Classic Dr Who. The Talons Of Weng Chiang: At the House of The Dragon.

(Originally posted on Nik Nak and Grub’s Who Peculiar, on 30 May 2011 21:46:00)

You know, I’ve GOT to admit, Grub, bless him, usually know’s what I’m talking about.

Usually.

Well …

Occasionally.

Well …

OK, nine times out of ten.

Ok, call it seven.

Ok, sevenish times out of ten.

I think …

At any rate, I do know he got my point that the Moffat helmed run of the show does has something of a Robert Holmes feel to it.

Not necessarily in every respect.

But certainly in its taste for the Grand Guignol.

Bless him …

He managed to hand me his recently purchased copy of vintage Tom Baker story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, yesterday, just to make the point he got mine.

Oh …

And because I’d happened ask him, of course …

My memory’s touch iffy: way too much beer, over the years’, combined with WAY too much nicotine gum, at the moment, I think.

At ANY rate … ?

I borrowed Grub’s copy of The Talons Of Weng Chiang, yesterday.

And I’ll be honest … ?

I think he’s spent some of his precious cash — Grub, bless him, tend to budget a lot better than I do, but is still on fairly limited means — on quite a buy.

Because he managed to bag the Special Edition version from Brentwood’s local Sainsburys, at what he tells me was a very good price.

Very good, indeed … !

»»•««

Bless him … !

And I’ll happily admit — very happily, in fact — that this version of The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is rather special indeed.

Now, I’ll happily confess, I’ve written about the story, before now. After all, The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is possibly one of the best loved of all the classic era Dr Who stories ever made.

But what caught my attention with the special edition version of the story … ?

Was the extra disc: complete with a quite a nice chunk of extra features.

Including a fascinating potted history of the Limehouse district of London, where so many Chinese sailors lived in the Victorian era.

Actually … ?

Not that many …

Seemingly … ?

Limehouse only ever had a Chinese population of about 200 or so, at it’s peak.

Amazing what you find out, watching this things, isn’t it … ?

At any rate … ?

Next time he’s around, I’ll see if I can persuade Grub to let us all know what he’s thinking of the Special Edition.

But for now … ?

I’ll leave you with what appear’s to be Robert Holmes First Law for Deranged 51st Century Villains: “Never Give a Simple Order when you get the chance for a full-on Rant … ”

Oh …

And leave you to have some dinner …