'Short Trips': 'A Christmas Treasury' edited by Paul Cornell

A new collection of Doctor Who short stories.


Christmas and Doctor Who are inextricably linked. From the moment the Daleks first appeared at yule-tide to the regular Annual under the tree, the spooky cosiness of the season has always chimed with the series's own brand of comfortable thrill.

This collection covers every aspect of Doctor Who at Christmas, from the Fourth Doctor and Romana wisecracking their way through opening their presents to the Seventh Doctor encountering a dangerous something from Christmas past; from the Sixth Doctor running into another Christmas TV institution to the Eighth Doctor's lonely vigil in a frozen landscape. The Fifth Doctor visits an old companion, the First Doctor lands in a house where Christmas doesn't go as planned, while the Second Doctor finds he has to have a serious chat with Santa Claus. And Bernice Summerfield experiences Christmas on the Braxiatel Collection. Unfortunately.

There are hidden links between many of the stories, which are themselves arranged like a symmetrical snowflake. This being Christmas, alongside the tales, there are instructions for building your own Who adventure game, a monster party game (careful how you play it!), poems both nostalgic and jolly ­ including one by accomplished poet Jo Fletcher ­ and four delicious Christmas recipes with a Doctor Who makeover, making this a real stocking-filler of a compendium, the ideal gift for followers of the show, young and old.

The contributors are: Peter Adamson, Peter Anghelides, Paul Beardsley, Vanessa Bishop, Andy Campbell, Stephen Cole, Paul Condon, Paul Cornell, Martin Day, Terrance Dicks, Val Douglas, Karen Dunn, Stephen Fewell, Jo Fletcher, Matthew Griffiths, Simon Guerrier, J. Shaun Lyon, Steve Lyons, Jackie Marshall, Mark Michalowski, Lawrence Miles, Jonathan Morris, Neil Perryman, Marc Platt, Ian Potter, Jim Sangster, Cavan Scott & Mark Wright, Darren Sellars, Dave Stone and Nick Wallace.

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'Last Christmas' by Simon Guerrier

One Christmas Eve during the First World War, a young soldier named Semarjit - ‘Smith’ to his comrades - is assigned to accompany a man named the Doctor on a dangerous mission. Dodging enemy fire the two men make their way across the battlefields until they arrive at a huge bomb crater, where the entrance to an ancient stone building has recently been revealed; inside, Smith is surprised to find a chapel, its walls decorated with images of kings and dragons. As the Doctor cannibalises the explosive from an unexploded shell with which to destroy the building, Smith is shot by German soldiers. The Doctor gives him some elixir from inside the ancient building, and then gets the two of them to safety before the chapel blows up. A while later, Smith dies during a cold epidemic, but the strange elixir causes his mind to go on living, causing him to exist as a ghost. Every Christmas Eve for the next ninety years, the Doctor arrives at a certain pub after closing time to meet up with Smith, in the hope that he will convince the spirit to move onto the next life, but Smith’s bitterness and resentment prevents him from doing so. When Smith realises that the Doctor has only spent a few weeks visiting him, jumping forward in time to each subsequent Christmas, he storms out of the pub; however, the Doctor asks Smith to look at the families in the nearby streets and houses, and to finally see the real spirit of Christmas. The next Christmas Eve, the Doctor arrives for his usual rendezvous, only to find that this year, much to his pleasure, Smith does not show up…

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor

*Time-placing: the Seventh Doctor is travelling alone, so I'm placing this towards the end of his adventures

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UNIT Christmas Parties: 'First Christmas' by Nick Wallace

When Liz returns to U.N.I.T. headquarters to drop off her Christmas cards to her colleagues, she finds that all is not happiness: Benton is feeling chagrined because his plans for the U.N.I.T. Christmas party have fallen through, while the Doctor and the Brigadier are arguing yet again, this time over the Doctor’s excessive misuse of the electrical supply. However, bad feelings are quickly forgotten when news comes in that a derelict Bathesdan spaceship is heading for Earth; the Doctor proposes to use the TARDIS console to jump-start the vessel’s engines and steer it out of harm’s way – but before that needs to be done, he creates an interstitial vortex to allow access between the ship and U.N.I.T. HQ, and proposes that they use the vessel as the location for the Christmas party. Preparations are made, and soon everyone – even the Brigadier – is thoroughly enjoying themselves at the party. To make up for his occasionally gruff and overbearing behaviour, the Doctor takes Liz aside and shows her the beauty of a sunrise over Earth.

