TV series. Amanda Tapping plays a 157-year-old Dr. Helen Magnus, one of the first female doctors of the Royal Academy in the Victorian era of Britain. She was engaged to Jack the Ripper and had a daughter, Ashley. But Ashley didn't know that her father was Jack. Dr. Magnus's father founded a shelter for mysterious creatures, which were collected from all over the world. In the process of studying these creatures, Dr. Magnus discovered that she had gained longevity.