1. "Weng-Chiang's trail leads the Doctor
to an opium den. But his friends
are facing death at the House
of the Dragon!" (Radio Times)
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2. This episode was first shown
on 26 March 1977,
and was watched by 10.1 million people.
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3. The Doctor greets the "visitors"
in Chinese.
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4. Rehearsals for this serial were tense,
because Tom Baker had taken against
the character of Leela.
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5. Like the Doctor,
he disliked her violent tendencies.
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6. He disliked the attention
she was getting
as a striking female character.
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7. He even disliked the fact that
she was there at all.
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8. He'd wanted to carry the series alone
after the departure
of his co-star Elisabeth Sladen,
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9. and in the early months
this didn't make
for an easy working relationship
with her successor.
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10. It's a myth that Sherlock Holmes
often said,
"Elementary, my dear Watson,"
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11. but he does describe a problem
as "elementary"
in 'The Crooked Man' (1893).
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12. In the script,
the Doctor's momentarily surprised that
Leela hasn't heard of the Homunculus.
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13. He was originally to have told Litefoot,
"I don't like being preposteroused."
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14. Tom and Louise
eventually made up their differences
and found a modus vivendi
as the Doctor and Leela.
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15. They remembered this serial not for
their sometimes strained
working relationship as actors,
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16. but rather for the strength
of the characterisation
they had to work with.
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17. This became the basis of a bright idea
for a new acting collaboration:
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18. A tour of Shaw's Pygmalion,
played as a Doctor Who spin-off,
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19. with Tom as Professor Higgins
and Louise as Eliza.
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20. The idea never came to anything -
but at least the series' two co-stars
were back on friendly terms!
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21. In the script, the Doctor elaborates:
"When a puppet pulls the strings,
there is no sanity left."
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22. Watch the coolie pushing at the back:
He's limping.
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23. Unlucky chap: Originally the scene
didn't demand furniture-moving skills
from the extras.
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24. It was scripted to begin at this point
with the time cabinet already in place
and Weng-Chiang caressing it.
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25. The Tong's pigtails are courtesy
of make-up designer Heather Stewart.
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26. In the script,
the enraged Weng-Chiang
physically attacks the Tong,
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27. and Lee sprawls back,
trying to shield his face
against the kicks.
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28. Weng-Chiang then draws
his "Multishot Staser Arbacus"
and blasts the screaming coolie
to death.
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29. This replacement business
with the scorpion venom capsule
was worked out in rehearsals.
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30. Lee is played by Singapore actor
and musician Tony Then (1944-95).
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31. After training in London, he appeared
in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975),
The New Avengers (1977),
and Gangsters (1978).
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32. He later co-founded
the Singapore Dance Theatre in 1988.
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33. Don't break out your A to Z of London:
You won't find either of these addresses
in it.
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34. Nor indeed will you find
Brick Lane Buildings,
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35. which was the laundry's original address
in the script.
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36. This is what the Doctor
was originally scripted to say,
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37. but in rehearsal, the actors tried out
an alternative line:
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38. "Weng-Chiang is like a monkey
playing with matches
in a powder magazine."
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39. In the script, the Doctor elaborates:
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40. "He's a mass slaughterer,
and by now he needs more victims
and he needs them quickly.
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41. "That's another reason
why we must find him."
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42. The script
calls for more background noise
than features in the finished version
of the next scene:
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43. "Cries, screams, and snatches of song
from drunken denizens."
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44. We were then to hear the noise
of the Doctor breaking the catch
on the skylight.
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45. This was omitted
to avoid making any suggestion
of breaking and entering.
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46. In the script,
there's no dialogue in the scene,
and it's the Doctor who goes in first,
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47. but in Tom Baker's characterisation
the Doctor was often
unthinkingly ungallant
to his female companions.
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48. In the script,
Litefoot is sweeping up
a broken figurine rather than a vase,
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49. but vases are cheaper to break!
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50. Robert Holmes often wrote characters
in contrasting pairs.
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51. Here's one such "double-act"
in the making.
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52. Others feature
in such Doctor Who serials
as 'Carnival of Monsters' (1973)
And 'The Caves of Androzani' (1984).
