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

All Posts Term: 3rd Doctor
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So Tired...

So Tired...

Ugh. Just, seriously... ugh. I am so tired. I barely got any sleep last night, my (adult autistic) son was up half the night, and if he wasn't keeping me awake then my dog was. Not surprisingly, my time spent on the treadmill was not awesome. I did watch the first two episodes of The Claws of Axos, but it was mostly at a slow stumble. This is going to be a very brief post.

There's A Riot Going On Up In Cell Block Number Nine

There's A Riot Going On Up In Cell Block Number Nine

The good news today is that the pendulum of my weight has swung back down the past two days. It seems like 270 has been a very difficult barrier for me to break through, which is not surprising since that is where I bottomed out the last time I tried to lost weight a few years ago. Hopefully now I have crashed through that wall and can keep making forward progress. At the moment I have a personal goal to have weighed in at least once below 260 before I leave for Last Vegas in two weeks, and to be consistently weighing in the 250's by the time I return home two weeks later. Here's hoping.

And yes, I did watch the end of The Mind of Evil today. I don't have much to say about it, but let's give it a spin.

Rest in Peace, Deborah Watling

Rest in Peace, Deborah Watling

Earlier today the sad news came that Deborah Watling, best know as the Second Doctor's companion Victoria, had passed away. She was diagnosed with lung cancer only six weeks ago. Her era of the show is one of the most impacted by the missing episodes, with only two of her stories available in a complete state. Those two,however, are among my very favorite of the Second Doctor's era -- in no small part due to her performance and they synergy she had with Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines. She was by all accounts a lovely person, and will be greatly missed. 

In much more pedestrian news, I watched two more episodes of The Mind of Evil today. Let's talk about that.

Five Month Checkin

Five Month Checkin

Today marks the five month anniversary of the day I started this ridiculous project. In that time I have walked 476.44 miles on the treadmill while taking 975,375 steps, watching 283 episodes and 55 stories of Doctor Who, and losing 40.02 pounds in weight. If I would have had this checkin a few days ago it would be more, but the last three days have been particularly frustrating on that point. I thought that I had finally smashed through the 270 lb barrier, but the losses last week were too much too fast and so for the past few days I have bounced back up above that line. On the one hand that is really, incredibly galling. On the other hand, this morning for the second day in a row I completed a full 55 minutes at 4.0 miles per hour at incline level six. Even a week ago that seemed impossible. As I noted last month when I wrote a similar checkin, I just want to feel good about myself physically and mentally. The simple truth is, I do. I have more stamina, I am sleeping better, I feel like my appetite is...  appropriate? Is that the right word? Like I don't crave junk food all the time, instead I crave more water and non-carbonated beverages and things like fresh fruit. Both professionally and creatively I am consistently more productive. 

And on top of that I am watching a ton of Doctor Who, including stories I have never seen before. It's really pretty awesome. Next weekend I am meeting Peter Capaldi, John Barrowman, and Karen Gillan, so how awesome is that? And yes, this morning I watched the first two episodes of The Mind of Evil.

Let's talk about that.

Victories and Frustrations

Victories and Frustrations

The good news this morning was that, for the first time, I completed a full 55 minutes on the treadmill at 4.0 miles per hour and at level six on the incline. I was feeling mighty good about that, until I stepped on the scale and came in at just over 270 pounds. I thought I had seen the last of the 270's, but apparently that is not the case. I have mentioned before that looking at the daily numbers will definitely drive you crazy, and today is one of those days. Still, I keep plodding forward, and I am less than thirty miles away from the big 500 milestone, so that's cool. Oh, and I watched the rest of Terror of the Autons today.

Let's talk about that.

So, at last we meet for the first time for the last time.

So, at last we meet for the first time for the last time.

My single biggest embarrassment as a long-time Doctor Who fan is that, given that I have never really watched any of the Third Doctor's era prior to this project, that also means that by extension I have never watched any of the eight original Master stories featuring Roger Delgado. It is an appalling and glaring oversight, and one which finally begins to be rectified with today's viewing of Terror of the Autons. Is Delgado's Master everything I hoped it would be?

Well, let's talk about that.

