Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: The Complete Series – 60th Anniversary Special Edition

 

Bewitched is a sitcom that aired for eight seasons beginning in 1964 and running until 1972. It was created by Sol Saks and produced by Harry Ackerman (and, in effect, by William Asher (who also directed several episodes) and his wife and series star, Elizabeth Montgomery). Along with Montgomery, the main cast included Dick York (for the first five seasons), Dick Sargent (for the final three seasons), Agnes Moorehead, David White, and Erin Murphy (from season three onward). The supporting cast included George Tobias, Alice Pierce, Sandra Gould, Irene Vernon, Kasey Rodgers, Marion Lorne, Maurice Evans, Mabel Albertson, Paul Lynde, Bernard Fox, and Alice Ghostley. It also featured several guest stars, some of whom would go on to larger roles on other shows, such as Adam West and James Doohan, and others who would appear in several different roles on the show, such as Parley Baer, Bernie Koppel, and Dick Wilson. Willie Mays, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart also played themselves in guest-starring roles. 

In the series, Montgomery plays a witch named Samantha who falls in love with a mortal man named Darrin Stephens (initially played by York, then by Sargent after York left the series due to a back injury). Darrin wants to live a normal, middle-class life and objects to Samantha's use of magic. Samantha's relatives object to her marriage to a mortal and constantly interfere in their lives, using various spells on Darrin (especially Samantha's mother, Endora, played by Moorehead). The series is mostly a story-of-the-week procedural, with a handful of longer story arcs every so often. Most episodes involve Darrin making a snarky comment to one of Samantha's relatives, who then casts a spell on him, making his day miserable and making him look foolish until he apologizes. 

This is a complete series released in 2025 to commemorate the series' 60th Anniversary. It is a 22-disc set. The packaging is not great. The discs are packaged in a large keep case (which requires the discs to be stacked on top of each other) that can be held in a decorative outer slip box. As of this writing, the individual seasons are only available on DVD. There are multi-season bundles on Blu-Ray, and this complete series set. The bonus features are exclusive to this release. The A/V quality is good, but some episodes definitely look better than others. The first two seasons are in black-and-white (as they aired), and the rest are in color. The bonus content is mostly audio commentaries on select episodes. Each commentary features historian (and Elizabeth Montgomery biographer) Herbie J. Pilato and a surviving cast member (usually one of the guest-starring children) or a surviving crew member.  Dick York's son appears on some of the commentary tracks to offer perspective on what he remembers about his father's time on the series. On the final disc, there is a half-hour documentary about the series, hosted by Pilato, featuring interviews with some of the people who appeared on the commentary tracks. Finally, there is a booklet written by Pilato that provides information about the series, the people who starred in or appeared in it, and an episode guide. Unfortunately, Murphy, who is the only living main cast member, does not appear on any of the commentary tracks or in the documentary.   

The series is good but dated. Some of the things that occurred on the show (like the roles of men and women, casual smoking, etc.) would never be included in a series (especially a sitcom) made today. Other things about the series were very progressive for its time. The show used the witch-mortal relationship as a metaphor for real-world social issues of the time, such as civil rights and women's rights. The series also featured several black guest stars and extras and had an episode that directly tackled racism. People who are big on continuity in a TV series will probably get frustrated while binge-watching it, as the writers often recycled storylines and used many of the same guest stars in different roles. Ultimately, while it is not without its flaws, the series is good and will definitely be a blast from the past for those old enough to have watched it when it originally aired or in reruns. Some of the humor in the show is very different from what you see on modern sitcoms, but even so, there are some very funny moments, even if the show may not have younger audiences laughing out loud regularly. So, if you are a fan of older TV series, this is absolutely worth picking up. 

CD/Music Review: Anastacia: Pieces of A Dream

 

Pieces of a Dream, released in 2005, is partly a greatest-hits compilation album by Anastacia and partly a new release (at the time). It has 17 tracks in total and includes singles from her first three studio albums, four new songs recorded for this album, and a megamix of her biggest hits up to that point. The CD liner includes lyrics and production notes, as well as one picture of Anastacia. Like her other albums up to this point, this blends different genres, including soul, pop, and R&B, mixing slower ballads with upbeat dance tracks. Even though she hit the scene in the early 2000s, Anastacia was older than many of the female pop stars of the time, and only achieved modest popularity in the US. She was always more popular overseas than in the US, and this album was no exception. Ultimately, if you liked her first few albums, you will probably enjoy this one. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 8

 