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53. This wasn't a deliberate feature
of Holmes's craftsmanship:
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54. He just created these pairings
by instinct
as a way of giving actors strong parts.
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55. In fact,
he never even realised he was doing it
until it was pointed out to him in 1985!
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56. At this point in the relationship,
Litefoot doesn't completely trust Jago,
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57. which is why he picks up the stick,
in case he needs to defend himself.
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58. Jago, characteristically,
doesn't notice anything untoward.
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59. This was unscripted business
which the actors developed in rehearsal.
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60. During production
it was casually remarked that
Jago and Litefoot might possibly
have more mileage in them,
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61. but Robert Holmes never actively pursued
the idea of featuring them
in a spin-off series.
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62. He had neither the time
nor the inclination to put in the effort
that developing and selling a series
entails.
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63. Just watch the good
a little flattery will do:
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64. It convinces Litefoot
he won't need the stick!
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65. We're just coming up
to a big dialogue cut.
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66. In the script, Jago savours that
"unforgettable apothegm"
about sleep and tortoises,
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67. which reflects the Doctor's
"forcible personality".
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68. The conversation then continues
with escalating Jago bluster:
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69. "In our brief acquaintance
I've become greatly devoted to the man.
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70. "When I warm to a fellow,
I'll stand by him
through thick and thin.
That's what built the Empire, eh?
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71. "British loyalty and courage.
Steadfast in the face of the foe, eh?"
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72. This sequence was unscripted business
worked out in rehearsal.
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73. In the script, the scene begins
with the Doctor picking the lock,
and having difficulty
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74. because, he says,
it's "thick with rust".
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75. "Papaver somniferum" (Latin)
Actually means
"the poppy that brings sleep".
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76. "With any luck our Chinese chums
will be in dreamland,"
adds the Doctor in the script.
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77. Watch the Doctor's lips in this
and the next shot.
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78. His lines (but not Leela's)
Were dubbed in post-production
over the words Tom Baker said
in the studio.
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79. In the script,
he explains Weng-Chiang's situation
more precisely:
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80. "He knows something-but not enough-
about orthomolecular proteinoids."
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81. The Doctor's move
to examine Chang's leg
was added in rehearsal.
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82. In the script he doesn't contemplate
treating Chang himself,
just promises to get him to hospital.
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83. Chang is played
by John Bennett (1928-2005),
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84. who was best known for his role
as the doomed artist Philip Bosinney
in The Forsyte Saga (1967).
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85. David Maloney cast him
knowing that he would provide
a strong contrast
with Tom Baker's performance:
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86. Baker was a very dominant actor,
both physically and intellectually,
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87. so the villain's role
required a performance
of comparable power.
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88. Bennett, of course, was not Chinese,
though he was often cast in ethnic roles
like the Greek doctor
in I Claudius (1976).
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89. At this time it wasn't unusual
to see a white actor
playing a Chinese part,
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90. because there weren't very many
Chinese leading men working in Britain.
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91. Unsurprisingly, Bennett had
the earliest make-up call
of all the actors.
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92. Each day, it took more than two hours
to apply the latex prosthetics
to make his eyelids epicanthic,
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93. so on location he was a little put out
to discover that autograph hunters
still recognised him as John Bennett!
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94. The Palace of Jade
on the K'un-Lun Mountain
is the equivalent of heaven
in Chinese mythology.
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95. It admits only
the most exalted of the dead.
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96. The Doctor's quicker on the uptake
in the script:
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97. "Boot Street?" he asks.
"Boot Lane? Boot Alley?"
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98. "Boot Hill?" suggests Leela.
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99. The dragon was carved from huge blocks
of expanded polystyrene using hot wires.
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100. It was made by a freelance sculptor,
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101. who worked round the clock for six days
to get the prop completed
in time for the studio.
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102. Ho is played by Vincent Wong,
who was originally booked as an extra
for the film scenes.
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103. His distinctive viperish face
is often seen on screen,
notably in Jonathan Creek (1998)
And Die Another Day (2002).
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104. In the script,
Weng-Chiang pulls his staser on Ho
and then restrains himself.
