Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: Into the Light

 

Into the Light, published in 2025, is (as of this writing) one of the newest entries in the High Republic era of Star Wars novels. It was written by Claudia Gray, who has penned several of the books in the series. This is a young adult novel set in Phase III of the High Republic era. It follows the events of the novel, Tears of the Nameless, in which Nihil leader Marchion Ro indicated that he could cure the mysterious blight that has been destroying various worlds. The Jedi are still working towards finding their own cure for the blight and how to counteract the effects of the creatures that the Nihil use to kill the Jedi, the Nameless/Levelers. Much of the story in this novel is set on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. Characters such as Reath Silas, Bell Zettifar, and Burryaga play significant roles in the story. Yoda makes an appearance as well, but is not integral to the storyline. The novel also reintroduces several ancillary characters, including Nan, Azlin Rell, and Avon Starros. While dealing with the blight is the primary storyline element, the Drengir are significant antagonists in the story.

The hardcover version of the novel is moderately long, coming in at 360 pages. The story flows pretty well, but there are a lot of characters that you need to keep track of, and if you have not read the other novels in a while, you may need to reacquaint yourself with who is who. While this is a young adult novel, it can also be enjoyed by adults. It is partially a standalone story, but it does tie back to earlier novels and introduces some story elements that may connect to the subsequent books. So, while I do not think it is the best novel set in the High Republic era, it is worth reading, especially if you have enjoyed the overall storyline told in the various books.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane

 

10 Cloverfield Lane is a 2016 thriller/horror movie. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr. It was directed by Dan Trachtenberg and produced by J.J. Abrams. It is set in the same universe as the original 2008 film, Cloverfield, but it is a stand-alone film and not a direct sequel to the first movie. In it, a woman named Michelle (Winstead) is shown leaving her fiancé (voiced by Bradley Cooper). As she is heading out of town, her car is hit by a truck, and she wakes up in a room chained to a wall. She is told by a man named Howard, who is a doomsday prepper, that there has been an attack of some kind outside and that the air outside his bunker is uninhabitable. Most of the rest of the movie involves Michelle, Howard, and a man named Emmitt's (played by Gallagher) life in the bunker while Michelle tries to find out what is going on outside. The final act of the story becomes a monster movie, much like the original film. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard blu-ray disc. The UHD disc has the movie, and the regular blu-ray disc has the movie and the bonus content. The bonus content includes several featurettes that can be played simultaneously or individually. The total run time for the bonus content is just under 35 minutes, and the featurettes include interviews with the cast and crew members, touching on topics such as the movie's production, score, and special effects.

The movie is a good entry in the Cloverfield universe. Again, it is not a direct sequel to the first movie. It is set in Louisiana and only tangentially references an attack on the East Coast. It is never made clear if that is the same attack that we saw in the original film. This one is primarily a psychological thriller and does not have as much action as the first movie does, although it does have some action. Goodman plays a character who is somewhat unusual and may or may not be mentally unstable and possibly evil. It is a very different role for Goodman, who is mainly known for his comedic roles. Winstead and Gallagher are also wonderful in their respective roles, but Goodman really carries the film. The fact that most of the movie is set in a very confined space actually adds to the suspense. The ending was somewhat controversial when the movie was released, but it was actually foreshadowed throughout the film. While I cannot say that everyone who liked the original movie will like or love this one, if you are a fan of the horror and/or thriller genres, you will probably enjoy this one. It is well-written and very well-acted, and is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Book Review: Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far

 

Merlin's Tour of the Universe is a book by Neil deGrasse Tyson, first published in 1989 and updated in 2024. In it, Tyson answers letters written by people asking science questions. He responds as a fictional character, Merlin, who is an alien who has visited Earth many times over thousands of years from his home planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. Within the responses, he explains concepts from almost every branch of science, including complicated astrophysics, with letters grouped in different topics that make up the chapters of the book. 

