Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, Trevor Baxter, Christopher Benjamin, Mark Goldthorp, Rosanna Miles, Ben Bishop, Adrian Lukis.
Two of the best loved characters from the classic period of Doctor Who make a stunning return in the canon and manage to lighten the mood in their own superb interminable style in one of the stand out highs so far of Tom Baker’s return to the role he relished in for many years. Jago and Litefoot appeared nearly 40 years ago in the episodes surrounding the mystery of Weng-Chiang and now they return in The Justice of Jalxar.
Since those halcyon days and Big Finish’s involvement of creating new stories for classic doctors, they have appeared in their own spin off adventures which have garnered much praise and vocal interest, by placing them back in the period in which they were much loved, with a crime fighting hero, a girl in trouble and the spectre of Victorian crime, it is no wonder that The Justice of Jalxar is a romp in the very finest of traditions. For those that are uninitiated with the ways of Professor George Litefoot and theatre impresario Henry Gordon Jago, think of the two Victorian sleuths introduced during Matt Smith’s tenure as the 11th Doctor, the irreplaceable Madame Vastra and her companion Jenny Flint, portrayed by the indisputable talent of Neve McIntosh and Catrin Stewart but without a moustache between them and the same comic drive but fleshed out with the same visual charisma.
The Justice of Jalxar brings these two Victorian amateur sleuths together with the fourth Doctor once more but with the much missed Mary Tamm by the Doctor’s side. It is a meeting that brings out the very best in both Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, Jago and Litefoot, the light hearted but erudite Tom Baker and the blistering and well- spoken, perfectly delivered scorn of Romana. It also brings a masked vigilante, the dreaded and seemingly indestructible Pugilist, prowling the alleys and highways of England’s capital in search of righting wrongs and passing sentence on those guilty of any crime. The trouble with dealing with the Victorian criminal underworld is that sometimes those trying to help you in solving the case are those that can get in the way of striking the right balance between meeting out justice and keeping on the legal side of the law.
John Dorney’s script also had to meet the right balance, not between criminality and the law but in capturing the delights of Jago and Litefoot’s delightful appearance and keeping the story from descending into an unrequited love in. For this Mary Tamm is the voice of reason, a woman who sees the Doctor’s fondness for the two humans for what it is worth and who keeps the Doctor from treading a path that he might regret. Alongside the four main actors there is a great appearance by Rosanna Miles as the pickpocket Mary Brown and Mark Goldthorp as Bobby Stamford. Both actors give off a warmth that would usually only be felt on television, especially Rosanna Miles who portrays the woman who is forced in thievery with magnetism and understanding.
Perhaps the best episode yet of the new series featuring Tom Baker, polished, witty and most importantly fun.
The Justice of Jalxar is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall