Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Georgia Tennant, Adèle Anderson, Sean Biggerstaff, Anthony Calf, Silas Carson, Siân Phillips, Clare Corbett, Paul Courtenay, Olivia Darnley, John Dorney, Sara Houghton, Arina II, Rosalyn Landor, Pik-Sen Lim, Stuart Milligan, Siân Phillips, Arabella Weir, Sarah Woodward.
Like father, like daughter. One though has the advantage of having had all of time and space to explore for thousands of years, the other, well she has barely scratched the surface of her own place in the Universe, let alone following on in her dad’s footsteps and carrying on the family tradition.
It is to the shame of the BBC, as of yet, that they haven’t brought back one of the biggest enigmas to the list of companions to add a certain chemistry to the life of the Doctor. The mysterious traveller in a blue box should have at least mentioned the daughter, the genetic life form, created during David Tennent’s time at the helm of the Tardis, but for now on the screen, such a hope, is arguably lost to time itself.
However, in the hands of Big Finish, the doctor’s daughter, Jenny, is plunged into four terrific adventures in the hours and days after she first appeared in the midst of war; and with the sensational Georgia Tennant reprising her role as the compulsive, athletic, offspring of the Tenth Doctor, the fun of the outing is wonderfully captured and allowed to blossom.
Across four separate adventures, Stolen Goods, Prisoner Of The Ood, Neon Reign, and Zero Space, Jenny is given the room to grow without her father by her side, although as she is soon to discover, his presence looms large over the universe, a shadow of light in which she tries to fill, or at least help where she can whilst doing what she does best; running.
Written by Matt Fitton, John Dorney, Christian Brassington, and Adrian Poynton, Jenny’s introduction to the wider universe brings an old foe of the doctor into her life in the shape of Garundel, voiced by the impeccable Stuart Milligan, and the con of life, the first lessons to be learned, are hers for the taking.
With the Ood making a welcome return to the format and the four story series, the ease in which a new character to the range is gifted to the audience is one of fantastic pleasure. Georgia Tennant owns the voice of Jenny with such precision and wide-eyed optimism that like others before her, it just could not be voiced by anyone else.
With superb support from Sean Biggerstaff as the mysterious Noah, Siân Phillips as the bounty hunter, Silas Carson as the Ood leader, and the aforementioned Stuart Milligan in the sumptuous role of Garundel, the first box set of Jenny’s solo adventures is one that captures the essence of the 10th Doctor’s era, one of never standing still long enough to regret, but always being involved when someone asks for help.
One of the most delightful characters to have been introduced in the new era of Doctor Who, Jenny lives on beyond the television adaption; and it is about time.
Ian D. Hall