Saving Time: Genesis of the Humans

"We want to set you free."

Writer: Adrian Poynton

Format: Audio

Released: October 2024

Series: Jenny - The Doctor's Daughter 3.03

Featuring: Jenny, Noah

Synopsis

After another manipulation by Dorium Maldovar, Jenny and Noah find themselves on a job for the conniving conman and his partner in crime, the equally slippery Garundel.

This time, Jenny and Noah must venture inside a genetic treasure: one which holds the key to the future – and the past – of the human race. His name is Theo.

After another manipulation by Dorium Maldovar, Jenny and Noah find themselves on a job for the conniving conman and his partner in crime, the equally slippery Garundel.

This time, Jenny and Noah must venture inside a genetic treasure: one which holds the key to the future - and the past - of the human race. His name is Theo.

Verdict

Genesis of the Humans was a fantastic episode to continue my way through the Saving Time third series of Jenny - The Doctor’s Daughter! This was undoubtedly the best episode of the set yet and it did a really strong job of setting up what is sure to be an exciting finale! Without hardly featuring in this series, I have been so impressed with how well Jexabel Glyce has been set up as a villain. The concept the richest woman in the universe doesn’t actually sound like much on paper despite a positive idea, but with great money comes great power and she was so self centred that she killed everyone else in the universe with her forename. I thought it was fun to hear Jenny and Noah’s reaction to Jexabel having dropped her surname because she was the definite article. Just like them! They didn’t have surnames and that made them like her. I thought that was actually quite charming. I liked the promise of Dorium’s return and things soon came rushing back to me as I don’t think I’d fully remembered that he’d already encountered Jenny at the start of the previous series! This episode did a good job at setting things up and almost coming full circle for the entire spinoff with the return of Garundel as well. I think it’s a shame that so much time has elapsed between series for the Jenny spinoff, but this was a timely reminder and a nice way to catch up whilst telling an excellent story. Dorium was quite amusing in claiming to have been training Jenny and Noah with their adventures since he last saw them and that wasn’t something they adhered to despite acknowledging his influence. I thought was good stuff. The emergence of Garundel was great and I love the continuity dating back to Stolen Goods and having him claim to be paired up with Dorium! That was quite the duo and I like crossover like this. Dorium obviously played a big role with the Doctor which instantly makes him feel important, but that was also the case with Garundel. He’s tackled the Seventh Doctor so I like the pairing coming together to have influence on Jenny here. It does feel a little poor form on Dorium’s part not to have expected the double cross, and I must be honest I didn’t actually see it coming either! I appreciated it though and in hindsight it was always going to happen! I thought the story going all The Invisible Enemy and Into the Dalek was fun with the prospect of Jenny and Noah being shrunk down and inserted into Theo. He was an intriguing little character and the idea of him containing the genetic makeup of humanity at its purest form was intriguing. That would be a powerful weapon for someone with all of the money in the universe! The way everything came full circle and Jenny and Noah realised they were in a trap was terrific as it turned out that Theo was actually a clone. And not just any clone. He was actually a clone of Noah! Jenny realising that all of the description that had been detailed about Theo could also apply to her sidekick. That was a fantastic moment as the entire series seemed to tie together! I was a big fan of that. It suddenly all felt very serious after some good comedic moments within Theo. The idea of a sentient genetic subconscious was fascinating and it trying to convince those from within to stay in their own perfect haven instead of carrying out the mission at hand and change the genetic print in some way was tremendous. It was quite funny for Noah’s perfect place to be on a spaceship next to Jenny, whereas for her he was nowhere in sight and she was seeing something akin to Gallifrey! Somehow and some way, I’d love to get Jenny on the planet of the Time Lords. That would be a real treat. I’m getting ahead of myself there though as for now the trap has been laid and Noah and Jenny are in deep trouble! Overall, a terrific episode to set up the finale!

Rating: 9/10