Still Running: Calamity Jenny

"Life is stranger than fiction."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: November 2021

Series: Jenny: The Doctor's Daughter 2.03

Featuring: Jenny, Noah

Synopsis

When Noah and Jenny mosey on into the Old West, it's surely a coincidence that Jenny looks exactly like the town's most notorious outlaw. But as they'll discover, anyone who crosses 'Calamity Jenny' suffers an unlucky fate – and it's usually fatal.

Verdict

Calamity Jenny was an excellent episode! I have been mightily impressed with Still Running as the second series of the Jenny spinoff and with one episode still to go in the boxset, I am already calling for more. Jenny and Noah are a really fun pair and it's terrific to hear how mature and just adventurous Jenny is when it comes to travelling the universe. The format of this story was unlike any in the spinoff series before it with a narrated style from an unfamiliar character that was clearly a cowboy from the Wild West. The story told was that of the lucky charm and the significance of that coming into fruition as the adventure unfolded was very good. I liked the foreboding with the quick scene of Jenny and Noah stealing a train and uncharacteristically orchestrating a stick up, but that was more towards the end of the story not the start so we'd catch up with events later. I'm not usually a massive fan of that approach, but I thought it worked well here. The ship crash landing to Deadfoot being mistaken as a shooting star was a nice way to represent the 1893 timeframe, and the crystal coming from within that was great. Virgil escaped with it, but Zeke wasn't so lucky and ended up dead which provided a good warning of danger. Momma Stokes was a fantastic character and her heading the pub establishment was good with her having a big reputation in the town. Jenny being recognised when they entered the pub was fun and I loved the concept of there being a doppelgänger for her! She was differentiated by the accent despite it clearly being Georgia Tennant playing the character, and she was wanted either for trial or sexual tendencies. The narrator's attempt to show he wasn't objectifying Calamity Jenny was very amusing. I liked how Jenny obtained the crystal in a melee but they couldn't leave because the vortex manipulator obtained in Altered Status wasn't in perfect condition so they were stuck for the moment. Sherif Sparrow was another great character and Momma having him wrapped around her finger only enhanced her reputation. Her offering of providing Calamity Jenny for arrest with her being in her pub was fun as she wanted the reward and was in league with the real article all along. Noah being tasked with brining in the real Calamity Jenny to prove to the sherif that they weren't the same person was excellent and was a fun plot. His walking in on Momma and Calamity was very amusing! Jenny was due for hanging in Marlon City but Momma would have to accompany the convoy and testify before she could get her reward. The narration seemingly jumping ahead and explaining that Calamity Jenny wasn't around anymore was not a good sign for our Jenny but there was a clever twist that I really ought to have seen coming as Calamity Jenny was the real Jenny all along! She'd been putting on an accent and admitted everything was confusing, but it all made sense in the end with no actual coincidence occurring. The faulty vortex manipulator had sent her three months into the past so she had to wait for Noah to arrive before being able to leave which was admirable. She became Calamity Jenny by accident with the reputation gained all from accidents. The crystal being revealed as a luck eater was a fun concept and it explained a lot with the poker game and Jenny's past three months. The action packed conclusion to get the old Jenny the vortex manipulator that she'd dropped so she could become the updated version was brilliant and just a lot of fun. Bringing things full circle at the end with the narrator having the charm and trying to sell it because of all the bad luck was great. Overall, a really strong audio! 

Rating: 9/10