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The Talons of Weng-Chiang Format Reviewed: DVD Review The Talons of Weng-Chiang is typical of some of the best stories of this era, in that the theme of gothic horror is followed and a sinister mood created throughout. This story though perhaps is generally considered to be one of the best examples of the gothic style within Doctor Who, and alongside Pyramids of Mars ably demonstrates the the brilliance of the BBC in producing drama of this kind. The Doctor takes Leela to 19th century London to go to the theatre to learn about her ancestors. They hear a scream though as a man is being murdered, and aprahend a Chinese man who is leaving the scene. The Chinese man kills himself when his interpreter, Li Hsen Chang (a ventriloquist and magician performing locally), gives him a pill of concentrated scorpion venom. It is then revealed that Chang is working for his master, Weng-Chiang to recover his time cabinet. To sustain himself, Weng-Chiang needs to distil the life force of young Humans, hence the disappearance of many girls. Everything centers around the Palace Theatre, and once the cabinet is located at Police coroner Professor Litefoot's house Weng-Chiang abondons Chang and retrieves the cabinet himself. They repair to their headquarters, and The Doctor, Leela, Litefoot and Palace Theatre proprietor Henry Gordon Jago follow. Weng-Chiang is eventually trapped in his own life force distilation unti and dies. The Doctor and Leela then return to the TARDIS in the London fog and leave. As mentioned previously, the gothic horror style of this story really does come off very well. The air of tension created throughout is truly terriffic and the director, David Manloney, should take a lot of credit. The locations chosen, and studio sets built really add to this tension, and shooting the location footage at night certainly helped. I suppose though, that period drama such as this is exactly what the BBC does best. By this stage, the dynamic between Tom Baker and Louise Jameson is quite set, and the characters of The Fourth Doctor and Leela are well defined. Both do admirable jobs here, and seem to revel in the period setting of this story. The casting in of the supporting actors here is also excellent, with John Bennett excellent as Chang, Christopher Benjamin delightful as Jago, and Trevor Baxter great as Professor Lightfoot. Nobody here does a poor job, and this is to the great credit of all involved. The only negative of this story, is that at one or two points the action does drag slightly. Perhaps this could have done with being an episode shorter overall, but in general this does not really get in the way of what is one of the best examples in the history of the classic series of Doctor Who. Credit must also be given to the author here. Robert Holmes had a massive part to play in the production of Doctor Who, being as he was the script editor and writer of this story. The themes and plots here are very well thought out, and is indicative of many of his other works on Doctor Who. Overall, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a terriffic story that has really stood the test of time. This perhaps due to the fact that this is in effect a period drama, in some of the best traditions of the BBC. The mood and tone of the story is pitched perfectly throughout, and the sinister air of tension is held from the opening to the close. It is perhaps one episode too long, but is in essence a wonderful example of Doctor Who in the 1970's. Rating:  |