The 26-episode 8th and final season of Bewitched aired during the 1971/1972 TV season. All the main cast members, including Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead, and David White, returned for the final season. Erin Murphy appeared in most episodes as Tabitha, and the combination of twins David and Greg Lawrence played Adam, the Stephens' son. Some of the "regular" recurring cast members who have appeared throughout the series (Alice Ghostley, Bernard Fox, and Maurice Evans) do appear during the season; however, characters like Abner, Gladys Kravitz, and Uncle Arthur do not. The guest stars this season include Julie Newmar (in a role that is a funny nod to her Catwoman character in the Batman TV series), Peter Lawford, and Al Molinaro, and actors such as Bernie Koppel, Parley Baer, and Charles Lane (who have all appeared in various roles throughout the series) make appearances. 

As with season 7, the episodes at the beginning of the season are set on location, this time in Europe. The show retains the story-of-the-week format with the usual hijinks (sometimes characters going into the past, sometimes bringing a historical figure into the present, etc.) occurring. The writers definitely recycle storylines this season, and it seems the show's budget was reduced, as the effects are not as good as in past years.

As of this writing, the Blu-Rays are only available as a complete series release or bundled seasons. The individual seasons are only available on DVD. The 8th season episodes are on the final two discs. There are episode commentaries on three of the season's episodes, each featuring Bewitched historian and Elizabeth Montgomery biographer Hebie J. Pilato and usually one of the cast members who appeared in the particular episode (which was usually one of the younger guest cast members). On the final disc, there is a half-hour documentary entitled Behind the Magic, which features Pilato, Dick York's son, one of the twins who played Adam, and a couple of guest stars who were children when the series aired. The bonus content was made specifically for the Blu-Ray release and is not available on the DVD releases.

By the 8th season, the show had become stale, and ratings were down because the network kept moving its time slot around. The network was willing to pick up the show for three more seasons; however, Montgomery was ready to move on, and it was not picked up. The downside is that the series never received a proper finale, as the cancellation decision was not made until after the season ended, so the final episode just felt like any other episode. Ultimately, the season was not as good as prior seasons. That said, there are still some good moments, and the show continued to use the witch-mortal stories as a metaphor for issues like women's and civil rights. So, if you liked the prior seasons, this one is worth checking out to see how the series ends. 

Blu-Ray/TV series review: Frasier: Season 6

 

The 24-episode sixth season of Frasier aired during the 1998/1999 TV season. All of the primary cast members return for the sixth season, as do several of the "regular" recurring cast members. The notable guest stars this season include Teri Hatcher, Amy Brenneman, Eva Marie Saint, Virginia Madsen, Christine Baranski, and Piper Laurie. This season would also mark early roles for Timothy Omundson (who would later star in the great series, Psych) and Erika Christenson. This season's tie to the parent series Cheers includes a guest appearance by Woody Harrelson, returning to the franchise as Woody Boyd, who contacts Frasier during a trip to Seattle. The guest callers this season include Ron Howard, William H. Macey, Phil Donahue, Beverly D'Angelo, Gillian Anderson, and Yo-Yo Ma. 

This season, the series continues to blend the story-of-the-week procedural format with longer story arcs. The beginning of the season centers on the fallout from the radio station employees being fired at the end of season five, as everyone tries to find new jobs. It is not spoiling anything to say that the radio station eventually switches back to the old format and everyone gets their job back, but the writers do a good job of drawing out the storyline for a handful of episodes. The other big storyline this season involves Niles and the still-unseen Maris finalizing their divorce, and the writers were still teasing a Niles-and-Daphne romance. 

The Blu-ray set is, as of this writing, still only available as a complete series release, with individual seasons available only on DVD. In the blu-ray set, the season is a three-disc set packaged in its own keep case. The DVD set is a four-disc set. There are no bonus features this season, but the episodes can be played with English captions. The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. While it did not get a "reference quality" HD transfer, the blu-rays are a significant upgrade from the DVDs. 

The show continues to be very funny this season, with many laugh-out-loud moments. As he has for most of the series, David Hyde Pierce steals nearly every scene he is in as Niles, but all of the cast members have great moments throughout the season. Christine Baranski's episode was one of the best of the season, as she made a great foil for Fraiser, dispensing "tough love" advice to callers. Ultimately, if you liked the first five seasons, the sixth season is absolutely worth watching. 

