Doctor Who (2005) Transcripts

SNEED
Sneed and Company offer their sincerest condolences, sir. In this most trying hour.

REDPATH
Grandmamma had a good innings, Mr. Sneed. She was so full of life. I can't believe she's gone.

SNEED
Not gone, Mr. Redpath, sir. Merely sleeping.

[There is a short silence]

REDPATH
May I have a moment?

SNEED
Yes, of course. I shall be in the next room, should you require anything.

[He leaves Redpath alone with his Grandmother. Redpath, with his head bowed in grief, does not notice the gas enter her dead body and her eyes snap open. She suddenly grabs Redpath by the neck and throttles him. Mr. Sneed bursts back into the room upon hearing the commotion]

SNEED
Oh, no.

[The old woman twists her grandson's neck around and he falls to the floor. Redpath tries to wrestle the lid back on the coffin]

SNEED
Gwyneth! Get down here now! We've got another one!

[He is not strong enough to get the lid back on the coffin and the old woman kicks the side off and walks from the house, wailing]

DOCTOR
Hold that one down!

ROSE
I'm holding this one down!

DOCTOR
Well, hold them both down!

ROSE
It's not going to work!

***

[Back in 1860, Mr. Sneed is dabbing at his forehead]

SNEED
Gwyneth! Where are you, girl? Gwyneth!

[Gwyneth appears]

Where've you been? I was shouting!

GWYNETH
I've been in the stables, sir, bringing the ice for old Sampson.

SNEED
Well, get back in there and harness him up.

GWYNETH
Whatever for, sir?

SNEED
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!

GWYNETH
Mr. Sneed, for shame! How many more times? It's ungodly!

SNEED
Don't look at me like it's my fault! Now come on, hurry up! She was 86. She can't have got far.

GWYNETH
What about Mr. Redpath? Did you deal with him?

SNEED
No. She did.

GWYNETH
That's awful, sir. I know it's not my place, and please - forgive me for talking out of turn, sir. But this is getting beyond, now.

[Sneed nods]

GWYNETH
Something terrible is happening in this house, and we've got to get help.

SNEED
And we will! As soon as we get that dead old woman locked up and safe and sound. Now stop prevaricating girl, get the hearse ready. We're going body snatching.

***

[The TARDIS materializes on a deserted street. Snow is falling. Inside, the controls are steaming and both the Doctor and Rose are lying on the floor laughing. They get up]

ROSE
Blimey!

DOCTOR
You're telling me! Are you alright?

ROSE
Yeah. I think so! Nothing broken... did we make it? Where are we?

[The Doctor is studying the screen]

DOCTOR
I did it! Give the man a medal. Earth - Naples - December 24th, 1860.

[He giggles]

ROSE
That's so weird... it's Christmas.

[The Doctor gestures towards the door]

DOCTOR
All yours.

ROSE
But, it's like... think about it, though. Christmas. 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you.

[She is studying him intently now]

ROSE
You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago... no wonder you never stay still...

DOCTOR
Not a bad life.

ROSE
Better with two.

[They grin at each other for a few moments. Then Rose slaps his bum and dashes towards the door]

ROSE
Come on then!

DOCTOR
Oi, oi, oi! Where do you think you're going?!

ROSE
1860!

DOCTOR
Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella! There's a wardrobe through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left. Hurry up!

[Rose rushes off to get changed. The Doctor grins after her]

***

[Sneed and Gwyneth are driving through the streets looking for the old woman]

SNEED
Not a sign. Where is she?

GWYNETH
She's vanished into the ether sir, where can she be?

[Sneed stops the hearse and looks at Gwyneth]

SNEED
You tell me, girl.

GWYNETH
What do you mean?

SNEED
Gwyneth, you know full well.

GWYNETH
No, sir. I can't.

SNEED
Use the sight.

GWYNETH
It's not right, sir.

SNEED
Find the old lady. Or you're dismissed.

[Gwyneth looks anxious]

SNEED
Now, look inside, girl. Look deep. Where is she?

[Gwyneth closes her eyes]

GWYNETH
She's lost, sir. She's so alone. Oh, my lord. So many strange things in her head.

SNEED
But where?

GWYNETH
She's excited. About tonight. Before she passed on, she was going to see him.

SNEED
Who's 'him'?

GWYNETH
A great man. All the way from London. The great, great man.

***

[There is a knocking at a door. An old man is kneading his forehead inside the room]

STAGE MANAGER
Mr. Dickens! Mr. Dickens! Excuse me, sir, Mr. Dickens - this is your call.

