Good lord, what a long day. For the past eleven months I have been watching two 25-minute episodes per day, but this morning's viewing was the twentieth anniversary special that is effectively a movie with no breaking point. That meant that I spent a full 102 minutes on the treadmill, walking further than I ever have in a single day. Then I had a full day of work, and then a big birthday party. Aside from being Alexander Hamilton's birthday, today is my wife's birthday (and also my boss' birthday, and also a friend's birthday), plus my own birthday is on Monday. So we had a whole big thing planned for tonight. Unfortunately my wife has the flu and couldn't go out, but we filmed everyone singing to her. After that I had to go back to work to do a software release, and so now here I am at nearly midnight just finally writing this post.

So let's talk about the big twentieth anniversary special.

Today marks the one-month anniversary of the start of this project. In that month I have lost more than 10 1/2 lbs, walked more than eighty miles, and watched ten complete stories spread across fifty one individual episodes. How's that for a successful venture? I am really quite pleased.

Also, today marked the end of The Dalek invasion of Earth, as well as the first departure of a companion as well as perhaps the single most defining monolog of William Hartnel's time as the Doctor.

Let's talk about that.

Holy cow, what an excellent pair of episodes this morning. Big action scenes, flying saucer attacks, dramatic sacrifice... and, best of all, a record low weigh-in for me after the workout. Life is good (except for the human race in the rubble of the Dalek invasion.)

Let's talk about that.

As awful as the last story was, the start of today's story makes it all worthwhile. The Dalek Invasion of Earth is an instant classic on every level and significant for multiple reasons. This morning's workout flew by seemingly in minutes because the episodes were just so dang good.

Let's talk about that.

I am on vacation this week. Most people spend their vacations doing pleasurable things. I spent at least part of today sweating away on a treadmill while watching a truly awful episode of Doctor Who. The things I do in the name of better health! 

Let's talk about that?

Remember how much I complained about The Keys of Marinus? Oh, how I long for the kind of heady days when Marinus was as bad as it got. It would appear that the remit for the Doctor Who writers over the summer break was "Make the show as immeasurably awful as possible, in every possible way." 

I guess I have to talk about that.