Oh what  day this has been. I came within a tenth of a pound of cracking 260 again, so I am comfortable that I am well on the path to the goal of being solidly under 260 before Thanksgiving, and under 250 before Christmas. So that's awesome. In other news, my autistic son Benjamin managed to completely surprise me today by specifically asking to go on a scary ride at Walt Disney World that he had steadfastly avoided for five years. He was adamant about trying it, though, and waited patiently in line for over two hours in order to do it. I can't even adequately express how amazing this was, just a huge moment for him. So that's pretty cool.

On the other hand, I had to start watching Torchwood: Miracle Day today. Ugh.

Miracle Day: The New World

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

Two years after going out on a resounding high note, the corpse of Torchwood was dragged out and resurrected in a ten episode joint American and British production. This means a few things. First: most of the story is set in the United States, because that's were all of the cash is coming from. Second, there is an immediate escalation in car chases, explosions, helicopter chases, rocket launchers, and just generally the most stereotypically American television lowest common denominator crap. Finally, what with the vast majority of the original Torchwood characters being dead, a couple of American CIA agents are brought in as leads to fill out the roster. So, you know, that's all awesome.

The concept is that one day people just stop dying. On that same day, we soon find out, Captain Jack Harkness becomes mortal again. It doesn't take a keen intellect to deduce that whatever energy is being used to keep everyone in the world alive, that energy is being drained from the previously-immortal Jack.

Now, don't get me wrong, both things are a nifty plot idea. Following on from how well Children of Earth benefited from long-form storytelling with a single plot threading out across an entire season, one would imagine the same strength would appear here. In some ways, it does. As the scope of the crisis unfolds, it explores some terrifying outcomes. If nobody dies, and new children continue to be born, then the world will run out of resources in a matter of months. If people cannot die, what does that mean for the law? Does attempted murder even exist anymore as a legal concept? What about war? Will countries lose their appetite for conflict if their enemies can't die, or will soldiers become aggressive supermen with the knowledge that they cannot fall in battle? There are some really interesting concepts to explore here.

But mostly we get car chases, explosions, and helicopter battles. The first episode wasn't awful. In fact, it was arguably better than any of the first season of Torchwood up until Cyberwoman. But by bringing the show to America, it loses most of its distinct flavor. At least when Doctor Who jumped the pond for The Impossible Astronaut / The Day of the Moon it retained it's essential Britishness (largely due to the trinity of Matt Smith, Karen Gillen, and Arthur Darvill). Here the only real anchor we have is Gwen and Rhys, and they don't get nearly enough screen time.

So yeah, I am not so much enjoying this. Nine more days, and then I finally get to spend quality time with Sarah Jane Smith. I can hardly wait.

STATS:

Featuring: Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Rex Matheson, Esther Drummond
Episode(s): Miracle Day: The New World
Steps Walked: 7,651 today, 3,952,633 total
Distance Walked: 4.03 miles today, 2,068.77 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 57 today, 8,035 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 1,134 total
Weight: 261.14 lbs (five day moving average), net change -46.16 lbs