Doctor Who

Doctor Who (1963)

12 mistakes in The Talons of Weng-Chiang - chronological order

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The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Continuity mistake: Magnus Greel puts Leela in the distillation chamber and switches it on. Cue red lights, special effects, and Leela writhing about. Then the Doctor arrives and throws a battle-axe into the works. Sparks fly, and the machine stops, presumably broken. Later, however, when Greel is pushed into the chamber, it turns on and does its thing just as if nothing had happened to it. Oh, and the axe thrown earlier disappears too.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Continuity mistake: In episode 1, when the Doctor and Leela leave the TARDIS, the door is open and is not moving. They then walk away from the TARDIS for a few seconds. When they hear the attack on Bullard (the Cab Driver) and run past the TARDIS again, the door is magically closed.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Factual error: When The Doctor questions the arrested Chinaman in the Police Station (in episode one), the Doctor claims to be able to speak several Chinese dialects. What the Doctor actually says to the Chinaman is "How Are You?" in Cantonese, but the rest of what the Doctor says is completely improvised gibberish that SOUNDS Chinese, but is, in fact, complete nonsense.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Factual error: The Doctor mentions at one point in the story that he had once been fishing in the River Fleet with the Venerable Bede. The Venerable Bede was a distinguished 7th century scholar, who lived his entire life at Jarrow, on Tyneside, and never at any time came to London.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Revealing mistake: At various points in the series, Mr. Sin is obviously a dummy and not an actor. But the most obvious is during the last fight when Sin jumps the Doctor. After a struggle, cut to a forward angle and the Doctor grabs and throws an obvious dummy to the ground.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - S14-E6

Other mistake: When Li H'sen Chang makes his entrance at the Police Station in episode one he says "You seem remarkably well-informed, Doctor", despite the fact he has not been told the Doctor's name and no other character has referred to him as such.

The Doctor: This is a situation that requires tact and finesse. Fortunately, I am blessed with both.

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Planet of the Spiders - S11-E5

Trivia: The first thing the Third Doctor does on-screen is collapse out of the TARDIS, which is also the last thing he does in that incarnation.

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Earthshock - S19-E6

Question: In Earthshock, season 19, at the end of episode 3, the Cyber Leader views his troops marching down the corridor. Each column is headed by a Cyber Leader. Is this a mistake, or is there more than one Cyber Leader allowed per army?

Answer: In 'The Five Doctors', three separate Cyberleaders are definitely used. So it's likely that Cyberleaders are like unit commanders, of which a fair-sized army might have several.

Daria Sigma

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