Alan BarnesJago & Litefoot Series 1

As a fan of the Scarifyers, Amazon kept e-mailing me about this series. After finally buying it I am glad I did as the storylines are really good and there is loads of humour as well as scary monsters and bloodsuckers. I will probably purchase the second series too.

Whilst listening to all the scarifyers series, which are great fun. I received from audible , you might like the following, Jago & Litefoot. I decided to give it a go, and got series 1, and I'm really glad I did. This series is very well written, witty and funny, and the acting is spot on. I now have series 2 , and I'm looking forward to listening to it. In fact i'm looking forward to going through the whole 13 series.

Great fun; I wish I had discovered these sooner.

Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot, 2 investigators who investigate mysterious incidents in Victorian London get caught up in 4 adventures including monsters, aliens and a man who claims to have visited the future. 2 supporting characters from 1977 Doctor Who serial The Talons Of Weng Chiang get their own audio spin off series here and it's a joy to listen too. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter return as the title characters Jago and Litefoot and it's honestly like they never left as is often the case with Big Finish audios. The 2 who were pretty much comic relief in the serial are taken a bit more seriously here though they still bungle their way through cases without The Doctor and are aided by a new cast member, a London barmaid played by Big Finish regular Lisa Bowerman. A must listen too for Doctor Who fans and a lot of fun and very British.

The gentleman pathologist Professor Litefoot is often the straight man of the two, providing clarity of vision and often next round. Whereas the alliterating actor and fraidy-cat theatre owner (Henry Gordon Jago) is teller of tale tales and purveyor of provocative parables. A match made in heaven. Sergeant Quick and Ellie Higson are loyal friends of the Jago & Litefoot and often step outside the bounds of the professional relationship with the pair to help out above and beyond the call of duty. Throughout the series the production and performances are top draw. The effort and detail that has gone into this series deserves every praise. There is no obvious weak link with all the characters and it’s really on the writing that sets them all apart.‘Bloodless Soldier’ introduces the season and our protagonists. It also sets the theme of the series which is possession. The ending is sad despite only having just met the barmaid Ellie and that is testament to the quality of the writing. Because it sets up the series story arc and introduces new characters the season opener often has a lot to deal with but this handles it with aplomb.‘The Belladova Devil’ is in many ways the epitome of the first series of ‘Jago & Litefoot’. It’s well directed with a fantastic music and effects, as well as being funny and well written and superbly acted even if the characters are caricatures. Holmes’ Victorian gentlemen from the seventies are continued in this series in much the same vain that they were originally written in. One of my favourite moments in this where Jago is running from bush to bush in the grave yard affecting various voices (that all sound suspiciously like his own) in order to fool a mob of miscreants into thinking the police are surrounding them and forcing them to flee. This one is definitely more comic than the preceding ‘Bloodless Soldier’. This story plays with and subverts our expectations through lack of visual prompting we are led to believe that Professor Litefoot drank the poison, although we find out later that he clearly did not‘The Spirit Trap’ is less engaging as a story. In ‘The Belladova Devil’ you suspect that there is a supernatural explanation but find out there is a more natural explanation and it this subverts your expectations. In ‘The Spirit Trap’ the opposite happens in that you expect a con but it turns out there is a more spectral/scientific explanation, but it doesn’t have either the twists or the humour of the last episode. It’s just far too predictable and lacks the subtleties that other instalments have to offer.‘The Similarity Engine’ is dialogue heavy but keeps you on your toes for the most part but the ending feels a little anti-climactic. The idea that his cronies would be so easily talked out of their allegiances was a little silly, and then they just push the transformed Tulp into the machinery. What a disappointing end to a fine series.The best of J&L manages to equally blend humour and mystery. Only ‘The Belladova Soldier’ really manages to achieve this greatness in significant proportions.

Just when I thought that Big Finish were scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of Doctor Who spin-off series', along comes this - arguably the best thing to come out of the long-running Sci-fi show since Tom Baker.Jago and Litefoot appeared as a Victorian double-act in popular 70s story 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang', and at the time they seemed ripe for putting into a series of their own. However, they had to wait nearly thirty-five years before being resurrected - and believe me it was worth the wait.Self-styled theatre impressario Henry Gordon Jago loves alliteration and libation in equal amounts. Police pathologist Doctor Litefoot is a more sober character, but together they make a crack team, investigating supernatural goings-on and inspired by their adventures with The Doctor and Leela.The four stories included in this first series feature a story arc concerning the malevolent Doctor Tulp and his Machiavellian machinations. Our heroes encounter Werewolves, Mediums, wooden mannikins that come to life, spirits, Vampires and a boat load of bloody death. The interplay between Chris Benjamin and Trevor Baxendale is delightful, and the ease with which they slip into the parts they haven't played for three decades is astonishing. With a second series about to be released, here's hoping that Jago and Litefoot will be around for many years to come.

Chemistry between the two main cast is charm personified.I really am enjoying this