The hardcover version of the book is moderately long at just under 280 pages of substantive text. None of the responses to the letters is very long. Most are a paragraph or two. The shortest responses are a sentence or two long, and the longest are about a page. It is relatively easy to read and reads quickly. Although this was Tyson's first book, it is very similar to the style and tone that he has maintained in his subsequent works. He makes the topics easy to understand, and you do not have to be a scientist or engineer to follow what he is saying. It is absolutely worth reading if you are a fan of Tyson's, like or love science (especially astronomy), and/or just want to learn more about science. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 3

 

The 25-episode third season of Cheers aired during the 1984/1985 TV season. All of the main cast members returned for season three, although there would be some upheaval in the cast as Nicholas Colasanto became ill and passed away during production. Because of Shelly Long's and Rhea Perlman's real-life pregnancies, episodes were shot out of order (since Long's pregnancy was not written into the show). Because of the shooting schedule, Colasanto's character, Coach, would appear more sporadically as the season went along and make a couple of appearances posthumously. The writers would usually insert a line or two explaining his absence in the episodes in which he did not appear. The main addition to the series this season is the character of Frasier Crane, who is brought on as a recurring character as a love interest for Diane and rival to Sam. Dan Hedaya made a couple of appearances as Carla's ex-husband, Nick, as did Jean Kasem, who played Nick's new wife Loretta. The other recognizable season three guest stars included Carole Kane and Michael Richards.

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set and reproduces the content of the original DVD releases. Again, the individual seasons are not available on blu-ray; you can (at least as of this writing) only get the blu-rays in a complete series set. The A/V quality of the blu-ray release is very good. The extras are all included on the final disc. Those include clips of Norm talking about his wife Vera (who never appear on screen), clips of Carla making fun of Cliff, clips of Fraiser's key moments in the season, a virtual tour of the bar, and a tribute to Nicholas Colasanto (which features interviews with Ted Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman talking about Colasanto and what he brought to the show and the character of Coach.

The series really found its footing by the third season. The show continued to be a mix of procedural weekly storylines and longer serial arcs. While the show's focus remained on Sam and Diane's relationship, the writers continued to expand the storylines for the supporting characters, particularly Cliff and Norm. Each of the supporting characters received at least one show devoted to him or her. As was the case in the first two seasons, there are definitely jokes that would probably not be used if the show were made today, and there are quite a few adult jokes, so while the series is mostly good-natured and wholesome, it is not entirely family-friendly. Ultimately, if you liked the first couple of seasons, this one is worth watching.

Book Review: Heretics of Dune (Dune #20 Chronological Order, #5 Publication Order)

 

Heretics of Dune, published in 1984, is the fifth of the original six novels in the Dune saga written by the original author, Frank Herbert. It is the 20th book in the saga (including the novels co-authored by Frank's son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson) if you read the series chronologically. In this novel, there is another significant time jump from the prior book. This book is set 1500 years after the events of God Emperor of Dune and Leto II's reign, with his "golden path" having been implemented. After an event known as "The Scattering," in which humans spread out across the universe, power is divided among three groups: the Ixians, the Bene Gesserit, and the Tleilaxu. A new matriarchal group called the Honored Matres begins to wreak havoc throughout the Old Empire through violence and sexual conquest.

The length of the book will depend on which version you have, but it is generally around 400 pages. The story is not all that easy to follow, especially since, aside from Duncan Idaho, most of the characters are new (because of the time jump). And this version of Duncan is a ghola (basically a clone), so he is really not the same character as in the original novel. The story also jumps around a lot, so it is not all that easy to follow what is going on, and the overall point of the story is not all that clear until the last couple of chapters. To me, because Herbert had the massive time jumps between his Dune novels, by the time you get to this one, it is so far removed from the original story that it does not really feel like it is part of the same story. It is just a new story set in the same universe, with the names of the original characters dropped in here and there. Ultimately, I would describe this as an okay story that improves toward the end of the book. I would not, however, call this a must-read, especially if you were only really invested in Paul's arc, since that story has almost nothing to do with the events in this book. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 9

 

The 24-episode ninth season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2015/2016 TV season. This season saw another milestone episode for the show, specifically the 200th episode. All the main cast members returned, as well as many of the "regular" recurring cast members such as Laurie Metcalf, John Ross Bowie, Wil Wheaton, Christine Baranski, Sara Gilbert, Bob Newhart, and Stephen Hawking. Keith Carradine also returned to reprise his role as Penny's father, and we get to meet two more family members of the main characters: Leonard's father, played by Judd Hirsch, and Sheldon's grandmother, played by June Squibb. BBT is indeed a rather formulaic show. It found what works, and it definitely sticks to it. That said, even in season 9, the main characters are still developing and evolving, as are the relationships between the various characters. Yes, the requisite science and nerdy pop culture references are there. There is another Star Wars-centric episode, which got to see the return of Bob Newhart decked out in Jedi robes, and Wil Wheaton attending The Force Awakens premiere dressed as a Vulcan, but the show continues to be very humorous and entertaining, even though it may not be as much for some people as it was in the first couple seasons.

