A man in 19th Century clothes walks towards a gas light holding a match stick that has been lit. He turns a dial and uses the match to light it up, as another man walks slowly up to a coffin in the background. The man blows out the stick and starts to walk towards the middle of the room "Sneed and Company offer their sincerest condolences, sir, in this most trying hour." the older man says.
"Grandmama had a good innings, Mr Sneed. She was so full of life, I can't believe she's gone." the younger man admits.
"Not gone, Mr Redpath, sir. Merely sleeping." Mr Sneed tells him.
"May I have a moment?"
"Yes, of course. I shall be in the next, er, room should you require anything." Mr Sneed points towards the door before leaving the room.
Mr Redpath being left on his own smiles at the lady in the coffin, placing his hands on the coffin as he looks over her. The lady's face is covered by a blue light, not noticed by the man who has now closed his eyes trying not to cry, before its gone again. The woman opens her eyes and grabs Mr Redpath's neck choking him, in a panic he knocks over a plant in a vase.
In hearing the vase smash Mr Sneed walks through the door "Oh, no!" he shakes his head at what he's witnessing. He quickly walks over to the coffin "No!" he says trying to help the chocking man, but he's too late as the woman breaks his neck and he falls to the ground. The man proceeds to push the lady down and tries to cover her with the lid to the coffin "Gwyneth! Get down here now! We've got another one!" he shouts as the woman pushes on the lid and knocks him to the ground. She busts the side of the coffin and slowly rises and leaves the chapel. She walks outside in the snow ghostly moaning as light can be seen in her mouth.
___________
In the Tardis the Doctor, Rose and the Captain are controlling the machine. "Hold that one down!" the Captain says.
"I'm holding this one down!" Rose shoots back.
"Well, hold them both down!" he returns.
"It's not gonna work." she states.
"Oi! We promised you a time machine! And that's what you're getting. Now that you've seen the future, let's have a look at the past... 1860... How does 1860 sound?" the Captain asks.
"What happened in 1860?" Rose asks him.
"I don't know. Let's find out! Hold on... here we go!" he smiles.
___________
"Gwyneth!" Mr Sneed shouts dabbing his head with a handkerchief. "Where are you, girl?" he shouts. "Gwyneth! Where've you been? I was shouting."
"Been in the stable breaking the ice for Samson."
"Well, get back in there and harness him up!"
"Whatever for, sir?"
"The stiffs are getting lively again. Mr Redpath's grandmother, she's up and on her feet, and out there somewhere, on the streets, we've got to find her."
"Mr Sneed, for shame, how many more times? It's ungodly!"
"Don't look at me like it's MY fault. Now come on, hurry up, she was 86, she can't have got far!"
"What about Mr Redpath? Did you deal with him?"
"No. She did." he turns around.
"That's awful, sir. I know it's not my place, and please forgive me for talking out of term, sir, but this thing is getting beyond now. Something terrible is happening in this house and we've got to get help." she softly says.
"And we will, as soon as I've got that dead old woman locked up and safe and sound. Now, stop prevaricating, girl. Get the hearse ready. We're going bodysnatching." he walks away after telling her that.
___________
The Tardis appears on a corner of a dead end street. Inside all three members have fallen and are laying on the floor laughing. "Blimey!" Rose announces.
"You're telling me! You all right?" the Doctor asks as he gets back to his feet.
"Yeah, I think so. Nothing broken." she says jumping back to her feet. "Did we make it? Where are we?" she asks.
"I did it!" the Captain exclaims looking at a monitor.
"Give the man a medal." the Doctor remarks in a joking tone.
"Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860." the Captain says through a smile crossing his arms.
"That's so weird. It's Christmas." Rose says.
"All yours." the Doctor says with his arm pointing towards the door of the Tardis.
"But it's like... Think about it, though. Christmas 1860 happens once, just once, and then it's... gone, it's finished, it'll never happen again." she says looking towards the two men who just shrug. "Except for you. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone. A hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."
