Season 14 comes to a close with an all-time classic story. The Talons of Weng-Chiang is regarded as one of the best stories of the 4th Doctor era and of the entire series overall. After having taken Leela to the future, he now takes her to turn of the 20th century London to battle a foe from the future. The BBC always did historical drama best and this story was right up their alley. The Doctor in his Sherlock Holmes deerstalker outfit. Leela in knickers then in a lovely gown is a well dressed fish out of water. The theme of her being an Eliza Dolittle character gets pushed over the top here. But you begin to see the 4th Doctor and Leela starting to really gel in this story.
The re-creation of turn of the century London is lovely and done so well. From the foggy streets, to the murky Thames, to the worn Palace theatre, the whole story is firmly wrapped in great locations. This story also has the honor of introducing two of the most memorable and beloved characters in Doctor Who history- Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot. An odd couple to the Nth degree, their meeting and eventual friendship of television magic. It is surprising that they never returned to television in either the classic series or even the new series. But thank the gods for Big Finish, who so wonderfully brought these characters back to life in their own audio series to success. They have even been reunited with the 4th Doctor and Leela, on separate occasions.
The rest of the cast of antagonists form a delicious trio of evil. Magnus Greel d/b/a Weng-Chiang, Li H'sen Chang, and Mr. Sin. Magnus is so OTT is funny. Chang actually turns out to be a sympathetic character just being controlled and used by Magnus. And Mr Sin is just evil. From beginning to end, this story is packed with such great characters it is no wonder this is an all-time classic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talons_of_Weng-Chiang
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