"Doctor Who" The Talons of Weng-Chiang: Part 1 (1977)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

David Maloney

Writer:

Robert Holmes (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

26 February 1977 (Season 14, Episode 21)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In this feature-length adventure set deep in the darkest heart of Victorian London, the Doctor and Leela are confronted by a series of bizarre and horrific events.

Plot Keywords:

London | Giant Rat | Mad Magician | Eccentric | Playing God

Cast

Tom Baker	...	Doctor Who
Louise Jameson	...	Leela
John Bennett	...	Li H'sen Chang
Christopher Benjamin	...	Henry Gordon Jago
Chris Gannon	...	Casey
Trevor Baxter	...	Professor Litefoot
Deep Roy	...	Mr. Sin
David McKail	...	Sergeant Kyle
Conrad Asquith	...	P.C. Quick
Alan Butler	...	Buller
Patsy Smart	...	Ghoul
Tony Then	...	Lee
John Wu	...	Coolie

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Clink Street, Southwark, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This episode was watched by 11.3 million viewers on its original transmission.

Quotes:

Jago: Have I ever, in my thirty years in the halls, seen such a dazzling display of lustrous legerdemain, so many feats of superlative, supernatural skill, the answer must be never sir, never!

a little absurd, a little too long (six parts!), but a cool atmosphere and a giant rat!

A really cool episode of Doctor Who is the Talons of Weng-Chiang, where the good doctor and his lady Leela come to 19th century Victorian London, and there's a big plot involving a 51st century Chinese "Lord" who's trying to get a device together so that he won't die off (he already wears a chintzy black mask). It is, par for the course of a Doctor Who mystery, a bit more convoluted than maybe necessary, but that's part of the fun in figuring out what will happen next. There's a lot of servant-and-master stuff between "Chinese" magician (in quotes as it's really a white guy in make-up, probably a savage joke at old stereotypes) played by Christopher Benjamin, and some solid, very 'British' dialog between some supporting characters, and a little guy in a mask (played, I think, by the amazing Deep Roy) and a giant, Rodan-esquire rat! Overall the episode might be a little sluggish in parts, but for the most part it's as close to a classic as fans can hope for. Especially with Tom Baker at the helm, who makes the doctor a bad-ass sort of in the tradition of a Jack Sparrow character (almost without trying, and by luck, he gets his way against those against him), and is of course very funny beneath the seriousness of the story. And, by the way, there's magic! And some cool twists like someone you didn't expect in that box stuffed with swords!