Too Much Reality

"I'm seeing ghosts in every shadow."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Audio

Released: April 2017

Series: Jago & Litefoot 13.04

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis

Jago and Litefoot meet their equivalent infernal investigators in this world – Aubrey and Betterman. Together they investigate sightings of a strange 'demon' and bodies that mysteriously fade away...

Before long they discover a crashed spaceship, and find out the truth behind Mrs Bartholomew and the Chapel of Night. But even with this mystery sold, will they be able to get home again?

Verdict

Too Much Reality was another great episode to conclude the thirteenth series of Jago & Litefoot! I thought this was a really nice finale and it was rather poignant as the last performed story for Trevor Baxter before his sad and untimely death. What a legacy he leaves at Big Finish with Professor Litefoot. A tremendous character that I will always cherish. I really did feel emotional as the episode reached its closing stages knowing what I did and it made me just have a moment of reflection on what an incredible run of adventures this spinoff range has been. I think it's terrific to place Jago and Litefoot on a parallel world and not only were they now interacting with their alternate counterparts, but they were also getting to know Aubrey and Betterman who were this world's infernal investigators. I thought that presented a strong dynamic and I like that they were able to tell stories of their experiences and investigations. So many similarities and yet so many differences. Perhaps the change of voice from alternate versions of Jago and Litefoot given the audio format was why the decision was made to have different people in that role? It makes sense as I do think audio is a difficult place to fully tackle alternate versions of the same character because there's just nothing to differentiate when all we can hear are the voices. The cliffhanger to How the Other Half Lives with the warning from Betterman about Jago and Litefoot being on their path sounded quite sinister but he and Aubrey were actually pretty friendly which was nice. They made a good team and I liked how once our version of Jago and Litefoot stepped back through the tear in reality to try and make it home, the quartet were going to acquaint themselves fully and set up base at the Red Tavern. The alternate Jago and Litefoot could definitely assist with infernal investigations! I thought that was a really nice setup and a good way to leave the parallel world. I thought the continuity with Chapel of Night was good stuff and I liked how we encountered a very different version of Mrs Bartholomew. The entire concept of feeding off the corporeal makeup of others to make herself real and able to interact and physically manifest in this dimension was great. She did seem to regret the side effects of death for those whose essence she took, but she was selfish too and still continued. I thought the very nature of Jago and Litefoot not being from this world was a really strong resolution to her threat and them not fading away and actually destroying Bartholomew's converter was terrific. It was clever too because Jago and Litefoot just went along with knowing it was a pretty safe bet. It was an intriguing end to the investigation and I liked the atmosphere that came with this episode. Crashed spaceships and the like felt like they should only occur at night and I definitely got that vibe here. Maybe the frequenting at the pub helps too! I thought the cliffhanger finish with Jago and Litefoot perhaps not arriving back on the correct version of their world after all was fun stuff and I look forward to the next and final series to hear where things go, but it will be a very different experience altogether. What a run. A glorious spinoff range, but we're not quite done yet. Overall, a great finale! 

Rating: 8/10