Doctor Who (1963) 14.06.01

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - Part 1

Henry Gordon Jago, theater manager, witnesses a cab driver accuse Li-Hsen Chang, a magician, of abducting his wife. Chang tries unsuccessfully to talk some sense into the cabbie. The cabbie leaves promising to call the cops.

The Doctor and Leela arrive in London in the late 19th Century. They are on their way to the theater when they hear the cry of someone being attacked. They follow the sound and discover five Chinese men carrying a body. The men attack the Doctor when he starts asking questions. Leela joins the fight but she and the Doctor are outnumbered. Four of the men take off with the body after they hear a police whistle.

Leela restrains the fifth man until the police arrive. They go to the nearest police station where the Doctor gives a statement. The Chinese man doesn't speak English but the Doctor speaks Chinese. The man is reluctant to speak and the police won't let the Doctor conduct the interview since he was involved in the capture of the man.

Li-Hsen Chang arrives at the police station to help the police interrogate the man. He surreptitiously gives the man a police pill when no one is looking. The man takes in and dies.

The body that the Doctor and Leela saw being carried shows up in the Thames River. It is the body of the cab driver who was at the theater earlier that night asking about the whereabouts of his wife. The Doctor and Leela go to see Dr. Lightfoot, the coroner, who is confused by what his autopsy reveals. It seems that the man was killed with a knife but that his body was then mutilated by a very large rat.

The Doctor decides to investigate the sewers nearby. Leela follows along despite being told to stay behind. They climb down into the sewer where they are threatened by a very large rat.

Notes

Li-Hsen Chang is played by John Bennett, a white man dressed in yellow face. Bennett also appeared in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (DW-1963-11-02) where he played General Finch. He also appeared in I, Claudius; The Avengers; The Saint; and Danger Man.

Christopher Benjamin played Henry Gordon Jago. Benjamin also appeared in Inferno (DW-1963-07-04) and The Unicorn and the Wasp (DW-2005-04-07). He also appeared on The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Saint, The Avengers, and The Prisoner.

Thoughts

Leela is dressed much more sensibly in this story than she was in the last two. She is showing considerably less skin but is just as lethal.

I saw The Talons of Weng-Chiang for the first time in the early 1980s. I've seen it more than once but it has probably been more than 20 years since I last saw it. I may have taped it off of PBS in the 1980s and watched it that way in the 80s and 90s.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about this story as I once was. It is impossible to overlook the fact that there is a White man playing the part of a Chinese man in this story. The story is well put together. I like the humor. I look forward to the twists and turns that this story will take before it all plays out.