One fat geek's SUCCESSFUL attempt to regenerate into a not-so-fat geek by watching the entirety of Doctor Who while walking on a treadmill

I Built a Shed!

Jul 06 2019
I Built a Shed!

Dang it, more than another two weeks gone. I had a family medical / child care issue, and then the Time Treadmill itself kind of got blocked in by a shed. See, four months ago I promised my wife I would build a storage shed in our back yard, and I ordered a kit. There were issues with shipping, then issues with stock on hand, but two weeks ago it finally arrived. On a huge pallet. Then I had to prepare a foundation and decking for the shed, hauling nearly a literal ton of drainage rock and leveling before building the floor of the structure. It took until this past Tuesday to finally get the actually shed built, and another day to clear the space backup up around my treadmill. So it has only been the past three days that I have been back at it. Unfortunately, I also failed to do any strength training at all during that time.

The fundamental problem with finding the equilibrium between how much I want to eat and how much I want to work out is that, if I stop working out for two weeks I kind of blow up. Go figure. The good news is, I know from experience that that particular weight gained is also the easiest weight to lose quickly. Now that I have been back at it for three consecutive days I am already seeing things swing in the right direction. I fully expect to be solidly back under 270 again by the 15th, and I am aggressively working towards being in the mid- to low-260's by the 31st when I leave for my annual conference in Las Vegas. 

At least, that's the plan.

Anyway, on to Blake's 7.

Trial

(Blake's 7 Wiki Recap)

Blake feels bad about one person dying. Travis does not feel bad about one thousand four hundred and seventeen people dying. Hijinks ensue.

All kidding aside, this was a fantastic episode. The "A" plot involves Blake taking some time away from the Liberator to go Walkabout on an apparently-uninhabited planet as he ponders Gan's recent death. He winds up encountering a particularly alien alien, and seems to have the entire planet itself trying to kill him. Turns out the planet is a giant living organism that sees Blake as an infection, and the bug-like alien is a parasite on the planet's surface. Much adventure happens, and in the end Blake makes it back to the Liberator with renewed purpose and clarity.

The "B" plot involves Travis being put on trial for the massacre of a large number of civilians, for which he has no regrets. As  rule, I particularly hate "space trial" episodes of any science fiction show. Fortunately in this case, very little time and focus is placed on the trial itself for this one. Mostly it is about a cat-and-mouse game between Travis and Servalan, which ultimately results in Travis becoming a fugitive and escaping with a ship and a crew of Mutoids programed to be subservient to him. It's a nice evolution of his character, and as usual the interplay between him and Servalan is delicious.

So, overall great stuff here.

Killer

(Blake's 7 Wiki Recap)

As soon as I saw Robert Holmes credited as this episode's writer, I knew I was in for a great hour on the Time Treadmill. I was not disappointed.

Avon and Vila teleport down to a Federation scientific outpost in order to steal a Whatever Crystal that will help them translate encoded Federation transmissions. Meanwhile, a seven-hundred-year-old Earth ship drifts into the area and is salvaged by said scientific outpost. This ship apparently traveled through some kind of Space Bermuda Triangle and disappeared hundreds of years ago. Upon showing up, it contains a curiously well-preserved corpse. Shockingly (but not surprisingly), during an autopsy the corpse comes to life and strangles the doctor performing the procedure, then collapses again. Also shockingly (and also not surprisingly), all of the techs who run into the room wind up contracting a really nasty and fatal virus that begins to spread through the base like wildfire. As you would expect from a Holmes story, it is gruesome and horrifying. That's a compliment, by the way.

This was another fantastic episode, and just so nice to spend a new hour with Robert Holmes.

Hostage

(Blake's 7 Wiki Recap)

This one was... ok? Not bad by any means, but definitely a bit of a letdown after the previous three stories. Travis lures Blake to some Whatever Planet by using the titular hostage (a woman that Blake knew in his younger days, and with whom he apparently got a little sumpin' sumpin'). This is one of those "it's a trap, and everybody knows it's a trap, but they walk into it anyway" kind of stories, that tries to have a few twists and turns along the way but really is pretty predictable. Big surprise: in the end Blake defeats Travis, and everyone escapes. Blake gets a kiss from the pretty girl. Roll credits.

The only kind of interesting thing about this episode is also more than a little sad: the actor originally cast in the main guest role apparently completed filming the scenes on location, but subsequently died before studio filming began. The part had to be re-cast, and all of his location scenes had to be re-shot. That's just sad all around. Perhaps that circumstance is what metaphorically sucked the life out of the episode?

Anyway, tomorrow promises to be a good one again, as it is written by series creator (and Dalek creator) Terry Nation. Here's hoping.

STATS:

Episode(s): Blake's 7: Killer
Steps Walked: 7,094 today, 4,784,415 total
Distance Walked: 3.24 miles today, 2,486.14 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 0 today, 11,700 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 6,665 total
Weight: 269.90 lbs (five day moving average), net change -37.40 lbs


STATS:

Episode(s): Blake's 7: Trial
Steps Walked: 6,788 today, 4,791,203 total
Distance Walked: 2.75 miles today, 2,488.89 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 0 today, 11,700 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 6,665 total
Weight: 271.06 lbs (five day moving average), net change -36.24 lbs


STATS:

Episode(s): Blake's 7: Hostage
Steps Walked: 6,866 today, 4,791,203 total
Distance Walked: 7.91 miles today, 2,488.89 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 0 today, 11,700 total
Sit-ups Completed: 100 today, 6,765 total
Weight: 271.88 lbs (five day moving average), net change -35.42 lbs


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