[Mr. Dickens does not respond. A man comes into the room]

STAGE MANAGER
Are you quite well, sir?

DICKENS
Splendid, splendid. Sorry.

STAGE MANAGER
Time you were on, Sir.

DICKENS
Absolutely. I was just - brooding.

[The man looks at him]

DICKENS
Christmas Eve. Not the best of times to be alone.

STAGE MANAGER
Did no one travel with you, sir? An old lady wife waiting out front?

DICKENS
I'm afraid not.

STAGE MANAGER [laughingly]
You can have mine if you want.

DICKENS
Oh, I wouldn't dare. I've been rather - let's say - clumsy, with family matters. By God, I'm too old to cause any more trouble.

STAGE MANAGER
You speak as though it's all over, sir!

DICKENS
Oh, no, it's never over. On and on I go. The same old show.

[They look at the poster announcing his show]

DICKENS
I'm like a ghost, condemned to repeat myself...

[He lifts himself out of his chair]

DICKENS
... for all eternity.

STAGE MANAGER
It's never too late, sir. You could always think up some new turns.

DICKENS
No, I can't. Even my imagination grows stale.

[He takes a long swig of drink]

DICKENS
I'm an old man. Perhaps I've thought everything I'll ever think. Still! The lure of the lime-light! As potent as a pipe what, eh?

[The man helps him change his jacket]

DICKENS
On with the show.

***

[In the TARDIS, the Doctor is doing some more unnecessary repair work. Rose swans in and he turns off his sonic screwdriver and looks at her in surprise]

DOCTOR
Blimey!

ROSE
Don't laugh!

DOCTOR
You look beautiful!

[Rose stops laughing and smiles instead. There is a pause and the Doctor looks away awkwardly]

DOCTOR
... considering.

[He turns on his screwdriver again]

ROSE
Considering what?

DOCTOR
That you're human!

ROSE [looking slightly confused yet amused]
I think that's a compliment... Aren't you going to change?

DOCTOR
I've changed my jumper! Come on!

[He jumps out of the space beneath the controls]

ROSE
You, stay there! You've done this before. This is mine!

[She hurries towards the door and opens it, looking out onto the 1860 street. She makes one footprint in the untouched snow then withdraws her foot again. Then she steps out altogether. The Doctor follows her] 

DOCTOR
Ready for this?

[She smiles and he offers her his arm. She takes it]

DOCTOR
Here we go. History!

[They walk off]

***

[The curtains open for Dickens' show. The audience applaud. The dead old woman is sitting slap bang in the middle of them]

***

[The Doctor and Rose walk down the street, observing everything - Rose in amazement, the Doctor with his usual grin on his face. He walks in another direction and Rose follows. There are carol singers in the background]

***

[Sneed and Gwyneth arrive before the venue where Dickens is giving his show]

GWYNETH
She's in there, sir, I'm certain of it.

[They alight from the hearse. Not far away, the Doctor is buying a newspaper. He unfolds it and scans it]

DOCTOR
I got the flight a bit wrong.

ROSE
I don't care.

DOCTOR
It's not 1860, it's 1869.

ROSE
I don't care!

DOCTOR
And it's not Naples.

ROSE
I don't care.

DOCTOR
It's Cardiff.

[Rose pauses for a few seconds]

ROSE
Right...

***

[Inside the venue, Dickens is talking to a rapt audience]

DICKENS
Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing particular 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 it's undergoing any intermediate process of change, not a knocker - but Marley's face. 

[The audience gasp]

DICKENS
Marley's face! It looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look. It looked like...

[The gas is escaping from the old woman. Dickens, seeing as how he is the only one facing the audience, is the only one to notice]

DICKENS
Oh, my lord! It looked... like that!

[He points a trembling finger at the old woman]

DICKENS
What phantasmagoria is this?

[The woman has risen in her seat. She lets out a long, loud wail. The audience scream and trample each other in their hurry to get away. The Doctor and Rose hear the screaming. The Doctor grins] 

DOCTOR
That's more like it!

[He tosses the newspaper over his shoulder and runs in the direction of the screaming. Rose follows. Inside, Dickens is desperately trying to get his audience to sit down again]

DICKENS
Stay in your seats, I beg you. It is a lantern show, it's trickery.

[Sneed and Gwyneth are struggling to enter the venue]

GWYNETH
There she is, sir!

SNEED
I can see that!

