text messages sent to the Osgoods.
Plot[]
Osgood contacts Osgood for a zoom meeting so they can catch up on each other's alter-ego and how well they are each coping in self-isolation. After they begin exchanging news, one of the Osgoods begins getting text messages from the Thirteenth Doctor on her phone. The Doctor claims to be trapped in a time eddy from which she has managed to contact them, a sort of time loop with an eerie resemblance to the repetitive lives in which the citizens of Earth are trapped so long as lockdown lasts. Eventually, as their conversation winds down, the two Osgoods decide to watch some television "together", in sync; after some wavering, they decide on a show whose topic they know very well...
Cast[]
- Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
- Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
Crew[]
- Written by - Peter Harness
- Directed by - Emily Cook and Michael Williams
- Edited by - Michael Williams
- With Thanks To - Steven Moffat, James Jarvis
- Produced by - Emily Cook
Worldbuilding[]
- One Osgood asks the other "how the [ragged breathing noise] is going", with the other answering that she needs a new inhaler prescription, but has been having trouble contacting any doctors, since they're "all busy at the moment".
- The two Osgood discuss the ravens of the Tower of London, who have apparently had new chicks, as well as how much both miss ice cream.
- On Osgood's computer desktop, icons for UNIT, "Zygon sightings", "the Black Archive", "the Doctor" (illustrated with a LEGO-like rendition of the Thirteenth Doctor), LINDA, Big Finish, "DWM", "Cosplay" (with a picture of a fez), and "Prescriptions" (with a picture of an inhaler).
- Osgood uses Zoom for her "Zygons and Zoom" call with the other Osgood, and Chrome to access iPlayer.
- Osgood has Chrome tabs open for UNIT, Tardis, cosplay costumes, and a film and TV charity.
- Watching a programme on BBC iPlayer legally requires a TV Licence.
Notes[]
- The Osgood who appears in the upper widget is established to be Zygon Osgood by her mention of missing the feel of sunlight on her Zygon form's suckers, while the lower Osgood notes that she’s given herself away.
- The file on Osgood's desktop, The Doctor, has a picture of a custom made Lego minifigure of the Thirteenth Doctor. The minifigure comes from the Lego printing website, minifigs.me, however this information could easily be different in-universe.
Production errors[]
- The desktop, while clearly made to look like Petronella Osgood's, does still show some signs of the real world "prop" of sorts, one instance being that the name that the iPlayer account is registered under is "Mikey".
Continuity[]
- One of the Osgoods mentions the ravens in the Tower of London. (TV: The Power of Three, The Day of the Doctor)
- The Osgoods are aware that the Doctor is now a woman. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)
- The human Osgood is still alive (and suffering asthma) in 2020, confirming that the Osgood which had been killed by Missy was the Zygon one. (TV: Death in Heaven, The Zygon Inversion, AUDIO: Narcissus)
- Osgood is interested in cosplay. (AUDIO: Tidal Wave, TV: The Day of the Doctor, et al.)
