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- For other uses of the name Jenny see Jenny (disambiguation)
Oh, I've got the whole universe! Planets to save, civilisations to rescue, creatures to defeat... and an awful lot of running to do!
Jenny was the "daughter" of the Doctor, artificially created from his genes.
Profile
Biography
A short war waged on the planet Messaline between Humans and Hath. The Humans and Hath used progenation machines to instantly create mentally programmed young adults from DNA of a single parent. When the Doctor with Donna Noble and Martha Jones arrived on Messaline, he had Jenny made from him against his will from a skin sample just prior to an ambush by Hath.
The then-nameless Jenny pushed a button which triggered an explosion, causing the collapse of the tunnel that cut the group off from the Hath and from Martha. Shortly after, Jenny, was named by the Doctor's companion Donna Noble from the Doctor's original description of her as a 'generated anomaly'.
Jenny's commander, Cobb, had Jenny locked up with the Doctor and Donna. While in this cell, Donna proved to the Doctor that Jenny was indeed his daughter; she listened to Jenny's heartbeat and found that, like the Doctor, she had two hearts. However, the Doctor said that she was only an "echo" and that a naturally-born Time Lord "is so much more," yet this is inconsistent since her conception was similar, probably identical, to that of all Time Lords using the Looms. Jenny helped the others by kissing Cline and then taking his pistol. The Doctor found his daughter very capable though she was inclined towards violence, he later convinced her not to kill Cobb when she had the chance.
As the three of them made their way towards the Source, which Cobb and the Hath both sought, Jenny spoke with the Doctor about the possibility of traveling with him, and he told her that he would never leave her. The Doctor told the respective parties to end the war, whereupon General Cobb aimed his gun and shot at him. Jenny here showed her compassion by standing in the way of the bullet. She was shot through one of her hearts, and died, but did not regenerate.
While laying in state, however, Jenny returned to life, stole a shuttlecraft, and left Messaline, determined to save other worlds and to do "an awful lot of running" like her father. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)
Davros tried to manipulate the Doctor when he moved the Earth to the Medusa Cascade by asking the Doctor how many people have died in his name. Jenny is one of the people he thinks of, as he is unaware of Jenny's revival. It should also be noted that the flashback of Jenny has sound, that of the fatal gunshot (whereas the others do not). Clearly Jenny's death has a greater effect on him than the others he remembers, and his expression becomes much sadder.(DW: Journey's End)
Personality
Jenny showed a lot of the brilliance, lust for life and determination typical of her father. She also was quite flirtatous. Though programming had made her military-minded and goal-oriented, ultimately proves that she has too much of her father in her blood as she soon adopted the Doctor's values and principles, though she could also challenge him. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)
Inherited characteristics
Being biologically a Time Lord, Jenny has two hearts, as well as reflexes, precision timing and acrobatic ability far beyond that of an average Human. After her death, she shortly returned to life, though this may have not been due to regeneration, but her proximity to the terraforming device.
Other information
The presence of Jenny drew the Doctor's TARDIS to Messaline, paradoxically, before her creation, so that she, in effect, caused herself to exist. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter) However, this may be due to the TARDIS being old and faulty, so it got there earlier than the time it was being summoned to.
As the Doctor is Jenny's father, many of her relatives are unknown. She is the Doctor's youngest child as he states that he had fathered children and had a family before, making Jenny their sister on some level (or more accurately their half-sister as, assuming the Doctor's other children were born naturally, they would have the same father as Jenny, but a different mother, since Jenny did not actually have a mother). (DW: The Empty Child, DW: Fear Her, DW: The Doctor's Daughter) Susan Foreman, the Doctor's granddaughter who travelled with him during his first incarnation and the only other relative other than Jenny to appear on screen, is technically Jenny's niece (DW: An Unearthly Child, DW: The Empty Child), assuming Susan is truly the Doctor's biological granddaughter (NA: Lungbarrow).
Although not considered a companion of the Doctor's, Jenny can be, at least, considered a "companion presumptive" as it is clear, once the Doctor accepts her as his daughter, that she would travel with him and Donna. Her apparent "death" ended these plans. This places Jenny in the same category as Astrid Peth, Lynda Moss and Madame de Pompadour, who were all invited to travel with the Doctor, and accepted the invitation (as Jenny does), yet die before they are able to do so. However, since Jenny revived, it could be that she could later re-encounter the Doctor and become one of his companions, if their paths should cross in a later episode, unlike the previous 'companion presumptives'.
Behind the Scenes
Jenny was played by Georgia Moffett the daughter of Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor. Moffett had auditioned for several other roles on the series, including Rose Tyler and had also performed in a Doctor Who Big Finish audio drama alongside her father in 2000.
Steven Moffat is credited with suggesting that Jenny be brought back to life at the end of the episode. This led to rumors that Georgia Moffett was in the running to return as a companion for the Eleventh Doctor. Ultimately, Karen Gillan was cast in this role.
Although The Sun, a UK tabloid, speculated that Moffett would appear as Jenny in one of the 2009 specials, she did not make an appearance. There is no confirmed news as yet whether she will make an appearance in the future. Moffett, however, has returned to the franchise, providing the voice of an unrelated character named Cassie Rice for the animated serial Dreamland, which is not officially considered one of the specials, and she is also continuing to do voice acting work for Big Finish Productions in 2010.
See also
- Miranda Dawkins - the Doctor's adopted daughter.