The Snowmen Prequel 1 - The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later

 

In which we return to the aftermath of the battle on Demons Run, where the Doctor, Amy and Rory discovered River Song's true identity. 

Sontaran Commander Strax had apparently been killed in the fighting. However, two days later he came round, and was informed by Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint that he had merely been injured and had passed out. They tell him that alien technology has been used to repair his wounds, and he has been in an induced unconscious state for two days while the technology did its work. The Doctor and his companions have long gone, and now the station is being fully evacuated. They offer Strax the opportunity to come with them, to the London of 1888. At first he refuses, but they manage to convince him otherwise...

The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later was written by Steven Moffat, and was first released on-line on 25th March 2013. It was a sequel to Series 6's A Good Man Goes To War, but was also designed as a prequel to The Snowmen, as it tells of how Strax came to survive his apparent demise, and how he came to be part of Madame Vastra's household in the 2012 Christmas Special.

It was 3 minutes in duration, and featured only Neve McIntosh as Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny, and Dan Starkey as Strax.

Things you might like to know:

• It is River Song who returns to Demons Run to transport the trio back to Victorian London, as by this stage the Doctor has set off to find baby Melody Pond.
• The alien resurrection technology used to revive Strax is the same he will use to try to save Clara in the Christmas Special.
• This prequel, which is available on the Complete Series 7 DVD / Blu-ray box set, was released as part of the promotion for the second half of the season, just before the broadcast of The Bells of Saint John, though it has nothing to do with that story.
• It was first released in the USA.