THE MAHOGANY MURDERERS

It’s not often that I fork out on non-canon Doctor Who adventures, so this is a bit of a rarity for me.

Big Finish‘s audio adventure The Mahogany Murderers sees the return of two characters from Doctor Who who, although only appearing in one adventure and only working together in the second half of that adventure, have become one of the most fondly remembered pairings in the history of the show.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Henry Gordon Jago is (or, rather, was) the owner, proprietor, and manager of the Palace Theatre, London where the masterful mystical illusionist from the East, Li H’Sen Chang, performed to a packed crowd each night.  When it turned out that, aided by his living mannequin, Mr Sin, Li H’Sen Chang preyed on hapless young women to feed his master Magnus Greel with life force and that Magnus Greel, posing as the god Weng-Chiang, was conducting nefarious business with a giant rat and a Chinese tong beneath the Palace Theatre and in the sewers, Jago was only saved by the intervention of that master detective known as ‘the Doctor’.  After all, “our policemen are solid sturdy fellows, but their buttons are the brightest thing about them”.

Aiding Jago in keeping a watchful eye over Greel’s activities is the educated pathologist, the eminent Professor Litefoot who became involved following mysterious dead bodies being dragged out of the Thames.  When the Doctor and his primitive travelling companion, found floating up the Amazon in a hatbox, discuss with him the nature of the killing blow and describe the strange giant hairs found on the body as belonging to a giant rat, it’s not long before London’s peerless professor of pathology’s curiosity is aroused.

Together, Jago and Litefoot are captured by Greel and his minions and plan several escape attempts.  Despite being from different social classes, they form a friendship through such unlikely adversity and remain friends ever since.

In the years since The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Jago and Litefoot have become embroiled in similar adventures but, not frequenting the same social circles, they haven’t been in touch for quite some time.

A curious body is brought to Professor Litefoot on a hand cart, and things are not all that they seem.  Requiring quick and decisive action, but not sure whether to trust the police with such a delicate case, Litefoot sends a telegram to his old partner-in-the-supernatural, Henry Gordon Jago, to help him investigate.  Jago is a bit out on his luck at present and so relishes the opportunity to play an important part in Litefoot’s investigation.

The Mahogany Murderers opens with Professor Litefoot ordering two noxious chemicals at a rather rum bar of dubious patronage.  He’s awaiting the arrival of Henry Gordon Jago, who arrives like a blustering whirlwind.  Appreciative of the drink, Jago proceeds to blame Litefoot for recent events – including his burned jacket sleeve – and complaining that Litefoot’s telegram didn’t provide sufficient information for him to carry out his investigation, nor to warrant all the danger he’s been put in.

Litefoot explains the events that led up to the telegram, including the arrival of a body that looked so perfectly and exactingly human except for one very curious detail – it was made from wood.  This wooden man was found near the Thames, with the suggestion being that the mannequin had committed suicide.

Jago picks up the thread, describing how he went straight to where the body was found and discovered a warehouse full of very strange and very dangerous electrical equipment – you know, that new-fangled stuff that they say will replace gas one day.

I’ll end the review there to avoid any further spoilers.

Summary:

The continuing adventures of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot have been the subject of fan speculation for over 30 years, with many people suggesting they should have had their own spin-off series long before now.   The original Talons of Weng-Chiang was a Victorian mystery written by Robert Holmes, a man known for including double-acts in his scripts.  Of those double-acts, the two most fondly remembered are Jago and Litefoot due, in no small part, to the gusto that Christopher Benjamin brought to the part of Jago and the authenticity imbued in the part of Litefoot by Trevor Baxter.

The character of Jago, musical hall impresario, owed much to Holmes’ rich dialogue laced with million-dollar words and a skill with colourful etymology.  One of his first lines in The Talons of Weng-Chiang goes something like this – “Have I ever, in my thirty years in the halls, seen such a dazzling display of lustrous legerdemain, so many feats of superlative, supernatural skill, the answer must be never sir, never!”.  I guess the modern equivalent would be “is okay”.