Notes:
*Featuring the Third Doctor, Liz, the Brigadier and U.N.I.T.

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'In the TARDIS: Christmas Day' by Val Douglas

Christmas celebrations aboard the TARDIS don’t quite go according to plan…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan

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'Water’s Edge' by Peter Adamson

A young Maori man named Matiu has always been told tales of his relatives by his Nan and Aunty. After one such evening spent listening to stories of his grandfather, Matiu returns to his room and resumes work on some equations; however, his work become extremely complex and intense, and Matiu soon loses consciousness. Coming to, he finds himself transported back in time, on Christmas Eve, 1953; he decides to track down his grandfather, who mysteriously disappeared that year. Boarding a train in Auckland, Matiu meets a man calling himself the Doctor, who tries to get him to leave the train; Matiu refuses, but then the train suddenly lurches uncontrollably - the mountain crater lake at Tangivan has burst its banks, causing the bridge to collapse and sending Matiu’s train plunging into the muddy waters below. The Doctor and Matiu escape the submerging carriage and meet a man named James ‘Jim’ Henri – Matiu’s grandfather. Matiu and Jim return to the train to rescue a crippled girl, but Matiu blacks out; when he awakes safely in hospital some time later, Matiu learns from the Doctor that the girl survived, but Jim could not be found. Now that he knows his grandfather was a true hero, Matiu leaves with the Doctor to return to his own time.

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor

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'A Yuletide’s Tale': Part One by Dave Stone

The calmness of a Victorian Christmas is shattered by an alien invasion. As many stereotypically Dickensian Londoners are killed off by Death Rays and marauding tentacles, a small cat named Tom evades death and finds a strange blue box in a junkyard…

Notes:

*This is incorrectly listed in the contents as ‘A Yuletide Tail’ - a far more apt title given the nature of the story
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace

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'Spookasem' by Peter Anghelides

Melissa’s birthday falls on Christmas, so her parents have always celebrated it six months later to make it more special. Melissa’s parents have since divorced, but they still meet up to take their daughter to the Wendiworld amusement park for her 11 ½th birthday. However, their constant bickering causes Melissa to become stressed, and she begins to manifest strange powers, making stuffed animals come to life around the park. When Melissa mentions getting some ‘ghostbreath’ - candyfloss, or Spookasem in Afrikaans - it triggers a blazing row over her mother’s South African boyfriend. Melissa’s new-found powers whip up a violent storm, but she then meets a strange little man known as the Doctor, who warns her that she is channelling an alien sprite that was abandoned on Earth hundreds of years ago. Realising that she could cause mayhem, Melissa calms herself down, stopping the creature’s onslaught. Later, Melissa leaves the park with her parents, having made sure that they have all managed to enjoy the rest of their day together.

Notes:
*Featuring the Seveth Doctor

*Time-placing: the Seventh Doctor is travelling alone, so I'm placing this towards the end of his adventures

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'Christmas Special' by Marc Platt

Having thwarted an invasion attempt by the alien Ordrulfi in Shepherd’s Bush, the Doctor returns to the TARDIS. Sitting in front of the ship, he finds an old television set, which appears to be the one he has long coveted in the window of a nearby shop. The Doctor takes the set into the ship, and spends several enjoyable hours watching Christmas television. But then he falls asleep, and dreams a nightmare in which he is a guest on The Eric and Ern Show, and must receive a reward on his retirement from fighting evil…

Notes:
*Featuring the Sixth Doctor

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'Never Seen Cairo' by Darren Sellars

