The sands of time are running… and they are in pursuit of Jago, Litefoot, Leela and Ellie. As the final battle gets underway, the infernal investigators make the decision of their lives…
The sands of time are running… and they are in pursuit of Jago, Litefoot, Leela and Ellie. As the final battle gets underway, the infernal investigators make the decision of their lives…
JAGO & LITEFOOT: THE HOURGLASS KILLERS
While I rarely dislike anything that Justin Richards writes, I think it was a mistake for him to write “The Hourglass Killers,” the final story of Jago & Litefoot’s fourth series. This story, which ties together the various plots running through the series, requires more than the workmanlike Doctor Who plotting that Richards typically brings to the table, meaning that it feels empty and unsatisfying. I call it Doctor Who plotting for a reason: theme music aside, this is absolutely a Doctor Who story and not a Jago & Litefoot tale. The Doctor drives the action and ultimately saves the day while Jago and Litefoot are reduced to supporting roles in their own series. While this makes sense – why wouldn’t the super-intelligent time-traveling alien be the one to save the day? – it shows the dangers of taking the Doctor out of his own series and putting him in others. It’s patronizing at best: every time Jago or Litefoot says or does something useful, the Doctor congratulates them like children in need of validation. Even Leela isn’t immune: gone is the intelligent, dangerous warrior of the past few stories, replaced by a cipher tasked with asking the Doctor questions and cheering his resourcefulness. Kempston and Hardwick are defeated and the day is saved, but it’s hard to get excited when our favorite characters have little to nothing to do with it. I’m curious to finally hear the two Doctor Who stories that follow “The Hourglass Killers” – hopefully they’ll get the bad taste out of my mouth.
5/10