Jago’s way with never saying one word when there are fifteen to be used makes Blackadder’s use of Dr Johnson’s dictionary in Ink and Incapacity feel rather dumbed-down.

With Robert Holmes no longer with us, is it possible that anyone could step up to the plate and deliver on such a rich and somewhat pompous character?

The Mahogany Murderers is a tale from the Big Finish Audios collection The Companion Chronicles.  These are Doctor Who stories which don’t feature the Doctor but do feature characters who have, at some time, been companions.  The Mahogany Murderers is the first one I’ve listened to and, if they are all like this one, they would seem to rely on a very small cast relating events in hindsight.

Taking turns with the narrative to relate their own experiences during the same adventure, Jago and Litefoot tell the story from their perspective.  There’s only one other voice in the story – that’s the barmaid (who, coincidentally, is the director of the piece).

If, like me, you’ve been waiting for Jago and Litefoot to return for so long (for me, that’d be ever since I bought the VHS tape circa 1990), then it’s very likely that you’ll enjoy this two-part hour-long story.  If you really don’t like the characters and didn’t go a bundle on The Talons of Weng-Chiang then you probably won’t.

The adventure entirely hangs on the vocal talents of Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, with subtle sounds and music helping to evoke a Victorian atmosphere.

Trevor Baxter nails the part of Professor Litefoot from the very first moment.  His voice and delivery of words is almost exactly the same as back in 1977.  He must be about 77 years old now, but you’d swear that he was only filming Talons of Weng-Chiang last week.  He truly transports you back to the world of Professor Litefoot.

Christopher Benjamin (now 74) is a little less successful with Jago.  He improves as the adventure goes on, but his voice doesn’t sound much like the enthusiastically blusterous Jago from the original story.  The words written for him at times sound forced – not Benjamin’s delivery, but as though the writer felt that he needed to insert a tongue-twister for Jago to say.  As the story progresses, Benjamin utilises his voice well to evoke an creepy atmosphere of fear and foreboding.  It’s around this time that he seems to “find” Jago again.  I feel sure that watching the DVD of their previous adventure prior to the recording would have done wonders here.

The main disappointment of the story is that Litefoot and Jago’s interaction remains solely at the bar.  They relate their participation in the adventure to each other but, at no time, do they join forces against the threat.  This is a bit sad because, while they were great on their own in Talons of Weng-Chiang, it wasn’t until they got together that television history was made.

Following the adventure, there’s a nine-minute interview with the three actors.  The director (bar maid) wisely allows most of the time to be given over to Benjamin and Baxter but she comes in for the final two minutes to give her whirlwind view of the characters, the original story, and her pleasure in being the one chosen to direct this story.  Her enthusiasm for the piece is remarkable – clearly someone who enjoyed the original story.  This is what, I think, helped to sell the overall “feel” of the piece and the recreation of the atmosphere and environment of the Victorian setting.  The director is Lisa Bowerman, a name you may recall as the Cheetah person ‘Karra’ from Survival.

Baxter passes on an amusing anecdote of filming on the water while both he and Benjamin cover their distant memories of the original show by letting us know how lovely everyone was.  Benjamin is also asked about his recent involvement in the David Tennant story The Unicorn and The Wasp (again saying how lovely everyone was).

Finally, the interviewer throws in the question of a possible sequel.  Christopher Benjamin is up for that immediately – he seems such a genuinely kind man that’d do anything if someone just asks him.  Trevor Baxter is a little more reserved but generally agrees (“subject to contract”).

If it turns out that The Mahogany Murderers is just the pilot episode, then I would certainly be the first in line to buy any sequels.  This story, while told extremely well, seems to owe much to borrowing ideas from the Autons that you can’t help but wonder if the original intention was to have Holmes’ characters of Jago & Litefoot facing off against Holmes’ alien race (the Nestene Intelligence) that created the Autons.  And, while it did take some time for Benjamin to get his Jago back into theatre-hall mode, he does accomplish it before the mid-point and so a sequel would be very welcome indeed.

Short Summary: if you liked Jago & Litefoot in The Talons of Weng-Chiang you’ll like The Mahogany Murderers.  If you didn’t, buy something else.