[The gas zooms around the room]

SNEED
The whole bloomin' world can see that!

[The Doctor and Rose enter. They watch the gas zoom around]

DOCTOR
Fantastic.

[The last of the gas leaves the old woman's mouth and she slumps back in the chair, just a dead body once more. The Doctor approaches Mr. Dickens]

DOCTOR
Did you see where it came from?

DICKENS
Ah. The wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!

[The Doctor looks slightly taken aback]

ROSE
Oi! Leave her alone!

[Sneed and Gwyneth are making off with the old woman's body]

ROSE
Doctor, I'll get 'em!

DOCTOR
Be careful!

[He jumps up on the stage]

DOCTOR
Did it say anything? Could it speak? I'm The Doctor, by the way.

DICKENS
Doctor? You look more like a navy.

DOCTOR [indignantly] 
What's wrong with this jumper?

***

[Outside, Gwyneth and Sneed have successfully loaded the body into the back of the hearse. Rose catches up with them]

ROSE
What're you doing?!

GWYNETH
Oh, it's such a tragedy, miss. Don't worry yourself, me and the master will deal with it.

[She is trying to bar Rose from seeing inside the hearse]

GWYNETH
The fact is, this poor lady's been taken with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary.

[Rose pushes Gwyneth aside and feels the old woman's forehead]

ROSE
She's cold... she's dead! My God, what did you do to her?

[Sneed approaches her silently from behind and clamps a tissue full of a drug, probably chloroform, to her mouth. She struggles for a few seconds and then goes limp]

GWYNETH [shocked]
What did you do that for?

SNEED
She's seen too much. Get her in the hearse!

[Gwyneth bends down to pick up Rose's legs]

***

[The blue gas is still zooming around inside. It dives into one of the gas lamps and disappears]

DOCTOR
Gas! It's made of gas!

***

[By the time the Doctor comes down the steps of the venue, Gwyneth has just finished pushing Rose's head out of sight into the hearse. She slams the door shut]

DOCTOR
Rose!

[He runs towards the hearse]

DICKENS
You're not escaping me, sir! What do you know about that hobgoblin, hm?

[The hearse drives away. The Doctor stares after it]

DICKENS
Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?

DOCTOR
Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks.

[The Doctor spots a coach and runs towards it, shouting to the driver]

DOCTOR
Oi, you! Follow that hearse!

[He jumps into the back]

DICKENS
You can't do that, sir!

DOCTOR
Why not?

DICKENS
Why not?! I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!

DOCTOR
Well, get in then!

[He pulls Dickens in]

DOCTOR [to the driver]
Move!

[The coach rumbles off]

DRIVER
Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?

DICKENS
No! It is not!

DOCTOR
What did he say?

DICKENS
Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour--

DOCTOR
Dickens?

DICKENS
Yes.

DOCTOR
Charles Dickens?

DICKENS
Yes.

DOCTOR
The Charles Dickens?

DRIVER
Shall I remove the gentleman, sir?

DOCTOR
Charles Dickens! You're brilliant, you are! Completely 100% brilliant! I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?

DICKENS
A Christmas Carol?

DOCTOR
No, no, no, the one with the trains... The Signal Man, that's it, terrifying!

[Dickens looks pleased]

DOCTOR
The best short story ever written! You're a genius!

DRIVER
You want me to get rid of him, sir?

DICKENS
Er, no, I think he can stay.

DOCTOR
Honestly, Charles - can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan.

DICKENS
... what? A what?

DOCTOR
Fan! Number One Fan, that's me.

DICKENS
How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?

DOCTOR
No, it means 'Fanatic', devoted to. Mind you, I've gotta say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about?! Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit.

DICKENS [disgruntled]
I thought you said you were my fan.

DOCTOR
Ah, well, if you can't take criticism... go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up. No, sorry, come on, faster!

[The driver urges the horses on]

DICKENS
Who exactly is in that hearse?

DOCTOR
My friend. She's only nineteen, and it's my fault. She's in my care, and now she's in danger.

DICKENS
Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!

DRIER
Yes, sir!

[The Doctor looks delighted]

DOCTOR
Atta boy, Charlie!

DICKENS
Nobody calls me Charlie.

DOCTOR
The ladies do.

DICKENS
How do you know that?

DOCTOR
I told you - I'm your Number One--

DICKENS
Number One Fan, yes...

***

[Back at the funeral directors, Gwyneth and Sneed have one end each of Rose and are carrying her into a room]

GWYNETH
The poor girl's still alive, sir! What're we going to do with her?

