Still Running
Jenny #2
Released: 11 November 2021
Listened: 5/20/23
Inside the Maldovarium
Jenny’s first set did well enough that they released another in 2021, entitled “Still Running.” They changed the formula on the random wandering by introducing Dorium Maldovar and having him provide Jenny and Noah with something to do. However, there’s always the question of whether Maldovar can be trusted, and he certainly isn’t giving any hints throughout most of this story. Jenny is still hyperactive, and still very hard on spaceships. Noah, however, is asserting himself a bit more. He’s clearly gotten tired of Jenny’s act, so he urges caution more, and becomes frustrated when Jenny doesn’t listen. He seems to be expecting a partnership, and Jenny is still the one running the show. Neither she nor Noah are savvy enough to go head-to-head with Maldovar, or even with most of his clientele, so they pretty much stumble through on blind luck. As an interesting note, one of the henchmen calls Noah “the pretty one” and assigns him to wait tables, while Jenny is stuck doing dishes. Make of that what you will. Because of the nature of the story, there isn’t really a plot to resolve, so the episode feels a bit like setup for what comes next.
Altered
I was tough on Christian Brassington’s story in the previous box, but this one is much better (maybe because he co-wrote it with Matt Fitton). This time around, Noah and Jenny head to New Damson, because Maldovar told them to. They find a utopia where everything seems beautiful, although it’s run by a computer that assesses everybody’s “life score,” and gives them work accordingly. Noah’s score is 999, much higher than Jenny’s, to her ongoing chagrin, so he ends up in an executive office, while Jenny is sent to the mines, where she quickly discovers that utopia isn’t so utopian after all. There’s really no indication given as to why Noah’s score should be so much higher than Jenny’s; she’s plenty smart, although perhaps too independent? Neither of them are experienced enough to be skeptical of the utopia or its computerized overseer, which the Doctor totally would have been. Unusually, though, the computer itself isn’t bad; it’s just that there are Cybermen here, and they’re attempting a more subtle invasion than usual. Special notice should be given to Deeivya Meir, playing Sogo, warrior demi-queen of someplace or other, who starts as an annoyance but becomes an ally. She’s a very well-realized character, one I wouldn’t mind seeing again.
Calamity Jenny
This one is a western, and it’s a story that doesn’t take itself seriously for a moment. It’s also a John Dorney story, which means it’s laugh-out-loud funny (seriously, I did, several times), and it’s got a nice helping of timey-wimey in it. Basically, when you cross a vortex manipulator and an alien crystal that brings bad luck, that’s gonna happen. Mostly, though, the story revels in the western tropes. There’s a saloon with a pianist, folks cheating at poker, a crooked landlady, a lazy sheriff, a horse chase, a train robbery, the whole thing. And of course neither Jenny nor Noah is aware of these tropes, which somehow makes it even funnier. The guest stars are Americans, and do quite a good job with the various western accents, which always makes me happy, as an American. There’s even a western version of the theme tune. But it was the red-tailed hawk cry that made me laugh the hardest. I have no idea if that was in the script, or if the sound designer was really enjoying himself. This one is the standout from this box.
Her Own Worst Enemy
Lisa McMullin provides the finale for this box, one that’s unusually reflective. There’s still action, of course; Jenny and Noah are cornered by the Colt-5000, who we haven’t seen yet in this box. But Jenny has the idea to travel back down the Colt’s timeline with their new vortex manipulator, to prevent her from becoming a cyborg in the first place. Turns out that the cyborg’s name is Geraldine Diamond, and she was an artist, and art teacher. On her planet, they have a practice of “audits,” and if a citizen can’t justify their own life, they get cyborg-ized, as a way to contribute to society. Exploring Geraldine’s timeline, they discover that she did make a difference to people in her life, but she never really knew that. Unfortunately, Noah thinks maybe they can make bigger changes, for the better, but Jenny’s Time Lord senses tell her not to. Which is interesting, seeing someone else interact with the Web of Time, and explain it better than the Doctor ever has. Ultimately, though, the episode ends on a rather powerful cliffhanger, thus giving the impression that this is only half of a story. Big Finish likes to do this with the second boxed set in a series, apparently. If the first one did well enough, then the second assumes the existence of a third (and probably a fourth, because Big Finish likes fours).