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, May 12, 2024

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Homeland: Season 4

 


++WARNING: This will contain spoilers from the prior seasons and hints, but no major giveaways from season 4. If you have not seen the prior seasons, skip past the first paragraph. +++

The 4th season of Homeland included 12 episodes that aired during the fall and winter of 2014. This season, the main cast includes Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, Nazanin Boniadi, Laila Robins, Tracy Letts, and Mandy Patinkin. 

The season starts off months after the events of season 3. Carrie is still dealing with the death of Brody and being a mother. Most of this season's story is set in Pakistan and plays off the very real-world scenario of they do not trust us, and we do not trust them, and it mainly involves a Taliban leader's grab for power. After the Pakistan CIA station chief is killed, Carrie ends up stepping in for him and begins making dubious decisions. Quinn really steps up to the number two character this season. Saul's role is somewhat reduced, especially since he works in the private sector. While he is still involved in major parts of the story (especially toward the middle to end of the season), he is on the sidelines a lot. Carrie calls many of the shots this season despite being unwell, and Quinn sometimes helps her and sometimes on his own. There is a very good storyline within the season of Quinn trying to get out of the CIA but finding himself drawn back. Because of Brody's death in season 3, we do not see any of his family this season. Although they did find a way to get a nice Damien Lewis cameo in one of the episodes.

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set that includes the episodes and a handful of extras. The A/V quality is very good, and the shows look and sound great in the HD format. The discs have a season-play mode that allows you to stop in the middle of an episode and pick up where you left off. The extras include deleted scenes for some episodes, a few script-to-screen features that detail specific scenes during the season and how they were done, and character profiles. It's good for what is there, but not extensive. Ultimately, the season is good. It is not as good as the first season, but better than the third season. The show definitely had to pivot with the end of the Brody storyline, but that had really played itself out by the end of season three. Even though it could not recapture the feel of season one, it is still worth the time to watch.

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