Doctor Who spin-off review: Jago & Litefoot: Series 4 teams the duo with a familiar face

Who is Professor Claudius Dark? What does he want with Jago & Litefoot? And why is he played by Colin Baker? We take a look at the fourth series of the duo’s own Doctor Who spin-off.

After bringing in Leela in Series 3, there’s another major Doctor Who actor brought into Series 4 of Jago & Litefoot. A very major actor, in fact: Colin Baker, in the special guest role of…Professor Claudius Dark.

Casting Baker in such a role rather than having him play the Doctor from the beginning seems an odd choice. But at the same time, it’s easy to see why the creative team decided to take that risk. When you listen to Series 4 as a whole, you realize that Colin Baker only has a major role in the final episode. Before then, he only has very brief scenes with our two heroes, and a key reason for that is that they don’t know who “Dark” is and have no reason to trust him.

What makes this work even better is how Leela fits into the series. While her role is slightly reduced compared to Series 3, she’s still used well in this box set, especially in how she trusts Dark when Jago & Litefoot don’t. This creates tension between the three friends, adding a fresh aspect to it that doesn’t outstay its welcome, at least.

Colin Baker features as Professor Claudius Dark in Series 4. How well does his character fit in the overall narrative?

Image Courtesy BBC Studios, BritBox

Distinctive stories

As for the stories themselves, once again, we get another decent mix of stories with this volume, with each one standing out in their own individual ways. The opening episode, Jago in Love by Nigel Fairs, goes for a more refreshingly personal look at Christopher Benjamin’s character. Beautiful Things is a great “celebrity historical” by John Dorney, in which our heroes meet legendary wordsmith Oscar Wilde. The Lonely Clock by Matthew Sweet is a mixture of murder mystery and Sapphire & Steel style horror, while The Hourglass Killers by Justin Richards brings back an old friend while neatly resolving the story.

Each of these episodes fits the world of Jago & Litefoot extremely well, giving us great tales while exploring different sides of the team. In fact, each of the characters seems to be focused on in different ways with each episode. Naturally, Jago is the main leading character in the first episode; Litefoot stands out just a little more in the second; Leela gets to show off her detective skills well in the third, while Colin Baker is definitely the star of the finale, when “Dark’s” identity is finally revealed.

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An easy but enjoyable mystery

Considering both the actor and where Jago & Litefoot end up after this series, it is perhaps rather easy to guess who Colin Baker is playing in this series, so you almost have to wonder why his character was shrouded in mystery in the first place. I stress “almost”, though. While it’s easy for the audience to work out who he is, what matters is that Jago & Litefoot don’t know. So along with giving Baker a slightly reduced role until the finale, it also leads to a rather satisfying moment when our two heroes discover who he really is.

Jago & Litefoot: Series 4 takes a bold risk by bringing in someone that could all too easily overshadow our heroes. But it’s also a series that still works extremely well, and doesn’t forget why listeners wanted to hear more of these two in the first place. It also leads to a very exciting crossover…

Have you listened to Jago & Litefoot: Series 4? Do you think the casting of Colin Baker worked well for it? Let us know in the comments below.