The Bellova Devil

The second story, The Bellova Devil, has a slightly odd structure which makes it feel almost like a Companion Chronicle. There are quite a few scenes where Jago and Litefoot both recount events which have happened previously and there are possibly a few too many times where events happen ‘off-screen’, as it were. However, it is certainly a stronger story than The Bloodless Soldier, with a few more twists and turns and more than a passing resemblance to one of this series’ ancestors, Sherlock Holmes.

The story sees Jago and Litefoot investigating another mystery surrounding a dead body. In a unfortunate similarity to the first story, the body is that of a soldier. Initially this made it seem like this story might tread similar ground, particular with early scenes at the mortuary, but fortunately as some clues are revealed, the story takes some intriguing turns. Eventually, the duo are lead to a ‘gentlemen’s club’ and an encounter with Dr Tulp, the mysterious figure behind the Mahogany Murderers of the original ‘pilot’ episode for this series.

The many references to Sherlock Holmes may seem a little gratuitous but I find it quite heart-warming that the series is this willing to wear its heart on its sleeve. Doctor Who has never been shy of pushing its influences to the front and Jago and Litefoot’s two main influences are, at this early point in the series, Hinchcliffe-era Who and Sherlock Holmes (which are, of course, neatly wrapped together in the parcel that is this spin-off’s birthright: The Talons of Weng-Chiang). In this story there is an overt reference to ‘the Red-Headed League’ and a rather funny joke about Holmes’ philosophy of detection (where eliminating the impossible leaves the, however improbable, answer). There is also Jago donning a disguise and dodgy accent to evade his creditors in a manner reminiscent of Holmes going undercover to solve a mystery (and indeed, Jago later uses the same disguise to attempt just this). Furthermore, the whole mystery feels very Sherlock Holmes in its structure and resolution. It reminded me somewhat of the aforementioned Red-Headed League and The Sign of Four.

This story also continues to cement the characters of Jago and Litefoot; Jago in particular. His internal struggle of being an inveterate coward against his desire to seem brave and steadfast has played out across this first three stories and Christopher Benjamin plays it beautifully. Litefoot still seems slightly less interesting, although his growing affection for Jago is touching and, again, Trevor Baxter, is brilliant in the role.

This stories main guest star is Doctor Who legend, Stephen Thorne. Playing the ‘Club Secretary’, he oozes dignified menace, especially when he leads Jago off to his apparent death. The rest of the cast (including Big Finish regulars, Duncan Wisbey and Toby Longworth) provide good support.

One aspect of the series I am having a slight issue with is the presence of Lisa Bowerman as Ellie. Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Lisa Bowerman. She is utterly superb as Bernice and, in person, is completely lovely (and always remembers (or at least pretends to remember J ) me. It’s probably because of this that I find it really hard to take her seriously as Ellie. It just feels like Benny doing a ‘bit’. Ellie hardly appears in this story which helps, although Lisa does also crop up as a Bulgar woman with a thick European accent. The same problem more or less applies. I am hoping that as the series progresses and I become used to hearing Lisa as Ellie, this problem , which I fully admit is totally my issue and nothing to do with Bowerman’s performance, will cease to be.

Lisa Bowerman’s Bulgar woman is where this series ties itself into history a little more closely than it has up to now. The Bulgars who are featured in this story are a real-life semi-nomadic Turkic people (a large group of people living in various parts of Asia). I couldn’t however, find any reference to them tying rose-briar around the feet of the dead to prevent them from rising from the grave (although I probably haven’t tried very hard).

One aspect of the production I neglected to mention in my review of The Bloodless Soldier was the awesome theme music. It is simply wonderful. Some of the spin-off ranges, where there hasn’t been a ready made TV theme tune to use, have struggled to find a successful intro. I really don’t like the Iris Wildthyme and everyone at Big Finish is, I’m sure, desperately trying to forget the awful ‘Adventure is My Name’ fiasco that sullied the Bernice Summerfield range for far too many releases. However, this effort for Jago and Litefoot is perfect and manages to be evocative of all the series’ various influences.

Whilst still not the most gripping of tales, The Bellova Devil shows an upward trend for these stories and I continue to look forward to where this series is heading.