July 01, 2011

The Man at the End of the Garden (2011)

The next story in the Jago and Litefoot is a slightly odd story. Written by the man who came up with the Toms Tardis Award winning story ‘The Magic Mousetrap’ – Matthew Sweet. This story is a bit of a break from the norm and at times it doesn’t feel like a Jago and Litefoot story. I think that we have become use to relatively straightforward stories with straightforward monsters/villains and this is perhaps the most complex or multi-layered story that we have had since this spin-off started.

There is a sense of The Birds in this story where the cast seem to be under attack from crows. I think that it gives the story a nice dark atmosphere and the whole idea that what is happening has something to do with a book is a nice idea but sadly the story is too confusing for me to be able to connect the dots so to speak. The story allows little for Louise Jameson and it seems an odd story to go for and they should make hay while the sun shines as the old saying goes. I don’t know how long Louise Jameson will be in Jago and Litefoot but if it is only for this series then this will be the one where she should have been allowed to do more. As for Benjamin and Baxter, they put on fine performances and as usual have the enthusiasm that made this series such a must. I was also quite impressed with the little girl, Eden Monteath (who appeared in The Eleventh Hour) did a good job and was totally believeable being in a very intelligent script. The other supporting character was Joanna Bacon who played Mrs. Hitch. I found her character to be very good and well played. The interaction between Mrs Hitch and Clara was one of the best things in this story.

It’s a story that I struggled with. I think that the struggle came with trying to figure out what was working out what was going on between the mom and daughter (?) and going on with Jago and Litefoot. I liked it enough to stick with it but I feel slightly disappointed with it and it wasn’t a patch on the previous adventures. I think that there is nothing wrong with having stories that push the boundries of my intelligence and whilst I may not understand everything that’s going on. I think that its far better than stories like Flip-Flop and most recently The Hollows of Time.

No comments:

Post a Comment