The Hourglass Killers

"You can't kill sand."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.04

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

The sands of time are running... and they are in pursuit of Jago, Litefoot, Leela and Ellie. As the final battle gets underway, the infernal investigators make the decision of their lives...

Verdict 

The Hourglass Killers was an excellent episode to conclude the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I think this has been a fantastic season and there really doesn’t seem any sign of letting up just yet. Following on from the cliffhanger finish of Claudius Dark revealing himself to actually be the Sixth Doctor, I thought the humour that came from Jago and Litefoot trying to rationalise his change in appearance was delightful. The threat of the Sandmen was immediate and I really liked the simplicity of Jago getting some sand in his shoe. That would prove helpful to the Doctor and Litefoot in their research on sand composition and taking that to the library was magnificent. The comedic value in Jago being loud and then ousting Litefoot when he rose in volume was simply magnificent. Jago at his very best. I was intrigued by the importance of Bedfordshire as that obviously has history in Doctor Who and I was glad that the Doctor did loosely reference The Dalek Invasion of Earth regarding that. The fact that there was a village in the county called Kempston Hardwick was very amusing though! The Doctor having hidden the TARDIS within the mud of the Thames was a bit of a surprise but I do enjoy the vulnerability of our hero when his trusty ship is indisposed. The need for a distraction to get the Doctor out to Bedfordshire was good and I loved that Jago and Ellie took up the roles of the Doctor and Leela. I imagine their appearances would have been amusing, but hearing their fake dialogue and getting into their respective characters was marvellous. I liked how Kempston and Hardwick thought they were always in control and having already located the TARDIS, they seemed well on their way to getting the secrets of time. The base of Lord Ampthill’s house on his vast land was good and I liked the atmosphere being set with the locals saying it was a haunted space. The fact the Lord himself was found inside an hourglass painted quite the picture, as did the fact that there were countless other hourglasses in the vicinity! The temporal theme was excellent. The background story of how Ampthill found the Temperon craft was great and it was nice to find out just what and who Kempston and Hardwick were. The revelation and continuity regarding the TARDIS being drawn in by Payne’s temporal experimenting of the last series was superb and that had also brought the Temperons here. The concept behind their race of desiring true time travel was fascinating and I loved the uncomfortable feel of them being within every grain of sand. They intended on adding artron energy to every grain within the hourglass, but the Doctor seemed to ridicule this effort at time travel. Whilst this was all going on, having everyone trapped into the giant hourglass was excellent and a strong threat. The use of bookcase momentum to smash their way out was pretty ingenious and the comedy that came from the bundled efforts was very good. I liked how the duplicates of Hardwick and Kempston could take any forms, but the Doctor was already boasting about defeating them as they drowned in the sand before the TARDIS was called. They literally crumbled into pieces from the water with them being composed of sand. The cliffhanger finish of Jago and Liefoot going to travel with the Doctor was just lovely too. Overall, a tremendous finale! 

Rating: 9/10