
The Talons of Weng Chiang DVD
Number of Discs: 2
DVD Number: BBCDVD1152
Certification: PG
Duration: 98 minutes
Release Date: 28 April 2003
Women of Victorian London fall prey to an unknown menace, while monstrous terrors lurk in the sewers under the city. Chinese gangs scurry in the dank fog, and a sinister stage magician seeks to serve his mysterious master. The Doctor and Leela arrive, only to find themselves plunged into a series of macabre horrors…
These stories originally shown. 26/02/77 – 02/04/77
Producer: Philip Hinchcliffe
Directed by: David Maloney
Disc 1
Commentary
Commentary by Louise Jameson (Leela), John Bennett (Li H’Sen Chang), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), David Maloney (director), Philip Hinchcliffe (producer). Recorded 05/01/03. (2003)
Production Subtitles
Text commentary by Martin Wiggins providing cast details, script development and other information related to the production of this story.
Disc 2
Whose Doctor Who
The day after the final episode was transmitted, BBC2 screened this special documentary in The Lively Arts series. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, this was the first television documentary to look back on the history of Doctor Who and explore the social background of the series and its appeal to viewers. It also looked behind-the-scenes at the making of the Talons of Weng-Chiang. Featuring: Tom Baker, Dick Mills, David Maloney, Dudley Simpson, Philip Hinchcliffe, Roger Murray-Leach, John Bloomfield (Costume Designer), Gerry Scott (Costume Assistant), Michael Spice, Heather Stuart (Make-up), Terrance Dicks (Writer), Graham Williams (Producer), Robert Holmes (Script Editor). Viewers: Caron Scott, Rosemary Matthews, Keith Hewett (Educationalist), Caspar Hewett, Dr. Eric Sherwood Jones (Consultant Physician), Kenneth Bailey (Educationalist), Elizabeth Fiberry (Student), Elizabeth Matthews, Donna Savage, Dean Boreham, Tina Sullivan, Nicholas Bishop, Ronald Matthews (Teacher), John Miller (Educational Psychologist), Ann Miller (Student), David Scott (Student), Sister Norma Wilson, Sister Margaret Rogerson, Helen Dickinson (Student). Including clips from: The Web Planet, An Unearthly Child, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Three Doctors, Robot, Terror of the Zygons, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Mind Robber, Planet of the Spiders, Genesis of the Daleks, The Time Warrior, The Claws of Axos, The Invasion, The Seeds of Death, Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, The Hand of Fear, The Seeds of Doom, Pyramids of Mars, The Monster of Peladon, The Krotons, The Space Museum, The Brain of Morbius, The Mind of Evil, The Dæmons, Planet of the Daleks, The Face of Evil, Galaxy 4. Credits: Introduced by Melvynn Bragg; Consultant: Terrance Dicks; Research: Ben Shephard, Bridget Cave; Dubbing Mixer: Richard King; Film Recordist: Dick Manton; Film Cameraman: Philip Bonham-Carter; Videotape Editor: Sam Upton; Film Editor: David Martin; Executive Producer: Bill Morton; Producer: Tony Cash. (58’45” | 4:3 | 1977)
Behind the Scenes
A fascinating 25-minute glimpse into the studio recording sessions for the story, courtesy of a timecoded Shibaden tape made by the production office and retained to this day in a private collection. (24’01” | 4:3 | 1977)
Blue Peter Theatre
A compilation of material from the long-running children’s magazine programme. A 1974 edition features a strike-bound Blue Peter team having to leave their usual studio and present the programme from the set of the first Tom Baker story, Robot. Plus a series of features from 1977 in which the team make a Doctor Who theatre, complete with sets and monsters, and, with the help of sound man Dick Mills, show how viewers can make their own sound effects to accompany the performance. Featuring: Valerie Singleton, John Noakes, Peter Purves, Lesley Judd. (26’01” | 4:3 | 1974/1977)
Pebble Mill at One: Philip Hinchliffe
In an interview for daytime magazine programme Pebble Mill at One in 1977, series producer Philip Hinchcliffe discusses with David Seymour his work on Doctor Who, and the possible effects of the portrayal of on-screen violence. (11’31” | 4:3 | 1977)
Trails and Continuities
A selection of off-air continuity announcements from the original BBC1 transmission. (2’29” | 4:3 | 1977)
TARDIS-Cam No.6
The last-ever model sequence from BBCi. 3D Modelling & Animation: Nick Sainton-Clark; Digital Compositing: Ian Simpson; Audio Design: Mark Ayres; Series Editor: Jamie Cason; Commissioning Editor: Martin Trickey; Executive Producer: Richard Fell; Producer: James Goss. (1’44” | 16:9 | 2003)
Photo Gallery
A selection of rare and previously unpublished photographs from the recording of this story. (3’26” | 4:3 | 2003)
Easter Egg
Clean Main Title Sequence (Seasons 12-17). Go to the ‘Special Features’ menu. Click on the hidden Doctor Who logo to the left of the ‘Trails and Continuity’. (0’43” | 4:3 | 1974)
Region 1 Exclusives
Howard Da Silva Intros
Howard Da Silva syndicated Time-Life introductions and closings narrations. Produced by T.J. Lubinsky. (20’11” | 4:3 | 1978)
Additional Special Features
Roger Murray-Leach Interview
The designer of the Ark in Space, Roger Murray-Leach, looks back on his contribution to this and other stories (The Sontaran Experiment, Planet of Evil, The Deadly Assassin, ‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’) in this specially recorded interview. Interviewer: Peter Finklestone; Videotape Editor: Adam Trotman; Producer: Paul Vanezis. Available on The Ark in Space. (10’29” | 4:3 | 2002)
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