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, April 17, 2022

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Chuck Season Four

 



+++Warning, this contains minor spoilers from the prior season, but no major season four giveaways +++

The fourth season of Chuck continues to reinvent the show through the large story arc, this time involving Chuck's mom, while still managing to continue the things (mainly the humor and the romance between Chuck and Sarah) that have made the show work. Morgan, having learned of Chuck's secret becomes a manager at the Buy More, and has to keep things running, which includes keeping the other Buy More employees out of the loop and out of the CIA's way. There is also a running gag with a rotating Buy More employee named Greta who is played throughout the season by Olivia Munn, Isaiah Mustafa, Stacy Keibler, and Summer Glau.

The show continues much in the same vein as it has the first few seasons. It is partly a case-of-the-week procedural show with a larger serial arc that spans through the season. It has a great mix of action and comedy, with some drama mixed in as well. There are a ton of pop culture references, and many great Guest Stars including Lauren Cohan, Robin Givens, Linda Hamilton, Ray Wise, Nicole Richie, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Dave Bautista, Lou Ferrigno, Timothy Daulton, Dolph Lundgren, and Eric Roberts.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is great, as it has been with the prior releases. The extras include a video commentary track on the episode Chuck vs. The First Fight, a series of short webisodes featuring Lester and Jeff, an in-character interview with Joshua Gomez, and a feature on the episode that Zachary Levi directed during the season.

Overall, the show continues to be well written and very well acted. It was again on the brink of cancellation but still managed to get a full 24-episode season. If you have been a fan of the prior seasons then you will almost certainly like this one as it continues the formula that earned the show the cult following that it had without getting stale.

No comments: