James Stevens

James Stevens
Species:	[[species::Human|Human]]
Place of origin:	Earth
Appearances:	MA: Who Killed Kennedy DW: Spearhead from Space (cameo) DW: The Mind of Evil (cameo)

James Stevens (born 22nd or 23rd November 1945) was the author of the book Who Killed Kennedy. The book chronicled Stevens' attempts to learn more of the secretive organisation known as UNIT.

Biography

Born less than three months after the end of World War II, he was the illegitimate son of an American GI stationed in New Zealand and a 17-year-old girl from one of Auckland's wealthiest and most influential families. His father refused to acknowledge his responsibilities and accused his mother of being a whore. He went off to war and was killed by friendly fire only two weeks later. Stevens was put up for adoption immediately after he was born but his foster parents did not tell him that he had been adopted until 23rd November 1966, his 21st birthday.

An investigate journalist with the Daily Chronicle, Stevens discovered, and found himself obsessed by, UNIT, "Dr. John Smith" and a history of alien intervention in human affairs dating back at least to the Shoreditch Incident in November 1963. He met Dodo Chaplet, a mentally broken one-time companion of the Doctor in first incarnation as an informant. However, he developed a romantic relationship until, forces determined to silence her, murdered her. At her funeral, Stevens briefly met the Doctor himself.

Having travelled to Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963 to witness the Kennedy assassination, Stevens had seen his own older self shoot Kennedy. He remained haunted by the knowledge, that, to ensure that history kept to its proper course, Stevens knew that he must eventually return to that time and place to kill Kennedy. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy)

Before leaving the present to commit the assassination of Kennedy, Stevens would mentor Ruby Duvall, a young aspiring journalist, and Sarah Jane Smith, who would later become a companion of the Doctor. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy, NA: Happy Endings)

Stevens disappeared in April 1996, having travelled back in time to 1963. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy, NA: The Dying Days, WEB: Defending the Earth!)

Behind the scenes

• Who Killed Kennedy came out with the fictional James Stevens listed as its co-author, with its real author, David Bishop. Stevens supposedly appears in the form of one of the unnamed journalists who appear in Spearhead from Space and The Mind of Evil and played by various extras. Although pseudonyms have been used on many occasions, and short stories and other minor fiction have been released credited to characters within the series, this is the only occasion to date in which a full-length novel has been credited to a character.
• The character's name is derived from David Bishop's own middle names, James and Stephen. Bishop named his fictional co-author after himself to reference the fact that both authors credited on the cover are one and the same. [1]
• There is some ambiguity regarding Stevens' date of birth as it is given as being both 22nd November 1945 and 23rd November 1945 at various points throughout the novel.