5.4 - The Last Act

The 1960s Adventures of Jago and Litefoot come to an end. The story starts off pretty strong as some mystery builds over what exactly is going on and what exactly the villainous Ms. Godiva is planning. There's a great scene where Jago and Litefoot try and explain the events of Talons of Weng-Chiang and what's going on currently to Detective Sergeant Sacker.

However, I felt the story did lose momentum towards the end. It tried too hard to be a sequel to the Talons of Weng-Chiang and a sequel fit inside a less than one hour series finale with everything else. When a certain character reappeared in the last ten minutes I couldn't help but be reminded of the Vengeance of Morbious. I also felt that the ending seemed a bit too mechanical while being too unrealistic in how the "trapped in time" plot was resolved.

The first two stories did set up a very good 1960s situation. I thought based on the end of, "The Age of Revolution" we'd find some sinister man behind the curtain who had manipulated the Victorian Values people into action and that would be included in the final plot. Instead, the question is unresolved and the last two stories have very few elements that couldn't just as easily been sent in Victorian times. Also, I really would have liked more exploration and explanation of what was going on with Ellie. I'm not certain whether was needed was another Jago and Litefoot 1960s box set or to have this one be more focused.

To be sure, there are some good enjoyable moments and some great performances, and a solid soundtrack, and it's okay story overall. Still, it's far less satisfying than the Series finales in the previous sets.

As hinted at by another reviewer, it's tough to talk about this one-- at all-- without including spoilers. I'll try to tread lightly, but consider this a warning. The fifth series was very much a return to form for the Victorian duo, and aside from the uncharacteristically off-putting Gluttonous Guru, a lot of spooky fun. Events at the end of the Bloodchild Codex, however, suggest a very different story than what we wind up getting here as our heroes finally confront Guinevere Godiva. (Last chance to stop reading!) Going into the second part of Final Act was so jarring that I felt like a marketing team had burst into the writers' room and demanded a rewrite of the final act. The climactic showdown largely jettisons the sinister conspiracies and enigmatic cast members of the 60s London stories in favor of re-enacting a classic Who moment shot for shot. I'd give the first 75% of this two-parter a 9 or 10. Watch that last 25%, though. It's a doozy, and your enjoyment is likely to hinge on whether you perceive it as "affectionate homage" or "lazy retread."

"I've heard of odder things, I s'pose - but only from you two!"
A strong ending for one of my favourite series of Jago and Litefoot. The beginng was a little bit muddled I felt, but once the plot really gets going it becomes a worthy and dramatic finale, with many poignant moments for all the regulars. And of course there is an intruiging cliffhanger for series 6 - can't wait to hear what's next for the investigators of infernal incidents!