Saturn

"No people are born on Saturn and none die there."

Writer: Alison Lawson
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2005
Printed in: Short Trips: The Solar System 06

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa

Synopsis

The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa arrive on Saturn and are enjoying a nice cuppa. However, things turn sour when the Doctor is in a clear state of denial. That's a heinous crime on 47th century Saturn. The Doctor is clearly over 100, he should be in retirement. Can he escape his fate on Titan?

Verdict

Saturn was a good continuation of The Solar System Short Trips collection! It had the great pairing of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa but visited Saturn quite some way into the future which was a fresh approach and quite different to what I was expecting. In doing that though, it fell into the trap of the setting not really being unique and the story could have been set on a planet with any name which was a bit of a shame. I was hoping for something specific to the ringed planet, but that wasn't a huge problem. I thought the relationship between the Doctor and Nyssa was very good and the characterisation of both was actually brilliant. That made for pleasant reading and whilst this one was one of the shortest stories in the volume, it didn't seem that way before the abrupt ending. The use of Saturn could have been better but it having a society where retirement was forced was really intriguing. It was a utopian society with no people aged younger than twenty and none older than one hundred. That made the Doctor fit for retirement and he was clearly denying that was the case. It was quite humorous, especially when he was questioned by the policemen of Huc and Buc. Nyssa's reaction to seeing that the Doctor was the one being questioned by the police was hilarious and I got the sense that she was somewhat frustrated with their recent adventures and just wanted some peace. I couldn't blame her really! The pair meeting Hel and Keet was good and everything seemed quite pleasant before the arrival of the aforementioned policemen. They were good characters and I liked how they thought Nyssa was playing a joke on them with not knowing about the Saturn society. Nyssa seemed incredibly stunned when it was announced at the party that the pair were having a baby, and all they had to show for it was a certificate! They didn't even seem bothered and were just happy that their genes had been chosen for the pool. It was weird. The hysterics over Nyssa asking to see the baby was confusing. Everything was so different on Saturn. The Doctor's shipping off to Titan and being joined by Lors was good and I really enjoyed his feelings for Raich and his determination not to retire. But they couldn't escape it anymore. His reaction to the Doctor suggesting escape was great to see and I liked how he was keen to help. It was a big shame that Raich was left behind on the escape from Titan though! Nyssa managing to contact the Doctor via e-letter was decent and the plan on meeting at the cafe was good, but I was left stunned that they just left! I was perplexed. I guess they couldn't interfere in the way of an established society and the inklings were left there that things were going to change through Nyssa's comments to Hel about the baby, but I just expected a little more and an actual resolution. It was quite weird to not get that and it seemed like everything ended abruptly. It was a little shame as the story was actually terrific before that! Overall, a decent story.

Rating: 7/10