Jago in Love

"I am not a madam!"

Writer: Nigel Fairs

Format: Audio

Released: March 2012

Series: Jago & Litefoot 4.01

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

Escaping the shadowy presence of the mysterious Professor Claudius Dark, Jago, Litefoot and Leela take a holiday to Brighton. There, Jago meets and falls for music hall singer Abigail Woburn, a relationship that threatens to split the infernal investigators apart, as dark forces gather on the beach...

Verdict 

Jago in Love was a strong start to the fourth series of Jago & Litefoot! I’m really enjoying this spinoff range and I know it had a strong reputation amongst fandom, but it’s lovely to hear that it’s not disappointing! In saying that though, I thought the complete lack of follow up to the Claudius Dark cliffhanger was a bad move. With Colin Baker voicing him and probably being a disguise for the Sixth Doctor, not getting him in this story meant I felt a little cheated. We got a brief moment pre titles with Leela recognising someone who I assume would be Dark/the Doctor, but I was dying for some interaction! Instead we shifted into the near future with Jago completely inundated with Abigail despite being together for just three days. I liked that the setting was established as Brighton which was a nice change from the usual London, and having an almost Companion Chronicles style format in having Jago retell the events to Abigail was nicely done. The attack by the fiendish creature after Jago and Litefoot departed from Dark was unexpected but I loved the suddenness in which Litefoot dispatched of it with his cane in a brutal stabbing. The description of it being made from earth and left as a pile of sand and grit was tremendous. I adored the humour that came from Jago exaggerating the events when retelling the story back at the Red Tavern, and Leela being the one to suggest a Brighton holiday was a nice touch. They certainly all needed a break! Nancy Lee was a fun character and I liked the suggestion of her having psychic powers. Jago’s history with her was entertaining and useful in obtaining lodgings, but it was clear something was unusual there. Leela was at her very best comedy-wise when it came to her confusion regarding Jago being hit by Cupid’s arrow as she genuinely thought an attack had been carried out! That was glorious. Jago was absolutely entranced by the performance of Abigail on stage to the point where Leela thought he had been possessed! Leela feeling ancient forces in Abigail’s dressing room was interesting though with the suggestion of something being trapped peaking my intrigue. Litefoot also felt something come over him in the room and with him seeing something in the cracked mirror, things got creepy. That was enhanced when we learned that every mirror in the property was cracked! Quite the image. Everyone breaking back into Abigail’s dressing room was humorous and it was obvious when Jago was retelling events, there was much more to her than it appeared. Litefoot suffering from fever for two days whilst Leela had vanished with Nancy Lee meant that Jago was prone to Abigail’s influence which worked well. I also thought the horror that came from Litefoot’s appearance was really good and presented as being genuinely horrifying! Jago proposing to Abigail was a big surprise but he was very much smitten. The mystery surrounding George Nevil was very intriguing and hearing Litefoot continually ask after him was strange and eery. The reveal of Mary’s spirit actually having been trapped in a mirror was terrific and I liked how she had borrowed Litefoot’s body in order to search for husband! The pair had both passed away in a snowstorm, except Mary’s soup had got trapped in a mirror and George didn’t know he was dead all along. That was why he had no reflection. Talk about morbid! Jago smashing the mirror to seal the fate was amusing because he realised he might have trapped Litefoot forever! But alas, that was not the case. The mysterious conclusion with a Mr Hardwick and Mr Kempston sets us up nicely for the rest of the series after they had tried to use Abigail to separate Jago from the pack. Her failure meant death though which showed these two mean business! Overall, a good listen to kick off the series! 

Rating: 8/10