"Not a bad life." the Doctor smiles.
"Better with three." Rose smiles.
"Come on then!" she runs off.
"Oi, oi, oi! Where d'you think you're going?" the Doctor asks.
"1860." Rose responds.
"Go out dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella. There's a wardrobe through there, 1st left, 2nd right, 3rd on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, 5th door on your left. Hurry up!" the Captain tells her making Rose run off down the hallway.
___________
Mr Sneed and Gwyneth are riding on the hearse through the snowy streets keeping an eye out for the older dead woman. "Not a sign. Where is she?" Mr Sneed says.
"She's vanished into the ether, sir. Where can she be?" the girl asks making the man halt the steeds.
"You tell me, girl."
"What do you mean?"
"Gwyneth, you know full well." he responds earning a slight shake of the girls head.
"No, sir, I can't."
"Use the sight."
"It's not right, sir."
"Find the old lady or you're dismissed.." he tells her earning a look from the girl. "..Now. Look inside, girl. Look deep. Where is she?"
Allowing her to close her eyes and connect with the 'inside' she quickly opens her eyes and looks off into the distance, "She's lost, sir. She's so alone. Oh, my Lord. So many strange things in her head." she softly speaks.
"But where?"
"She was excited. About tonight. Before she passed on, she was going to see him." she continues.
"Who's him?"
"The great man. All the way from London, the great, great man."
___________
"Mr Dickens? Mr Dickens?" a person knocks on a door and starts talking. "Excuse me, sir, Mr Dickens, this is your call..." a man walks further in to the room as Mr Dickens rubs just above his brow. "Are you quite well, sir?"
"Splendid, Splendid. Sorry!" the other man quietly says.
"Time you were on, sir."
"Absolutely. Er.. I was just brooding... Christmas Eve. Not the best of times to be alone."
"Did no-one travel with you, sir? No lady wife waiting out front?" the welsh man crosses his arms.
"I'm afraid not." Dickens shakes his head.
"You can have mine if you want."
"Oh, I wouldn't dare. I've, I've been rather... let's say, clumsy, with family matters. Thank God I'm too old to cause any more trouble."
"You speak as if it's all over, sir." the welsh man says.
"Oh, no it's never over!.. ..On and on I go. The same old show. I'm like a ghost, condemned to repeat myself through all eternity." Dickens says getting up off the chair and pouring himself a drink.
"It's never too late, sir, you could always think up some new turns."
"No, I can't. Even MY imagination grows stale." Dickens admits drinking his drink. "I'm an old man, perhaps I've thought everything I will ever think... Still. The lure of the limelight's as potent as a pipe, eh?" he continues as he takes off his dressing gown and replaces it with his suit jacket. "On with the motley."
___________
The Doctor is currently under the console working on it as he waits for Rose to change, the Captain leans on the railings watching him. Rose walks out over to the two men. "Blimey." the Captain says trying to contain his laughter as the Doctor looks up.
"Don't laugh." she laughs looking between the two men.
"You look beautiful.. Considering." the Doctor tries to cover up as he goes back to work on the Tardis.
"Considering what?" she asks.
"That you're human." the Captain chimes in.
"I think that's a compliment. Aren't either of you gonna change?" she asks the men.
"No thanks. I like my suit." the Captain smiles.
"I've changed my jumper. Come on." the Doctor says hopping out from underneath the console.
"You stay there, you've done this before. This is mine." she says walking past the two men towards the door.
Rose opens the door and looks around slowly walking out. Shortly followed by the two men. "Ready for this?" the Captain asks, as the Doctor holds out his arm for her to link.
"Here we go. History." the Doctor says as the three walk off down the street.
___________
Applause is heard as a red curtain revealing Charles Dickens opens. The man walks out onto the stage. With his head held high, he looks out towards the crowd, little does he know he's being watched by an old dead lady.