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105. In this shot,
Jago is played by a double,
Ronald Musgrove.
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106. When the shot was filmed
on Tuesday 14 December 1976,
Christopher Benjamin had not yet joined
the cast.
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107. This scene was recorded in the studio
eight weeks later,
on Wednesday 9 February.
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108. See if you can spot the ways
the studio set
doesn't quite match the location insert.
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109. "Decorate the mahogany"
was Christopher Benjamin's contribution
during rehearsals.
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110. The sign in the background suggests that
Weng-Chiang's lair was recently
a downmarket restaurant.
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111. Professor Litefoot
is played by Trevor Baxter (born 1932).
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112. Like most actors of his generation,
he began his career
in the repertory theatre,
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113. notably including a spell
at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre,
Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1952.
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114. He first met David Maloney in 1955,
when the future director
was also working as an actor in rep.
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115. Since then much of Baxter's career
has been on the classical stage,
often playing aristocrats and churchmen.
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116. He is also a playwright,
author of Edith Grove (1973)
And The Undertaking (1979).
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117. During the production,
Louise Jameson did him a favour,
and typed up one of his plays for him.
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118. (Louise had trained as a typist
at her parents' insistence,
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119. to give her another skill
to fall back on
should acting work ever dry up.)
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120. What unimaginable horror
lies beneath Weng-Chiang's mask?
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121. A black chin, that's what.
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122. The lower part of Michael Spice's face,
from the nose down,
was blacked out by make-up,
to hide any telltale flesh tones.
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123. The start of the next scene
was completely reworked in rehearsal.
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124. As originally written,
it begins with the Doctor
reading Jago's note
while Leela looks in the bag.
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125. Leela reasons that Weng-Chiang
will probably not be back to collect it:
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126. "I think he would not have left it
if there were anything important here."
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127. The Doctor agrees: Most of the equipment
is probably duplicated
at the House of the Dragon.
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128. He then speculates that Weng-Chiang
must have had engineering training,
but not much science.
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129. "Very dangerous," he says.
"What is?" asks Leela.
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130. "A little knowledge," he replies,
misquoting Alexander Pope's poem
An Essay on Criticism (1711).
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131. "Eureka" (or, strictly, "Heureka")
Is actually Greek for "I have found it,"
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132. and was famously shouted by Archimedes
(c. 287-c.212 BC) in his bathtub
on discovering a scientific principle.
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133. This part of the scene
was also substantially rewritten.
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134. Originally the Doctor and Leela
were to search for Jago and Litefoot
at the theatre,
then return to Litefoot's house.
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135. This would have meant
remounting the theatre cellar set
for just one scene
in the second recording block,
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136. So this sequence of Holmesian reasoning
was written in to bypass the need
to leave the house in the first place.
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137. Originally the Doctor replied,
"It's certainly time we met him anyway."
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138. In the script, Jago speculates: "now
that Chang no longer procures for his
evil appetite", the task must fall
to Weng-Chiang's "yellow fiends".
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139. This line was originally written
for Litefoot,
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140. and this one for Jago,
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141. and this one for Litefoot again.
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142. The lines were switched in rehearsal
to suit the characters.
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143. It was an enjoyable rehearsal period
for Christopher Benjamin
and Trevor Baxter,
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144. who shared
a tremendous capacity for giggling
during their scenes together.
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145. The dumbwaiter business coming up
caused them especial difficulty.
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146. A dumbwaiter was a miniature lift shaft
designed to carry hot food quickly
from kitchen to dining room,
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147. so this lock-up was evidently
once the kitchen.
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148. In rehearsal,
the actors never got through
a complete run of this sequence:
They just couldn't stop laughing!
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149. In the studio, however,
they did it perfectly in a single take.
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150. To be precise,
it's a quotation from Part 2
of John Bunyan's
The Pilgrim's Progress (1684).
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151. The entire dumbwaiter business
was a late addition to the script.
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152. It was written in
after the last two episodes
were restructured
by changing the cliffhanger.
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153. Part 6 was under-running badly,
so the closing minutes
of Part 5 were relocated.