The relationships of the characters continue to be the centerpiece of the show. All the couples on the show go through a period of transition in their relationship, and even Raj does a complete 180 from his days of not being able to talk to women unless drunk, with pretty humorous results. Overall, I think if you have found the show enjoyable in the past few seasons and have not felt it getting stale, then you will also enjoy this season. If it has been getting stale for you, then you may not.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The extras include the comic con panel, a few short behind-the-scenes features, including one devoted to the 200th episode, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I had no problems with episode 12 not playing or missing in my set, so it is not a problem that affects the entire lot of blu-ray sets out there.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: Cloverfield

 

Cloverfield is a 2008 horror film produced and conceived by J.J. Abrams (it was one of the first movies produced by his production company, Bad Robot), written by Drew Goddard, and directed by Matt Reeves. It starred Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman (now Anabelle), Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, and Mike Vogel. It is a monster movie, heavily influenced by the old Godzilla movies, that involves a creature that destroys New York on the night of a going-away party for Stahl-David's character, Rob Hawkins. The premise of the movie is that footage from a personal camcorder is recovered in what is left of Central Park. The tape begins with footage of Rob and his girlfriend Beth (played by Yustman) spending a day together, and is intercut with footage of the day of the party, the events of the party, and the creature's destruction of the city. T.J. Miller's character, Hud, is tasked with recording the party and encouraging the partygoers to film farewell messages for Rob. The events of the film are mostly shown from the point of view of what Hud is filming and narrating. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set, containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-ray disc. It also has a code to redeem a digital version of the film. There are a couple of different 4K releases, including a steelbook edition, each of which has the same content. The UHD disc only includes the film, while the regular Blu-ray disc contains the film and all the bonus content. The extras include a director's commentary track by Matt Reeves, a gag reel, a making-of documentary, featurettes on the visual effects and creating the creature, a few deleted scenes, and a couple of alternate endings. The film can also be played in an investigation mode, where facts about the characters and the events in the movie are displayed while the movie plays. Reeve's commentary had a lot of interesting information about the production process. 

The movie is good, but different. It was a low-budget film that was intentionally made to appear like a home movie, so the camera shakes a lot and does not always capture everything that is happening. The best way I can describe it is a cross between Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project. While the A/V quality is excellent and it looks wonderful in UHD, it has a distinctly different look and feel compared to major blockbuster movies. The film is very short (under an hour and a half, with the credits), which was almost necessary given the way the movie was filmed. It is well-written and acted, and the cast, despite being filled with young, relatively unknown actors, does a great job in their respective roles. It is much more suspenseful than it is gory, and for most of the film, the creature is shown only very fleetingly. That said, there is some violent content and a lot of swearing, so it is not suitable for young kids. If you're a fan of the horror genre, especially monster movies, this is worth watching. If you have a physical media collection, it's also worth adding to it. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 70

Day 70 was a rest day. I did do the Lift 4 stretch workout, but did not foam roll. It was nice to have a day off from workout out since I have been pretty gassed this week. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 69

On day 69, I just did the Sculpt 3-4 workout from Power 90. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used on a couple of the exercises, and actually had to break out the micro plates to get the "heavy pants" (bent over back rows) to 27.5 lbs.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 68

Day 68 was Friday Fight Round 1 in Max 30, Sweat 3-4, and Ab-Ripper 200 from Power 90. I could only get to the 8:26 mark in FF before maxing out, and once I did, I took a lot of breaks, but I was trying to do as many unmodified exercises as I could. The evening workout went fine. There is nothing major to report from that one.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 67