[They settle her down on a table, that is evidently used for dead bodies]

SNEED
I don't know! I didn't plan any of this, did I. Isn't my fault if the dead won't stay dead.

GWYNETH
Then whose fault is it, sir? Why is this happening to us?

[They leave the room, shutting and locking Rose in. A gas lamp flickers]

***

SNEED
I did the Bishop a favour, once. Made his nephew look like a cherub. Even though he'd been a fortnight in the weir. Perhaps he'll do us an exorcism on the cheap.

[There is a knock on the door. They both look up, alarmed]

SNEED
Say I'm not in. Tell them we're closed. Just - just get rid of them.

***

[In the other room, Rose wakes up. She looks slightly out of sorts, and does not notice when the gas from the lamps fills the corpse of Redpath. He sits up suddenly]

***

[Dickens knocks on the door again and Gywneth opens it]

GWYNETH
I'm sorry, sir, we're closed.

DICKENS [angrily]
Don't lie to me, child!

GWYNETH
I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Dickens, but the mater's indisposed.

[Behind her, a gas lamp flares up]

DOCTOR
Having trouble with your gas?

DICKENS
What the Shakespeare is going on?

***

[Rose suddenly notices the corpse behind her. She jumps in alarm as he starts making zombie noises at her]

ROSE
Are you alright? You're kidding me, yeah? You're just kidding.

[He climbs out of the coffin]

ROSE
You are, you're kidding me, aren't ya?

[He takes staggering steps towards her]

ROSE
Okay, not kidding.

[She runs to the door and tries to open it]

***

[The Doctor forces his way in and presses his ear to the wall]

GWYNETH
You're not allowed inside, sir!

DOCTOR
There's something inside the walls.

***

[Rose backs against the door. The old woman's body rises from the other coffin and Rose gaps]

DOCTOR
The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas.

[Rose lobs a vase at Redpath. It does nothing but cause him to stumble slightly. Rose rattles the handle frantically]

ROSE
Let me out! Open the door!

***

[Gwyneth, the Doctor and Dickens hear her. Gwyneth closes her eyes in dismay]

DOCTOR
That's her.

[He runs off to her rescue. Dickens’s follows]

ROSE
Please, let me out!

[Both corpses are walking towards her. The Doctor charges past Sneed]

SNEED
This is my house!

[Dickens charges past him too. He shakes his finger at Gwyneth as she runs after them]

SNEED
I told you!

[Rose is still hammering on the door as the corpses get closer and closer]

ROSE
Let me out! Somebody, open the door! Open the door!

[Redpath clasps a hand over her mouth, muffling her scream. At that moment, the Doctor kicks the door in]

DOCTOR
I think this is my dance.

[He releases Rose from Redpath's grip]

DICKENS
It's a prank? It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence.

DOCTOR
No, we're not. The dead are walking.

[He grins down at the panting Rose]

DOCTOR
Hi!

ROSE
Hi! Who's your friend?

DOCTOR
Charles Dickens.

ROSE
Oh. Okay.

DOCTOR [to the corpses]
My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?

REDPATH
We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form - cannot sustain - help us.

[Both Redpath and his grandmother raise their heads to the ceiling. The blue gas leaves them with a wailing sound and both corpses fall to the floor]

***

[Later, Gwyneth is pouring them all tea while Rose is having a go at Sneed]

ROSE
First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man.

[The Doctor sniggers]

SNEED
I won't be spoken to like this!

ROSE
Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough - you swan off! And leave me to die! So come on - talk!

SNEED
It's not my fault, it's this house! It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs--

[Dickens looks mildly offended]

SNEED
... the er, dear departed started getting restless.

DICKENS
Tommyrot.

SNEED
You witnessed it! Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps...

[Gwyneth gives the Doctor his tea]

GWYNETH
Two sugars, sir, just how you like it.

[The Doctor looks at her retreating back curiously]

SNEED
One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service! Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned.

DICKENS
Morbid fancy.

DOCTOR
Oh, Charles, you were there.

DICKENS
I saw nothing but an illusion. 

DOCTOR
If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up.

[Dickens looks stunned]

DOCTOR [to Sneed]
What about the gas?

SNEED
That's new, sir, never seen anything like that.

DOCTOR
Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through.

ROSE
What's the rift?

DOCTOR
A weak point in time and space. The connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time.

SNEED [with revelation]
That's how I got the house so cheap.

