Lethbridge-Stewart: The Xmas Files
Sunday, 18 December 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced a new, free-to-download festive adventure in their Lethbridge-Stewart range, The Feast of Evans by Simon A Forward.
Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:
Lethbridge-Stewart pre-order customers and subscribers will also get a festive treat in a short story, Home for Christmas. The bonus is written by many of the Lethbridge-Stewart authors who previously wrote for the series in 2016, including John Peel, Andy Frankham-Allen, Sue Hampton, Adrian Sherlock, Sharon Bidwell and Tom Dexter.Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:
It’s always fun to do our seasonal stories, and this one is even more fun as it’s set concurrent with our Christmas special from last year. This story shows us what happened elsewhere while Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was dealing with alien spheres in London in last year’s The Fright Before Christmas. And just because we’re nice we are also including that story free as well.
Talking about the story, range editor Andy Frankham-Allen said:My original plans for Evans never really took, and so he was carted off from Edinburgh to the 2nd Battalion at Imber in England. However, his appearances this past year have proven to be quite popular with fans, so I revised my plans and set up his return for 2017. Simon’s Christmas story is a small part of that. It was also an opportunity to bring Samson to the fore, too, and teaming them together is perfect, after their initial not so auspicious meeting in The Grandfather Infestation.
Simon said:When Andy asked me to do a Christmas story, I was stuck for inspiration. It was September, after all, and I refuse to feel Christmassy before December as a rule. But the idea of it featuring Evans appealed to me, as I'd revisited The Web Of Fear earlier in the year and he's such a great character. Of course, I imagined he'd been busted out of the army after that, and I think that's where the idea of a Christmas at home scenario arose. I sort of imagined it as a Christmas episode of his own domestic sitcom.
Andy said:
I also had an idea to write a couple of scenes to show what our other regulars were up to while the Brigadier was enjoying Christmas with Sally. And after writing a couple of scenes, a new thought came to me. Wouldn’t it be fun to get as many of our authors involved as possible? I sent out an email, asking for those free to send me a scene, and many responded. Bit by bit the story became longer.”
The Feast of Evans by Simon A Forward will be available free on the Candy Jar website over Christmas, with Home for Christmas sent out to all pre-order customers and subscribers.
Series four of Lethbridge-Stewart will begin Spring 2017 with Night of the Intelligence by Andy Frankham-Allen, celebrating fifty years since the Great Intelligence first appeared in Doctor Who with 1967’s The Abominable Snowmen. It will see the return of another fan-favourite character from that debut story!