It is heartening to know, as a dumb American, that other countries have large groups of people that inexplicably re-enact historical battles. I mean, sure, ok, I have a weird hobby too, but this kind of thing just confuses me. I can understand putting on a show, lord knows I have acted in several things, but that's not this. I can even understand dressing up in period costumes for something like a Renaissance Faire, hanging out and meeting other people who are into that kind of thing. But dressing up in period costumes and then painstakingly walking through an entire battle, with no audience but your fellow reenactors? That's just weird. But hey, whatever gets you out of bed in the morning, right? Unfortunately, in the case of this story the reenactment has potentially world-ending consequences.

So let's talk about that.

The Awakening - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

What a difference a day makes. Where yesterday's story was a complete train wreck from end to end, today's was perfectly enjoyable. It was originally intended to be a four-parter and then cut down to two, and some of those script edits can still be sensed in the resulting story, but not enough to be a distraction. Instead, there is plenty of plot to carry the fifty minutes of run time and no awful creature effects or bad acting to spoil the proceedings.

The story involves the Doctor taking Tegan to visit her grandfather in the English village of Little Hodcombe. It turns out that literally the entire village, bar two people, are taking part in a giant reenactment of the English Civil War (which of course you know happened from 1642-1651, and involved the conflict between King Charles 1 and the Long Parliament and then later between King Charles II and the Rump Parliament). Unfortunately, the reenactment generates enough psychic energy to awaken an evil alien force known as the Malus.

So basically the story manages to be a current-day adventure, a historical adventure, and an alien invasion adventure, all at the same time. Way cool.

I really enjoyed the story quite a bit. Certainly not my favorite of the Fifth Doctor era, but it's goddamn Shakespeare compared to the atrocity of the previous story. There are certain elements that are reminiscent of The Dæmons from the Third Doctor era -- in a good way. It has the same feeling of occult dread, with an ancient buried evil rising back to power. 

One prominent plot point in the first part that involves a long crack in a church wall that I really wonder if it inspired the crack in Amy Pond's wall three decades later. Even if it didn't, it might be a fun plot point to tie together in a novel or something. Maybe somebody has already done that? If not, then maybe I should go ahead and write that book. 

By the way, I feel like I should openly admit that as an Ignorant American the only reason I know about King Charles I is because of Monty Python.

"The most interesting thing about King Charles I is that he was 5'6" at the start of his reign, but only 4'8" at the end of it..."

So anyway, what a nice reversal from yesterday's viewing. Unfortunately, I'm afraid tomorrow might tilt back in the wrong direction.

Also tomorrow: I turn fifty years old. God help me.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fifth
Companion(s): Tegan, Turlough
Episode(s): The Awakening - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,605 today, 2,142,585 total
Distance Walked: 4.30 miles today, 1,097.69 miles total
Weight: 246.72 lbs (five day moving average), net change -60.58 lbs