Day 67 was Tabata Power again in Max 30. I made it to the 23:38 mark before maxing out, which was a significant improvement from Tuesday. In the evening, I did Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. I did not increase the weight for any of the exercises from the last workout, but I did hit 10 reps easily on a couple of the exercises, so I will be increasing the weight next time. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 66

Day 66 was Sweat Intervals from Max 30 in the morning and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 from Power 90 in the evening. Both workouts went pretty well. I made it to the 11:30 mark in Sweat Intervals before maxing out. I was a bit tired in the evening workout, but I got through it.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 65

Day 65 was Tabata Power from Max 30 in the morning and Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90 in the evening. In the Max 30 workout, I was able to get to the 16:10 mark before maxing out doing a mix of unmodified and modified exercises. My intent is to do every exercise in each circuit unmodified at least once before I switch to modifying, then max out when I cannot go any further. In the Power 90 workout, I was able to increase the amount of weight on a couple of the exercises.  

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Cheers aired during the 1983/1984 TV season. All the main cast members returned for the second season, with John Ratzenberger being promoted to a series regular and included in the main credits. The show started gaining popularity in the second season, and as a result, it was able to bring in Dick Cavett for a cameo and recognizable guest stars such as Markie Post, Christopher Lloyd, and Dan Hedaya.

The show continued to primarily use a story-of-the-week procedural format, but also called back to storylines from previous episodes. The prominent serial arc was Sam's (played by Ted Danson) relationship with Diane (played by Shelly Long). The second season picks up immediately after the events that ended season one, with Sam and Diane kissing and agreeing to try to have a relationship. To say their relationship did not go smoothly was an understatement, with the two constantly bickering throughout the season. Even though their relationship was the primary storyline throughout the season, the writers gave all the cast members great material to work with, and all the characters received at least one episode centered on them.  

The blu-ray set is a four-disc set. Again, at least in the US, the blu-rays are only available as a complete series set, with each season packaged individually inside a decorative outer box. The A/V transfer is very good, and the play all mode allows you to pick up where you leave off if you stop before watching all the episodes.  The individual seasons are only available on DVD, which is a four-disc set. The extras are all on the third disc and are transferred over from the DVD release. Those include interviews with some of the cast members, some of which included archival footage from an Entertainment Tonight segment, and some of which were from interviews with Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman made after the series ended. Then there are three different featurettes showing clips of Cliff's, Norm's, and Carla's best moments of the season and a gag reel. 

The show really starts to hit its stride in the second season. It is a good comedy, but some of the jokes are absolutely dated and would not work today. For example, there are jokes about being gay that would probably not get past today's censors, and a segment where Sam and Diane repeatedly slap each other that would not fly today. That said, the series is mostly good-natured and enjoyable. While there is no overt sexual content, there are jokes that are definitely suggestive, so it is not entirely family-friendly. Ultimately, if you liked the first season, the second season is worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 8

 

+++Warning: The review contains spoilers from prior seasons and hints, but no major giveaways, from season 8. If you have not seen the previous season, proceed with caution. +++

The 24-episode 8th season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2014/2015 TV season. All of the main cast members return for the 8th season, as do many of the primary recurring cast members such as Carol Ann Susi, Regina King, John Ross Bowie, Wil Wheaton, Laurie Metcalf, Christine Baranski, and Stephen Hawking (in another voice appearance). This season's notable guest stars include Stephen Root, Billy Bob Thornton, LeVar Burton, Nathan Fillion, and Kevin Smith (in a voice appearance). 

The show seems to be one that people either really love or really hate. It has been around long enough that most people know where they fall. It continues to focus on the relationships between the main characters, then tells various ancillary stories of the week while working in some larger ongoing themes. This season the big stories are Leonard and Penny's ongoing engagement and not setting a date for the wedding, Leonard and Sheldon co-authoring a physics paper that gets them some notoriety, and Sheldon and Amy's relationship. There are other stories about Stuart mooching off Howard's mom following the destruction of the comic book store last season, Raj's parents, and Raj's new relationship that develops now that he can actually talk to girls without being drunk. A couple of the stand-out episodes of the season are the Billy Bob Thornton guest appearance, Sheldon and Leonard's mothers meeting each other, and the season finale, which ends on a pretty big Sheldon/Amy cliffhanger. There is also a storyline about 2/3 of the way into the season that leads to some great Howard and Bernadette scenes and shows off the acting chops of Simon Helberg.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V transfer is very good, and the show looks and sounds great. For extras, on disc one, there is a relatively short writer's panel (and Wil Wheaton's appearance) from Comic-Con and a behind-the-scenes feature on Billy Bob Thornton's guest appearance. The second disc has a feature on a group of contest winners who were taken to the set and sat in the studio audience, a short feature on Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Chuck Lorre getting stars on the Walk of Fame, a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there.