Serious As A Heart Attack

Serious As A Heart Attack

Here's a fun story: After completing all of the location filming for Inferno, director Douglas Camfield had a heart attack on the first day of studio filming. He wouldn't admit it, though. He insisted on continuing to work despite being white as a ghost and clearly on the verge of collapse. Producer Barry Letts was called down to the sound stage, and upon seeing Camfield's state Letts informed him in no uncertain terms that not only was filming over for the day but that they were going directly to the hospital. Camfield likely would have died otherwise, and Letts assumed all directing responsibilities for the remainder of the filming. As an added twist, Camfield's wife Sheila Dunn had been cast in the leading role of Petra, the dickish scientist's assistant. What had supposed to have been a pleasant working collaboration turned into a very draining shoot as she shuttled back and forth between the sound stage and the hospital. Due to contracts, though, Camfield retained sole credit for directing the story.

As for the conclusion to that story? Well, let's talk about that.

Burn Baby Burn, Burn That Mutha Down

Burn Baby Burn, Burn That Mutha Down

Oh, c'mon, you had to know I couldn't make it through this entire story without a Disco Inferno reference, right? Also, in related news, I spent a fair bit of time outside this weekend and I have to tell you, the burning hellscape that is episode six of Inferno seems practically pleasant compared to July in Central Florida. In any case, today's viewing continued to take place primarily in the evil Mirror-Mirror universe, and most of my plot predictions came true.

Let's talk about that.

You Know He's Evil, 'Cause He's Wearing an Eye Patch

You Know He's Evil, 'Cause He's Wearing an Eye Patch

At the end of the fourth episode of Inferno there is an audible countdown to when the drill is going to break through the Earth's crust. For a full two minutes, at ten second intervals, a voice announces "Zero minus one minute thirty seconds...  zero minus one minute twenty seconds...", etc. During that entire sequence I was just about ready to collapse on the treadmill, and really wanted anything but to be reminded of the time remaining before I could stop. I'm tellin' ya, it was brutal. But despite that, I pushed through to the very end and completed my full fifty-five minutes because I would hate to disappoint you, my imaginary readers.

As to the story itself, it's a good'n. Let's talk about that.

They Delved Too Greedily and Too Deep

They Delved Too Greedily and Too Deep

Before I talk about today's viewing, a huge shout out to Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), Daphne Ashbrook (Grace Holloway), and Sylvester McCoy (if I have to tell you who he played, you are reading the wrong blog). This evening I met all three of them, and they were the first Doctor Who actors to sign my Time Treadmill inspiration poster. They were also, all three of them, very nice. I had a lovely chat with Mr. Fisher-Becker about Patrick Troughton and pure historicals. Ms Ashbrook could not have been sweeter in her support of this project. As for Mr. McCoy, what can I say? He was sharp, witty, and just a lovely gentleman. I am really thrilled that I got to meet them all and talk, if very briefly.

As for today's episodes, they were pretty dang good. Inferno most definitely falls into the "science run amok" genre of stories, all about a project to drill through the Earth's mantle to harness a new power source. Oddly enough, things do not go well.

Let's talk about that.

Progress

Currently Watching:

( Story )


 of episodes viewed
%
 
 
 

of stories viewed
%
 
 
 

Total Steps Taken:

Total Distance Walked:
miles

Weight Progress:
 
Blue Line: 5-Day Moving Avg
Yellow Line: Daily Weight

Archives

Latest Posts

So Tired...
7/23/2017 6:30 PM
There's A Riot Going On Up In Cell Block Number Nine
7/22/2017 5:06 PM
Rest in Peace, Deborah Watling
7/21/2017 5:34 PM
Five Month Checkin
7/20/2017 2:45 PM
Victories and Frustrations
7/19/2017 2:09 PM
So, at last we meet for the first time for the last time.
7/18/2017 2:18 PM
Serious As A Heart Attack
7/17/2017 4:46 PM
Burn Baby Burn, Burn That Mutha Down
7/16/2017 5:27 PM
You Know He's Evil, 'Cause He's Wearing an Eye Patch
7/15/2017 4:44 PM
They Delved Too Greedily and Too Deep
7/14/2017 6:02 PM

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