[Dickens sneaks un-noticed from the room]

SNEED
Stories going back generations. Echoes in the dark. Queer songs in the air and this feeling like a... shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine.

***

[Dickens, wandering the corridors alone, examines the gas lamps]

DICKENS
Impossible.

[He goes back into the room where Rose was locked up and takes the lid off Redpath's coffin, where Redpath is lying peacefully, his arms crossed across his chest. He waves his hands in front of his face, shakes him a bit, and fumbles around underneath the coffin, all the time oblivious to the Doctor watching him with his arms folded in the doorway]

DOCTOR
Checking for strings?

DICKENS
Wires, perhaps? There must be some mechanism behind this fraud!

[The Doctor unfolds his arms and walks over to Dickens]

DOCTOR
Oh, come on, Charles. Alright. I shouldn't have told you to shut up.

[He places a hand on his shoulder]

DOCTOR
I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures.

DICKENS 
I cannot accept that.

DOCTOR
And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things - they can slip inside and use it as a vehicle. Just like your driver and his coach.

DICKENS
Stop it! Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?

DOCTOR
Not wrong. There's just more to learn.

DICKENS
I've always railed against the fantasies. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them - that's what they were. Illusions! The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices. Great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack o' lanterns. In which case - have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?

***

[In the kitchen, Gwyneth is lighting another gas lamp when Rose comes in and starts washing up]

GWYNETH
Please, Miss! You shouldn't be helping! It's not right!

ROSE
Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death.

[She hands her the cloth to dry up]

ROSE
How much do you get paid?

GWYNETH
Eight pound a year, miss.

ROSE
That much?

GWYNETH
I know. I would've been happy with six.

[Rose looks dumbfounded]

ROSE
So, did you go to school or what?

GWYNETH
Of course I did. What do you think I am? An urchin? I went every Sunday. Nice and proper.

ROSE
What - once a week?

GWYNETH
We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second.

ROSE
Me too.

[They both laugh]

GWYNETH
Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own!

[She says this as if it was completely outrageous]

ROSE
I did plenty of that. I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. And we used to go and look at boys!

[Gwyneth stops laughing at once and looks scandalized]

GWYNETH
Well, I don't know much about that, miss.

[She turns back to the washing up]

ROSE
Come on, times haven't changed that much! I bet you've done the same.

GWYNETH
I don't think so, miss.

ROSE
Gwyneth! You can tell me! Bet you've got your eye on someone.

GWYNETH
I suppose. There is one lad...

[Rose looks extremely chuffed]

GWYNETH
The butcher’s boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him!

ROSE
Oh, I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum.

[Again, Gwyneth looks extremely shocked]

GWYNETH
Well, I have never heard the like!

[Rose just laughs. Then, Gwyneth laughs too]

ROSE
Ask him out! Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start. 

GWYNETH
I swear, it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding but you talk like some sort of wild thing!

[Rose shrugs slightly]

ROSE
Maybe I am. Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mr Sneed.

GWYNETH
Ah, now that's not fair. He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to me to take me in. Because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve.

ROSE
Oh, I'm sorry.

GWYNETH
Thank you, miss. But I'll be with them again, one day. Sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for you too, miss.

ROSE
Maybe.

[She nods, then looks at Gwyneth]

ROSE
Um, who told you he was dead?

[Gwyneth realizes what she has said and turns quickly back to the washing up]

GWYNETH [lightly]
I don't know, must've been the Doctor.

ROSE
My father died years back.

GWYNETH
You've been thinking about him lately, more than ever.

ROSE
I s'pose so... how do you know all this?

GWYNETH
Mr. Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you miss.

[They laugh]

ROSE
No, no servants where I'm from.

GWYNETH
And you've come such a long way.

ROSE
What makes you think so?

GWYNETH
You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that.

[She is staring intently at Rose]

GWYNETH
All those people rushing about. Half naked, for shame. And the noise... and the metal boxes racing past... and the birds in the sky... they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And you - you've flown so far, further than anyone! The things you've seen... the darkness... the big bad wolf--

[She staggers backwards as though frightened]

GWYNETH
I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss!

ROSE
S'alright...

GWYNETH
I can't help it - ever since I was a little girl. My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it!

DOCTOR
But it's getting stronger. More powerful, is that right?

[Rose and Gwyneth both jump as they turn to see the Doctor standing in the doorway]

GWYNETH
All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head.

DOCTOR
You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it. You're the key.

GWYNETH
I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts.

DOCTOR
Well, that should help. You can show us what to do.

GWYNETH
What to do where, sir?

DOCTOR
We're going to have a séance.

***

[They are all sat around a table]

GWYNETH
This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists. Down in Mid Town. Come. We must all join hands.

DICKENS
I can't take part in this.

[He gets up]

DOCTOR
Humbug? Come on, open mind.

DICKENS
This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing.

DOCTOR
Now, don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium.

ROSE
I can't believe you just said that.

DOCTOR [to Dickens]
Come on, we might need you.

[Dickens sits down again]

DOCTOR
Good man. Now, Gwyneth. Reach out.

GWYNETH
Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits?

[Dickens rolls his eyes]

GWYNETH
Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden.

[She raises her eyes to the ceiling. A murmuring fills the room]

ROSE
Can you hear that?

DICKENS
Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly.

ROSE
Look at her.

GWYNETH
I feel them. I feel them!

[The gas creatures begin to fill the room. They all look surprised/scared]

ROSE
What're they saying?

DOCTOR
They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through.

GWYNETH
I can't!

DOCTOR
Yes you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link.

[Gwyneth looks almost pained. Then suddenly, she lowers her head and opens her eyes]

GWYNETH
Yes.

[Three gaseous figures appear behind her - the Gelth. Dickens' mouth drops open]

SNEED
Great God. Sprits from the other side!

DOCTOR
The other side of the universe.

GELTH
Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us.

DOCTOR
What do you want us to do?

GELTH
The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge.

DOCTOR
What for?

GELTH
We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction.

DOCTOR Why, what happened?

GELTH
Once we had a physical form like you. But then the war came.

DICKENS War? What war?

GELTH
The Time War.

[The Doctor and Rose glance at each other]

GELTH
The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state.

DOCTOR
So that's why you need the corpses.

GELTH
Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!

[They disappear and Gwyneth collapses forwards onto the table. Rose gets up immediately and goes to her]

ROSE
Gwyneth!

DICKENS
All true.

ROSE [to Gwyneth]
Are you okay?

DICKENS
It's all true.

[The Doctor is silent]

***

[Rose is mopping Gwyneth's forehead as she lies asleep on a couch. Slowly, her eyes open. She fidgets]

ROSE
It's alright. You just sleep.

GWYNETH
But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they? They need me?

[The Doctor is leaning on a wall just behind Rose]

DOCTOR
They do need you, Gwyneth. You're they're only chance of survival.

[Rose turns around angrily]

ROSE
I've told you, leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles.

[The Doctor leans his head back and sighs. Rose turns back to Gwyneth and offers her a drink]

ROSE
Drink this.

SNEED
Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?

DOCTOR
Aliens.

SNEED
Like... foreigners, you mean?

DOCTOR
Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there.

[He points skywards]

SNEED
Brecon?

DOCTOR
Close. They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes.

DICKENS
Which is why they need the girl.

ROSE
They're not having her.

DOCTOR
But she can help. Living on the rift, she's become part of it, she can open it up, make a bridge and let them through.

DICKENS
Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers.

DOCTOR
Good system. It might work.

[Rose gets up and walks over to the Doctor]

ROSE
You can't let them run around inside dead people!

DOCTOR
Why not? It's like recycling.

ROSE
Seriously though, you can't.

DOCTOR
Seriously though, I can.

ROSE It's just... wrong! Those bodies were living people! We should respect them even in death!

DOCTOR
Do you carry a donor card?

ROSE
That's different, that's--

DOCTOR
It is different, yeah. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home.

[Rose is silent]

DOCTOR [in softer tones]
You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying.

ROSE
I don't care, they're not using her.

GWYNETH
Don't I get a say, miss?

[Both Rose and the Doctor turn to look at her]

ROSE
Look. You don't understand what's going on.

GWYNETH
You would say that miss. Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid.

ROSE
That's not fair!

GWYNETH
It's true, though. Things might be very different where you're from. But here and now, I know my own mind. And the angels need me. Doctor, what do I have to do?

DOCTOR
You don't have to do anything.

GWYNETH
They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So tell me.

[The Doctor smiles at her]

DOCTOR
We need to find the rift.

[He walks to the table where Sneed and Dickens are sitting]

DOCTOR
This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed. What's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?

SNEED
That would be the Morgue.

ROSE [still disgruntled]
No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?

[Everyone turns to look at her]

***

[The key turns in the Morgue, and they all troupe in, lead by the Doctor]

DOCTOR
Talk about bleak house.

