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. 

Thursday, April 28, 2022

DVD/TV Series Review: Community Season Three

 


The third season of Community was a turning point for the show. The series was plagued by low ratings and the on-set behavior of Chevy Chase, which would lead to series creator Dan Harmon being pushed out for a time. I think because the show was in danger of cancelation, they decided to kind of say screw it, we are going to pack in as many weird "novelty" episodes as possible, that really steer away from the actual concept of the study group at school and explored the quirkiness of the show's characters. So, there are episodes that have alternate timelines, a Law and Order spoof episode, an episode where the characters are inside a video game, and an episode in which the Subway sandwich shop takes human form. There is a plot that runs through multiple episodes in which Chang tries to get control of Greendale, and the season finale really feels like a series finale because it was definitely not clear that the show would be picked up for a fourth season (which it ultimately was).

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include commentary tracks on every episode, most of which include Harmon and various members of the cast and crew. Then there are three different gag reels, one on each disc, deleted scenes, a making-of feature on the Christmas episode, and a documentary about the documentary-themed episode, "This is War: Pillows vs. Blankets". So, a good amount of material, but we do not get the entertaining cast evaluations (because of the Harmon-Chase fallout most likely) and the Dj Porter remix of the season.

Overall, the show is still very good this season. The most notable cast moves are that Rim Rash was promoted to a series regular, and John Goodman was brought in for a major recurring role. Sadly, John Oliver did not reprise his role, but the show did bring in actors such as Michael K. Williams, Luis Guzmán, Rob Corddry, Michael Ironside, Giancarlo Esposito, French Stewart, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The writing was clever, if not a bit weird, and the acting was very good. So, if you are a fan of the series, you will probably enjoy this season.

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