Jago & Litefoot: Is it the greatest Doctor Who spin-off series ever made?

Christopher Baxter and Trevor Baxter starred in popular Big Finish spin-off Jago and Litefoot.

(Photo credit: Jago and Litefoot/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Following the announcement of the Paternoster Gang’s own series, we look back at Doctor Who’s other Victorian spin-off, Jago & Litefoot, and why it was quite possibly one of the best spin-offs ever.

The announcement of The Pasternoster Gang spin-off series is exciting, isn’t it? The trio have been very popular characters, and it will be wonderful have some fun Victorian adventures in London with these three outside of Doctor Who.

But hearing of the series reminded me of another spin-off set in Victorian London. A series about a pair of “investigators of infernal incidents”. A series that could horrify you as much as it amuse you. A series based on a pair of characters who had only appeared on television once, and yet became one of Big Finish’s most successful spin-offs. And a series that, sadly, came to an end this year. I am referring to the eternally brilliant series, Jago & Litefoot.

If you’ve never heard of the series before, or even the main characters, let me give you a quick summary. Henry Gordon Jago and Proffesor George Litefoot originally appeared in the Fourth Doctor story The Talons of Weng-Chiang. They were two very different characters in virtually different worlds. One was a theater impresario, the other was a pathologist. It was likely that, under normal circumstances, their paths would never have crossed.

Of course, that all changed when they each met the Doctor, while he was investigating a series of horrific murders in London. It’s funny to think that they don’t actually meet each other until Talon‘s fifth episode, when the story was well over halfway through already!

And yet, despite this, a strong bond clearly formed between the two. A lot of banter passed between them, but there were also hints of a strong friendship rapidly forming. Particularly when they’re captured by Weng-Chiang, and Jago admits that he’s not the bravest man “when it comes to it”. Litefoot’s response is absolutely perfect.

"When it comes to it, I don’t suppose anybody is."

It’s a nice moment that reassures Jago, someone that Litefoot hardly knows. It’s no wonder that they became the very closest of friends.

Before they got their own series, Jago and Litefoot featured in Companion Chronicle The Mahogany Murderers.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

The Mahogany Murderers

Still, even then, you may wonder why these two characters would get their own spin-off series. Especially since they only appeared in one story.

Well, along with the strong writing for the characters, as well as the huge popularity of Talons, another thing that helped was, of course, the actors. Both Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter gave truly memorable performances as Jago & Litefoot, even then. Memorable enough, in fact, to give them a special audio adventure, over three decades later.

The Mahagony Murderers was, in some ways, a rather experimental release for Big Finish. Part of The Companion Chronicles range, in which former companions of the Doctor would narrate stories in the first-person, these would usually be stories that they actually shared with the Doctor.

The Mahogany Murderers was very noticeably different, however. Not only did no companions feature in the release, but the Doctor didn’t even make a single appearance in the story! It really was Jago & Litefoot’s very own tale, one they told to each other as they tried to get all the facts straight. (While also trying to have a quiet drink at their favorite pub, the Red Tavern.)

It was an absolutely fantastic release. Along with telling a very creepy tale of woodwork mannequins coming alive, the dialogue between Jago & Litefoot was absolutely fantastic. There were many moments that had me laughing incredibly hard, particularly one example where Litefoot is skeptical about how Jago snuck into a warehouse by “finding a door open”.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Mahogany Murderers was a huge success. So much so that, just a little over a year later, Big Finish gave us the first series of Jago & Litefoot. The first of many, in fact.

Not only did Jago and Litefoot have a highly prolific series, but they also appeared in several special stories. Particularly when they met a certain Sontaran in Jago and Litefoot and Strax.

(Image credit: Jago and Litefoot/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

An incredibly successful series

The first series of Jago & Litefoot proved to be just as successful as The Mahogany Murderers. It introduced the series in just the right way, giving the duo a nice mixture of adventures that involved horror, adventure and drama, while still remembering to take the time to focus on the pair’s interactions and banter with one another, too.

And it wasn’t long before the second series came out. In fact, with the exception of 2012, Big Finish released two box sets a year of Jago & Litefoot until 2017. (And, it should be pointed out that, even in 2012, a couple of very special episodes were released that connected series four and five together.)

But why was Jago & Litefoot so successful? What kept listeners eager for more?

Well, for one thing, it was never afraid to reinvent itself with every series. While the second series matched closely the formula of series one, series three featured the return of Fourth Doctor companion Leela, who both Jago and Litefoot had met in The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Series four also brought in Colin Baker as “Professor Claudius Dark”.

But then, after that series, even bigger risks were taken. Series five moved the duo from Victorian London to the Sixties; series six featured steampunk robots; series seven had Jago & Litefoot on the run etc. The series never allowed itself to simply rely on previous successes.

And even for individual episodes, the series could be highly experimental. The greatest example of this – and perhaps one of the series’s very best episodes – is Encore of the Scorchies. An episode that’s bizarre, bold and brilliant, Encore of the Scorchies is a huge musical episode that fully embraces the theatricality of the genre, while simultaneously giving us one of the darker and more horrific episodes of the series.

A sad goodbye

But, more than the consistent quality of the stories, it was the characters and the performances that kept bringing audiences back. Particularly from the two leads, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter. Their chemistry and their banter was always perfect to listen to. Their presence made it feel as though Jago & Litefoot could go on forever.

Of course, that wasn’t meant to be. On July 16th 2017, Trevor Baxter passed away. It was a huge loss to many. Naturally, Jago & Litefoot couldn’t continue. It just wouldn’t be the same with a re-casting, not in this case.

More from Winter is Coming

But Big Finish did give the fans some form of closure. Back in May this year, they released Jago & Litefoot Forever. This not only helped to resolve a major cliffhanger left by the last full series. But, far more importantly, it was a truly wonderful tribute to both Jago & Litefoot and to Trevor Baxter himself, and served well as a goodbye to the much-loved series.

I’m still deeply saddened that it did come to an end. But also, at the same time, I’m glad that it did, rather than try to continue without one of the two key actors in the series. That approach would never have worked in the slightest.

With The Paternoster Gang beginning next year, we could get something that would fill the huge void left by Jago & Litefoot. But somehow, I doubt it, at least not for this listener. For almost a decade, the adventures of Jago and Litefoot were a joy to listen to. Even the weak episodes could still be fun with both Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter giving such great performances.

And there were very few truly bad episodes. The rest of the series featured a wonderful range of high-quality storytelling, unlike any other series out there. Jago & Litefoot gave us stories told in the horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama and even musical genres. There won’t ever be anything quite like it again, not really. And it will always be one of, if not the greatest Doctor Who spinoff series of all time.

Have you listened to Jago & Litefoot? Is it your favorite spin-off series? If not, what is? Let us know in the comments below.