The serial that immediately preceded Horror of Fang Rock in the 4th Doctor and Leela's adventures was a six part serial widely regarded as one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of them all. Coming at a time when the show was at its most popular and producer Peter Hinchcliffe attempted to make Hammer Horror-esque stories for a family audience, The Talons of Weng-Chiang mashed up Arthur Conan Doyle and Sax Rohmer for a fun slice of lurid pulp Victoriana. The first part of the serial alone involves Chinese magicians, ventriloquism, gangs, and a giant rat that lives in the sewer and that's even before it gets to the mysterious Weng-Chiang and his search for the Time Cabinet. There's also a homunculus at some point. That the story received some criticism at the time for being too disturbing (and indeed was partly responsible for the later shift to a sillier tone) should probably prove a selling point to audiences today. Tom Baker enjoys himself thoroughly in a performance that ditches his trademark scarf in favour of Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker. In fact, The Talons of Weng-Chiang contains even more Holmes references than the Moffat era. The "Yellow Peril" nature of the story means that it would be unlikely to be made now. If modern audiences can get beyond the somewhat suspect characterisation of the Chinese characters, however, they will be rewarded with one of the most well written, enjoyably Gothic stories in the whole of Doctor Who.