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154. This left Part 5
in need of some padding,
so Holmes inserted
the dumbwaiter scenes.
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155. They were devised
as a comic "loop" sequence
with no real effect
on the development of the story.
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156. That's why Litefoot and Jago
end up back where they started,
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157. incarcerated in the lock-up
(with the dumbwaiter padlocked,
as you'll see next time).
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158. In the original version of this scene,
the Doctor's not that interested
in Leela's search for weapons.
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159. What he wants to find
is a street directory:
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160. "A book. Not for hitting people with."
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161. The Battle of Agincourt (1415)
Was one of England's greatest victories
in the Hundred Years War.
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162. We're coming up to
another Phantom of the Opera moment now.
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163. The script specified that the eye-holes
on Weng-Chiang's leather mask
were positioned to suggest
"some gross deformity".
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164. The coolies were played by
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165. Jimmy Ang, Dennis Chin, Sabu Kimura,
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166. Arnold Lee, Fred Lee Own,
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167. Dennis Matsuki, Basil Tang,
and Kim Teoh.
nother of this combination.
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168. That means he's gone to the theatre!
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169. - Come on!
- Hold it!
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170. But, Doctor, Professor Litefoot
and Mr Jago are our friends!
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171. We must help them! You know what will happen
if Weng-Chiang finds them!
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172. I do. Look... Litefoot likes a good fire.
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173. He's been out of the house a long time.
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174. We can't go rushing all over London
looking for him.
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175. It's better to wait for Weng-Chiang to come here.
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176. - We know he has the cabinet.
- Yes, but he doesn't have the key.
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177. Always stay one step ahead
of your enemies, my girl!
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178. When he finds the key is missing
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179. and Professor Litefoot and Mr Jago
are keeping watch,
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180. he will make them tell him where it is?
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181. - You're thinking - excellent!
- You thought of that all at once?
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182. - Well, almost.
- Then I am sorry.
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183. - What for?
- For thinking that you were afraid.
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184. - That's all right.
- Where shall we lay our ambush?
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185. - What?
- Ambush!
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186. It's time we did battle
with this underground crab, Doctor!
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187. (JAGO) Are they dead?
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188. Drugged, I think.
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189. You know why they're here.
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190. Poor creatures! They can't be a day over 16!
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191. He must send his fiends
to kidnap them off the streets.
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192. This is a nightmare! What can we do for them?
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193. No more than we can do for ourselves.
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194. - At least they'll die quickly.
- He must be the devil incarnate!
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195. What unspeakable horror lies
behind that mask, do you suppose?
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196. He's not exactly a dobbin masher with it!
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197. Dammit, Jago, I don't see any way out of this.
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198. - I think we're done for!
- You're forgetting the Doctor!
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199. - How can he find this place?
- A fleck of mud, a speck of paint,
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200. clues that speak volumes
to an investigator like him!
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201. I'll wager he's on our tracks this very minute!
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202. - Look at this!
- What of it?
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203. - Don't you see? It's a dumb waiter!
- Frankly, I'm not very peckish.
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204. How can you think of food?
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205. I'm not thinking of food!
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206. I'm thinking that if we take that shelf out
and squeeze ourselves in,
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207. we can make a surreptitious exit
via the dining room!
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208. By jiminy, you're right!
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209. We'll teach those blighters a lesson yet!
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210. They picked the wrong man
when they decided to cross swords with me!
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211. After you, Mr Jago.
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212. Those ropes don't look too sound, do they?
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213. "He that is down need fear no fall!"
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214. - Hmm?
- A quotation - Bunyan.
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215. (JAGO) Very comforting!
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216. - Mind your elbow, Professor!
- Sorry!
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217. (BOTH SHOUT) Heave!
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218. - This isn't the dining room!
- This isn't the way out either.
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219. We must trap them in the crossfire, Doctor,
in the open where they cannot find cover.
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220. What sort of crossfire?
Hazelnuts? Bread pellets?
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221. A house this size must have protection.
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222. The professor will have weapons
in fixed positions to guard the approaches.
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223. I brought you to the wrong time,
my girl. You'd have loved Agincourt!
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