The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)

The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Doctor:	[[doctor::Fourth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Leela
Main enemy:	Magnus Greel Li H'sen Chang Mr. Sin
Main setting:	London; circa 1889
Key crew
Writer:	Robert Holmes
Director:	David Maloney
Producer:	Philip Hinchcliffe
Release details
Release number:	91
Premiere broadcast:	26th February - 2nd April 1977
Format:	6 25-minute episodes
Production code:	4S

Synopsis

to be added

Plot

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Cast

The Doctor - Tom Baker

Leela - Louise Jameson

Magnus Greel - Michael Spice

• Michael Spice also provided the voice of Morbius in the The Brain of Morbius.

Li H'sen Chang - John Bennett

Mr. Sin - Deep Roy

Henry Gordon Jago - Christopher Benjamin

Professor Litefoot - Trevor Baxter

Sergeant Kyle - David McKail

Buller - Alan Butler

Crew

• Assistant Floor Manager - Linda Graeme
• Costumes - John Bloomfield
• Designer - Roger Murray-Leach
• Fight Arranger - Stuart Fell
• Film Cameraman - Fred Hamilton
• Film Editor - David Lee
• Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
• Make-Up - Heather Stewart
• Producer - Philip Hinchcliffe
• Production Assistant - Ros Anderson
• Production Unit Manager - Chris D'Oyly-John, John Nathan-Turner
• Script Editor - Robert Holmes
• Special Sounds - Dick Mills
• Studio Lighting - Mike Jefferies
• Studio Sound - Clive Gifford
• Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
• Title Music - Ron Grainer
• Visual Effects - Michealjohn Harris

References

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Story Notes

• Some associations and influences have been noted for The Talons of Weng-Chiang; among these are:

• Magnus Greel's deformed face, the mask he uses to hide it, and the climactic scene in which the mask is torn off to reveal his true face, are all strongly reminiscent of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera.
• The Doctor wears a deerstalker hat, the characteristic headgear of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes.
• The giant rat is reminiscent of animals grown to enormous size in the H.G. Wells novel Food of the Gods. It also may be another Holmes reference, since there is a famous reference to a never-told mystery involving "the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared."
• Li H'sen Chang is reminiscent of Fu Manchu, the villain of a series of novels by Sax Rohmer.

Ratings

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Myths

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Location Filming

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Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

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Continuity

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DVD, Video, and Other Releases

DVD Releases

Released as Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang in a two disc set.

Released:

• Region 2 28th April 2003

PAL - BBC DVD BBCDVD1152

• Region 4 30th June 2003
• Region 1 7th October 2003

NTSC - Warner Video E1814

Contents:

• Whose Doctor Who Documentary - BBC Two documentary from 1977, presented by Melvyn Bragg.
• Blue Peter Theatre - Clips from various 1970s editions of the magazine show.
• Behind the Scenes - Footage from the studio recording of the story.
• Philip Hinchcliffe Interview - From a 1977 edition of Pebble Mill.
• Trailers/Continuities
• Photo Gallery
• Production Subtitles
• Easter Eggs (?/Voice over announcement)
• Commentary: Louise Jameson, Philip Hinchcliffe, David Maloney, John Bennett, and Christopher Benjamin.

Video Releases

Released as Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Released:

• UK November 1988

PAL - BBC Video BBCV4187

• US February 1988 (Movie Format)
• US March 1998 (Repackaged as part of The Gateway Collection and still in Movie Format)
• Australia April 1987 (Movie Format)

Notes: The video had some slight edits to remove material of the Doctor breaking and entering, as well as being edited into a movie-format.

Target Novelisations

• Novelised as Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang by Terrance Dicks in 1977.

External Links

• Episode entry on the BBC website
• Detailed synopsis at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• A Brief History of Time (Travel) - The Talons of Weng-Chiang
• Outpost Gallifrey