If you have loved the show and do not think it has gone stale then you will love this season. If you have hated the show either because of the laugh track or any other reason, this season is not really going to do anything to change your mind. Thankfully the show is popular enough that the studio is still released on blu ray, for those of us who get the discs and prefer that format. The show definitely lays the groundwork for where it is going next season. As other reviewers have said it would be good if the show took some of the focus off the relationship of the main characters and incorporated more of their families into some episodes. That said, however, if you love the show this is definitely worth adding to your collection.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

 

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 action/comedy film that is the direct sequel to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. McG returned to direct the film, which brought back Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu to reprise their roles as the Angels Dylan, Natalie, and Alex. Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, and Matt LeBlanc also reprised their roles from the first movie. The additions to the cast included Demi Moore, Robert Patrick, John Cleese, Shia LeBeouf, Justin Theroux, Bernie Mac, and Ja'Net Dubois. The film also features several cameo appearances, including Carrie Fisher, Pink, Robert Forester, Bruce Willis, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Jaclyn Smith, reprising her role as Kelly Garrett from the TV series. 

The plot involves a pair of rings that contain and unlock a list of people in the witness protection program. The list is stolen and set to be sold to various criminal organizations. A couple of revenge plots are intertwined within the story, and we get a bit more backstory about Crispin Glover's character. 

This is a single-disc release containing both the theatrical version of the film and an unrated version that adds a few more minutes to the runtime, mostly by adding more violence to a couple of the big fight scenes. The extras include several commentary tracks on the film. There is an audio and a telestrator commentary by McG. The audio tracks are exactly the same, but the telestrator commentary is annotated with things being circled in the background of some of the scenes while McG talks. Then, there is a commentary track by a couple of the writers. The theatrical version can also be played with a trivia track similar to the old show, Pop-Up Video, where information about the movie is displayed in pop-up boxes while it plays. Then there are several different making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a preview for the 2019 reboot, and the music video for Pink's song Feel Good Time. 

Ultimately, the movie is a fun action-comedy. It is similar in style and tone to the first movie. It does have a lot of adult humor that skirts the bounds of what can be included in a PG-13 film. There is also a scene where the Angels are nude in shadow so you cannot really see anything except for a brief flash of sideboob from Drew Barrymore. Of course, the big draw when the movie came out was that this was Demi Moore's return to movies after a hiatus of about six years. She was phenomenal in the role and looked fantastic. It seems all the actors had fun in their respective roles and did not take themselves too seriously. The big change from the first film is that Bill Murray did not return. The writer's commentary track touched on Murray's absence, stating that they knew they would have to go in a different direction with the Bosley character when it was clear that Murray would not be back. There was no mention in any of the bonus content of the conflict between him and Lucy Liu in the first movie. They came up with a good way to have Bernie Mac be the new Bosley and did include a picture of Murray in one of the scenes. If you liked the first movie, you will probably like this one. Like the first film, this one takes a lot of suspension of disbelief and has some plot holes, but if you do not overthink it and just enjoy it for what it is, it is worth watching.   

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 1

 

Cheers was the long-running sitcom set in a Boston bar about the lives of the bar workers and patrons. The 22-episode first season aired during the 1982/1983 TV season. It starred Ted Danson, Shelly Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman, and George Wendt. John Ratzenberger, who would later become a series regular, had a recurring role in the first season (although he was in most episodes). Harry Anderson (who is probably best known for his role on the sitcom Night Court) had a recurring role, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neil, was the season's notable guest appearance. 

