The Talons of Weng-Chiang - Episode 3

As I approach the half way mark of the story, I am getting to the stage where the adventure starts to take its change in direction in plot terms. Leela is shown to throw a knife at Mr Sin’s neck and then jumps out of a window within the first two minutes of the episode. The idea that a companion is seen (or at least implied) throwing a knife at someone even a villain is something that I am not sure whetehr I think should have been done. Even though Leela is a savage and doesn’t behave like Jo Grant or Ian Chesterton, its still something that perhaps didn’t need to be seen. Jamie was perhaps a bit more likely to be fighting back than most companions but even he didn’t do what Leela did. Leela is quite active in this episode and she is separated from the Doctor so that means that Professor Litefoot is the one that becomes his side-kick. Leela replaces a woman that has been hypnotised and is taken down to the sewers where Weng-Chiang is hiding.

In fact this is more Leela’s episode than the Doctor’s as it doesn’t feel like the Doctor is used very much in this story. The closest that the Doctor comes to being active is when he’s talking to Litefoot in his lounge. Chang does the hypnotism thing again and this means the rather poor effect is used. That and the rat aside, the effects used in this story are all quite good and the production values are all top notch like I mentioned in the previous entry. The location filming is fantastic in this episode. It’s hard to believe that this was filmed in 1977 and I could watch an entire six part run with just location filming.

Leela has muscles like a horse according to Weng-Chiang. I think that the mask does help a lot to make him seem like an effective villain. Like most actors forced to work in a restrictive costume, Michael Spice does a good job moving around. I also think that John Bennett continues to do a great job with what is a rather watered down role. I cant quite make my mind up whether I am suppose to sympathise with the way that he is being treated or whether I am still suppose to dislike him. That is a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.

Unfortunately the episode is let down a little bit by the ending. Not only is the disappointing rat used again but Leela is made to do what the character shouldn’t be doing and that is screaming and wearing a costume that is even skimpier than her usual garment. It’s perhaps the characters poorest moment. Perhaps the only positive that can be taken from it is that Louise Jameson really makes it look like it’s a real rat as opposed to a cuddle rodent. It was clearly an early Roland Rat in Doctor Who!

Also on a final note, this is the 450^th episode of Doctor Who