ROSE
The thing is, Doctor - the Gelth don't succeed. 'Cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869.

DOCTOR
Time's in flux. It's changing every second. Your cozy little world could be rewritten like that.

[He clicks his fingers]

DOCTOR
Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing.

DICKENS
Doctor - I think the room is getting colder.

ROSE
Here they come.

[The Gelth flood into the room. Their leader positions itself in an archway. It has the voice of a child]

GELTH
You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!

ROSE
Promise you won't hurt her!

GELTH
Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth.

DOCTOR
I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?

GWYNETH
My angels. I can help them live.

DOCTOR
Okay, where's the weak point?

GELTH
Here, beneath the arch.

[Gwyneth positions herself beneath the arch]

GWYNETH
Beneath the arch.

[Rose rushes to her]

ROSE
You don't have to do this.

[Gwyneth places her hands on Rose's cheeks]

GWYNETH
My angels.

[Rose staggers backwards]

GELTH
Establish the bridge, reach out of the void, let us through!

GWYNETH
Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!

GELTH
Bridgehead establishing.

GWYNETH
Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!

GELTH
It is begun! The bridge is made!

[Gwyneth's mouth opens and the Gelth pour out of it]

GELTH
She has given herself to the Gelth]

DICKENS
There's rather a lot of them, eh?

[The bridge is open. We descend Suddenly, the figure becomes demonic. The gas turns from blue to red]

GELTH
The Gelth will come through in force.

DICKENS
You said that you were few in number!

GELTH
A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses.

[The bodies rise]

SNEED
Gwyneth... stop this! Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, leave these things alone. I beg of you--

ROSE
Mr. Sneed! Get back! 

[A corpse grabs Sneed from behind and holds him still while another of the Gelth fills his body through his mouth. The Doctor and Rose leap back. Mr Sneed looks up at them through blank, dead eyes]

DOCTOR
I think it's gone a little bit wrong.

SNEED
I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come. March with us.

DICKENS
No!

[The corpses advance on the Doctor and Rose]

GELTH
We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead.

[They are backing the Doctor and Rose against a dungeon door]

DOCTOR
Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back! Now!

GELTH
Three more bodies. Make them vessels for the Gelth.

DICKENS
I- I can't! I'm sorry!

[The Doctor looks behind him, spots the dungeon door, pushes Rose in there with him and slams it shut again so they are both locked in there]

DICKENS 
It's too much for me! I'm so--

[He jumps and runs from the Morgue as one of the Gelth screeches and swoops at him. The corpses are clambering to get in the dungeon]

GELTH
Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth.

DOCTOR
I trusted you. I pitied you!

GELTH
We don't want your pity! We want this world and all it's flesh.

[They are rattling the door]

DOCTOR
Not while I'm alive.

GELTH
Then live no more.

***

[Dickens has run from the Morgue and rests panting against the door. The gaseous creatures swirl around the knocker, making it look exactly like the knocker from his story 'A Christmas Carol', and he runs again]

***

[The Doctor and Rose are flattened against the dungeon wall while the Gelth are rattling the door]

ROSE
But I can't die.

[She looks at the Doctor for reassurance]

ROSE
Tell me I can't! I haven't even been born yet, it's impossible for me to die! Isn't it?!

DOCTOR
I'm sorry.

***

[Dickens has run from the house altogether. One of the Gelth has followed him]

GELTH
Failing! Atmosphere hostile!

[The figure dives into a gas lamp]

DICKENS [with revelation]
Gas... Gas!

***

ROSE
But it's 1869, how can I die now?

DOCTOR
Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you here.

ROSE
It's not your fault. I wanted to come.

DOCTOR
What about me? I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now I'm going to die in a dungeon!

[He looks horrified]

DOCTOR
In Cardiff!

ROSE
It's not just dying. We'll become one of them.

***

[Dickens rushes back into the house and begins to turn all the flames off the gas lamps, so that the gas is released into the air. Wheezing slightly, he covers his nose and mouth with a handkerchief]

***

ROSE
We'll go down fighting, yeah?

DOCTOR
Yeah.

ROSE
Together?

DOCTOR
Yeah!

[They link hands]

DOCTOR
I'm so glad I met you.

[Rose looks up at him, surprised]

ROSE
Me too.

[They smile at each other. At that moment, Dickens rushes into the room]

DICKENS
Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!

DOCTOR
What're you doing?

DICKENS
Turn it all on! Gas the place!

[He turns another one on]

DOCTOR
Brilliant. Gas!

ROSE
What, so we choke to death instead?

