The Talons Of Weng-Chiang (1977) Review

Wait, are people not supposed to eat like that? I eat like that all the time.

The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is a fabulous Victorian adventure and a return to the wonderful, nuanced stories we saw in the previous season. It's a terrific romp.

PLOT

On their way to the theatre, the Doctor and Leela get embroiled into the plottings of the mysterious Weng-Chiang, who is trapped in Victorian London and is attempting to obtain the coroner professor Litefoot's Time Cabinet in order to escape back to the future(happy BTTF day!)

ANALYSIS

It's simply astounding how much quality this production oozes out of its every moment. Every character is played perfectly, every bit of dialogue is full of wit, balanced perfectly with a quaint charm. The direction is so good it almost hurts(edit: Just checked the Wikipedia, and of course it's our old friend David Maloney at the helm. I should have known). Everything is taken into account, every camera move is masterful. The new series has so much money going into it... why can't it achieve the same thing?

CHARACTERS

Weng-Chiang/Magnus Greel is portrayed by Michael "He who controls the Spice, controls the universe" and although his character is completely different, his performance is just as captivating. 
Unlike the calm Sutekh, Weng-Chiang is a complete lunatic, spitting out fury with every line. But instead of coming across as over-the-top(read: Omega), Weng-Chiang is actually kind of likable. Spice plays it in a way that makes you feel for this guy, because he's raging against things he cannot change, choosing to ignore reality for his own delusions and that's very human.
Very interestingly, Weng-Chiang originates from the 51st century and is avoiding Time Agents(Big Finish, I expect a Harkness-Greel crossover from you!).

He is assisted by the honorbound genius Chang(a magician) and his creepy as hell pig robot Mr. Sin(we're getting into Moffat territory here with that guy). 
Chang is a particularly interesting character and very well played by John Bennett. He is led primarily by honor and when Weng-Chiang lets him down, he succumbs to death in an opium daze. A wonderful send-off for a wonderfully mysterious man.

Jago, the boisterous circus director and the mild-mannered, but moral Litefoot make such a wonderful double team, easily the best one Robert Holmes ever concocted.

I also really liked poor Casey, the circus handyman and his relationship with Jago. It's a shame he died. He was such an honest bloke.

NOTES

*The key to the Time Cabinet looks like candy.

*This story is bizarrely racist and not racist at the same time. The Doctor casually(and unironically) refers to the Chinese as "little people" whilst Chang comments that "I believe we all look the same to you." Just weird.

*The story could've been tighter, to be honest. I feel like they made it longer just to make it feel more like reading a book and so they could squeeze money out of the whole thing(which I don't blame them for). The whole giant rat thing came out of nowhere. What even happened to those?

*Why is the Doctor so shocked about how beautiful Leela looks in the dress? He's never reacted this way before and she's not even showing any skin!

*What exactly WAS Mr. Sin? If he had a pig's mind, how was he able to think? How did he end up with Greel anyway?

*And if Mr. Sin was such a bloodthirsty monster, why did he agree to work as Chang's ventriloquist dummy?

*And what was with the blood on his hand? Did he go out on nightly murder sprees? Was he hurt? 

*When the Doctor empties his pockets, one of the first things he takes out is a piece of red piping, which I'm pretty sure he also had in his pockets in Genesis Of The Daleks.

*Just checked online and it turns out the guy playing Mr. Sin is the same who played all the Oompa-Loompas in the Tim Burton Charlie And The Chocolate Factory!!

*He also plays Scotty's hilarious midget friend in the new Star Trek movies!!

*AND he appeared in Return Of The Jedi as one of Jabba's band members! Holy pancakes, that's what you call a resume!

*I've talked a lot of praise for Weng-Chiang, but there is one thing that lets him down: his facial make-up. Now, it's only seen in one scene(apart from that, he always has a mask on), but doesn't look scary at all, it looks like he has a lot cream on his face to be honest. Even his facial expression is kind of hilarious. It made for a good cliffhanger though.

*Speaking of cliffhangers, one of my favourites yet is the one where Weng-Chiang disappears into the night with the Time Cabinet. It's just excellently executed and right at the proper time too, when it appears everything is safe and the Doctor and Leela are alright.

BEST QUOTE

"Sounds healthy, but exceedingly dull." - Professor Litefoot's reaction to hearing Leela is from a place that doesn't know tobacco.

CONCLUSION

A spectacular romp with a splendid, authentic-looking production. Atmospheric and creepy, yet never fear... Jago and Litefoot are near!