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

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:

Suicide Pill | Telephone Box | Eccentric | London | British

Cast

Tom Baker	...	The Doctor
Louise Jameson	...	Leela
John Bennett	...	Li H'sen Chang
Christopher Benjamin	...	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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Cannon	...	Passer by (uncredited)
Debby Cumming	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Bernard Price	...	(uncredited)
Richard Sheekey	...	Extra (uncredited)
Dudley Simpson	...	Orchestra Conductor (uncredited)
Vincent Wong	...	Ho (uncredited)

Directed by
David Maloney

Writing credits
Robert Holmes		(writer)

Produced by
Philip Hinchcliffe	....	producer

Film Editing by
David Lee

Production Design by
Roger Murray-Leach

Costume Design by
John Bloomfield

Makeup Department
Heather Stewart	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Christopher D'Oyly John	....	unit production manager (as Chris D'Oyly-John)

Sound Department
Clive Gifford	....	studio sound
Vic Godrich	....	o.b. sound
Dick Mills	....	special sound

Visual Effects by
Michael John Harris	....	visual effects designer (as Michealjohn Harris)
Bernard Lodge	....	title sequence

Stunts
Stuart Fell	....	fight arranger

Camera and Electrical Department
Fred Hamilton	....	film camera
Mike Jefferies	....	studio lighting
John Mason	....	o.b. lighting

Music Department
Ron Grainer	....	composer: title music
Dudley Simpson	....	composer: incidental music

Other crew
Ros Anderson	....	production assistant
John Gatland	....	film recordist
Robert Holmes	....	script editor (uncredited)

Other Companies

• BBC Radiophonic Workshop, The  title music

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Clink Street, Southwark, London, England, UK

Trivia:

According to an interview with Deep Roy, Johnny Depp frequently calls this his all-time favorite serial in Doctor Who.

Quotes:

Leela: This is a big village.
The Doctor: Yes.
Leela: What's the name of the tribe here?
The Doctor: Cockneys.

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!