___________
Out on the street the Doctor smiles as he looks around, Rose looking off in the same direction as him. The three stop when a horse carriage strolls past them. They walk off, as a hearse pulls up down the street they had just walked. "Oh tidings of comfort and joy.." sings the choir.
"She's in there, sir, I'm certain of it." Gwyneth looks over towards the theatre, the two climb down from their seats.
"Right." Mr Sneed says.
The Doctor buys a newspaper and finds the date. "We may have gotten the flight a bit wrong." he says as they walk, looking towards the Captain who just sighs, knowing that it was more his fault then the Doctors.
"I don't care." Rose says noticing the look on the Captains face.
"It's not 1860, it's 1869." he continues.
"I don't care." she tells him.
"And it's not Naples." he says, the Captain shakes his head having already gathered that.
"I don't care." she says for the third time.
"It's Cardiff." he says, stopping Rose in her tracks.
"Right." she says to herself.
___________
"Now, it is a fact that there was nothing particular at all about the knocker on the door of this house but, let any man explain to me, if he can, how it happened that Scrooge, having his key in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without its undergoing any intermediate process of change, not a knocker, but Marley's face!" he says leading to a few surprised murmurs from the crowd. "Marley's face! It looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look. It looked like..." he pauses looking towards the dead woman in the crowd who is glowing. "..Oh, my Lord... it looked... like that!" he stutters pointing towards the lady. People turn to see what he is looking at and a few people gasp in shock. "What phantasmagoria is this?" he asks as the corpse rises and lets out a groan.
___________
"That's more like it." the Doctor says looking towards where the screaming is taking place. The three run off towards the theatre, with the Doctor throwing the newspaper behind them.
___________
"Stay in your seats, I, I beg you!" Dickens shouts over the screams and the rush of people fleeing the theatre as a blue gas entity escapes the mouth of the corpse. "It is a lantern show, it's trickery!" He says. Mr Sneed and Gwyneth push past the rushing audience.
"There she is, Sir!" Gwyneth announces as she points towards the lady.
"I can see that! The whole bloomin' world can see that!" he exclaims. Police whistles can be heard from outside as they begin to arrive.
"Fantastic!" the Doctor says after watching the blue entity fly around the room. He and the Captain walk off quickly followed by Rose. After all of the blue gas has exited the corpse it swiftly falls back onto the seats of the theatre as Mr Sneed makes his way to it.
"Did you see where it came from?" the Captain asks the man on stage.
"Ah! The wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!" Dickens angrily shouts at the man. The Captain takes a step backwards in shock.
"OI! Leave her alone! Doctor! I'll get them." Rose shouts making her way past the still fleeing crowd.
"Be careful!" the Doctor shouts as the two men jump up on to the stage.
"Did it say anything? Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, he's the Captain, by the way." the Doctor motions to the man in the green suit, taking a step towards Charles Dickens who takes a step backwards.
"Doctor? You look more like a navvy." Dickens remarks, the Captain lets out a chuckle.
"What's wrong with this jumper?" he asks holding it, his gaze looking back out to the seats where the audience once sat.
___________
"What're you doing?" Rose asks.
"Oh, it's a tragedy, miss. Don't worry yourself, me and the master'll deal with with it. Fact is, this poor lady's been taken with a brain-fever and we have to get her to the infirmary." Gwyneth tries to stop Rose from investigating further.
Rose pushes the woman out of the way and puts her hand on the corpse's face "She's cold. She's dead. Oh, my God, what'd you do to her?" Rose asks looking at the woman and then turning her attention back to the corpse. Mr Sneed sneaks up behind the blonde girl and puts a cloth over her mouth and nose. Rose tries to scream or shout but it's muffled, she struggles in the hold of Mr Sneed and soon passes out.
"What did you do that for?" Gwyneth asks.
"She's seen too much! Get her in the hearse! Legs!" he tells the girl, she crouches down and grabs Rose's legs helping him to place her in the hearse.