In the show, Danson plays Sam Malone, an ex-pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who had to retire because he was an alcoholic. He runs a bar called Cheers that he bought before he retired, but manages to refrain from drinking. Long plays Diane Chambers, a grad student at Boston University who is left by her fiancé in the pilot episode and becomes a waitress at the bar. Colasanto plays a bartender named Ernie Pentusso, nicknamed "Coach" because he used to be a coach in the major leagues. Perlman plays a cynical waitress at Cheers named Carla, and Wendt plays Norm Peterson, a regular at the bar who spouts one-liners. The show is a procedural sitcom. It is not about anything in particular, just the lives of the people who work in and frequent the bar. The one major storyline in the first season was whether Sam and Diane, who were attracted to each other but also annoyed each other, would get together.    

The blu-ray set (which is not sold separately, only in the complete series set) is a three-disc set. It matches the content of the four-disc DVD set that was released years ago. The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good, and the episodes look and sound excellent in the HD format. All the extras, which were also carried over from the DVD release, are on the final disc. Those include an interview with Ted Danson (filmed in 2003 after the series ended), clips of Sam and Diane arguing, clips of Coach dispensing wisdom, clips of Norm's various entrances, and a trivia game. 

The series is good but dated. While the show is well-written, it definitely has jokes that would fly in the 1980s but would not work if it were made today. It was very well-acted. All the actors had great comedic timing and seemed to have very good chemistry. If you watched the show during its original run, it is a good blast from the past. If you are watching it now because you remember the show but did not watch it regularly (or because you watched the spin-off series), even though it is dated, it is still worth watching.   

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 7

 

The 24-episode seventh season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2013/2014 TV season. All the main cast members return for the seventh season, and many regular recurring and guest cast members, such as Regina King, Christine Baranski, Kate Micucci, John Ross Bowie, Kevin Sussman, and Laurie Metcalf, also appear. The celebrity cameos/guest appearances this season are Bob Newhart reprising his role as Professor Proton (in a hilarious Star Wars-themed episode), James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, Bill Nye, Stephen Hawking (in a voiceover), and, of course, Wil Wheaton. 

The show continues to use a blend of procedural and serial storytelling. By this point in its run, the show found a formula that worked and stuck to it. That is not to say the show has not evolved. In fact, much of this season is spent pointing out exactly how the various characters have changed. Almost all the characters end up in very different places by the end of the season than where they were at the beginning. Howard and Bernadette are the exceptions, having settled into a fairly stable married life. Toward the end of the season, comic book store owner Stuart begins to take a larger role in the series.

There are a couple of different blu-ray sets out there. The original release was a five-disc set with two blu-rays and three DVDs. It was later re-released as a two-disc blu-ray set. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is outstanding. My only critique is that the "play all" feature does not allow you to pick up where you leave off if you do not watch all the episodes on the disc in one sitting. As far as extras go for those who get the Blu-rays (or DVDs), there is a lot of behind-the-scenes material, a Comic-Con panel with the writers, a making of the Star Wars day episode, and a gag reel. All in all, probably around an hour's worth of bonus material. Definitely enough to make those who like going through that stuff happy.

Ultimately, the show continues to be well-written and acted. The brand of comedy will certainly not appeal to everyone, but if you were a fan of the first six seasons, you will probably like or love this one. On the other hand, if you did not like the earlier seasons, this one is not likely to convert you. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 64

On day 64, it was back to two-a-day workouts. I did the cardio challenge workout from Max 30 in the morning, and Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 in the evening from Power 90. My approach to the Max 30 workouts is to do unmodified exercises for as long as possible in each block, then switch to modified. That way, I can work my way up to doing a fully unmodified round.  I will count maxing out when I have to take a break from the modified exercises, which this time was at about 12:50 into the workout. I did the unmodified version of every exercise in the workout for as long as I could in the first round of each block. For some exercises, that was the entire 30 seconds, and for others, it was about five seconds. In the second and third rounds, sometimes I started with the unmodified versions and switched to the modified, and for some exercises, I just did the modified versions in the second and third rounds. That was tough and emphasized how much harder the high-impact versions of the exercises are than the low-impact versions. The Power 90 workout went fine. I have taken to doing the Ab-Ripper workout as the warmup since the Power 90 warmup is pretty useless by today's standards, where he warms up with a ton of static stretching. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 63

