I weighed in at a new record low today, how cool is that? After two consecutive days below 260 I had a six day run back above the line. Today, though, I dropped back down well below the line. In fact, I think I've got a decent shot at hitting 50 lbs lost by the end of the week. Fingers crossed. Unfortunately, today I also had to watch the second half of Death to the Daleks, which I didn't particularly enjoy.

Let's talk about that?

Death to the Daleks - Parts 3 & 4

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

I really don't even want to expend much mental imagery thinking about the second half of this story. We get some exposition on the history of Exxilon, revealing that the planet used to contain a highly evolved civilization. Unfortunately they built a Perfect City, run by an artificial intelligence that could maintain the city in perfect repair and perfect order. The city promptly decided that the organic beings were detrimental to the city's health, and wiped most of them out. The stone age savages are the remnants of that civilization, and they now worship the city. There is also an offshoot of the survivors who know the history and want the city destroyed, but don't know how. Fortunately, they've got a bunch of humans, Daleks, and a Time Lord to execute that task now.

Most of the remainder has the Daleks being all Dalek-y, conscripting slaves to mine for the mineral they require and exterminating anyone who resists, and has the Doctor and one of the locals wandering around inside the city solving logic puzzles. Several Daleks do, in fact, die -- so at least the story title is accurate. I just can't help but feel like it would have been a more interesting and fully fleshed out story if the Daleks hadn't been wedged into the plot and wound up taking up all the oxygen.

In the end the Doctor reprograms the city's AI to give it an insoluble logic problem. I presume there was also some reversing of the polarity of something or other involved. That, plus some high explosives, defeat the city once and for all. At that point the entire shining structure simply melts away in a special effect that does not at all look like a heat lamp turned on to a Styrofoam model.

Oh, and the Dalek spaceship gets blowed up real good too. So, yay? I guess?

Only two stories left in the Third Doctor era. Tomorrow's story is a sequel to on of my favorites, The Curse of Peladon, and I really hope it holds up.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Third
Companion(s): Sarah Jane Smith
Episode(s): Death to the Daleks - Parts 3 & 4
Steps Walked: 6,471 today, 1,267,616 total
Distance Walked: 3.27 miles today, 626.30 miles total
Weight: 261.50 lbs (five day moving average), net change -45.80 lbs