Doctor Who review: Jago & Litefoot have to save the world Chronoclasm
By James Aggas
Jago, Litefoot, and Leela have to stop the end of the world in the final episode of Doctor Who spin-off box set Jago & Litefoot: Series 3.
The third series of Doctor Who spin-off Jago & Litefoot ends with Chronoclasm by Andy Lane. Following the events of Swan Song, time very quickly starts to go wrong, with airplanes flying over Victorian London and giant metal spheres appearing out of nowhere. Jago, Litefoot, and Leela need to stop Professor Payne, who wants to destroy the world. But how? What are his real goals? Is he really just a mad scientist? Or does he have deeper motivations?
There’s no doubt that Chronoclasm is, at this point, the story with the highest stakes yet for Jago & Litefoot to deal with. While previous finales The Similarity Engine and The Ruthven Inheritance had both focused on major villains and grand plans, neither of the episodes featured a man who actually wanted to destroy the world. So does that make Professor Payne the evilest man that Jago & Litefoot have faced yet?
Actually, no. Surprisingly, Payne is a much more interesting character than that. Other than a cameo appearance in Swan Song, the villain has hardly featured in this box set at all, so Chronoclasm is our first (and last) real glimpse of him. And we find out that there’s more to his motives than he initially reveals…
Christopher Benjamin gets a dual role in this episode as Jago…and Jago!
Image Courtesy Big Finish Productions
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High stakes, high emotion
Philip Bretherton plays the character just right, making sure to have fun with the “mad scientist” aspect of him. But, more importantly, he also handles the surprisingly emotional aspects of the character well, too. Andy Lane’s story gives us a villain that’s surprisingly sympathetic, especially when compared to Dr. Tulp or Gabriel Sanders. It provides the finale with some real emotional weight.
Of course, Lane also gets to have fun with time going wrong, too. Along with the large scale anachronisms, Christopher Benjamin gets to have a dual performance in this one as another Jago – a Jago from the future! Well, about a couple of hours into the future, in fact, so there’s not much difference. But it does lead to some great scenes, especially when his earlier self encounters the “imposter”.
Overall, Chronoclasm ties up this volume of the fantastic Doctor Who spin-off nicely. It provides a big, epic threat for our heroes to face, while still giving them some great emotional scenes. (One of my favorites sees Jago being genuinely brave around Leela. It’s a small but touching little moment that reminds us how special he really is.) It’s a pretty solid finale – one that features one incredible cliffhanger…
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Which do you like more? High stakes or high emotion? Do you prefer your villains to have basic goals, or do you prefer monsters that you can sympathize with? Let us know in the comments below.