So, the big thing today: I actually did 100 pushups this morning!! I absolutely did not expect to be able to do it, but there it is. When I started the 100 Pushups program on February 20th I could do a grand total of three. Forty five days later, and I hit my goal. How cool is that? I have definitely seen a change in my upper body. I am very, very happy with this progress.

I also watched a really good episode of Doctor Who this morning, so let's talk about that.

The Impossible Planet

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

The gist of this story is that the Doctor and Rose arrive at a human base on the surface of a planetoid that is somehow holding in stationary orbit of a black hole. The TARDIS falls down into a deep crevasse after an earthquake, leaving them both stranded with the station crew who are drilling downward to find the mysterious power source keeping the planet from falling into the black hole. Lots of creepy Satanic stuff is also going on.

Oh, and the Ood make their awesome first appearance.

I absolutely love the design of the Ood, it is without question the best creature work that had been done in the series to date. The look is just amazing, with their tentacular mouth and weird slanted eyes, and of course with the white translation sphere held in their hand and attached by a kind of umbilical cord. It is just a fantastic design, beautifully realized. For diehard fans of the classic series, there are also strong similarities to the Sensorites, from all the way back in the very first season with the First Doctor. In a later episode it will be revealed that the Ood and the Sensorites are both from the same star system and are distantly related.

The cold open of this episode is one of my all-time favorites, with the Doctor and Rose surrounded by a large group of Ood all chanting "We must feed.." in unison before the opening credits roll. And then, comically, it turns out after the credits finish that their translation spheres are skipping and they are really saying, "We must feed you, if you are hungry.' It's a fantastic, delightfully memorable entrance.

By the midpoint of the episode the resident archeologist has been possessed by some evil entity, with his body covered in untranslate-able runes. The design of it is complicatedly simple, and absolutely chilling. Just great visuals all around here.

At the climax leading into the cliffhanger, the drill has reached its target and so the Doctor along with the crew's chief science officer travel down to explore. Basically, they find a Hellmouth. It's a sealed pit surrounded by the same untranselate-able runes, and the Doctor muses out loud that he wishes he knew what they said.

Buffy fans already know what it says

Of course the pit opens, while up above at the base the Ood all start talking about being the Legion of the Beast and advancing on the crew. Toss in some maniacal laughter coming from the pit, and roll credits.

I had forgotten just how much I loved this story. It's like night and day from the previous few stories, and a return to the high quality of The Girl in the Fireplace. The production design is spectacular, from sets to costumes to makeup and creature effects, it is all gorgeous to look at. The demonic touches are perfectly creepy, and the whole thing just cracks along with energy and menace.

I can hardly wait to get to the second part tomorrow morning.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Tenth
Companion(s): Rose Tyler
Episode(s): The Impossible Planet
Steps Walked: 7,140 today, 2,702,810 total
Distance Walked: 3.65 miles today, 1,407.12 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 100 today, 869 total
Is the Doctor So, So Sorry?: Yes, yes he is when Scooti dies and floats off into space
Weight: 251.64 lbs (five day moving average), net change -55.66 lbs