Old Father Saturn (short story)

Old Father Saturn was a short story published in Doctor Who Annual 1974. It featured the Third Doctor, Jo Grant and the Brigadier.

Summary
The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier are aboard a nuclear submarine. The Doctor looks at some charts and says that he has found the place he is looking for. The submarine's commander tells him that it is too deep for any divers at that point but the Doctor insists he is going down. There is something emitting a signal on the sea bed which he needs to investigate. Before the diving party can get their suits on, something rises up from the bottom of the ocean. The Doctor joins the commander and the Brigadier in the conning tower as the submarine surfaces. Beside them rises a huge water spout and, within it, a giant lobster or crab. The monster explodes due to the sudden pressure difference and leaves a metal sphere that must have been in its claw. Jo joins them to say that the mysterious signal has stopped.

A boat is put out to sea from the submarine and the four people from the tower join a rating in it. They cross over to the new object and the impatient Doctor leaps into the water and swims up to one of the craft's windows. A man lets him in and, as the others join them, they hear the Doctor and the stranger speaking English. The Doctor welcomes the visitor to Earth and hears a strange tale. The ship came from one of the moons of Saturn and arrived in prehistoric times, seeing vast dinosaurs walking through forests. The crew landed at the bottom of the sea and switched on their suspended animation unit. This man was awoken by the emergency systems. He seems to be able to read the Doctor's mind.

The Doctor informs this man that he has been under the ocean for tens of millions of years. The stranger seems incredulous. However, when he raises his helmet, his face turns green and he dies. The other crew members revive from their life support pods and step out into the craft. They, too, choke and die. The Doctor reflects sombrely on this occurrence.

Characters

 * Third Doctor
 * Jo Grant
 * Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart

Continuity
to be added