The Talons of Weng-Chiang

091 – *The Talons of Weng-Chiang*
091 – The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Doctor Who serial
Cast
	Doctor Tom Baker – Fourth Doctor;
	Companion Louise Jameson – Leela;
	Others Christopher Benjamin – Henry Gordon Jago; Trevor Baxter – Professor Litefoot; John Bennett – Li H'sen Chang; Deep Roy – Mr. Sin; Michael Spice – Weng-Chiang/Magnus Greel; Chris Gannon – Casey; Alan Butler – Buller; Tony Then – Lee; Vincent Wong – Ho; John Wu – Coolie; David McKail – Sergeant; Conrad Asquith – PC Quick; Judith Lloyd – Teresa; Vaune Craig-Raymond – Cleaning Woman; Penny Lister – Singer; Patsy Smart – Ghoul; Dudley Simpson – Conductor (uncredited);
Production
Directed by	David Maloney
Written by	Robert Holmes
Produced by	Philip Hinchcliffe
Music by	Dudley Simpson
Production code	4S
Series	Season 14
Running time	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast	26 February 1977
Last broadcast	2 April 1977
Chronology
← Preceded by; The Robots of Death	Followed by →; Horror of Fang Rock
	List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977.^[1] In the serial, which is set in 19th-century London, the 51st century criminal Magnus Greel (Michael Spice) travels to the city and poses as an ancient Chinese god to find his missing time machine.

Written by script editor Robert Holmes and directed by David Maloney, The Talons of Weng-Chiang was also the final serial to be produced by Philip Hinchcliffe, who had worked on the series for three seasons. One of the most popular serials from the series' original run on television, The Talons of Weng-Chiang has continued to receive acclaim from reviewers and it has been repeatedly voted one of the best stories by fans. Despite this, criticism has been directed towards the serial's stereotypical representation of Chinese characters and an unconvincing giant rat featured in the story.

The serial saw the debut of the characters Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot, portrayed by Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter; they would later reprise their roles in audio dramas produced by Big Finish, first in the 2009 The Companion Chronicles episode "The Mahogany Murderers", and then in their own spin-off series Jago & Litefoot from 2010 to 2018.

^ Debnath, Neela (21 September 2013). "Review of Doctor Who 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' (Series 14)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.

[TI-1] Debnath, Neela (21 September 2013). "Review of Doctor Who 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' (Series 14)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.

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