Production
| Episode | Broadcast date | Run time | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Part One" | 26 February 1977 (1977-02-26) | 24:44 | 11.3 |
| "Part Two" | 5 March 1977 (1977-03-05) | 24:26 | 9.8 |
| "Part Three" | 12 March 1977 (1977-03-12) | 21:56 | 10.2 |
| "Part Four" | 19 March 1977 (1977-03-19) | 24:30 | 11.4 |
| "Part Five" | 26 March 1977 (1977-03-26) | 24:49 | 10.1 |
| "Part Six" | 2 April 1977 (1977-04-02) | 23:26 | 9.3 |
Robert Banks Stewart's story outline ("The Foe from the Future") inspired elements of this serial. "The Foe from the Future" was adapted by Big Finish Productions as an audio play in 2012. Working titles for this story included The Talons of Greel. This was the final Doctor Who story produced by Philip Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe was succeeded by Graham Williams as the series producer, who sat in on this story's production. This story featured the first Doctor Who work by John Nathan-Turner as series production unit manager. Nathan-Turner would succeed Williams as the show's producer from 1980 to 1989.
Filming for the serial took place in Wapping, London. The interior shots of the theatre were recorded using outside broadcasting cameras during four days spent at the Royal Theatre, Northampton. A large pile of straw seen in one scene was placed there to cover a modern car that had not been moved off the street. The production team briefly considered giving Jago and Litefoot their own spin-off series.
The production of this serial featured in a BBC Two documentary, Whose Doctor Who, presented by Melvyn Bragg, which was part of the arts series The Lively Arts. Including interviews with Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe and fans of the series, it was the first in-depth documentary made by the BBC on the series and was transmitted on the day following the final episode. The programme is included as an extra on the DVD releases of The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
Read more about this topic: The Talons Of Weng-Chiang
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—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)