Last month I set myself a stretch goal to weigh in below 240 at least once before my birthday on January 15th. I knew it was going to be a hard goal to reach, and this past week it has been complicated by my getting sick. That means I missed a couple extra days on the treadmill, plus just in general for me getting sick means getting a little bloated. If I had lost some weight in the last week instead of gaining a pound then I might still have a chance. As it is, it ain't gonna happen. At this point I would have to lose a pound a day for six days running, which isn't even healthy. So I guess that goal is being pushed back. I am eleven days away from my eleven month checkin, and I still think that's a bit tight to make. Maybe, but not likely. I certainly hoping to be consistently weighing in below 24 by the time I hit my one year anniversary of this ridiculous project on February 20th. Here's hoping.

Anyway, let's talk about Turlough finally growing a spine.

Enlightenment - Parts 3 & 4

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

The last episode ended with Turlough jumping ship rather than face the Black Guardian any more. Contrary to expectations, he is not rescued -- or at least, not directly. He winds of floating over to another racing ship, the Wrack, and being pulled on board there.  There we meet Captain Wrack herself played by Lynda Baron, and here's a fun fact:

Actress Lynda Baron will show up again in the Eleventh Doctor story Closing Time as the chatty perfume lady, and she is also the person who sang the interminable "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" during the First Doctor story The Gunfighters. That's 1966, 1983, and 2011 for appearances by her on Doctor Who. At this point I fully expect her to make a cameo in 2030 with the Twenty First Doctor. She will be 91 years old, it's totally do-able. Let's make this happen!

Anyway, it turns out Captain Wrack is a danger to the entire universe if she wins the race. Given that she is using ion canons to take out the competition, she has a pretty good shot at it. Especially when Turlough seems to take up her side in the conflict. Ultimately, though, the Doctor and Turlough team up to throw Wrack out into empty space, therefore winning the race themselves. Then they have a final meeting with the White and Black Guardians where Turlough is offered basically everything he ever wanted if he will only sacrifice the Doctor. To his credit, he ultimately makes the right decision for the right reasons and the Black Guardian is defeated. (For now.)

So this was the turning point for Turlough's character, he and the Doctor finally get some bonding moments, and Turlough becomes a full-fledged companion for the next year. 

At this point I am hitting stories that I have never gotten around to watching before. When I was a kid the Fourth Doctor era was what was getting mostly played in syndication in the US, and I only ever saw maybe the first half of the Fifth Doctor's run. Since then I have seen a few of Five, Six, and Seven, but not a whole lot. This is all new territory for me, which is fun. 

Tomorrow we get the attempt to add a humanoid robot companion, Kamelion, but due to technical issues he promptly disappears for most of the next season. Oops. It's a two-parter, so I get the whole story tomorrow morning. I hope it's a good one.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fifth
Companion(s): Tegan, Turlough
Episode(s): Enlightenment - Parts 3 & 4
Steps Walked: 7,324 today, 2,100,038 total
Distance Walked: 3.97 miles today, 1,074.62 miles total
Weight: 246.66 lbs (five day moving average), net change -60.64 lbs