Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter, Lisa Bowerman, Conrad Asquith, Toby Longworth, Matt Steer, Alex Lowe, John Banks, Alex Mallinson.

The final episode of Jago & Litefoot’s adventures, at least for as season one goes, sees the common thread of the machinations of Doctor Tulp finally revealed and for Gordon Henry Jago and Professor Litefoot it is a case that brings danger to the front door of the two friends and amateur detectives.

Andy Lane’s The Similarity Engine is rip-roaring end to what has been a magnificent series for two men who made their Doctor Who debut all the way back to the time when the Doctor strode around the universe with nothing more than a tin dog, a female savage and a scarf that was long enough to let down from a tall tower and pretend that it was a homage to Rapunzel. Andy Lane brings the humour that can be found in both Jago & Litefoot, portrayed wonderfully throughout the entire four episode series by veteran actors Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter and takes it up a notch and matches it with the thought of something that has blighted mankind since the start of the Nuclear Age.

Whilst Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter have undoubtedly been the absolute stars of the invigorating series and proved once and for all that some of the classic companions, those that never made it into the Tardis, are also worthy of looking at in greater detail to see how the Doctor changed their lives forever. Companions that fly off in the Doctor’s Police Box are one thing but those that stayed on Earth are also heroes and their stories deserve to be explored.

As Doctor Tulp, played by Toby Longworth, tries to outmatch the intellect of the theatre manager and eminent Professor, the evil he has bought back with him from his experiments into astral projection starts to take hold of his soul and the very modern scourge of nuclear waste eats into the populace of Victorian London.

This social commentary is bar the most interesting of all the stories presented in Series One as it deals with something that modern audiences can grasp with ease, the terrifying prospect of what will come of those to come in the future when the industrial waste starts to atrophy. It is a perfect way to relate to one of the Doctor’s most terrifying enemies, The Daleks, and what happened to them in the extraordinary series by Big Finish, I, Davros.

The Similarity Engine is a tremendous end to a delightful series but where does it leave Jago & Litefoot as a partnership; the friendship could be over?

The Similarity Engine is part of Jago & Litefoot: Series One. Jago & Litefoot is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall