The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Notes

For conversion into full article:

• Great murder/mystery story.
• Incredibly racist portrayal of Chinese people, reminiscent of It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Short Circuit (both portrayals of Indian characters but the point is the same).
• 'Well they were Chinese ruffians' - said by the Doctor, who usually sticks up for marginalised and oppressed groups.
• 'Giant' rat is probably one of the worst effects in the whole of Doctor Who.
• Doctor specifically requests a gun, which is very out of character. As recently as the previous story, The Robots of Death, he states that he never carries weapons: 'If people see you mean them no harm, they never hurt you - nine times out of ten.' Likewise in Pyramids of Mars he states that he 'never carries firearms'.
• Litefoot and Jago are great temporary companions, and reappear in the Virgin New Adventures, BBC Eight Doctor Adventures (Litefoot only) and Big Finish audiobooks.
• Leela refers to Chang as 'the yellow one'. Possibly this fits with her character, who isn't necessarily aware of different human races, but still a cringeworthy line.
• Neither Leela nor the Doctor appear to be bothered about having wandered around in the sewers, despite the toxic gases and Leela clearly having been in skin contact with raw sewage.
• Leela's response of 'you asked me so you can tell me' to the Doctor's question of 'do you know what this is?' shows that she doesn't always fall for things the Doctor says, and is a nod towards the companion's role as asking the questions which the audience are thinking.

Elsewhere

The following podcast episodes have concentrated wholly or primarily on The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

• Krynoid Podcast: Episode 103