___________
The blue gas makes its way into a gas light at the top of the theatre. "Gas." the Doctor says.
"It's made of gas." the Captain quickly adds still watching the remaining gas enter the light.
___________
The Doctor and Captain quickly make their way outside "Rose!" the two men shout, rushing off towards the hearse.
"You're not escaping me, sirs!" Dickens follows them. "What do you know about that hob-goblin? Hmm?" he questions them as they watch the hearse leave in the distance. "Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?" he asks them.
"Yeah, mate, not now thanks." the Doctor says as they both walk off to a carriage.
"Oi! You! Follow that hearse!" the Captain shouts in an authoritative tone, the two men enter the coach and sit down.
"Can't do that, sir." the coach driver tells them.
"Why not?" the Doctor asks. Dickens walks up to the carriage
"I'll tell you why not. I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach." he tells them.
"Well, get in, then. Move!" the Doctor says impatiently pulling the man into the coach.
Inside the coach they can hear the crack of the whip from outside, as the carriage starts making its way down the street. "Come on, you're losing them!" the Captain says.
"Everything in order, Mr Dickens?" the driver asks him.
"No, it is not!" he replies, the Captain and Doctor look at him with bewilderment.
"What did he say?" the Doctor asks.
"I am not without a sense of humour..." Dickens starts.
"Dickens?" the Captain asks.
"Yes." he replies.
"Charles Dickens?" the Doctor asks smiling.
"Yes!" he answers again.
"THE Charles Dickens?" the Captain asks.
"Should I remove the gentlemen, sir?" the driver asks Dickens.
"Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are!" the Captain starts.
"Completely, 100% brilliant! We've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?" the Doctor tells him excitedly.
"Christmas Carol?" Dickens questions smugly.
"Oh, no, no, the one with the trains. The Signalman, that's it - terrifying!" the Doctor continues.
"The best short story ever written! You're a genius." the Captain exclaims making Dickens smile.
"Do you want me to get rid of them, sir?" the driver asks again.
"Er, no, I think they can stay." he nods at the men.
"Honestly, Charles... er, can I call you Charles? We're such big fans." the Doctor says motioning to himself and the Captain.
"Eh, you're a what? A big what?" he asks confused.
"Fan. Number one fan, that's me!" the Captain exclaims as the Doctor looks at him in betrayal, thinking that he was the number one fan.
"How exactly are you a 'fan'? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?" he questions.
"No, it means fanatic. Mind you, I've got to say that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's that about? Was that just padding or what? It's rubbish that bit." the Captain states earning an agreeing nod from the Doctor.
"I thought you were my fan?" he questions.
"Oh, well, if you can't take criticism... Go on do the death of the Little Nell. It cracks me up. No! Sorry! Forget about that... Come on! Faster!" the Doctor says.
"Who is exactly in that hearse?" Dickens asks.
"Our friend. She's only 19 and it's our fault. She's in our care, now she's in danger." the Doctor says, the Captain gives a soft smile.
"Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!" Dickens shouts to the driver.
"Yes, sir!" he shouts back.
"Attaboy, Charlie." the Doctor says.
"Nobody calls me Charlie."
"The ladies do." the Captain tells him.
"How do you know that?" he asks.
"I told you! I'm your number one..." he carries on
"Number one fan." Dickens says cutting him off.
___________
Gwyneth and Mr Sneed carries Rose in to the building. "The poor girl's still alive, sir, what are we going to do with her?" Gwyneth asks.
"I don't know! I didn't plan any of this, did I? Is it my fault if the dead won't stay dead?" he states more then asks. While laying her down on a table.
"Then whose fault is it, sir? Why is this happening to us?" they leaves the room afterwards.
"I did the Bishop a favour once. Made his nephew look like a cherub even though he'd been a fortnight in the weir. Hey, perhaps he'll do us an exorcism on the cheap!" he says stopping them both.