The Museum of Curiosities

"He has been immortalised as a museum piece."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: October 2015

Series: Jago & Litefoot 10.04

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis

At last Carruthers Summerton – the greatest admirer of Jago and Litefoot and their would-be biographer – gets to accompany his heroes on an investigation. But amongst the bizarre murders and strange clues lies a much deeper and far more dangerous mystery. Unsure who they can trust, Jago and Litefoot will find out the truth at the Museum of Curiosities...

Verdict

The Museum of Curiosities was an excellent episode to conclude the tenth series of Jago & Litefoot! I'm a massive fan of the series and even after ten series the spinoff range keeps going from strength to strength. This rounds out what was a really entertaining series and the last two episodes in particular serving as a loose two-parter really felt like a fitting finale. I thought the concept behind the Museum of Curiosities was marvellous and whilst just the name of it alone sounded intriguing, what was actually inside was rather magnificent. It almost felt like something of a finale of the range in how celebratory the story was of the adventures of Jago and Litefoot over the last ten series. There were numerous name drops and references to so many past series and episodes dating all the way back to The Mahogany Murderers! From the Darkling Facade to the Necropolis Express. The museum really did have it all! Hell, we even heard the Scorchies in terrifying action on two separate occasions! I loved it. It's certainly a museum I would love to visit and it could only have one creator. I have found the character of Carruthers Summerton to be slightly annoying since he showed up in the last series and suggested documenting the adventures of Jago and Litefoot for a prose release. They were both on board and he's been a consistent but quiet presence throughout the series before this episode. This time around though he was very much involved and whilst I had predicted that he would turn out to be the villain, I thought the use of Luke Betterman as almost a red herring was magnificent. I must admit, I thought he was also on the side of Carruthers in how he was being sneaky and not wholly forthcoming with Ellie when he recruited her for help after escaping captivity. It explained his rapid exit at the end of The Mourning After but it really did feel like he was making things up in order to lure Ellie in. Thankfully, that was not the case and I think he's certainly a character that compliments both Jago and Litefoot. I hope we haven't heard the last of him. I think it's quite amusing to have had Ellie and Betterman together for the duration of the episode purely because of the actors who portray them. Lisa Bowerman and David Warner will absolutely blossom together in the New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield so this is a nice moment where they're not playing Benny and the Unbound Doctor. They worked brilliantly together and the moment Betterman states he really wished Ellie hadn't found the dead body was where I thought the reveal was in. I was had! 100%. The whacky nature of Carruthers was great but he wasn't exactly as clever as he thought he was. He had been playing an incredibly long game in collecting artefacts for his museum collection, but actually wanting Litefoot as an exhibit was probably a step too far! The prospect of turning him literally into a wax figure was horrifying but that's what he wanted. Betterman wasn't having it and challenged him to a straight shot but Summerton was rather weak and feeble. It would be his downfall. The way he actually escaped facing punishment by jumping into the wax himself was pretty shocking and not the best of fates! That's some way to go. I wonder what will become of the Museum of Curiosities now? He was behind all of the suspicious happenings for Betterman in the previous episode which explained a lot, but now it appears a whole new exciting direction is coming for the series. The description of a cloaked and deranged figure was awfully exciting as Quick met the disturber under the bridged. And there he was, the decayed Master. What a cliffhanger for the next series! I for one cannot wait to listen. A sublime combination is in store! Overall, a fantastic finale! 

Rating: 9/10