Book Review: The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1)

 

The Gunslinger, originally published in 1982, is the first in the series of 8 novels in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It was revised and updated in 2003 to add material that fleshed out and strengthened the novel's storyline. It is hard to describe the exact genre of the story as it mixes dark fantasy, sci-fi, horror, western, and dystopian themes. King took inspiration for the story from The Lord of the Rings, the Arthurian legends, and westerns starring Clint Eastwood. In it, the main character is a member of a knightly order known as gunslingers named Roland Deschain. He lives in a world in a parallel universe, similar to the Old West, yet incorporating magical and supernatural elements. In the novel, Roland is chasing a mysterious figure known as "the man in black" while searching for a structure known as The Dark Tower.

The paperback version of the expanded edition is just under 240 pages. Even though it has a relatively low page count, it is a bit slow to read and can be hard to follow at times. The reader is just dropped into a story without much initial setup. Roland is traveling through a desert, meeting various characters along the way. There are hints of multiple universes, but the book does not really explore that aspect. Ultimately, this very much feels like it is setting up a larger story. If this were the only book in the series, it would not be a must-read. Just an okay fantasy novel. However, as the story very much expands and evolves, if you are a fan of fantasy, horror, westerns, and dystopian novels, it is worth reading. 

Book Review: How to be More Tree

 

How to be More Tree, published in 2019, is a short self-help/advice book written by Liz Marvin and illustrated by Annie Davidson. The hardcover version is 125 pages long, segmented into two pages, with one page of the two-page combination having an illustration of some variety of tree, and the other page having a quote such as "beginnings are always small" and "find your happy place" and a paragraph about how the particular tree's behavior applies to the quote. It is very easy to read because there is only text on every other page, and the text is very short. It can easily be finished in a couple of hours or less, depending on how quickly you read and how much time you have. Ultimately, while I would not say it falls into the category of a life-changing self-help book, it provides good advice and interesting information about various types of trees.

Book Review: The Life We Bury

 

The Life We Bury, published in 2014, is a crime/mystery/suspense novel, and the first book by lawyer-turned-author Allen Eskens. The plot is set in Minnesota, where Eskens went to school and practiced law, so if you are familiar with the state, you will recognize many of the locations he mentions. The story involves a college student named Joe Talbert, who has to write a biography for a college English assignment. He ends up interviewing a man named Carl Iverson, who spent 30 years in prison for murdering his teenage neighbor back in 1980 (which he claims he did not commit), and was medically paroled to a nursing home because of terminal cancer. Talbert begins to suspect that Iverson is telling the truth and, with the help of his neighbor Lilah Nash, sets out to try to get the investigation into the murder reopened. 

The novel is 300 pages long and the physical book was only released in paperback. While the murder investigation is the main plotline of the novel, there are several side plots, mostly centered on the lives of Talbert and Nash, and on fleshing out Iverson's life before he was arrested for murder. The story is very engaging, and the story flows very well. Eskens does a good job of making the legal parts of the story accurate without bogging it down with legalese. He includes just enough legal concepts to explain things while making it easy for non-lawyers to follow. He also does a very good job navigating between the various storylines and blending drama and suspense with some action and romance. Ultimately, it is a book with a very engaging story that makes it hard to put down. It is absolutely worth reading for anyone who is a fan of crime mysteries. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

 

Edge of Tomorrow (sometimes billed as Live, Die, Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow) is a 2014 sci-fi/action film directed by Doug Liman, starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, and Bill Paxton. The supporting cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor, Kick Gurry, Charlotte Riley, and Franz Drameh. The movie is partly a war film, almost reimagining World War II as a battle against an alien race, called Mimics, and partly a futuristic action film. Most of the movie's events are set in 2020, which, at the time the movie was made, was six years in the future. 

The premise is that the mimics, which operate as a hive collective, landed on Earth in 2015 and took over most of Europe. The world's nations band together to fight them. Cruise plays a public relations officer, Major William Cage, who is ordered by Gleeson's character, General Brigham, to cover the planned invasion of France from the front line. When Cage tries to blackmail the general, he is arrested, tranquilized, demoted to the rank of Private, and sent to join the invasion infantry under the command of Paxton's character, Master Sergeant Farell. During the battle, Cage kills a mimic while dying in the process as he is covered in the Mimic's blood. Cage then discovers that he can reset and relive the day every time he dies. Blunt plays Sergeant Rita Vrataski, who Cage learns once had the same ability, and the two form a plan to kill the "brain" controlling the mimics.

The 4k release is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc just contains the film itself, and all the bonus content is included on the standard Blu-Ray. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in UHD, especially if you have a large screen and a 7.1 Dolby Atmos sound system. The standard Blu-Ray contains a little over an hour's worth of content. The most extensive extra is a making-of documentary that runs about 43 minutes and features interviews with Liman and various cast and crew members. Then, there is an "adrenaline cut" of the beach invasion scene, a making-of featurette on the beach invasion scene, featurettes on the weapons and creatures, and about seven minutes of deleted scenes. There are also some previews that play before the main screen loads. 

