Benjamin & Baxter

by Nicholas Briggs (Interviewer), Christopher Benjamin, Trevor Baxter

The stars of Jago & Litefoot, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, prove immensely endearing raconteurs as they chat with Nicholas Briggs about their long and varied careers, covering their first appearance as Jago & Litefoot in Doctor Who: The Talons of Weng-Chiang and a rich tapestry of other tales from their lives...

Audio CD

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Nicholas Briggs is a British actor and writer, predominantly associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its various spin-offs. Some of Briggs' earliest Doctor Who-related work was as host of The Myth Makers, a series of made-for-video documentaries produced in the 1980s and 1990s by Reeltime Pictures in which Briggs interviews many of the actors and writers involved in the series. When Reeltime expanded into producing original dramas, Briggs wrote some stories and acted in others, beginning with War Time, the first unofficial Doctor Who spin-off, and Myth Runner, a parody of Blade Runner showcasing bloopers from the Myth Makers series built around a loose storyline featuring Briggs as a down on his luck private detective in the near future.

He wrote and appeared in several made-for-video dramas by BBV, including the third of the Stranger stories, In Memory Alone opposite former Doctor Who stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He also wrote and appeared in a non-Stranger BBV production called The Airzone Solution (1993) and directed a documentary film, Stranger than Fiction (1994).

Briggs has directed many of the Big Finish Productions audio plays, and has provided Dalek, Cybermen, and other alien voices in several of those as well. He has also written and directed the Dalek Empire and Cyberman audio plays for Big Finish. In 2006, Briggs took over from Gary Russell as executive producer of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio range.

Briggs co-wrote a Doctor Who book called The Dalek Survival Guide.

Since Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, Briggs has provided the voices for several monsters, most notably the Daleks and the Cybermen. Briggs also voiced the Nestene Consciousness in the 2005 episode "Rose", and recorded a voice for the Jagrafess in the 2005 episode "The Long Game"; however, this was not used in the final episode because it was too similar to the voice of the Nestene Consciousness. He also provided the voices for the Judoon in both the 2007 and 2008 series. On 9 July 2009, Briggs made his first appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood in the serial Children of Earth, playing Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Rick Yates.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this yesterday at work and ended up staying half an hour later than I planed as I wanted to finish it. It was fascinating, part oral history, part interview. The two gents talked about growing up during the war, rep theatre, television in the 60s and 70s. The part that really struck me was Trevor talking about the homophobia of the industry in decades past. The arts are usually portrayed as much more accepting, but he mentions an actor who was given 10 years in prison for falling in love and writing love letters, how they were always trying to trap people, how jobs would have "no queers" listed. It was a fascinating insight as most other oral histories I've heard have said how things weren't as bad before legalisation as people thought. Clearly Trevor's experiences were different. I'd love to have the chance to talk to him more about this.

The only thing that bothered me was Big Finish put a label on it that it was for "mature readers" and "not suitable for younger listeners". There was no swearing, nothing explicit, so I can only assume that it was because there was LGBT content. Which personally I find offensive. Young people should know how prejudice was in the past to help them deal with it in the present. Young LGBT people should know they are not alone, and straight young people should be exposed to these prejudices early to fight against them. Big Finish have audios with genocide and torture but no labels, if you talk of people being in love, then it gets one.

That said I definitely recommend this. The boys were so funny together and each got to tell their own story which were both fascinating.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and enlightening interview of the two leads from our beloved Jago & Litefoot talking about their lives and experiences.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening background details about the actors who played Jago and Litefoot.