The Time Concorde: Airport '82 Dec 26 2017 5th Doctor Nyssa Tegan Jovanka Oh, such a day today. On the happy and productive side, I made good progress in our master bedroom remodel. Three of the four walls are painted, most of the baseboards are pulled. and a good chunk of the carpet is pulled. Tomorrow we will finish clearing the room and puling carpet, I will get the accent wall painted, and I will start laying the new hardwood floor. Ideally by Thursday afternoon everything will be done and back in place, including my new Time Treadmill setup. So that's pretty cool. On the unhappy and slightly terrifying side, I spent four hours at the emergency room this evening with my (autistic) son Benjamin and his mother. Oh Christmas Eve they were driving on the freeway when an erratic driver changed lanes directly into their car. The collision, at full freeway speed, caused the car to shoot across all lanes of traffic, leave the pavement, go up a tall embankment, and then come back down and briefly re-enter the high-speed lane before finally stopping on the shoulder. How they managed to not roll over or collide with any other vehicles, I have no idea. Nobody was seriously injured, but both Ben and his mom really needed to be checked out. Since the accident happened when it did, it took until today to make it into the emergency room. Good news: after several x-rays, both of them are cleared as having no structural injuries. They are both sore and taking muscle relaxers, but hopefully the soreness will pass. The car has been dropped of at the auto shop, and I will be shocked if it is not totaled. Cosmetically it is not in terrible shape, but I am sure the suspension and frame are completely wrecked from the off-road jaunt at 50+ mph. I am just grateful that it wasn't worse, because it could have easily been the very worst case indeed. So anyway, quite a day. I did, however, manage to squeeze in my treadmill time. So let's talk about that. Read more ...
It's a Treadmill! Dec 26 2017 In last night's Christmas episode, Peter Capaldi totally name-checked my project! (Well, probably not really, but I *did* meet him and tell him about the Time Treadmill only a few weeks before they filmed his final episode, so maaaaayyyybe?) Well there it is. Silly old universe. The more I save it, the more it nees saving. It's a treadmill. Read more ...
It's a Christmas Miracle! Dec 25 2017 Adric Nyssa Tegan Jovanka O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! My miserable three weeks spent with Wesley Crusher Adric as a companion are at an end! It truly is a Christmas miracle! So let's talk about it! Read more ...
Two Million Steps Dec 24 2017 5th Doctor Adric Nyssa Tegan Jovanka My mind boggles to even say this, but as of today I have walked over two million steps on the treadmill since starting this ridiculous project. How wild is that? No joke, in the past ten months I have walked the equivalent of going from my house to Hartford, Connecticut (where a winter storm is about to dump twelve inches of snow overnight, brr!) Just typing that has made me tired, I think I might go take a nap. But first, let's talk about today's story. Read more ...
Bet Your Bottom Dollar that Tomorrow There'll Be Some... Dec 23 2017 So, I missed another day on the treadmill today. In my defense, I had to be up at 5am to take my sister to the airport following a lovely holiday visit, and then I had the final two performances of the show I have been in. Annie was an amazing experience, but in the course of 24 performances between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I missed more days on the treadmill this month than in the other nine months of this project combined. Tomorrow, though, I am full steam ahead. As a nifty bit of serendipity, because I missed today that means that I start Earthshock tomorrow, Christmas Eve. By extension that means that, because I have been a very good boy, I get to watch Adric die on Christmas Day. It's a holiday miracle! Read more ...
The Last Pure Historical Dec 22 2017 5th Doctor Adric Nyssa Tegan Jovanka I have frequently said that I love the pure historical stories of the First Doctor era. While it may well be true that The Daleks saved the show from early cancellation, it is stories like Marco Polo, The Aztecs, The Reign of Terror, and The Massacre where Doctor Who really stood out. The entire original remit for the show was to alternate between science fiction stories to hook young viewers, and then historical stories to teach them. By the time the Second Doctor came along, however, that concept was completely abandoned. After The Highlanders in 1966 there has only ever been one other story in which the plot did not revolve around some science-fictional element. It might be set in a historical time period, but there is always some kind of alien menace to contend with. Today's viewing, then, contains the very last Pure Historical story - even including the modern era. So let's talk about that. Read more ...
Requiem for a Screwdriver Dec 21 2017 5th Doctor Adric Nyssa Tegan Jovanka Let us all bow our heads and take a moment of silence for the passing of the sonic screwdriver. First introduced in 1968's Fury from the Deep, the sonic screwdriver was a mainstay of the series for nearly fourteen years from the Second Doctor until halfway through the Fifth Doctor's first season. Producer John Nathan Turner hated it, though, and though it allowed for lazy plotting from the writers. As such, he had it summarily destroyed in the third episode of The Visitation, and it never appeared again in the classic series. Some other stuff happened as well, so let's talk about that. Read more ...
Ten Month Checkin Dec 20 2017 5th Doctor Adric Nyssa Tegan Jovanka Today marks the ten month anniversary of the day I started this ridiculous project. In that time I have walked 1,009.34 miles on the treadmill while taking 1,980,726 steps, watching 568 episodes and 118 stories of Doctor Who, and losing 60.30 pounds in weight. That's another 6.88 pounds since last month, which is more than half again what I lost the previous month. Where I seemed to be stalling out in progress during the fall, I now seem to be accelerating again. Last month I set a stretch goal to weigh in at least once under 250 lbs before Christmas, and here I am with five days to spare and I am consistently weighing in between 245 and 247. My current stretch goal is to weigh in at under 240 lbs at least once before my birthday next month on the 15th. Another new thing in my progress - last night my wife mentioned to me that I don't snore anymore, which I think is a huge positive sign. I can honestly say that watching Doctor Who has been the most positive thing for my health in my entire life. Speaking of which, I watched two new episodes this morning. Let's talk about that. Read more ...
Happy Birthday, Matthew Waterhouse Dec 19 2017 5th Doctor Adric Tegan Jovanka As much as I have ragged on Adric as a character, I don't blame actor Matthew Waterhouse. Adric is no more his fault than Wesley Crusher is Wil Wheaton's fault. Today Mr. Waterhouse turns 56 years old, and I wish him the very best. True, I loathe the character he played, and I am counting the days until I can gleefully witness his demise. That being said, it is worth noting that he was the very first openly gay actor to appear on Doctor Who. That took a lot of guts in 1981. He also still holds the record as the youngest actor to play a male companion on the show. It's just a shame his character was such a smug piece of crap. Speaking of which, let's talk about how Adric was a smug piece of crap in today's viewing. Read more ...
Just to be the Man Who Walks a Thousand Miles To Fall Down At Your Door Dec 18 2017 5th Doctor Adric Tegan Jovanka As of about an hour ago, I have walked over one thousand miles on the treadmill since starting this ridiculous project. How amazing is that? My feelings are best summed up by David Tennant and the cast & crew of Doctor Who: Also, I watched the first half of Kinda, so let's talk about that. Read more ...