Doctor Who-Talons of Weng-Chiang, The (1977)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Audio Commentary Informational Subtitles Featurette-Whose Doctor Who Featurette-Behind The Scenes Featurette-Blue Peter Theatre Featurette-Philip Hinchcliffe Interview Featurette-Trails and Continuity Featurette-Tardis Cam No.6 Gallery-Photo Easter Egg-Extended Opening Titles
Rating
Year Of Production	1977
Running Time	144:05 (Case: 235)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (71:14) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	David Maloney
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Tom Baker Louise Jameson Trevor Baxter Christopher Benjamin John Bennett Michael Spice Deep Roy Chris Gannon Penny Lister
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$49.95	Music	Ron Grainer Dudley Simpson

    The Talons of Weng-Chiang is the last story in the 14th season of Doctor Who which ended in April, 1977. It is the 17th title starring the 4th Doctor Tom Baker and is considered to be one of his best. I have seen the Talons of Weng-Chiang many times on both network and pay TV and was eager to see how it fared on DVD. I was not disappointed.

    The Doctor (Tom Baker) and and his assistant Leela (Louise Jameson) journey to London during the late 1800s to attend the theatre. This is Leela's first time on Earth. While on their way to the theatre they witness an abduction. Leela, being a warrior of the Sevateem, has no trouble apprehending one of the Chinese abductors.

    Upon arrival of the police, the Doctor learns this is just one of many recent abductions in the area. He makes the acquaintance of the police pathologist Professor Lightfoot (Trevor Baxter) and learns of other strange events. The Doctor's investigations lead him to explore the sewers which run directly beneath the Palace Theatre, close to where most of the disappearances have occurred.

    The Doctor's suspicions are aroused by the Palace Theatre's headliner act, a Chinese magician by the name of Li H'sen Chang (John Bennett). To keep an eye on him, the Doctor enlists the help of the Theatre's owner, Henry Gordon Jago (Christopher Benjamin). His suspicions prove correct, only Chang and his Ventriloquist dummy Sin (Deep Roy) are not the masterminds behind the mystery, but merely pawns of the so-called Chinese God Weng-Chiang (Michael Spice).

    All is not as it seems - the storyline and some of the characters go through many twists and turns before their real motives are revealed. Once again the Doctor must stop a madman from destroying the universe.

    I could reveal more but it is best for you to check it out for yourself. I will say that the one and only disappointment is the appearance of the 'ferocious' giant man-eating rat. It looks more like a child's fluffy toy.

Video

    The video transfer excellent, though not of reference standard.

    The transfer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, Full Frame.

    The transfer is exceptionally clear and sharp. On rare occasions the transfer suffers from grain. This is particularly noticeable during smoky street scenes. Many scenes occur in exceedingly dark locations. The amount of detail visible in the shadows is outstanding. There was no apparent low level noise.

    There were no visible MPEG or film-to-video artefacts. Film artefacts were also very rare, with the only noticeable ones at 2:37 during the second episode.

    This is an RSDL disc and the layer change occurs at 71:14, between Episodes three and four.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is above average, but would have been improved by being mixed into 5.1.

    There are two audio tracks available. The default track is 2.0 channel (192 kbps) mono Dolby Digital soundtrack. The second track is an entertaining commentary which is also 2.0 (192 kbps) Dolby Digital.

    The dialogue is clear and easily understood throughout, including Li H'sen Chang's (John Bennett's) poor Chinese accent. There are no audio sync issues with this DVD.

    The now-classic Doctor Who title score was written by Ron Grainer and performed by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It sets the mood and excitement level for any true Doctor Who fan. The episode music was written by Dudley Simpson and adds considerably to the overall atmosphere and feel of the story, though at time the music is a little predictable and stereotypical for Doctor Who stories.

    As only a 2 channel track is included there was no use made of the surround speakers or subwoofer.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There is an excellent range of entertaining extras included on this 2 DVD set.

Menu Animation & Audio

    The menu system is accompanied by scene snippets from the story, containing both video and audio. Different snippets are shown on the two discs.

Audio Commentary

    The audio commentary was quite entertaining, featuring the Director (David Maloney), the Producer (Philip Hinchcliffe), Leela (Louise Jameson), Henry Gordon Jago (Christopher Benjamin) and Li H'sen Chang (John Bennett).

Informational Subtitles

    These subtitles detail trivia information about the story as it happens on the screen. Quite an interesting feature, especially for the real Doctor Who enthusiast.

Whose Doctor Who

    This "made for TV" special was aired in 1977 after the end of Dr Who's 13th season, when the Doctor Who series was at the height of its popularity. It explains some of the origins of The Doctor and the mythology behind the show. Particular attention is paid to the many creatures that appear in the series and the effect they have on the Doctor's legions of younger fans. The featurette runs for 58:39.

Behind The Scenes

    The video and audio quality of this featurette is very poor. At times, the sound is barely audible and the video quality is no better. Run time is 23:58.

Blue Peter Theatre

    This is another "made for TV" special. A group of English celebrities of the day show children how to make their own Doctor Who theatre, construct the characters and make a story with sound effects and more. This featurette shows just how popular the series was during the 1970s. Run time is 25:58.

Philip Hinchcliffe Interview

    This is a talk show interview with the then producer of the Doctor Who series, Philip Hinchcliffe. Run time is 11:29.

Trails and Continuity

    This featurette contains mostly TV ads, spots and voice-overs for the Doctor Who series. Run time is 2:28.

Tardis Cam No.6

This is a computer graphics generated look at the Tardis as it flies through time and space. Run time is 1:40.

Gallery-Photo

    Images of the cast during different scenes of the Talons of Weng-Chiang story. Run time is 3:20.

Easter Egg-Extended Opening Titles

    The Easter Egg shows an extended opening title sequence for the show. Run time is 0:40.

    As far as we can tell, the Region 4 DVD is identical to the Region 2 release.

    The Talons of Weng-Chiang is one of the top 10 Doctor Who stories and has been given the transfer to DVD that it deserves. It has a good range of interesting extras. The video is excellent with only minor flaws and the audio is more than acceptable, but a 5.1 audio track, as on the Resurrection of the Daleks DVD, would have been appreciated. All Doctor Who fans should rush out and get this 2 DVD set.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall