There is a moment at the end of The Wheel in Space in which the Doctor, having roundly defeated the Cybermen, is pouring liquid mercury bare-handed into a filler port on the top of the TARDIS console using a plastic funnel. It was the most terrifying thing in the entire story, just how carelessly the Doctor treated a very dangerous material that is easily spilled and difficult to safely clean up.  I don't know if the control console has any heat sources, but mercury vaporizes easily and is a virulent poison that can cause serious issue both short- and long-term. But other than that, it was a good story.

Let's talk about that.

Geez, I almost forgot to post about today's viewing. I was having a nice, lazy day (aside from the hour on the treadmill) and it just got away from me. So, anyway, The Wheel in Space...

Let's talk very briefly about that?

First things first: holy cow, the treadmill kicked my butt today. I didn't even make it the full 55 minutes like usual, I barely staggered through the first two episodes of The Wheel in Space and then I had to bail. I must be getting old. But skinnier. Anyway, at the end of the last story Victoria left. By the second episode of this new story Zoe is introduced, although she isn't all companion-y yet.

Let's talk about that.

Oh, so many things happened in today's episodes of Fury from the Deep! I very nearly had another unexpected day without Doctor Who, but fortunately a window of opportunity opened up this afternoon and I was able to fit it in amidst visits to the vet, mowing the lawn during the first break in the Florida rain for nearly a week, and other family emergencies. But hey, at least my home wasn't overrun by sentient seaweed and foam, so it's all good.

Let's talk about that.

Ok, it's really really late and I want to go to bed. But I did watch two more episodes of Fury From the Deep this morning and I want to get this posted before I sleep. Oh, and hey, I set a new record low weight for myself today and came in at below 275 lbs for the fist time, so that was pretty cool.

Anyway, seaweed, let's talk about that.

Today's new story, Fury from the Deep, is famous for three things: 1) It's the last story with Victoria, although I won't get to the goodbye for another two days, 2) It's the very first story in which the sonic screwdriver appears, which is (oddly enough) used to simply unscrew something using sonic waves, and 3) It is the only story in the entire Second Doctor era with a title that does not begin with the word "The".

Oh, and it also has this scene:

Let's talk about that.

Since I started this project 105 days ago, I have only missed three days on the treadmill. The last day I missed was on April 13th, due to my son being sick. Well, today I have finally missed a fourth day due to some other family medical issues combined with the fact that I have a very awesome callback to audition for a local professional theatrical production. So, today, no treadmill for me. I plan to be back at it tomorrow.

The five day moving average is a double-edged sword. Today is the third consecutive day in which I have weighed in lower than the previous day, and also the third consecutive day in which the moving average of my weight has gone up slightly. Thanks, math! I think tomorrow is the day it turns around again, so that will be nice. Speaking of turning things around, in this morning's viewing of The Web of Fear the Doctor definitely turned things around against the Great Intelligence.

Let's talk about that.

I'd tell you how it was, but I don't remember.

Of the 97 seven currently missing episodes of Doctor Who, some are more disappointing than others. I mean, I don't find it particularly galling that three out of the four episodes of The Celestial Toymaker are missing, but it is particularly sad that we have lost William Hartnel's final episode, and all of Marco Polo and The Highlanders. Today's viewing provided another sharp disappointment: The very first appearance of Then-Colonel-and-Eventually-Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart happens in episode 3 of The Web of Fear, and is the only episode missing from that story. Lethbridge-Stewart is a towering figure in Doctor Who history, with appearances spanning from The Web of Fear in 1968 all the way up through to an episode of The Sarah Jane Chronicles in 2008, always played brilliantly by Nicholas Courtney. His calm unflappability in the face of any danger, no matter how bizarre, marks him as a staunch ally and personal friend of the Doctor, and one of the very few who spanned multiple regenerations. I was so excited to finally meet him on the show today, and so sad that his initial appearance was just a series of still photos set against a cleaned-up audio track. There is no question that as soon as he steps into the story, the quality goes up immediately.

Let's talk about that.