The Doctor and Peri arrive on the battlefields of World War One, just before Christmas, but they quickly become separated. On Christmas Day, the Doctor finds himself with a British troop during a ceasefire, and learns that Peri has been rescued and is waiting for him to join her at British headquarters. While waiting for his transport, the Doctor whiles away the time watching a friendly football match between the British and German soldiers, and talks to a young soldier named Ed. The Doctor offers Ed the chance to leave the battlefield and come with him to see Cairo, the place that Ed has always wanted to visit; however, Ed declines the invitation, explaining that he is fighting the war to make his country safe for his wife Mary and son, Joshua. The ceasefire ends, and the Doctor leaves to rejoin Peri; Ed writes a note to his family, and dies soon after. One year later, the Doctor delivers Ed’s final letter to Mary, allowing the woman a sense of closure.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor (and Peri), and the Seventh Doctor

*Time-placing: the Seventh Doctor mentions losing someone in a manner of speaking, which, given the fact that stories in this collection are linked, could refer to Klaus in 'Perfect Present'

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'The Man Who (Nearly) Killed Christmas' by Mark Michalowski

The Doctor tells a class of young schoolchildren a festive story, of how he used his TARDIS to hijack Santa and his sleigh. When Santa protests, the Doctor explains to Santa that he has come to stop him from destroying the universe by using his secret clones and a shoddy temporal wormhole generator to deliver all the children’s presents in one night each Christmas. The Doctor shows Santa a projection of the future: a time when mankind has spread to the stars, and there are now a billion, billion children – and when there are hundreds of mechanical ‘Santa Worlds’ known as Polaris, each using slave elves to churn out millions of presents, while the fabric of space and time falls apart due to the faulty wormholes. The Doctor decides to take over from Santa, but his first attempt to deliver toys to two children fails dismally: he is unable to provide them with the trendy toys they want, and is then caught by the kids’ father. Santa arrives in the nick of time, saves the Doctor, delivers the right presents, and then asks the time traveller for help in building some friendly robots and safer wormholes.

Notes:
*Featuring the second Doctor (and Polly)

*The ‘Miss Wright’ mentioned probably refers to Polly, so I’m placing this story while the Doctor is travelling with her

*It is likely that this tale is indeed just a story told by the Doctor; however, in the narrative the Doctor mentions meeting Santa before, when he was in his first incarnation, and ravelling with John and Gillian; this implies that all the TV Comic stories featuring those two characters could also be stories told by the Doctor himself…

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'Last Minute Shopping' by Neil Perryman

When the Doctor manages to bring the TARDIS to Oxford Street at Christmas time in the Twenty-First Century, he, Tegan and Turlough head off to buy each other a present, agreeing to meet up again in one hour. However, shopping at Christmas proves especially problematical: the Doctor tries unsuccessfully to buy a copy of A Christmas Carol form an uncooperative bookshop; Turlough ends up in a branch of Anne Summers and gets confused with the sexy underwear on sale; while Tegan runs short on cash and resorts to shoplifting. As the three friends meet up with the police in hot pursuit, they reach the safety of the TARDIS – and then fall foul of each other’s shopping experiences…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough

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'Every Day' by Stephen Fewell

The TARDIS lands in the loft of what appears to be an ordinary suburban house, on Christmas Eve, 2004. When the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki explore the house, they meet the Smythe family - George, his wife Patricia, and their children Mark and Josie - who welcome their guests into their home and offer them a share of their Christmas presents and celebratory meal. After a particularly enjoyable and indulgent evening, the four time travellers retire to their guest beds, but when they wake the next morning, they find themselves back in the loft, once again on Christmas Eve. Learning that the Smythes have experienced countless such evenings, the Doctor hypothesises that they are trapped in a chronic hysterisis - a time loop; however, his attempts to break out of the loop prove fruitless, and he and his friends spend many Christmas Eves with the family. As nerves fray and the stress proves unendurable, George finally snaps, killing his wife and children, before stabbing Barbara to death with a knife. However, all is back to normal the next day, and everyone is alive for another Christmas Eve. Finally, George reveals that Patricia left him on the original Christmas Eve 2004, running off with their children to live with their ‘Uncle John’; Barabara persuades George to come to terms with these events, and makes him open the only remaining untouched present - from Uncle John himself. This breaks time loop, and the Doctor and his friends find themselves back in the TARDIS; the Doctor speculates that they may have been trapped inside one man’s mind. With the thought of past loved ones on his mind, the Doctor resolves to try and use his Time/ Space Visualiser to look in on his granddaughter, Susan…

