The Mahogany Murders - 6.5/10

This story is undoubtedly a great reintroduction to the duo of Jago and Litefoot, it's also wonderful to hear that they both enjoyed this so much after both being away for over 30 years!

The plot is straightforward yet very effectively conveyed, I haven't listened to much big finish yet but I do have to say this is one of the clearest stories I've listened to and in general I found it ver easy to follow. The idea of wooden (Mahogany) dolls not only coming to life but containing the spirits of dead criminals is wonderfully grim. The tales told by the pair also intertwine quite wonderfully with the interruptions of comedy being very welcome throughout. There is an absolutely terrifyingly gruesome moment when one of the criminals describes being back in his dead decaying body scratching at the lid of his coffin, describing his fingers to be splitting from the decay and his hands full of splinters paired with the smell of his own corpse - truly stomach turning description. I don't have any glaring issues per say about this story I just don't believe its of a quality above the rating I've given (that sounds really pretentious but I don't know how else to phrase that I just didn't think it was better).

The characters of Jago and Litefoot work as brilliantly as ever during the story and honestly I don't think I could fathom a complaint about either performance, I loved Jago doing the voices of the characters in the story (especially when he told Litefoot off for his attempt to do the same). As this is a companion chronicle I don't believe there really are any other characters if note as the villains are all performed wonderfully by the pair themselves. The barmaid is the only other 'Character' I suppose and she works fine here.

Again I haven't actually listened to much big finish yet but I'm really quite enjoying the experience so far.

Overall 'The Mahogany Murders' gets a 6.5/10 because I did enjoy this story it just wasn't anything mind blowing to me, the best part easily being Jago & Litefoot themselves!

You’d never guess they’d been away for 30 years would you? The Mahogany Murderers is back door pilot if ever I’ve heard one. Whilst in retrospect I don’t think it’s one of the best Jago & Litefoot stories I’ve heard, it hits the ground running in terms of tone, setting and characterisation. If all I had ever seen of these two characters was Talons then based on the success of the reintroduction of Jago & Litefoot alone this story would be a 10/10. Being familiar with these characters in audio and knowing exactly how high the heights of their spin off gets though, I’d give this a strong

When it was first announced that Jago and Litefoot would be featuring in a Companion Chronicle - which was, originally, designed to allow opportunities for stories with Doctors no longer with us - there was a little ripple of consternation which soon gave way to interest and anticipation when fans realised that Jago and Litefoot were perfect for this sort of format. I have always thought it a shame that Big Finish didn’t pursue this a little further – we had The Prisoner of Peladon with David Troughton’s King Peladon, but it would have been great to see stories featuring Glitz and Dibber, or HG Wells, or Hugo Lang, or (oh this would have been superb) Will Chandler! – all those ‘nearly companions that could have had one extra adventure with the Doctor.

But, I digress. Jago and Litefoot fit perfectly and even after the first few scenes this Companion Chronicle had spin-off series written all over it. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter slip effortlessly back into their roles. As they say in the interview included with the CD, Andy Lane, the writer, has written the characters perfectly and every line of dialogue feels authentic. With two voices already, the only other performer in this is Lisa Bowerman who takes on dual roles of director and the small part of Ellie Higson, local barmaid. She has very little to do here, but it will be interesting to see how her role develops in the full series.

The plot of wooden puppets containing the souls of various criminals is good fun and a good fit for Jago and Litefoot’s Victorian world. It has certain steampunk echoes and it will be interesting to see how this is developed in the full series. There are, however, a number of unanswered questions which suggest this was always intended as a possible pilot for a full series. In the interview at the end of the story David Richardson asks if Benjamin and Baxter would be willing to return for a further adventure but I wouldn’t be surprised if this hadn’t already been mooted by the Big Finish bigwigs and this bending of the Companion Chronicle format was a result of such a discussion.

The production has some lovely sound design evoking a Victorian pub, a warehouse full of mysterious electrical equipment and various other locales.

Historically, this is tied in more with the romantic, literary view of Victorian London than anything factual. There are some strong Sherlock Holmes vibes throughout the piece – particularly a sequence where Litefoot pursues a suspicious character through the streets of London. The Victorian obsessions with science and spiritualism crop up with the wooden, electrically-controlled bodies being occupied by intangible souls (echoing the similar themes of The Unquiet Dead).

Overall, this is a strong Companion Chronicle and it is clear why Big Finish saw this potential of Jago and Litefoot having their own spin-off series.