Jago & Litefoot: Series 12

To my mind, this is one of the stronger seasons of the series, which normally contains at least one weaker episode in each box set of stories, but doesn't here. It's also unusual in having a relatively unified plot, which follows the consequences of one of the events in the previous season. If there's a weakness, it's that one character automatically assumes that a painting represents a literal depiction of actual events. Granted, we as the audience know that it does, but why would she think that - it's not a photograph?

* Picture This - We start where the cliffhanger of the previous season left off; a murder at an art gallery. The murder turns out to be merely setting up the later episodes, with this one about something else strange going on at the gallery. This sets the tone for the rest of the season, which deals entirely with supernatural threats, and has some overtones of horror, although this particular episode is more about the investigation than a specific ‘monster'. It's a surreal episode, kept well-grounded by its leads. 4 stars.

* The Flickermen - This is the most clearly horror-based of the four episodes, at least in terms of tone. It's partly about the arrival of the cinema in London - at this point in history very much a curiosity, where the mere fact that the pictures moved was exciting enough that films didn't need a plot. This, however, coincides with the appearance of the titular Flickermen, an interesting and spooky idea that fits not only with the technology of early film but with other aspects of the late nineteenth century. The result is a spooky ghost story, rich in Victorian atmosphere, as well as foreshadowing the eventual death of Jago's beloved music hall. 5 stars.

* The School of Blood - The sub-plot that has been running in the background for the first two episodes comes to the fore here as Jago and Litefoot investigate a series of vampiric murders. It's been a while since the series has dealt with vampires directly, but the plot here is an original one and actually better than the previous outing. It's set in a girls' boarding school, with a number of suspects - we know one character is a vampire, but it's not clear what everyone else is hiding, since there are evidently other things going on. 4.5 stars.

* Warm Blood - While the previous episode is mostly self-contained, it does lead directly into this one as Jago and Litefoot close in on the vampire and find their loyalty to one of the other series regulars tested. The main plot is, perhaps, rather straightforward and a little predictable, but the more personal elements compensate for that, as events from the very first season come back to haunt the heroes.

Since it doesn't end on the usual end-of-season cliffhanger, it may be that this was being lined up as a possible final episode, although a further season did, as it turned out, follow. It would have been a perfectly satisfying conclusion if that was what it had been, but it's open enough for it not to feel odd that it wasn't. 4 stars.