Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Sunday, August 1, 2021

DVD Review: Chicago PD Season 4

 


The fourth season of Chicago PD picks up pretty much right after the events of the season three finale. Voight is being investigated for the murder of his son's killer, and, of course, Erin is caught up in that. As you can imagine, he ends up off the hook, but I will not spoil the particulars. Then, the show pretty much follows its case of the week format. About a third of the way into the season there is a crossover episode with just Chicago Fire, in which the team has to investigate Kelly Severide for a hit and run accident. Then, about 2/3 of the way through the season there is the big crossover that includes Fire, PD, and the new series Chicago Justice. Med did not have an official episode in the crossover, but much of the Fire episode and the PD episode was set at Med, so many of the characters from Med did appear. The episode of Justice was its series premiere (having had the backdoor pilot during the third season of Chicago PD the previous year). The season ends with a slight cliffhanger leaving the fate of one of the main characters up in the air.

This season did see some cast turnover with Brian Gerahety's and Samuel Hunts's characters having been written out, and Jon Seda's character taking a new job as an investigator for the State's Attorney's office (so Seda could transition over to Chicago Justice) about halfway through the season. Also, Marina Squerciati went on maternity leave about 3/4 of the way through the season, so the character of Burgess was allowed to go on furlough following an episode that involved a family member of hers. That paved the way for the addition of a new character, Detective Hailey Upton (played by Tracy Spirdakos), who transfers to Intelligence from Robbery-Homicide. 

For those who get the DVD, there are no real extras like deleted scenes, or behind-the-scenes clips like there were in previous season releases. The crossover episodes of Chicago Fire and Chicago Justice are included, however, so, even if you do not watch the other shows, you can see the entire storyline from the episodes play out. 

Overall, the series was still going strong in its fourth season. The writing and acting was solid, and whatever tension there was on set between actors (which is more than just a rumor) did not bleed over into the finished product). The show also did a good job balancing storylines for the large cast, and while not every character got an equal amount of screen time, none of them seemed like "also-rans". So, if you are a fan of the first three seasons, this one is definitely worth a look.

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