2. The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Story 091, 1977)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj2hgBnQ0zE If youre looking for a good, accessible story to use when trying to introduce someone to classic Who, this is the place to start (much like how The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink are great places to start with new Who). This is certainly the easiest story to use when trying to get someone into the show. It has an evil, if rather two-dimensional (
who recently returned in a sequel/prequel), villain, a sympathetic kind-of villain, unusually great production values, two wonderful sidekicks, an evil pig-brained puppet, and the Doctor wandering around like some sort of Sherlock Holmes knock-off. Everything about this story really works incredibly well. The supporting characters of Henry Gordon Jago (Christopher Benjamin) and Professor George Litefoot (Trevor Baxter), are wonderful (and now have their own audio series). John Bennett does a great job as Li Hsen Chang (provided you ignore the yellow face aspects), and Tom Baker and Louise Jameson seldom work better together than they do in this story. Then you have the previously-mentioned high production values. Much of it was shot on location at an actual Victorian-style theater, and that helps the story greatly, as do the misty scenes of Victorian London. This is one of those stories where, if the setting hadnt been convincing, the story would not have worked, but it is, so it does. While there are a few flaws (it didnt need to be six episodes, and the casting of a white actor to play a Chinese character), they are overcome by all the great aspects which combine to make this one of the best, most enjoyable stories in the entire 50 year history of the show!