Saving Time: Florence O'Connor and the Sandwich of Doom

"May I introduce you to Jenny Who!"

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: October 2024

Series: Jenny - The Doctor's Daughter 3.01

Featuring: Jenny, Noah

Synopsis

Jenny has solved her immediate problem of being hunted by the cyborg COLT-5000 bounty hunter once known as Geraldine. Jenny's new problem is that she is being hunted by a cyborg COLT-5000 once known as her best friend, Noah. 

The timelines are in chaos. There is only one way to fix things. And it involves cheese and pickle...

Verdict

Florence O'Connor and the Sandwich of Doom was a strong start to the Saving Time third series of adventures for Jenny as the Doctor's Daughter! It's quite crazy to think that it has been nearly three years since I listed to Her Own Worst Enemy as the finale to the Still Running second series, and this episode follows on seamlessly as if the series was released just a month or so ago! I do think there is a helpful line later on where Jenny explains the situation when it comes to finding how to get the timelines fixed as a catch up for the listener, but as a whole there really wasn't all that much prior listening required. This was just a fun romp and that's exactly what this spinoff series is all about. Jenny has a good time and this certainly falls into the category. Things are a lot whackier where she is concerned and there's definitely some strong elements of chaos in her adventures and how she deals with things! I thought the fact her timeline was frozen was great and I really liked that she was quick to seek help to put things back on track after her actions in saving Geraldine as the COLT-5000 were complete, but in saving her she had changed time to the course of Noah now being the one taking on the cyborg role! That was such an excellent cliffhanger last time out and it's honestly scandalous to have taken three years to get the resolution. What are they playing at? Of course, she found out that the means to change time and ensure that Noah wouldn't actually become the COLT-5000 involved a woman called Florence O'Connor and the particular sandwich that she bought. I thought that was a little bit on the side of ridiculous and the title of the episode is probably borderline when it comes to silly, but everything did indeed rest on the type of sandwich that she purchased. That was pretty whacky and Jenny interacting with Florence was terrific because she wasn't giving her any privacy at the cashpoint when it came to her pin. Jenny actually causing her not to take any money out was actually incredibly problematic because the whole premise centred on Florence buying a cheaper sandwich to ensure she got a tad more change, to pass on and set off a chain of events three million+ stages long that would see Noah saved. It was amusing stuff and frankly insane, but that was actually part of its appeal! It was just fun and this definitely has the vibe of a spinoff series that shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's lighthearted listening and I'm really enjoying the fact that there is a story arc running throughout. Jexebel Glyce has been referenced a lot in the previews and promotion so to have her show up at the end and reveal the truth of what events had been set in motion was nicely done. She seems like she is going to be a strong villain and I can't wait to find out what she has in store for Jenny. The Doctor's daughter having her name misinterpreted as being Who was tremendous stuff and so simple. But it was massively effective! I thought the return of Noah in his normal self was good and perhaps came a little earlier and easier than I was anticipating, but it's good to have him back alongside Jenny. Their friendship really does blossom. Overall, a really strong start to the series and I'm now looking forward to hearing more adventures for Jenny and Noah.

Rating: 8/10