Day three hundred and seventy six of this ridiculous project, and I have nothing profound to say. So let's get on with saying it.

The Happiness Patrol - Part 3, Silver Nemesis - Part 1

(TARDIS Data Core recap, The Happiness Patrol, TARDIS Data Core recap, Silver Nemesis)

Given a pair of back-to-back three parters, I watched the end of one and the start of another today. 

The Happiness Patrol ended pretty much as expected, with the Doctor fomenting a rebellion that overthrows the rule of Margaret Thatcher Helen A. and disposes of the Kandy Man. The only real surprise was when Helen A.'s husband runs off in the escape pod with the cook. I mean, there was a fair amount of unintentional gay subtext to the story, but who knew that the First Hubby would swing that way? 

Silver Nemesis so far seems a bit too complex for its own good. This episode aired on November 23, 1988 - the twenty fifth anniversary of the show - and being the silver anniversary it goes nuts with the silver plot elements. There is a silver bow and matching silver arrow, a blob of some kind of super-sentient silver housed in a meteorite, and of course the dramatic entrance of the Cybermen at the cliffhanger. The story hops around from 1638 to 1988, and features South American Nazis from the Fourth Reich, a time traveling enchantress, a visit to Windsor Castle including a glimpse of the Queen herself, and an appearance by jazz musician Courtney Pine (the first non-newsreader celebrity to ever appear on Doctor Who as themselves). 

I'm not sure where the story is going, but it is the first Seventh Doctor story since Time and the Rani that hasn't hooked me right from the start. It's not bad, but it's not great either. Maybe it will get better now that the Cybermen on the scene. I hope so.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Seventh
Companion(s): Ace
Episode(s): The Happiness Patrol - Part 3, Silver Nemesis - Part 1
Steps Walked: 7,486 today, 2,451,368 total
Distance Walked: 4.11 miles today, 1,270.70 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 19 today, 101 total
Weight: 249.42 lbs (five day moving average), net change -57.88 lbs