The real face of Weng-Chiang is revealed as the Doctor, Leela, Jago and Litefoot face their final battle against both Magnus Greel and a trigger-happy Mr Sin.The real face of Weng-Chiang is revealed as the Doctor, Leela, Jago and Litefoot face their final battle against both Magnus Greel and a trigger-happy Mr Sin.The real face of Weng-Chiang is revealed as the Doctor, Leela, Jago and Litefoot face their final battle against both Magnus Greel and a trigger-happy Mr Sin.
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Holmes
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Donald Wilson(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia"Weng-Chiang" was originally going to be the Master, following on from The Deadly Assassin, but Philip Hinchcliffe had this changed as he didn't want to have the Master revealed as the secret villain again. Robert Holmes agreed that using him once that season was enough. There are several clues in the story that still point to the original plan: the time cabinet ("read 'TARDIS'") and Greel referring to Leela as "the first morsel to feed my regeneration".
- GoofsThe Doctor mistakenly states that 'The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God' was written by Harry Champion in 1920. The poem, by J. Milton Hayes, was first published in 1911.
- Quotes
Doctor Who: Never trust a man with dirty fingernails.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Lively Arts: Whose Dr. Who (1977)
Featured review
S14: Talons of Weng-Chiang: Quite engaging blend of content despite some issues
After watching this serial it was interesting to read that it is generally considered amongst the great Doctor Who stories. I was glad to be able to watch the serial without this pressure, because maybe I would have been disappointed, or surprised, because personally so far I confess it would be one of the serials that leaps to mind as being a favorite so far. That said, it is still and enjoyable and engaging one.
Part of this is it being a blend of content, from Victorian England through to mysticism and more normal sci-fi elements. The story has plenty of colorful characters too, while the horror elements are mostly nicely done. It probably didn't need 6 episodes to tell the tale, but at the same time there is just about enough going on to prevent it feeling slow and padded (mostly). The sense of humor remains too, and Baker leads on this well. Jameson is enjoyable as Leela – out of her skimpies in this one, but still manages to get into soaking wet clothes for a bit. That element aside, she is a strong character – not the most nuanced perhaps, but not just screaming waiting for help. In support Benjamin, Baxter, Bennett, Spice and even Roy are good value – albeit the latter being an issue to watch with modern eyes.
The element of racism in his character (or rather caricature) is unavoidable; not just in the delivery, but also in the writing – normally the Doctor is all about the oppressed minorities when the serial has that as its moral message on a far-away world. Here though he is not fussed by anyone's insensitiveness. To be fair, although it is hard not to feel uncomfortable with the portrayal of the Chinese, I think it is more that all the support are caricatures – cockney, posh old English colonist, etc, albeit that the Chinese is along racial lines. The other weakness is smaller, which is the giant rat; as an idea it is good and it is pretty intimidating, but the visual reality is less impressive when it interacts with people.
I'll stay out of the debate about the 'classicness' of this serial, but it was certainly enjoyable for a variety of reasons.
Part of this is it being a blend of content, from Victorian England through to mysticism and more normal sci-fi elements. The story has plenty of colorful characters too, while the horror elements are mostly nicely done. It probably didn't need 6 episodes to tell the tale, but at the same time there is just about enough going on to prevent it feeling slow and padded (mostly). The sense of humor remains too, and Baker leads on this well. Jameson is enjoyable as Leela – out of her skimpies in this one, but still manages to get into soaking wet clothes for a bit. That element aside, she is a strong character – not the most nuanced perhaps, but not just screaming waiting for help. In support Benjamin, Baxter, Bennett, Spice and even Roy are good value – albeit the latter being an issue to watch with modern eyes.
The element of racism in his character (or rather caricature) is unavoidable; not just in the delivery, but also in the writing – normally the Doctor is all about the oppressed minorities when the serial has that as its moral message on a far-away world. Here though he is not fussed by anyone's insensitiveness. To be fair, although it is hard not to feel uncomfortable with the portrayal of the Chinese, I think it is more that all the support are caricatures – cockney, posh old English colonist, etc, albeit that the Chinese is along racial lines. The other weakness is smaller, which is the giant rat; as an idea it is good and it is pretty intimidating, but the visual reality is less impressive when it interacts with people.
I'll stay out of the debate about the 'classicness' of this serial, but it was certainly enjoyable for a variety of reasons.
helpful•22
- bob the moo
- Jul 1, 2016
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