{"id":320,"date":"2011-02-20T00:00:10","date_gmt":"2011-02-20T05:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/?p=320"},"modified":"2011-02-19T23:06:35","modified_gmt":"2011-02-20T04:06:35","slug":"the-talons-of-weng-chiang-doctor-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/320\/the-talons-of-weng-chiang-doctor-who\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Talons of Weng-Chiang\u2019 \u2014 \u201cDoctor Who\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

~ Terror in the Fog ~
\n<\/span><\/h1>\n

In \u2018The Talons of Weng-Chi\u00adang\u2019<\/em><\/a>, the Fourth Doc\u00adtor and Leela encounter a mys\u00adtery with extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary pro\u00adpor\u00adtions in Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan Lon\u00addon, involv\u00ading miss\u00ading women, a stage magi\u00adcian and his malev\u00ado\u00adlent dum\u00admy assis\u00adtant, Chi\u00adnese tongs, a mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous Ori\u00aden\u00adtal cab\u00adi\u00adnet, a crip\u00adpled war crim\u00adi\u00adnal from the future and a giant rat.<\/p>\n

Descrip\u00adtion:<\/em> The Fourth Doc\u00adtor<\/a> (Tom Bak\u00ader<\/a>) wants to show Leela<\/a> (Louise Jame\u00adson<\/a>) her human his\u00adto\u00adry and so brings her to Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan Eng\u00adland. That serves as the basis for a detec\u00adtive game of cat and mouse as the Doc\u00adtor and Leela (and their assis\u00adtants pathol\u00ado\u00adgist Pro\u00adfes\u00adsor Lite\u00adfoot (Trev\u00ader Bax\u00adter<\/a>) and the\u00adater manger Hen\u00adry Gor\u00addon Jago (Christop\u00ader Ben\u00adjamin<\/a>)) inves\u00adti\u00adgate a mug\u00adging and a mur\u00adder, strange hap\u00adpen\u00adings at the Palace The\u00adater and a series of miss\u00ading young women (and one irate man whose wife was one of the missing).<\/p>\n

Seem\u00ading at the cen\u00adter of the mys\u00adtery is Lu H\u2019sen Chang (John Ben\u00adnet<\/a>), a pop\u00adu\u00adlar Chi\u00adnese stage magi\u00adcian per\u00adform\u00ading at the Palace The\u00adater. It was Chang who hyp\u00adno\u00adtized Jago into for\u00adget\u00adting impor\u00adtant infor\u00adma\u00adtion that implied that some\u00adthing foul was hap\u00adpen\u00ading at his the\u00adater, it is Chang who com\u00admands the Chi\u00adnese tong who car\u00adry out the desires of his mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous mas\u00adter, and it is his respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty to obtain the young women his mas\u00adter needs to main\u00adtain himself.<\/p>\n

The true vil\u00adlain is Mag\u00adnus Greel (Michael Spice<\/a>), the Butch\u00ader of Bris\u00adbane of World War VI, a war\u00adlord from the 51st<\/sup> Cen\u00adtu\u00adry. He used an exper\u00adi\u00admen\u00adtal form of time trav\u00adel to escape to the 19th<\/sup> Cen\u00adtu\u00adry to avoid jus\u00adtice. Accom\u00adpa\u00adny\u00ading him was Mr. Sin, the Peking Homuncu\u00adlus, an assas\u00adsi\u00adna\u00adtion weapon in the form of a dum\u00admy mask\u00ading a sophis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded mech\u00ada\u00adnism using a pig\u2019s brain for con\u00adtrol. Greel\u2019s body is suf\u00adfer\u00ading a degen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtive con\u00addi\u00adtion caused by the time trav\u00adel, and needs the life force of young humans to sus\u00adtain him\u00adself. He is also look\u00ading for his Time Cab\u00adi\u00adnet (which is in the pos\u00adses\u00adsion of Lite\u00adfoot) so that he find anoth\u00ader, more suit\u00adable time peri\u00adod. What he does\u00adn\u2019t know is that using the Time Cab\u00adi\u00adnet would result in not only his death but the destruc\u00adtion of Lon\u00addon itself.<\/p>\n

