Daily Archives: Monday, 31st March 2008
March 2008 Round-up
I’m still being consistent, so here’s another fascinating end of month report that you can read instead of all the daily nonsense. Or not.
Weight
March 1: 211.6 pounds (15 stone 1.6 pounds, 96.0 kg)
March 31: 217.2 pounds (15 stone 7.2 pounds, 98.5 kg)
Difference: 5.6 pounds (2.5 kg), which would be pretty good if it was a fall, but as it’s a rise, it’s not good at all. Even though more than half that rise appeared in the last few days, and is probably a temporary wossname, it’s still pretty bad. Must do better in April. Probably.
Eating
OK, I’m having a real problem behaving at lunchtime. I keep meaning to have just a sandwich, but I keep failing to do that. Naughty Les. Other than that, I’m not doing too badly. Not over-eating the rest of the time, and I didn’t even pig out on chocolate at Easter.
Exercise
Oh dear. Out of 15 working days this month, I walked to work five times, and walked home four times. While that’s better than last month, it’s still not very good. The weather hasn’t been that bad, so I think it’s mostly laziness. However, now the clocks have gone forward, and it’s really light at hometime, maybe I can persuade myself to walk home more often. Maybe.
Posting
One thing I did do this month was post a lot, especially during my week off, where I caught up with lots of stuff I’d been meaning to babble about for ages. Including this one, the total for March is 87, which is well above average, and is close to three per day, which might be excessive. Lots more to come – I’ve got some photos to sort out, and some CDs and books to mutter about too, so April should be a fairly busy month.
Related posts
Doctor Who – The Five Doctors (25th Anniversary Edition)
DVD-buying Doctor Who fans may well be thinking they’ve entered a time warp of some kind. Yes, this has been on DVD before, but in a very different form. Back in 1999, the BBC was just beginning to test the market, and see if they could successfully sell DVDs. One of the first releases was the 20th anniversary Doctor Who story, The Five Doctors, which was presented in the “special edition” version – a 1990s remix (so to speak) of the 1983 broadcast which included some improved (or at least different) visual effects, some extra scenes that had been cut from the original, and a general rearrangement of odd bits and pieces. In stark contrast to the regular releases we’ve become used to, the extra features were, err, well, there weren’t any. But the booklet had more in it than you get these days, so it wasn’t all bad. Anyway, time has passed, and it’s been reissued in a more suitable format, as the 25th anniversary edition. Yes, it’s the 25th anniversary of the 20th anniversary, or it will be in November, at least.
So, if you already have the 1999 release, why would you want to bother with this one? Well, I’ll tell you[1]. For a start, inside the box you will find not one, but two DVDs. One contains the 1990s “special edition” and one the original, as-broadcast version, allowing you to compare and contrast. Personally, I don’t think the remix (I think I’ll keep calling it that) added that much to the original, but it’s perfectly watchable.
Both versions come with the ubiquitous production subtitles – the ones on the remix talk more about how the new effects and rearrangements were done, while the ones on the original version are the more usual “how it was made” kind of thing. Good stuff in both cases.
The story involves the Doctor’s various selves being pulled out of their time streams and deposited in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. Not a nice place at all, it’s a relic of their past which the Time Lords are not at all proud of. There’s an evil plotter, a nice selection of companions reprising their roles, some lovely monsters, including a rather battered looking Dalek, and five Doctors. Well, more like 4.5 Doctors, really, as Tom Baker declined to take part, and is seen only in some brief clips from the unfinished story Shada. With William Hartnell having died, the First Doctor was played (quite well, actually) by Richard Hurndall. It’s a lot of fun, especially when Doctors Two and Three redo their bickering routine that was so much fun in The Three Doctors, which was the tenth anniversary story. Lots of fun in both versions.
Special features include:
On the original version
- Celebration: A documentary looking at the 20th anniversary, presented by Colin Baker
- A super hidden special feature[2]
On the remix
- The Ties That Bind Us: Nice documentary about links to the show’s past and future in The Five Doctors. Narrated by another future Doctor, Paul McGann
- Out-takes, bits of studio footage and some special effects fun
- Assorted TV clips – Doctor Who actors appeared on lots of other shows to promote the anniversary, and there are some good bits here. Some overlap with the documentary on the other disc, but never mind
So, if you don’t have the 1999 release, you’ll be needing this one. And if you do have the 1999 release, you’ll still be needing this one. Right?
[1] I’m nice like that 
[2] Apparently it’s another commentary. Left as an exercise[3] for the reader
[3] Hint: Google is your friend 
Weight Report – 31 March 2008
First the good news: I’m lighter than I was yesterday. 
Now the bad news, I’m heavier than I was a week ago. Or indeed two weeks ago. Or four weeks ago. 
I’m currently lacking in the motivation to do anything about this, so things may not significantly improve for a while. But I’ll keep up the daily reports, so I’ll have something entertaining to look back on…
Doctor Who – Voyage of the Damned DVD
I don’t normally recommend the single disk DVDs of Doctor Who, given that they’re a bit lacking in extras and 5.1 sound mixes, but I made an exception and bought this one.
The contents are the 2007 Christmas Special, which I reviewed favourably at the time, and which I enjoyed seeing again, that gorgeous mini-episode done for Children in Need, and a cut cut-down version of the 2007 Christmas Doctor Who Confidential.
Just the thing to get you in the mood for the new series which starts next Saturday, but for maximum value and features, you might want to wait for the Series 4 box set, which will be out later in the year.
Oh, and did I mention that the new series starts next Saturday?
