Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang

[Fianna]

I think they meant if there's an in-story reason why the Doctor goes to the same geographic location so often. Like, we know the reason everyone speaks English no matter where they go is because the show's made for an English speaking audience, but they did eventually get around to saying the Tardis causes its travelers to automatically speak and understand the languages of wherever they wind up.

On a completely different note: I'm both befuddled and delighted by the sheer existence of Mr. Sin. There's no reason this story needed a murderous living dummy with a pig's brain who somehow started World War Three. It's just thrown in there as off-beat backstory for one of the villain's minions, and it is just so dang bizarre.

[Robovski]

In-universe, his first landing spot on Earth was random and was London, this sets his initial connections with Earth. This is strengthened when the Doctor was banished to Earth without travel to the UK and teamed up with UNIT in the Pertwee years, so he landed there and stayed there until I got a new dematerialization circuit for the TARDIS, and then he would come back I think in part for his companions. Later the classic Doctor has a randomizer set his course so he states even he doesn't know where he is going. Earth is stated many times as the Doctor's favorite planet or that he has an affinity for humans in universe as well, building to being a de facto protector of Earth (but that doesn't really play into going to the UK often per se).

The translation thing changes over time. The 4th Doctor said it was a gift he shared with Sarah Jane, later it is attributed to a translation circuit in the TARDIS or a telepathic field.

[Becca]

The comments about the two versions of Watson reminds me of this comic from Hark, a Vagrant:

Nigel Bruce's Watson was a lot more comedic than canon Watson but to be honest Bruce's charisma still made that version tolerable. From what I remember Bruce Watson became a bit more competent on the radio series.

I'm reminded of when Jago and Litefoot had to impersonate Holmes and Watson for Reasons in series 7, and they bickered about who should be who:

Litefoot: I still say it would make more sense for me to be Sherlock Holmes!

Jago: Nonsense! You're a doctor, So you should be Doctor Watson!

Litefoot:  Yes but surely I should be Holmes! Because...

[Shuts up immediately.]

Jago: What?

Litefoot: [quickly] Nothing!

Jago: [slowly] Were you going to say "Because I'm the clever one" ?

Litefoot: No! You're right. I'm a doctor, so I should be Doctor Watson.

Jago: Glad we got that settled.

Sorry for banging on about this series, but it was just so good.

[BBally81]

The comments about the two versions of Watson reminds me of this comic from Hark, a Vagrant:

Nigel Bruce's Watson was a lot more comedic than canon Watson but to be honest Bruce's charisma still made that version tolerable. From what I remember Bruce Watson became a bit more competent on the radio series.

I'm reminded of when Jago and Litefoot had to impersonate Holmes and Watson for Reasons in series 7, and they bickered about who should be who:

Litefoot: I still say it would make more sense for me to be Sherlock Holmes!

Jago: Nonsense! You're a doctor, So you should be Doctor Watson!

Litefoot:  Yes but surely I should be Holmes! Because...

[Shuts up immediately.]

Jago: What?

Litefoot: [quickly] Nothing!

Jago: [slowly] Were you going to say "Because I'm the clever one" ?

Litefoot: No! You're right. I'm a doctor, so I should be Doctor Watson.

Jago: Glad we got that settled.

Sorry for banging on about this series, but it was just so good.

That's really funny

I should definitely check out the rest of the series, I've listened to the Sixth Doctor stories featuring Jago and Litefoot and an episode of a J&L season where they got stranded in the 60s and tried to stop a cult that was trying to bring England back to the "good ol' days".

About the Doctor being in the UK in his Earth stories, I guess he has a connection to the country, the same way Superman has a connection to the US however a lot of Hartnell stories took place in other countries other than the UK.

[Becca]

The comments about the two versions of Watson reminds me of this comic from Hark, a Vagrant:

Nigel Bruce's Watson was a lot more comedic than canon Watson but to be honest Bruce's charisma still made that version tolerable. From what I remember Bruce Watson became a bit more competent on the radio series.

I'm reminded of when Jago and Litefoot had to impersonate Holmes and Watson for Reasons in series 7, and they bickered about who should be who:

Litefoot: I still say it would make more sense for me to be Sherlock Holmes!

Jago: Nonsense! You're a doctor, So you should be Doctor Watson!

Litefoot:  Yes but surely I should be Holmes! Because...

[Shuts up immediately.]

Jago: What?

Litefoot: [quickly] Nothing!

Jago: [slowly] Were you going to say "Because I'm the clever one" ?

Litefoot: No! You're right. I'm a doctor, so I should be Doctor Watson.

Jago: Glad we got that settled.

Sorry for banging on about this series, but it was just so good.

That's really funny

I should definitely check out the rest of the series, I've listened to the Sixth Doctor stories featuring Jago and Litefoot and an episode of a J&L season where they got stranded in the 60s and tried to stop a cult that was trying to bring England back to the "good ol' days".

