Good news: I'm back to normal today, all lingering after-effects of yesterday's procedure gone. Bad news: today's viewing was the back half of the damned Dalek story. So, kind of a mixed bag today. Especially because today featured the departure of the truly defining companion of the Fifth Doctor era.

So let's talk about that.

Resurrection of the Daleks - Part 2 (or Parts 3 & 4, depending on how you count)

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

This story attempts to be a bookend to Genesis of the Daleks, with the Doctor coming full circle on the topic of genocide. Back in Genesis he had the opportunity to destroy the Daleks once and for all, before they had even had a chance to exist, and decided not to on moral grounds. Here he has found himself in a similar situation, and he talks himself into the necessity to kill Davros, thus causing the ultimate destruction of the Daleks. Unfortunately, the surrounding story does not hold up to the previous story's legacy. It's not a bad moment per se, and Peter Davison plays it with an appropriate level of gravitas. But somehow it just lacks the same emotional punch. That doesn't come until later.

Ultimately, literally every named character in the story dies except for the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough, and the human villain Lytton. The Movellan virus is released and kills all of the Daleks, even Davros succumbs to the virus, the prison station is destroyed, and Tegan is so distraught by all of the death and destruction that she decides it is time to part ways with the Doctor. That last scene actually does live up to its full potential. 

It's hard to believe my time with the Fifth Doctor is rapidly coming to a close. Nyssa gone, Tegan gone, Turlough with one last story, this really does feel like a monumental sea change. I am kind of bummed that it is coming to an end, but then again excited that the single best Fifth Doctor is still ahead of me in The Caves of Androzani. After that I fear it is all pretty much downhill for Classic Who.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fifth
Companion(s): Tegan, Turlough
Episode(s): Resurrection of the Daleks - Parts 3 & 4 (or Part 2, depending on how you count)
Steps Walked: 7,627 today, 2,172,934 total
Distance Walked: 4.40 miles today, 1,115.17 miles total
Weight: 244.92 lbs (five day moving average), net change -62.38 lbs