Day 63 was a rest day in Power 90, so I did the Lift 4 stretch workout. I did not do foam rolling, however. I think I am maintaining my flexibility, but am not really improving it during this round. If I had unlimited time to work out, I would follow the cardio workouts with a few minutes of yoga. I do plan on getting the bike before the end of the year to do the bike workouts in the morning, so I may start doing the "five-er" yoga routines after that to try and increase my flexibility. We shall see.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 62

Day 62 was Sculpt 3-4. I did manage to increase the amount of weight I used on a couple of the exercises, but for the most part, I used the same weight as last time.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 61

Day 61 was Sweat 3-4 and Ab-Ripper 200 again. Both workouts went fine. I do not really think I made much improvement from the last workout, but did not backslide either.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Charlie's Angels

 

Charlie's Angels is a 2000 action-comedy based on the 1970s TV series of the same name. It stars Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch, and Crispin Glover in the main roles. Tim Curry, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson, Melissa McCarthy, Tom Green, LL Cool J, and Alex Trebek have smaller roles (or cameos). John Forsythe reprised his role from the TV series playing the voice of Charlie, while Barrymore, Liu, and Diaz played the Angels. Murray plays Bosley, who is the go-between the Angels and Charlie. The plot involves misdirection about who the true bad guys are, but the meat of the storyline is that someone is trying to track down Charlie as a part of a revenge scheme, using the Angels and Bosley as unwitting pawns in the plan.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding and is a massive upgrade over the DVD release and a decent upgrade over the 1080p release. Most of the extras are on the regular blu-ray, but the UHD disc has the teaser and theatrical trailers for the movie and a sneak peek at the 2019 reboot/quasi-sequel written and directed by Elizabeth Banks. The extras on the regular blu-ray were carried over from the prior physical media releases and include a commentary track by director McG and cinematographer Russell Carpenter, several behind-the-scenes featurettes featuring cast interviews, a blooper reel (which are the same bloopers shown in the end credits), deleted scenes, and two music videos.

The movie is a bit dated, but it holds up pretty well even after 25 years (as of this writing). It has a good blend of action and humor, and Barrymore, Diaz, and Liu had no qualms about looking silly. They did work their asses off to do a lot of the stunts. And, they were all hot as fire. Some of the humor is a bit cheesy, and Tom Green is annoying, as always. While Barrymore, Diaz, and Lui seemed to have great chemistry, there was no mention in any of the bonus material of the tension between Murray and Liu that would lead to the role of Bosley being recast in the direct sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Ultimately, this combines a good action movie and a silly comedy. If you can accept it for what it is and what it is not, it is worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 6

 

The 24-episode sixth season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2012/2013 TV season. All the main cast members returned for the sixth season, with Kevin Sussman being upgraded to a series regular and put into a "bromance" storyline with Raj. Many of the often recurring and guest cast members appeared this season, including Wil Wheaton and John Ross Bowie. Stephen Hawking made another guest appearance (via the phone), as did LeVar Burton. The "new" guest and recurring cast this season included Howie Mandel, Buzz Aldrin, Kate Micucci (who had a multi-episode arc as a love interest for Raj), and Bob Newhart, playing the Professor Proton character that would be used several times on The Big Bang Theory and the spin off series, Young Sheldon. 

The original blu-ray release was a five-disc set with two blu-rays and three DVDs (back when the studios thought people purchasing blu-rays wanted the DVDs too). Later sets have been released with just the two blu-ray discs. The extras included cast interviews, a portion of the PaleyFest panel discussion with the cast and showrunners, and a gag reel. The show continued to be well-written and acted. As in past seasons, the writers blended serial arcs with procedural stories of the week. The serial arcs mostly involved the relationships between the various couples. However, early in the season, the first few episodes showed Howard on the International Space Station, and later in the season, Raj had a couple of different storylines. The show mostly sticks to being a traditional sitcom, but also has some dramatic and emotional moments. The show is not entirely family-friendly as there are some very adult jokes, and Kaley Cuoco is put in some skimpy outfits from time to time. Ultimately, if you liked the first five seasons, you will probably like this one. If not, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Power 90 Hybrid: Day 60

Day 60 was Sculpt 3-4 from Power 90. The workout went well. I was again able to do more of the bodyweight exercises, and have better form, and was able to increase the amount of weight I was using on several of the lifting exercises. So, overall, it was a good workout.