'Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng Chiang' (1977)

It's been a long time since I posted about a classic Doctor Who story (a quick look at the blog confirms that the last one of these posts was back in June for 'Paradise Towers', hardly a classic but you know what I mean...) and I've still got a few, that I haven't posted about, so figured it was about time that I got back into it. Not the best introduction to one of these posts then but it's all I have at the moment, I'll try and do better next time ;o)

'The Talons of Weng Chiang' is one of those stories that I missed when it first came out (to be fair, I wasn't quite one and a half years old by that point...) but read the novelisation quite a few years later. I never quite managed to watch the story though, even though my mate's Dad had them all on VHS, so when I saw it on DVD last week, well... couldn't say no really...

I watched 'The Talons of Weng Chiang' last night and while there's a lot to recommend it, in other ways it's a story that hasn't aged well at all...

Stepping out of the Tardis into Victorian London, Leela and the Doctor are confronted by menacing, diabolical horrors shrouded within the swirling London fog - a man's death cry, an attack by Chinese Tong hatchet men, giant rats roaming the sewers, young women mysteriously disappearing...

The hideously deformed Magnus Greel, conducting a desperate search for the lost Time Cabinet, is the instigator of all this evil. Posing as the Chinese god Weng-Chiang, Greel uses the crafty Chang, and the midget manikin Mr Sin to achieve his terrifying objectives. The Doctor must use all his skill, energy, and intelligence to escape the talons of Weng-Chiang.

Lets deal with the negative bits first, mostly because I don't want to look like I'm burying these bits under all the good stuff (and there is a lot of good stuff to enjoy in 'Talons'). I'm giving the particularly unconvincing giant rat a pass as it was 1977 and classic Dr Who has never really felt like it had a lot of budget to back it up (back in the day). And it's not like you really see much of it anyway, it's more of a suggestion of a shape in some appropriately murky sewers. I'd say that's the perfect use for it and maybe it's more than a little unfair to poke too much fun at it.

The representation of the Chinese people in the story though, that's not so cool. Not cool at all in fact. You can make an argument that if you have a story that heavily features Chinese gangsters, they will come across negatively on the screen, that's more or less the whole point when they're the villains. You could say that but there's room here for a more balanced approach and 'Talons' ignores the opportunity, choosing instead to play to racial stereotypes in the interests of the story. The seventies were clearly a different time and while these conversations should have been had, they weren't had at all. The end result is a story that makes for slightly awkward viewing today.

If that wasn't bad enough, you've also got Li H'sen Chang being played by a white man (John Bennett). Now, maybe they just couldn't find a Chinese actor but the end result is still a heavily made up white guy playing to those stereotypes again and it's not a good fit at all.

Slightly awkward viewing then which is a real shame because the rest of the story comes across amazingly well on the screen. 'The Talons of Weng Chiang' is a potent mixture of detective and horror story, all played out in smoky theatres and some deliciously atmospheric foggy London streets. There is a lovely 'penny dreadful' vibe to this story, the mystery is a compelling one and the move from investigation to dramatic conclusion feels just right, carried out over six episodes.

Michael Spice's Magnus Greel doesn't do an awful lot, other than shout his lines, but still comes across as a worthy antagonist, more than likely due to Tom Baker delivering some well timed backstory with a healthy dose of gravitas. I also really enjoyed how Leela's warrior nature kept landing her in difficulty but was well suited to the challenges that kept springing from the dark and the fog. Special mention, and my absolute favourite character, has to go to the Peking Homunculus itself, Mr. Sin as played by Deep Roy. You always knew there was someone in that outfit but it was still ever so slightly terrifying to watch him just stand up and go on another murderous rampage.

So, 'The Talons of Weng Chiang' ended up being a real story of two halves, slightly awkward viewing (these days) but a gripping story at the same time. Overall, I'm glad that I've finally seen 'The Talons of Weng Chiang' but I'm not sure if it's a story that I'd hurry back and watch again...