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.

The Visitation - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

This story picks up directly on the heels of the previous one, with Tegan still reeling from her possession by the Mara and with the Doctor scolding Wesley Crusher Adric about his behavior (but sadly not punching him in the face). Once again the Doctor has promised Tegan that he will take her to London Heathrow in time to catch her flight and not lose her job, and once again the Doctor fails utterly. Instead they land in the correct place but in the year 1666. What are the odds that something really significant happened nearby in that year? (HINT: It totally did.)

The Doctor and companions wander into a local mystery, in which strange lights were seen in the sky a few weeks ago followed by a new outbreak of plague. After being chased by fearful townspeople, the group comes across a lovable rogue actor/highwayman, who leads them to temporary safety in the barn of a local manor. There the Doctor notices some fragments of alien technology, discovers the manor itself is empty, and stumbles across an alien android. Later he even finds an escape pod from the alien craft that clearly exploded a few weeks earlier. The entire surviving populace is under the control of a humanoid reptilian creature, and as per usual at halfway point of the story the Doctor is about to be beheaded while he mutters, "Not again..."

I am liking this one a lot. If I have ever seen it before, I surely don't remember it. And apparently I am not the only one liking it, it is one of the few stories of the era that gained viewership every single week - with the final episode being one of the show's three highest-rated episodes of the decade. Writer Eric Saward would later go on to become the Script Editor just a few episodes later, getting the job largely based on the strength of this story.

There is one other very significant thing about this story, but I'll get to that tomorrow...

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fifth
Companion(s): Adric, Tegan, Nyssa
Episode(s): The Visitation - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,441 today, 1,980,726 total
Distance Walked: 3.98 miles today, 1,009.34 miles total
Weight: 247.00 lbs (five day moving average), net change -60.30 lbs