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TARDIS Guide

Review of The Talons of Weng-Chiang by silvertongue

27 October 2024

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, despite being a Doctor Who fan since the revival began when I was five, I only recently began watching the original series. I'm also sorry to say that I didn't see this until after listening to six series of Big Finish's ‘Jago & Litefoot’ (which is excellent).

As a ‘Jago & Litefoot’ fan witnessing their first meeting, I must say that this was just amazing. How thoroughly developed they were, and how prepared the infernal investigators were to assist the Doctor. And as someone with a regrettably limited attention span, I wasn't even bothered by the six episodes!

I can't bring up this story without pointing out the unfortunate and blatant anti-Chinese bigotry. It's (hopefully) obviously racist and disappointing that a White actor is wearing prosthetics to perform the role as our primary Chinese character. I've seen the argument to consider the episode in the context of the 70s, and while that might be accurate, it's difficult to support given how many of the extras are of real East Asian origin. It is brought down by that as well as the Doctor’s apparent indifference for the racist comments.

Apart from that, it's a great story. Can’t wait to listen to more ‘Jago & Litefoot’ finally knowing their origin story!