The Mahogany Murderers

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.