There were no angry atheletes to distract me this morning. Just Vikings, Saxons, Time Lords, and a surprise infestation of Underpants Gnomes. 

Let's talk about that.

A Battle of Wits / Checkmate

First of all, to answer the question of my very favorite reader (I.E. - my wife) regarding yesterday's blog: "How does a Viking invasion of Northumbria lead to the Battle of Hastings?" It's not so much that one leads to the other, and more that the outcome of the first sets up the outcome of the other. King Harold was able to defeat the Viking invasion, but in so doing his army was severely depleted and in need of rest. That respite was not forthcoming, and so King Harold was roundly defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

All of which leads to the Meddling Monk's plan:

Wait, wrong plan...

Whoops, here we go -- early on in today's episode, the Meddling Monk reveals his itemized plan to spare King Harold from having to fight the Vikings, thus making him much more likely to defeat William the Conqueror and thus change the entire course of Western civilization.

Profit!

Of course, the Doctor is not very enthused by this plan, which leads to the titular Battle of Wits. Along the way, the two remaining survivors of the Viking pre-invasion force end up in the monastery, where each in turn is knocked unconscious by a light tap on the head with a small stick. We also learn the the Meddling Monk is from the Doctor's world (although the name Time Lords doesn't come up because it won't be invented for a few more years). He has a TARDIS of his own, a newer model with a functioning chameleon circuit and reliable destination controls, but the Doctor is not particularly impressed.

In the end, the Doctor manages to orchestrate a battle between the Saxons and the remaining Vikings, which sets the Monk running. While the Monk is gone, the Doctor very carefully removes the dimensional control that allows a TARDIS to be bigger on the inside. The Doctor leaves a very passive/aggressive note for the Monk detailing just how screwed he is, what with how he is now permanently stranded in 1066, and then the Doctor and company scamper off in their own TARDIS.

Tomorrow I start a long stretch of reconstructions. Thus far there has only been one completely missing story (Marco Polo), but from here the lost episodes really start rearing their head. This was story number 17, and I won't get to another non-reconstruction until story number 23. Wish me luck.

STATS:

Doctor(s): First
Companion(s): Vicki, Steven Taylor
Episode(s): A Battle of Wits, Checkmate
Steps Walked: 6,769 today, 279,155 total
Distance Walked: 3.21 miles today, 127.77 miles total
Weight: 294.96 lbs (five day moving average), net change -12.34 lbs