The movie is a good action film that, despite being a big-budget release, did not feel cookie-cutter. It was mostly well-written (though some parts of the plot could have been cut) and well-acted. It has a nice blend of action, humor, and even some drama. Regardless of what you may think of Cruise in his personal life, he does a great job in almost all of his roles and dedicates himself to the movies he does. Blunt is a great co-lead, and the supporting cast members all do a good job in their respective roles. While the movie relies heavily on CGI, they used as many practical effects as they could, and the CGI that is there looks seamless. Ultimately, if you are a fan of sci-fi and/or action films, this is absolutely worth checking out and adding to a physical media collection. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched Season 7

 

The penultimate 7th season of Bewitched aired during the 1970/1971 TV season.  This season was shorter than past seasons, having just 28 episodes. All the main cast members (Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead, and David White) returned, as did several of the major recurring and supporting cast members, including Erin Murphy, George Tobias, Sandra Gould, Alice Ghostley, Mabel Albertson, Paul Lynde, and Bernard Fox. Guest stars this season included Cesar Romero and Parley Baer. The show mostly retained the story-of-the-week procedural format, but the first 8 episodes were set in modern-day and 17th-century Salem (and filmed partially on location in Salem, Massachusetts). The most notable episode of the season was the Christmas episode titled Sisters at Heart, which was created from a story written by students at a Los Angeles high school, and was the first episode to directly tackle the subjects of racism and prejudice (although the series had always used the marriage of Samantha and Darrin as a metaphor to comment on those subjects). 

As of this writing, the individual seasons are only available on DVD, and the blu-ray set is only available as a complete series release. In that set, the seventh season episodes are on discs 19 and 20. The A/V quality is very good, but in a couple of episodes, the video quality is significantly lower for part of the episode (most likely due to the condition of the original film). There are two commentary tracks on the Christmas episode and one on episode 24, each including Herbie Pilato. Notably missing on the Blu-Ray is the introduction to, and season's greetings message at the end of, the Christmas episode filmed by Montgomery, which are included on the DVD release. 

The series was definitely getting a bit stale by this point in its run. This season would mark the final appearances by Lynde, Tobias, and Gould, and the writers were using recycled storylines in some episodes. That said, there are several good episodes and funny moments during the season. Ultimately, it is not the best season of the series, but it is still worth checking out. 

Book Review: Dragonlance Lost Histories Vol II: The Irda

 

The Irda, published in 1995, is the second volume in the Dragonlance Lost Histories series. The series tells the origins of the various races on Krynn, the mythical world established in the Chronicles novels back in the mid-1980s. This one tells the story of the Irda, a race of Ogres who were not corrupted by evil into the creatures described in the Chronicles and Legends novels. The Irda are a group of Ogres who left the clan system the species had lived in, which had become corrupted by greed and lust for power. 

The book was only published as a mass-market paperback. The book is 312 pages long. The first 301 pages comprise the Irda story, and the rest contain the first chapter of the novel Dragons of the Summer Flame, which continued the storylines from the Chronicles and Legends trilogies. The book has a good mix of action and dramatic elements. There are also some romantic elements, but those are not really at the forefront of the story. I would describe the story as okay, but if it had included more of what was spelled out on the back cover, specifically the corruption of the Ogres by Takhisis, it would have been better. Ultimately, the story is okay, but it is not one of the novels in the Dragonlance universe that I would categorize as a must-read.  

Book Review: Star Wars: The Acolyte: Wayseeker

 

Wayseeker, published in 2025, is a novel by Justina Ireland set approximately 160 years before the Battle of Yavin between the end of Phase 3 of the High Republic (after the Nihil were defeated) and the short-lived but underrated series The Acolyte. The novel is centered around the characters Vernestra Rwoh and Indara (the Jedi played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the series). In it, Vernestra is an older Jedi master and Wayseeker (a Jedi who operates independently of the Jedi Council) who has been exploring the Outer Rim. She is called back to Coruscant for a mission that a Republic Senator has personally requested her to participate in. After Vernestra ignores the order to return, the council sends Indara, who is a young Jedi knight who has been working in the archives after a traumatic experience during a mission, to track Vernestra down and bring her back to Coruscant. Vernestra and Indara then set out to uncover ties between the Senator and a gang smuggling weapons that have not been seen in the Republic for years, while trying to overcome their personality clashes. 