DICKENS
Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous!

DOCTOR
Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!

[The corpses all decide to turn on Dickens instead]

DICKENS
I hope... oh, Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated soon.

[The corpses advance dangerously on him]

DICKENS
If not immediately.

DOCTOR
Plenty more!

[He smashes a gas canister against the wall and all the creatures are sucked from the bodies with a scream]

DICKENS
It's working.

[The Doctor and Rose are free to come out of the dungeon]

DOCTOR
Gwyneth! Send them back! They lied, they're not angels.

GWYNETH [simply]
Liars.

DOCTOR
Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!

ROSE [choked]
Can't breathe.

DOCTOR
Charles, get her out.

[Dickens grabs Rose's arm, but she shakes him off]

ROSE
I'm not leaving her!

GWYNETH
They're too strong.

DOCTOR
Remember that world you saw? Rose's world? All those people - non of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift.

GWYNETH [firmly]
I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out.

[Her hand goes to her apron pocket and she takes out a box of matches. Rose rushes forwards]

ROSE
You can't!

GWYNETH
Leave this place!

[The Doctor grabs Rose's shoulders]

DOCTOR
Rose, get out, go now, I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!

[Dickens and Rose leave the Morgue. The Doctor holds his hand out for the matches]

DOCTOR
Now give that to me.

[Gwyneth does not respond]

***

[Dickens leads Rose back through the dark house, filled with gas] 

DICKENS This way!

***

[The Doctor places his hand on Gwyneth's neck, feeling for a pulse. His face falls]

DOCTOR
I'm sorry.

[He places a kiss on her forehead]

DOCTOR
Thank you.

[He runs from the Morgue. Gwyneth takes a match out of the box and waits for a few moments, to be sure the Doctor is safely out of the house. Then she strikes the match. The whole house goes up in flames, the Doctor diving out of the doorway only just in time to join Rose and Dickens. Rose fixes him with a look that plainly asks why Gwyneth is not with him. The Doctor looks back at her]

ROSE
She didn't make it.

DOCTOR
I'm sorry. She closed the rift.

DICKENS
At such a cost. The poor child.

[Rose has not looked away from the Doctor]

DOCTOR
I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes.

ROSE
What do you mean?

DOCTOR
I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch.

ROSE
But... she can't have, she spoke to us. She helped us - she saved us. How could she have done that?

DICKENS
There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor.

ROSE
She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know.

[All three of them gaze at the burning house]

***

[The Doctor, Rose and Dickens have arrived back at the TARDIS[

DOCTOR
Right then, Charlie-boy, I've just got to go into my um... shed. Won't be long!

[He fits the key in the lock]

ROSE [to Dickens]
What're you going to do now?

DICKENS
I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital.

DOCTOR
You've cheered up!

DICKENS [enthusiastically]
Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them! 

ROSE
Do you think that's wise?

DICKENS
I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!

DOCTOR
Good luck with it. Nice to meet you.

[He shakes Dickens' hand]

DOCTOR
Fantastic.

[He turns back to the TARDIS door]

ROSE
Bye, then. And, thanks.

[She kisses him on the cheek. Dickens looks taken-aback]

DICKENS
Oh, my dear-- how modern. Thank you, but, I don't understand - in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?

DOCTOR
You'll see. In the shed.

[He opens the door of the TARDIS]

DICKENS
Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this - who are you?

[There is a pause]

DOCTOR
Just a friend. Passing through.

DICKENS
But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor - do they last?

DOCTOR
Oh, yes!

DICKENS
For how long?

DOCTOR
Forever!

[Dickens tries to look pleased and modest at the same time]

DOCTOR
Right. Shed. Come on, Rose...

[They both turn to the door]

DICKENS
In - in the box? Both of you?

DOCTOR
Down boy. See ya!

[The Doctor and Rose enter the TARDIS and shut the door after them]

ROSE
Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?

DOCTOR
In a weeks time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies. Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story.

[They both look at the screen where they can see Dickens is still standing outside]

ROSE
Oh, no! He was so nice. 

DOCTOR
But in your time, he was already dead! We've brought him back to life! He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy. Let's give him one last surprise.

[He hits a button and the engines reve up. They smile as they watch Dickens' face when the TARDIS disappears before his eyes. Laughing, Dickens' walks away from where the TARDIS stood and onto the main road]

PASSER-BY
Merry Christmas, sir.

DICKENS
Merry Christmas to you. God bless us! Everyone!

***

CLOSING CREDITS