Doctor Who review: Jago & Litefoot: Series 3 explores problems in time

The past collides with the future and an old friend returns in the third series of Doctor Who audio spin-off, Jago & Litefoot.

The third series of Doctor Who spin-off Jago & Litefoot stands out as a noticeably different volume compared to the first two. Both Series 1 and Series 2 helped to establish both the distinct tone of the series as well as the major characters and their relationships with each other.

With all of that established, Series 3 gets to shake things up a bit. First of all, there’s a new major character. Well, I say “new”, but it’s one that Doctor Who fans will definitely recognize very well: Leela, as played by Louise Jameson. As revealed at the end of Series 2, the former companion is keen to use the help of Jago & Litefoot to save the world.

Bringing a character as major as Leela back makes sense. After all, this isn’t the first time that she met these two extremely distinctive characters – back in 1977, she and the Fourth Doctor worked with Jago & Litefoot in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. So bringing her back adds a nice nostalgic link to the past.

On top of that, her key role in this series allows for something fresh to be added to the group dynamic. Most series of Jago & Litefoot focus on just the two leading characters as well as their friends Ellie (Lisa Bowerman) and Sgt. Quick (Conrad Asquith). Leela throws in a new perspective – one that’s distinctly outside of Victorian England. So, just like in Gallifrey, Leela stands out in this environment, but in a different way. She also shares plenty of great dialogue and banter with our two leads.

The past clashing with the future

Another way that Series 3 stands out is the key theme of anachronisms. Across almost all the episodes, things keep popping up in Victorian London that really shouldn’t be there. Mobile phones; airplanes; even ghosts from the future.

This is a bold arc to explore, especially when Victorian London has been a big part of this spin-off’s appeal. But it works, and it shows how confident the series already is at this point. It also foreshadows the even greater risks the series would take in later installments. Especially in Series 5…

More from Winter is Coming

As for the stories themselves, we’re given another decent mix with this volume. Dead Men’s Tales kicks off the box set to a strong start, giving us a clear gothic horror with a slight twist. The Man at the End of the Garden is a strange one, even for Jago & Litefoot, but it works as a kind of twisted fairy tale. Swan Song is a beautiful and heartbreaking tragedy, and probably the best episode, with Chronoclasm resolving the box set’s story in a satisfyingly epic way.

It’s funny that for the series’s “big bad”, Mr. Payne doesn’t actually appear much in it. In fact, while he has a clear presence throughout this box set, he only has a major role in the final episode. But Philip Bretherton does a great job with the character – particularly as Chronoclasm reveals that he isn’t simply trying to destroy the world for two-dimensional reasons.

Overall, Jago & Litefoot: Series 3 is another highly recommended volume for the series. Using an interesting theme and taking a slight risk, while also remaining true to what made Jago & Litefoot so strong to begin with, it’s another great set of adventures for the “Investigators of Infernal Incidents”. One that ends on quite the cliffhanger, too…

Next. Gallifrey’s first episode is free (and why you should download it right now). dark

Have you listened to Jago & Litefoot: Series 3? Whare are your thoughts on the box set? Which was your favorite episode? Let us know in the comments below?

Home/Doctor Who