Saturday, June 9, 2012

Jago & Litefoot: The Bloodless Soldier





 My first step into the Jago & Litefoot audio series starts here!



              
Jago & Litefoot: The Bloodless Soldier
Written by Justin Richards
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Starring:
Christopher Benjamin as Henry Gordon Jago
Trevor Baxter as Professor Litefoot
Lisa Bowerman as Ellie Higson

               The penultimate moment before I begin my journey into Big Finish’s audio range of Jago & Litefoot my palms are sweaty, my mouth salivating, and my pulse is quickening for what can only be, after so much hype, the ultimate experience in late 18th century paranormal adventure. Jago & Litefoot! This will be either a fantastic homage to 18th century science fiction or a hellish cesspool where I have no one but myself to blame for falling for the hype.
                The title characters that star in this series, Jago and Litefoot, originally appeared in the 1977 Doctor Who television adventure The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Henry Gordan Jago ran the Palace Theatre, and George Litefoot was a pathologist.  Big Finish, liking the characters, decided to test out their solo popularity with an audio Companion Chronicle called The Mahogany Murders. Suffice it to say it went pretty well, as I am now reviewing the first of four stories in the first series of full-cast Jago & Litefoot box sets.  Without further ado I now bring you my review: The Bloodless Soldier.
                We open our tale with a group of soldiers being violently attacked by a snarling beast. We don’t have time to learn many details, however, as right after this the scene shifts to London, where the titular characters are partaking in a fine bout of drinks at a local pub. Serving our heroes their frosty beverages is Ellie Higson, played by the wonderful Lisa Bowerman, who is also the director of this tale. Ellie is flushed with anticipation as her brother is soon to return from overseas service as a soldier (you can guess where that line of plot is going, I’m quite sure). Meanwhile our soldiers who were attacked at the start have now returned to London, but one of the soldiers has changed for the worse. Quickly things get out of hand for these soldiers in regards to their “changed” comrade in arms, who has gotten loose for a bit and mauled some poor passerby.  Shortly after, the body is found by the police; it seems to have been set upon and drained of blood by a rabid animal, possibly a large wolf of some sort (wink wink). The police contact the local pathologist—Litefoot, of course—and our story is underway.
                One thing that makes this lead-in so effective was giving it more of a paranormal start rather than an extraterrestrial one. We’re dealing with something earthly but supernatural, rather than a space alien bent on conquest. A mad beast terrorizing the streets of London screams classic Hammer horror rather than Doctor Who. This allows The Bloodless Soldier to feel like its own series, rather than just a Doctor Who extension. This is the world of Jago & Litefoot, and it is full and complete unto itself, not dependent on the Doctor Who universe for depth or interest. The soundtrack really helps transport the listener to London in the late Victorian era; everything, from the music to the little sound effects in the pub, just allows you to envelop yourself in the time period. The adventure actually feels more gothic in nature than the Doctor Who stories set during the same era, which is frankly impressive.
                The characters of Jago and Litefoot are played by their original actors, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter respectively. Both of these actors surprisingly sound like they haven’t aged a day since they played their roles in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. They seem to have jumped back into their roles as if they’ve been living them all their lives. Their enthusiasm for these roles shines crystal clear; Christopher and Trevor are giving it their all and having fun doing so. Lisa Bowerman’s character, Ellie, does a bang-up job too. While Ellie isn’t as prominent in the beginning of our tale, she still plays the barmaid longingly waiting for her brother’s return beautifully, and at the end—where she becomes more involved in the plot of the ghastly beast—she really starts to shine. I do feel as if Jago and Litefoot play secondary roles for a good portion of this tale, at least until the end. They at times seem like bystanders that simply happen to get thrown into this story by the events leading into the climax. This does, however, work well for an introduction into their world; they are simply minding their own business when, suddenly and unexpectedly, they get swept into things. They aren’t out looking for adventure; they get pushed into it.
There has to be something said for the barely-under-an-hour audio adventures: they generally don’t get too boring. As with other audios that use a similar time frame, like the 8th Doctor Adventure series, The Bloodless Soldier didn’t ever have me reaching for a pillow or some coffee. While the adventure isn’t all action and ferocious beast every second, it keeps itself well afloat with some witty banter between the main characters and some interesting twists towards the end that had me reaching for a hanky. If this story were spread across two discs, it would be frankly far too long and stretched out; making it a single disc adventure helps keep the series fresh and pleasant to experience.
Really, The Bloodless Soldier is an excellent starting place for this series. It does a fine job of not just introducing people to Jago and Litefoot, but also painting the world they live in. This audio isn’t all space critters and ray guns, but really a down-to-earth paranormal series where you’re more likely to get ripped to shreds by an enormous beast than be abducted and probed by aliens. I daresay this series is thus far on par with many main-series Doctor Who audio releases. Knowing that I seem to be in good hands as I make my way through the rest of the first box set not only makes me happy to continue on with this series, but genuinely excited to see where Jago & Litefoot will take me in the future.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Series 1 box set can be bought from Big Finish here: http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/series-one-box-set-557

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