The Doc\u00adtor is able to par\u00adlay own\u00ader\u00adship of the \u201ctri\u00adon\u00adic lat\u00adtice\u201d which is the Time Key to the Time Cab\u00adi\u00adnet into a con\u00adfronta\u00adtion with Greel, where he explains that he is aware of his iden\u00adti\u00adty, much to the dis\u00adbe\u00adlief of Greel, and final\u00adly man\u00adages to force the vil\u00adlain into his own extrac\u00adtion device, putting an end to his career. He also removes Dr. Sin\u2019s \u201cfuse\u201d, deac\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading the homuncu\u00adlus. And, with the threat over, the Doc\u00adtor offers to buy every\u00adone muffins.<\/p>\n

Com\u00admen\u00adtary:<\/em> Hyp\u00adno\u00adsis as tele\u00adpath\u00adic con\u00adtrol, with the added flair of glow\u00ading, flick\u00ader\u00ading eyes on the part of Chang. (Not the best of spe\u00adcial effects but remem\u00adber, this was a 70\u2019s BBC pro\u00adduc\u00adtion.) Its pow\u00ader\u00adful enough to drawn its vic\u00adtims back to the the\u00adater after being entranced hours ear\u00adli\u00ader, or to enthrall a vic\u00adtim almost imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly, which Chang uses to obtain vic\u00adtims for his mas\u00adter or to pre\u00advent Jago from being too curi\u00adous. Even the Doc\u00adtor uses it, to clear Chang\u2019s pre\u00advi\u00adous con\u00adtrol of Jago.<\/p>\n

[amtap amazon:asin=B0000AGQ27]<\/p>\n

[amtap book:isbn=0426119371]<\/p>\n

[amtap book:isbn=1852861444]<\/p>\n

Rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> Def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded. One of the best Tom Bak\u00ader episodes, with Leela tak\u00ading a major part in the sto\u00adry, which is always a good thing: her wide-eyed won\u00adder at the strange\u00adness of Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan Lon\u00addon as well as her hunt\u00ading instincts all play a wel\u00adcome part here. The addi\u00adtion of Lite\u00adfoot and Jago as sup\u00adport\u00ading char\u00adac\u00adters is also a plus, as they evolve from sim\u00adple com\u00ade\u00addy relief or expo\u00adsi\u00adtion\u00adal char\u00adac\u00adters to real par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpants in the sto\u00adry. Even Chang devel\u00adops as a char\u00adac\u00adter, not a typ\u00adi\u00adcal thing for the vil\u00adlain of the sto\u00adry. Add to the mix the well-writ\u00adten script by script edi\u00adtor Robert Holmes and atmos\u00adpher\u00adic direc\u00adtion of David Mal\u00adoney, not to men\u00adtion the atmos\u00adpher\u00adic sets and set\u00adting, and you have an excel\u00adlent production.<\/p>\n

Watch espe\u00adcial\u00adly for the con\u00adfronta\u00adtion scene between the Doc\u00adtor and Li H\u2019sen Chang at the the\u00adater, espe\u00adcial\u00adly when the Doc\u00adtor calm\u00adly chal\u00adlenges the magi\u00adcian: there is some\u00adthing going on between them there that you can almost feel through the screen.<\/p>\n

The one draw\u00adback is the mechan\u00adi\u00adcal rat, a very obvi\u00adous\u00adly-fake one. Of course, there had<\/em> to be one to fol\u00adlow the Holmes theme, and from a pure sto\u00adry aspect, it makes a very good men\u00adace, but the actu\u00adal pro\u00adduc\u00adtion was just so cheap it should have been left out. (Or maybe just sug\u00adgest\u00aded and shown only in shad\u00adow and darkness.)<\/p>\n

Triv\u00adia:<\/em><\/p>\n