Notes:
*Featuring the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki

*Reference is made to the Doctor's Time/ Space Visualiser, and Ian and Barbara think of returning home, so I am placing this just prior to 'The Chase'

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'The Eight Doctors of Christmas' by Matthews Griffiths

A quick retelling of some of the Doctor's adventures, to the tune of 'The First Day of Christmas'

Notes:
*Featuring Featuring the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors

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'The Little Things' by Paul Beardsley

Despite the fact that the TARDIS’s chameleon circuit has been broken for centuries, the ship has still been creating the outer plasmic shells it needs to disguise itself wherever it lands. Learning that the ship’s ‘Shell Room’ is now full, the Doctor and Romana investigate and find the room crammed with unused shells, each relating to a landing the TARDIS once made. Inside a ‘post box’ shell, the Doctor discovers a four hundred year old Christmas card and a picture of a newborn baby addressed to ‘Helen Thompson’. Recalling that the recipient was a renowned biologist, the Doctor decides to ensure that she receives the card; however, first of all he and Romana must fake a new version - one that is not falling apart with age. The Doctor surmises that the letter must have entered the TARDIS when he and his granddaughter Susan arrived sometime in the 1990s, in order to check that all was safe before they settled on Earth in the 1960s; recalling the passing of a comet, the Doctor determines that the date to post the card should be 1996. However, when he posts the replacement card, his chrono-historical stress gauge shows a strain on history, and on checking with K-9, the Doctor learns that there was a second comet the following year. Realising the trouble that could be caused by Helen receiving a card foretelling the birth of her sister Jennifer’s daughter, the Doctor manages to retrieve the card before the postman can collect it, narrowly avoiding an even bigger strain on history when he almost misses posting another letter retrieved from the box in the process. With this disaster averted, the Doctor and Romana jump forward a year, avoid the Doctor’s earlier self and Susan, repost the letter, restore history, and then witness an old lady posting the original letter. The Doctor then recalls that the famous biologist was Helen Thomson, not Thompson, but chooses not to share this information with Romana… Sometime later, Helen Thompson receives her card - which brings a little light into the dying old woman’s last Christmas in this world…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, the Second Romana and K-9 MkII, and the First Doctor and Susan

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Beep the Meep’s Grundian Egg Nog & The Brig’s Brandy Butter by Paul Condon

Two recepies for festive food.

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'The Game of Rassilon' by Lawrence Miles

Rules for a game favoured by Gallifrey's most revered icon, using the classic Weetabix figures!

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'UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce' by Terrance Dicks

When Geneva Headquarters orders that U.N.I.T. holds a Christmas party to improve morale, the Brigadier instructs his troops to begin preparations, and then puts the Doctor’s nose out of joint by ordering him to attend the festivities, despite his protestations. Sergeant Benton is sent to Heathrow airport to collect a VIP: Doctor Aloysius Fischer, a charismatic gentleman with a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. Fischer’s charm quickly makes him the hit of the party, and he is introduced to all the personnel throughout the building. However, when the Doctor arrives, he and Fischer step outside together – and Fischer reveals himself to be the Master in disguise. The two rivals call a short truce and share a glass of champagne, before the Master makes a fast exit to avoid an enraged Brigadier. Afterwards, the Doctor makes a sweep of the building, and detects several surveillance devices and bombs; meanwhile, the real Fischer turns up at Heathrow unharmed. Much to the Doctor’s amusement, Jo surmises that the Master’s plans were merely an elaborate ruse so that he could spend Christmas amongst ‘friends’, rather than on his own…

Notes:
*Featuring the Third Doctor, Jo, the Brigadier and U.N.I.T.