About the Doctor being in the UK in his Earth stories, I guess he has a connection to the country, the same way Superman has a connection to the US however a lot of Hartnell stories took place in other countries other than the UK.

Ah yes! One of my favourite moments of the series is Litefoot chewing out their leader in that episode!

Plus there's the Python homage earlier on:

Jago: Yes all right! But apart from the cinema, less poverty, the National Health Service, Women's Sufferage, comprehensive education, aviation, heart transplants, and a man on the moon, what else does this decade have going for it?!

Litefoot: ...Miniskirts?

Jago: All right, all right, you may have a point!

That bit was in the trailer just after Voyage to the New World. I remember spitting out the coffee I was drinking because I was laughing so hard!

Edit: just looked on Big Finish's twitter and they're having a quick clearance sale. If you want physical copies they've got Series 1 at £9.99 and series 2 on at £17.49. They're usually around £30 each new. (4 CDs plus a bonus CD making of and interviews with the cast and writers).

Also series 1-5 are available on Spotify if thats your thing.

[BBally81]

The comments about the two versions of Watson reminds me of this comic from Hark, a Vagrant:

Nigel Bruce's Watson was a lot more comedic than canon Watson but to be honest Bruce's charisma still made that version tolerable. From what I remember Bruce Watson became a bit more competent on the radio series.

I'm reminded of when Jago and Litefoot had to impersonate Holmes and Watson for Reasons in series 7, and they bickered about who should be who:

Litefoot: I still say it would make more sense for me to be Sherlock Holmes!

Jago: Nonsense! You're a doctor, So you should be Doctor Watson!

Litefoot:  Yes but surely I should be Holmes! Because...

[Shuts up immediately.]

Jago: What?

Litefoot: [quickly] Nothing!

Jago: [slowly] Were you going to say "Because I'm the clever one" ?

Litefoot: No! You're right. I'm a doctor, so I should be Doctor Watson.

Jago: Glad we got that settled.

Sorry for banging on about this series, but it was just so good.

That's really funny

I should definitely check out the rest of the series, I've listened to the Sixth Doctor stories featuring Jago and Litefoot and an episode of a J&L season where they got stranded in the 60s and tried to stop a cult that was trying to bring England back to the "good ol' days".

About the Doctor being in the UK in his Earth stories, I guess he has a connection to the country, the same way Superman has a connection to the US however a lot of Hartnell stories took place in other countries other than the UK.

I'll definitely check the series out since I already use Spotify for my Doctor Who listening. It's quite convenient for me that I can listen to Big Finish stories online for free and legally too (ordering them using Egyptian pounds would leave a big dent on my wallet especially in the country's financial state though most Egyptians illegally download stuff and don't suffer any repercussions because the government doesn't care) with the only price is that you only have to listen to ads though that means no extra features like behind the scenes but that's fine.

[Becca]

From the looks of it on my end (the UK) spotify does have the behind the scenes tracks available on the free version.

What it doesnt have however is the Companion Chronicle "The Mahogany Murderers" which was the pilot for the series and introduced the series 1 overarching villain- Dr Tulp. A Moriarty- esque character with access to technology beyond the Victorian era. Also prefers to always wear white gloves.
I think there is enough in series 1 to get the gist of what he's about, but if you can listen to The Mahogany Murderers first, it would be helpful.

[Nightbeat74]

on the subject of what makes a "good villain" here is a damn good example from the Venture Bros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKrvTnh-GC0 (copy&paste) . the show has even more!

[JL_Stinger]

Black Scorpion? Is the villain going to unmask at the end to reveal Ric Flair?

[cdrood]

I think they meant if there's an in-story reason why the Doctor goes to the same geographic location so often. Like, we know the reason everyone speaks English no matter where they go is because the show's made for an English speaking audience, but they did eventually get around to saying the Tardis causes its travelers to automatically speak and understand the languages of wherever they wind up.

On a completely different note: I'm both befuddled and delighted by the sheer existence of Mr. Sin. There's no reason this story needed a murderous living dummy with a pig's brain who somehow started World War Three. It's just thrown in there as off-beat backstory for one of the villain's minions, and it is just so dang bizarre.

There have actually been two reasons for everyone speaking English and unfortunately there's an aspect that's contradictory, and a plot whole with both. The TARDIS explanation is from the revived series. Originally, The Doctor described it as a Time Lord trick he shares with his companions. While this could mean the TARDIS is doing it, I always interpreted it as Time Lord telepathy. Neither explains why the ability isn't lost when The Doctor and/or The TARDIS aren't in the vicinity (e.g. when he makes a side trip to see Leonard Da Vinci in City of Death).

The big difference between the two explanations is that in the new series, some companions actually notice it, while in the original series it was only mentioned once and that actually indicated to The Fourth Doctor that someone had messed with Sarah's mind because she's specifically SHOULDN'T have noticed the Italians were speaking English.

I'm guessing that it's because by this point there were plenty of nitpicky fans asking the question and they not only felt the need to explain it, but also explain why it never came up before.