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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here's a fun and obscure drinking game for all of you classic Doctor Who fans: Watch the last three episodes of The Ambassadors of Death, and every time General Carrington says the words "moral duty" take a drink. Not only will you get completely plastered, but it will probably dramatically improve the perceived quality of the story.

Let's talk about that.

I can't even begin to think of anything witty to say about this story today. I watched it, I walked three and a half miles on the treadmill, I want to go to bed.

So let's talk about that. Briefly.

After my huge weight loss last week, I am now in serious bounce-back territory and that's frustrating. So I just continue to plug away and do my thing, one foot in front of the other, and remind myself that daily numbers make me insane. It doesn't help that the current story is most certainly sagging in the middle. How many times can Liz Shaw be kidnapped in one episode? She managed it twice in under 25 minutes today. Good lord, I still have two more days on Ambassadors of Death, and I might just break down and start drinking while I am on the treadmill before this is over.

Let's talk about that.