*Time-placing: Jo refers to the events of 'Deadly Reunion'

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'Animus, Zarbi, Menoptera' by Jim Sangster

Rules for a rather silly game, based on the inhabitants of the planet Vortis...

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Camilla’s O-Negative Mulled Wine & Mrs Baddeley’s Mini Christmas Pudding Truffles by Paul Condon

Two recepies for festive food.

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'The Clanging Chimes of Doom' by Jonathan Morris

After saving eleven planets and two space stations, the Doctor decides to take some time out to enjoy his new hobby: autograph collecting. He heads for the perfect place to start his collection, materialising the TARDIS near a recording studio in Notting Hill Gate, where many famous pop stars are set to record the charity record ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. Having charmed his way past security, the Doctor watches the historical recording take place; however, he is unable to identify one of the singers, a strange man with pink hair. When the Doctor approaches the stranger, the man is overjoyed to see him, and introduces himself as Prince Tarvil of the planet Frentos. As Romana and K-9 join the Doctor and Tarvil, the prince explains that he was fleeing his planet following a political upheaval when his pursuers fired on his ship with warp torpedoes, which sent his escape podule tumbling through a time eddy to Earth. Tarvil decided to take part in the high-profile recording in the hope that when its transmissions travel across space and are received by his people in fifty years time, they will send a rescue party for him. The explanations are interrupted by the arrival of a group of Frentosian guards from a hundred-and-twenty years in the future, but before they can help Tarvil, another group intent on killing the prince appears from a hundred-and-fifty years in the future; then two more groups arrive, from two-hundred-and-ten years into the future, and three-hundred-and-eight. Before things get out of control the Doctor strikes a deal, and takes Tarvil to a point in his planet’s history when no-one has heard of him – although the Doctor notes that the prince will stay in everyone’s memories thanks to his appearance in one of the most famous pop videos ever!

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, the Second Romana and K-9 MkII

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'On Being Five' by Jo Fletcher

A poem about watching 'Doctor Who' as a child from behind the sofa.

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'Perfect Present' by Andy Campbell

An old scholar tells his pupils a dark story on Christmas Eve, recalling an adventure encountered by his old friend, the Doctor: in the early 1900s, the Doctor saved the Montague family and their ancestral home from a terrible evil, but it cost the life of their footman, a young man named Klaus. A hundred years later, the Doctor returns to the manor to check on the family, and he stays for a few days. However, the Doctor then learns that ever since he arrived, Lord Herbert and his family have been experiencing strange and disturbing events: monstrous footprints have been found in the snow; items of clothing stay permanently wet; books in the library have been defaced; the Christmas tree has transformed into a deformed mass; the children’s new doll’s house is changing into something disturbing; and Santa Claus has been seen moving around the house… The Doctor realises that the restless spirit of Klaus is to blame - the young man should not have died, but should instead have joined the Doctor in his travels, and the strange phenomena all refer to adventures that he should have taken part in, but never did. A demonic Father Christmas manifests itself and makes for the Doctor, but the Time Lord merely embraces this corrupted, angry version of Klaus; the Doctor then links his mind with the spirit, transferring his memories of his recent adventures to Klaus, enabling the footman to finally find peace.

Notes:
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor

*Time-placing: the Seventh Doctor is travelling alone, so I'm placing this towards the end of his adventures

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'Present Tense' by Ian Potter

The Doctor goes to great lengths to obtain the beautiful Great Crystal Choir of Pseudolonica VII for Romana’s Christmas present – only to find that he already gave it to her last year…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, the Second Romana and K-9 MkII

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'Goodwill Toward Men' by J. Shaun Lyon

When Zoe’s haughty demeanour towards a downtrodden Earth colony exasperates the Doctor, he decides to teach her a lesson in humility. The Doctor manages to pilot the TARDIS to Los Angeles at the end of the Twentieth Century, at Christmas time. Here the three friends help out at a homeless mission, assisting the staff in providing food and a place to stay to the lost and needy. Realising her mistake, Zoe makes the most of her time working in the mission, and she, the Doctor and Jamie enjoy their best Christmas ever.

