Christmas Every Day? (short story)

Christmas Every Day? was the twenty-fourth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas. It was written by Mark Magrs, and featured the Seventh Doctor.

Summary
After the collapse of the United Kingdom, the Centre was set up to revive the economy. It offers shopping, entertainment and employment for its citizens. Also, it is Christmas every week, partly to keep everyone happy and partly to keep the economy stimulated. It is run by a power plant that has taken up most of Scotland. Employees are given stimulants to keep them working twenty-four hours a day.

A shop assistant and her co-worker Loubie notice a strange man in their department. He is real, not an android, and he doesn't have any money. They can't decide whether to report him, because he might be a mystery shopper sent to check up on them. They report him, and security takes him and the shop assistant to the boss, Mr Sachrin.

The man, calling himself the Doctor, explains the flaws with the Centre. Humans spend all their time working and shopping and planning for Christmas. They are basically slaves. Mr Sachrin refuses to concede the Doctor's points, but suddenly the power goes out. The Doctor's friends have sabotaged the power plant. The Doctor encourages the shop assistant to visit her daughter, whom she hasn't seen in years.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Shop assistant
 * Loubie
 * Mr Sachrin

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor says his friend is a fan of Charlton Athletic.

Continuity
to be added