Still Running: Her Own Worst Enemy

"Detail your contribution to society."

Writer: Lisa McMulin

Format: Audio

Released: November 2021

Series: Jenny: The Doctor's Daughter 2.04

Featuring: Jenny, Noah

Synopsis

Jenny wants bounty hunter cyborg Colt-5000 off their trail once and for all. Her plan involves cybertech founder Seavus Colt, time travel, and showing somebody the true value of their life. But the web of time can't be pulled apart without a cost...

Verdict

Her Own Worst Enemy was a great story to conclude the Still Running second series of Jenny: The Doctor's Daughter! This has been a fantastic series to continue the adventures of the Doctor's daughter and judging by how things finished, we're set for a third series in the future which is very exciting. Bringing the continuity back to the first series was good and there was no hesitation in throwing us into the action with Jenny and Noah being on the run from the COLT-5000. Jenny had taken being hunted personally but it was all her plan to let it find them now she had the vortex manipulator. She was tired of being on the run and planned to use the manipulator to go across the COLT-5000's timeline and prevent it from becoming a cyborg in the first place enabling themselves to be saved. I thought that was a very fun way to establish the plot. We were soon introduced to Geraldine and it was clear that she would be the one to become the COLT-5000, but it was fun to get the origin. The society of the past surrounding Colt Industries and the idea of needing to live your best life was intriguing, especially with how that focused on a technological environment. Hearing how the COLT-4000 was ready to be sold for retail was good and I was then intrigued by what faced Geraldine at the mysterious audit. It didn't mean the same thing that I'm involved in during my daily shifts! Seavus Colt was a good character and his first interaction with Jenny and how he jokingly passed her off as Genetically Realised AI, Jenny for short, was great. I thought the whole concept of being volunteered to the process of becoming a cyborg if not living your best life was very good and the citizens' audit deciding who was worthy was fantastic. I really liked the element of people providing their own judgement and Jenny being against that because people judge themselves differently and by alternating standards was brilliant. Those with egos would always think they're worthy! The revelation that Geraldine would become the COLT-5000 worked well and Jenny then wanted to take her back along her time stream and showed her that her life did have value which I thought was wonderful. We went back twenty years where she met Benni before jumping forward in his timeline to find that thanks to Geraldine saving him, she'd essentially saved the world as he founded the cure for a deadly virus. It got a little messy with all the time jumping, but the efforts to stop Colt Industries before it even began was good. I liked the lab rats and how it was almost reminiscent of a rebirth of the Cybermen, with Noah inadvertently sparking the idea of turning prisoners into cyborgs! The use of tech from New Damson was brilliant continuity from Altered Status and Mike being the silent partner and being against using it on ordinary citizens was very good. Finding out that he was now the auditor was a great twist! I thought Geraldine passing with flying colours now after learning of her small acts of kindness was good even if the audit was slightly underwhelming, but the cliffhanger with Noah being audited after her and then revealed as the one that would become the COLT-5000 after time changed was quite the way to finish! There simply has to be a third series now and I look forward to hear where things go from here. Overall, a terrific listen and a fantastic spinoff series.

Rating: 8/10