The hardcover version of the book is 284 pages long. It reads fairly quickly, especially if you have read the novels set during the High Republic. Ireland does a good job explaining Vernestra's personality shift from when she was a young Jedi during the Nihil conflict and when she appeared in The Acolyte. She mostly appeared in the young-adult and junior novels set during the High Republic, but was one of the most intriguing characters, and almost the polar opposite of how she was portrayed in the TV series. While the book does not entirely fill in that gap of time, it does help explain why she was so different as she got older. Ultimately, while it is not one of my must-reads in the new canon, it is a good novel worth checking out.   

Product Review: EZYA Heavy Duty Carabiner Clips

 

This is a good pair of inexpensive carabiner clips that can be used for hanging things, attaching to a keychain, or the like. Personally, I used them to hang a couple of solar-powered lamps from hooks on my front porch. Because the solar collector is on top of the lamps and the hanging strap doesn't lower them all that low, I used these to increase clearance between the top of the lamps and the porch overhang, so the solar collectors get more sunlight. They work well for that, and really anything else you would need a sturdy carabiner clip for. Ultimately, if you are looking for a good set of clips but do not need a lot of them, this is a good option.  

Book Review: World Book Encyclopedia of Science: Space

 

This is one of the nine volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia of Science, first published in 2014 and updated in 2019. I have the 2019 version of the set. The volume on space is just under 250 pages. The entries include things such as the history of some famous constellations and stars, the more famous deep-sky objects, and all the planets. It also includes biographies of famous scientists who contributed to the advancement of Astronomy and Astrophysics, as well as some of the most famous Astronauts throughout history. Everything is in alphabetical order, with some entries getting 1-2 paragraphs of write-up, and others receiving multiple pages. 

If you are a fan of Astronomy and have read many books on the subject, you will probably know a lot of the information contained in this volume. It does, however, include information on some of the more recent NASA missions, such as the New Horizons mission to Pluto, which some people may not be as familiar with. And, while it is not overly technical, it does contain some technical information and includes information that you may not know, even if you have read several space-related books. It also includes a couple of how-to projects, such as how to make a mobile of the solar system, how to make a home-made planetarium that you can project using a flashlight, etc. It is written in a way that kids about 10 years old and up can understand it, but it can still be informative for adults. The set is out of print now, but if you can find a copy, it is worth reading. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 90

 Day 90, which is actually the second-to-last day of the program, so I did the second core synergistics workout. Normally, this would be on Tuesday and Friday, but I mixed the workouts up this week, so I had to do the two routines I hate the most three days in a row. Oh, well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 89

 Day 89 was yoga. Still hated it, but I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 88

On day 88, I did core synergistics. This, behind the yoga routine, is my least favorite workout in the program. Unlike what Tony Horton tries to say in the video intro, it is not anything that is remotely fundamental to the program. It is just a bunch of weird push-up variations, mixed with different cardio exercises, and some high-volume weight exercises, all of which require you to keep your core tight. But, if you are lifting with proper form, you would be doing that anyway. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 87

On day 87, I did x-stretch. It went well, and unlike the yoga routine, I love this one. It felt good to get it in. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 86

Day 86 was the start of the final week, which is the recovery week. I did the Kenpo routine today, mainly because I had just done yoga a couple of days ago, and did not want to do that again so soon.

Workout Update: P90X Day 85

Day 85 was a rest day going into the final recovery week of the program. I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening, again to get some movement in, but that was it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 84

Day 84 was yoga. I feel like my flexibility and mobility have plateaued a bit, as my range of motion has not really improved since last week. But, it is kind of hard for me to tell during the yoga routine because it has never been easy for me to do.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 83

 Day 83 was the final Legs and Back workout. I was again able to get in a couple more assisted pull-up reps, but kept the weight for the weighted portions the same.

Workout Update: P90X Day 82

 Day 82 was Kenpo. It was fine. Nothing to really write home about. The workouts are definitely getting super repetitive and boring at this point, so it is a slog to get through them. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 81

Day 81 was the final back and biceps workout. This is still probably my favorite lifting workout in the program (aside from the corn-cob pull-ups), but I was even able to get a couple more assisted reps with those. So, overall, a decent workout.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 80

Day 80 was the final plyometrics workout of the routine. I must admit by this point, I am pretty much slacking in the program, so I did not go balls to the wall during this. But I got through it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 79

Day 79 was the final Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout of the program. There was no big change from the last time I did the workout to speak of.