"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is one of the very best Doctor Who stories, a six-part adventure set in a gothic Victorian London inspired by The Phantom of the Opera and Sax Rohmer's tales of Fu Manchu, with nods toward Jack the Ripper, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes. The final story from the Golden Age of the show, Philip Hinchcliff's three-year tenure as producer, the tale boasts superior production values and a bizarre storyline involving a time-traveling war criminal, giant rats in the London sewers, and a malevolent ventriloquist's doll with the brain of a pig.

Awesome!!!

This was the first Doctor Who I ever watched and it got me HOOKED!!!!!

Doctor Who at its best

One of my favorite Doctor Who adventures. It is suitably creepy but fanciful, and the special effects are such that it can never be too scary. Who seems to be at its best when it blends Victorian England with monsters from the future. It gives it an H.G. Wells feel that is hard to beat.

I'm reliving my childhood with the Doctor Who DVDs!! It's better the second time around.

One of my favorite DW stories!

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is not only one of Tom Baker's finest outings as the Doctor, it's also one of the greatest Doctor Who adventures ever. I love this story! Baker is delightful as the Fourth Doctor, and Louise Jameson puts in a great performance as Leela. Her scenes as the primitive savage girl trying to fit into Victorian London society are priceless! "Talons" was scripted by the late Robert Holmes, who wrote many classic Who stories over the years, including Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, The Time Warrior, The Ark in Space, The Caves of Androzani and many others. His writing for this story owes much to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and The Phantom of the Opera. Holmes gives us three great villains in Li H'Sen Chang (John Bennett), the homonculous creature Mr. Sin (Deep Roy) and futuristic criminal Magnus Greel (Michael Spice), a.k.a. Weng-Chiang. Director David Maloney managed to get some great performances from his cast for this story, which was the last of Phillip Hinchcliffe's tenure as the show's producer. The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a brilliant DW adventure worthy of more than just a five-star rating.