Notes:
*Featuring the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe

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'It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow' by Martin Day

Serving in the Home Guard, Dicky Charlesworth spends Christmas defending his town from the threat of invasion by the German forces. However, Dicky is having a crisis of faith, believing that the efforts of his comrades and himself are futile, and that Germany will soon win the war. That night, Dicky and his fellow volunteers encounter a strange man named the Doctor and his travelling companion, an attractive warrior named Leela. When the two visitors make their excuses and promptly disappear into thin air in a police box, Dicky believes them to have been British secret agents armed with highly advanced technology. Convinced that with them on their side, Briton will be assured of victory, Dicky’s faith is restored, and he looks forward to a happy Christmas after all.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor and Leela

*Time-placing: Leela seems to still be 'untamed', so I'm placing this early on in her travels with the Doctor

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'All Our Christmases' by Steve Lyons

While staying at a snow-laden lodge for Christmas, a young magazine-editor named Richard meets an elderly man, and it is not long before they find themselves sharing a conversation over brandy and a warm hearth fire. Richard is troubled, and tells the man his story: his magazine was once based upon a long-running, cult science fiction show that enjoyed a huge fan following; one Christmas, Richard’s office decided to run a poll to find out the one thing that the fans would like to change about the programme – and the most popular choice would then be altered by the magazine team by using of a time machine loaned to them by the government. The results were given, and Richard travelled back to the television studio and changed history, but when he returned, no one believed him. Undaunted, another competition was run the following year, but this time Richard left proof of his visit. With time travel now a proven fact, the government used it as a means to control the population, making claims of preventing disasters that no-one could disprove. Meanwhile, aspects of the programme’s history continued to be changed - until a terrible error was made: now the programme only ran for a few years and then slipped into obscurity, and its influence never affected people the same way, preventing the time machine from ever being invented. Richard now works on a magazine about a police show, although he has no recollection of it due to the paradox caused by his time-travelling. The old man disapproves of Richard’s actions, but appreciates the man’s distress at the damage he has caused. The effects of the brandy soon send Richard to sleep; when he wakes the next morning, he no longer remembers his time-travelling, and now feels revitalised. Richard vows to introduce new life into his editorial work…

Notes:
*Featuring the First Doctor

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'Lily' by Jackie Marshall

The Doctor pays a visit to his old friend Sarah, who is attending a Christmas Eve church service with her granddaughter, Lily. Sarah does her best to look after Lily as often as she can, to give the girl’s parents a rest from the strain of bringing up a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder; however, while walking home through the dark woods, Sarah tells the Doctor that she wishes she could do more for her granddaughter. The Doctor reassures Sarah that her best is enough, and points to where Lily is now happily playing in the falling snow. The Time Lord then sweeps up his friend in a playful dance in the snow, and, much to Sarah’s delight, they are soon joined by a delighted Lily…

Notes:
*Featuring the Fifth Doctor and Sarah

*The Doctor is alone, so I'm placing this after 'Omega', another solo story. It is implied that the Doctor is visiting Sarah Jane Smith; however, this older version of her conflicts with the events of 'Bullet Time' - which were perhaps a fabrication after all..?

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'A Yuletide’s Tale': Part Two by Dave Stone

Having arrived on Dickensworld, the Doctor and Ace are concerned to find the theme park being dismantled by its Slaarg owners. Realising that the genetic constructs that populate the planet are being callously slaughtered by the aliens, the Doctor infects a soldier named Sergeant Thackary with a mutagenic virus safe to humans but harmful to the Slaargs, in the hope that the aliens will leave the planet and its population alone, and declare Dickensworld a plague zone. With his plan set in motion, the Doctor and Ace leave – after giving a bit of fish to Tom the cat…

Notes:

*This is incorrectly listed in the contents as ‘A Yuletide Tail’ - a far more apt title given the nature of the story
*Featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace

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'…Be Forgot' by Cavan Stone and Mark Wright

In the aftermath of the recent war, Benny finds herself unable to enjoy Christmas at the Braxiatel Collection. Her bad mood at the Yuletide party fails to lift, and quickly becomes even darker when she finds a note in her room that appears to be from Jason, sending her on a treasure hunt for her present. Benny storms from place to place following the trail, finally ending up in the Garden of Remembrance. Standing at the grave of one of Benny’s fallen friends is the Doctor, come to pay his respects; Benny is furious at him, demanding to know why he failed to come and help them in the war; however, the Doctor explains that he only recently heard about events, and refuses to go back in time to change history. Benny realises that the Doctor laid on the party to brighten her spirits; realising that Christmas is about spending time with your family - and everyone at the Braxiatel Collection is her family - she returns to enjoy the festivities. Elsewhere, Irving Braxiatel receives a card and present from an old friend…

Notes:
*Featuring the Eighth Doctor and Benny

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'The Feast of Seven… Eight (and Nine)' by Vanessa Bishop

The First Doctor holds a Christmas party for his future selves...

Notes:
*Featuring the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors

*Time-Placing: All the Doctors are travelling alone, so are placed thusly: the First Doctor - towards the end of his timeline; the Second Doctor - after 'The War Games', when he is working for the Time Lords; the Third Doctor - between 'The Green Death’ and 'The Time Warrior'; the Fourth Doctor - after ‘The Deadly Assassin’; the Fifth Doctor - during the early part of season 20; the Sixth Doctor - during 23a; the Seventh Doctor – towards the end of his travels; the Eighth Doctor – early on in his adventures.

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UNIT Christmas Parties: 'Ships That Pass' by Karen Dunn

U.N.I.T.’s latest Christmas party is rudely interrupted when a Voddod spaceship crash lands on their headquarters. While Sarah and Harry struggle to stay alive buried under the rubble, the Doctor and the Brigadier search for the vessel’s pilot, believed to have escaped the destruction of his ship in an escape pod. The Doctor and a squad of soldiers search the surrounding woodland and quickly encounter Brac, a fierce tree-like warrior of the twelfth Coalition, whose ship was shot down during a fierce space battle. The Doctor strikes a bargain with Brak, and, after the creature has helped rescue Sarah and Harry from their predicament, the Time Lord uses the TARDIS to return the Voddod warrior to his fleet.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, Sarah, Harry, the Brigadier and U.N.I.T.

*Time-placing: this story takes place after Harry has returned to Earth, having ended his travels with the Doctor and Sarah

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'Evergreen' by Stephen Cole

A man named John takes lodgings in the house of Connie Boyle, on the outskirts of a small English village. Connie is grieving for her late husband, who died last Candlemas; the widow is also the target of village gossip, as the superstitious womenfolk believe that Charles Boyles’ death was due to the fact that Connie failed to take down all the Christmas decorations in the church before the end of Candlemas, an act that has condemned the village with terrible bad luck. That night, Connie experiences a strange dream involving the death of the gossiping Mrs Bledlow; but when she later awakes, Connie is shocked to learn that the woman has been found dead. Later, Connie explains to John that the reason refuses to allow any Christmas decorations in the house is because it reminds her of the previous Christmas: she was forced into clearing the church in a hurry, and when she returned to her house, she had missed her husband’s final moments alive. A while later, a young girl is found in the snow, naked and amnesiac; after she is taken in by Tom Bedlow, John pays the girl several visits, much to the scandal of the villagers. That night, John cryptically warns Connie to be ready, and then leaves the house; Connie follows him into the woods, where she finds an injured Tom Bedlow, and the young girl, now lying dead in the snow. John explains that the girl was a vampire, and was responsible for the death of Mrs Bedlow; the creature planned use its influence over people’s minds to put the blame for the forthcoming deaths onto Connie. Having killed the girl, John knows he must leave the village; Connie is sad to see him go, but when she returns to her home, she brightens the place up with decorations…

Notes:
*Featuring the Eighth Doctor

*Time-Placing: the Doctor - John - still has amnesia, and is roaming around the country with very little baggage (i.e. the TARDIS), so is story occurs early on in the ‘Earthbound Saga’ – I’m placing it after ‘The Burning’

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Publication Date:
December 2004


Notes:
*Published by Big Finish