Today marks the five month anniversary of the day I started this ridiculous project. In that time I have walked 476.44 miles on the treadmill while taking 975,375 steps, watching 283 episodes and 55 stories of Doctor Who, and losing 40.02 pounds in weight. If I would have had this checkin a few days ago it would be more, but the last three days have been particularly frustrating on that point. I thought that I had finally smashed through the 270 lb barrier, but the losses last week were too much too fast and so for the past few days I have bounced back up above that line. On the one hand that is really, incredibly galling. On the other hand, this morning for the second day in a row I completed a full 55 minutes at 4.0 miles per hour at incline level six. Even a week ago that seemed impossible. As I noted last month when I wrote a similar checkin, I just want to feel good about myself physically and mentally. The simple truth is, I do. I have more stamina, I am sleeping better, I feel like my appetite is...  appropriate? Is that the right word? Like I don't crave junk food all the time, instead I crave more water and non-carbonated beverages and things like fresh fruit. Both professionally and creatively I am consistently more productive. 

And on top of that I am watching a ton of Doctor Who, including stories I have never seen before. It's really pretty awesome. Next weekend I am meeting Peter Capaldi, John Barrowman, and Karen Gillan, so how awesome is that? And yes, this morning I watched the first two episodes of The Mind of Evil.

Let's talk about that.

The good news this morning was that, for the first time, I completed a full 55 minutes on the treadmill at 4.0 miles per hour and at level six on the incline. I was feeling mighty good about that, until I stepped on the scale and came in at just over 270 pounds. I thought I had seen the last of the 270's, but apparently that is not the case. I have mentioned before that looking at the daily numbers will definitely drive you crazy, and today is one of those days. Still, I keep plodding forward, and I am less than thirty miles away from the big 500 milestone, so that's cool. Oh, and I watched the rest of Terror of the Autons today.

Let's talk about that.

My single biggest embarrassment as a long-time Doctor Who fan is that, given that I have never really watched any of the Third Doctor's era prior to this project, that also means that by extension I have never watched any of the eight original Master stories featuring Roger Delgado. It is an appalling and glaring oversight, and one which finally begins to be rectified with today's viewing of Terror of the Autons. Is Delgado's Master everything I hoped it would be?

Well, let's talk about that.

Here's a fun story: After completing all of the location filming for Inferno, director Douglas Camfield had a heart attack on the first day of studio filming. He wouldn't admit it, though. He insisted on continuing to work despite being white as a ghost and clearly on the verge of collapse. Producer Barry Letts was called down to the sound stage, and upon seeing Camfield's state Letts informed him in no uncertain terms that not only was filming over for the day but that they were going directly to the hospital. Camfield likely would have died otherwise, and Letts assumed all directing responsibilities for the remainder of the filming. As an added twist, Camfield's wife Sheila Dunn had been cast in the leading role of Petra, the dickish scientist's assistant. What had supposed to have been a pleasant working collaboration turned into a very draining shoot as she shuttled back and forth between the sound stage and the hospital. Due to contracts, though, Camfield retained sole credit for directing the story.

As for the conclusion to that story? Well, let's talk about that.

Oh, c'mon, you had to know I couldn't make it through this entire story without a Disco Inferno reference, right? Also, in related news, I spent a fair bit of time outside this weekend and I have to tell you, the burning hellscape that is episode six of Inferno seems practically pleasant compared to July in Central Florida. In any case, today's viewing continued to take place primarily in the evil Mirror-Mirror universe, and most of my plot predictions came true.

Let's talk about that.

The BBC just made their big reveal, announcing the Thirteenth Doctor. Welcome aboard, Jodie Whittaker! If you don't know her, she was the grieving mother in Broadchurch (and thus not a surprising choice from Broadchurch creator and new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnal). I can hear the anguished screams of NerdBros all across the internet, and their tears are sweet, sweet nourishment. I'm all in.

At the end of the fourth episode of Inferno there is an audible countdown to when the drill is going to break through the Earth's crust. For a full two minutes, at ten second intervals, a voice announces "Zero minus one minute thirty seconds...  zero minus one minute twenty seconds...", etc. During that entire sequence I was just about ready to collapse on the treadmill, and really wanted anything but to be reminded of the time remaining before I could stop. I'm tellin' ya, it was brutal. But despite that, I pushed through to the very end and completed my full fifty-five minutes because I would hate to disappoint you, my imaginary readers.

As to the story itself, it's a good'n. Let's talk about that.

Before I talk about today's viewing, a huge shout out to Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), Daphne Ashbrook (Grace Holloway), and Sylvester McCoy (if I have to tell you who he played, you are reading the wrong blog). This evening I met all three of them, and they were the first Doctor Who actors to sign my Time Treadmill inspiration poster. They were also, all three of them, very nice. I had a lovely chat with Mr. Fisher-Becker about Patrick Troughton and pure historicals. Ms Ashbrook could not have been sweeter in her support of this project. As for Mr. McCoy, what can I say? He was sharp, witty, and just a lovely gentleman. I am really thrilled that I got to meet them all and talk, if very briefly.

As for today's episodes, they were pretty dang good. Inferno most definitely falls into the "science run amok" genre of stories, all about a project to drill through the Earth's mantle to harness a new power source. Oddly enough, things do not go well.

Let's talk about that.

Here's a fun and obscure drinking game for all of you classic Doctor Who fans: Watch the last three episodes of The Ambassadors of Death, and every time General Carrington says the words "moral duty" take a drink. Not only will you get completely plastered, but it will probably dramatically improve the perceived quality of the story.

Let's talk about that.

I can't even begin to think of anything witty to say about this story today. I watched it, I walked three and a half miles on the treadmill, I want to go to bed.

So let's talk about that. Briefly.