Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 53

On day 53, I did the Pure Cardio routine from Shaun 20 and the Shoulders (circuit) routine from Lift 4. Shoulders was very hard, and, like last week, I started out with the higher weight for all the exercises but had to drop the amount of weight I used for some exercises by the third set. Also, by the time I got to the burnout round, I could not do full curls with 15lbs and had to drop that to 10 in order to do the curls for the full 30 seconds with proper form. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 52

Day 54 was the rest day for Lift 4, so I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening. Again, I slacked off and did not do either of the recovery workouts. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 51

On day 51, I did the Cardio Circuit workout from Shaun 20, and the legs (50/50) workout from Lift 4. Like the chest and back workout yesterday, the leg workout has the same exercises as last week, but in a different order. Also, like last week's version of the leg workout, you do each of the three exercises for 30 seconds in each set in the HIIT portion. It was challenging, but I was able to use the same amount of weight for this week's workout as I did last week for all the exercises.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Battlestar Galactica: The Remastered Collection

 

This is a box set containing the original Battlestar Galactica series that aired 24 episodes during the 1978/1979 TV season and the 10-episode spinoff series, Galactica 1980, which aired in the winter and spring of 1980. The original series starred Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Maren Jensen, Laurette Spang, John Colicos, Herbert Jefferson, Tony Swartz, Noah Hathaway, and Terry Carter. Jane Seymour had a guest starring role in the first handful of episodes but left the series early in the season, and Ed Begley Jr. had a supporting role in the three-part pilot episode. If you watch the bonus features, you will find out all the male cast members were bumed when Seymour left because they all had the hots for her. Galactica 1980 had an almost entirely new cast, with only Greene and Jefferson reprising their characters from the original series (although Benedict did appear in what would be the series finale). The main cast members in the spinoff series were Kent McCord, Barry Van Dyke, Robyn Douglass, and Robbie Rist.

The plot of both series involves a war between humans from a different galaxy and a race of androids called Cylons. In the pilot episode, the Cylons lure the leaders of the 12 human colonies (planets) to a peace conference, under the guise of negotiating a truce. The Cylons attack the conference and the 12 colonies, virtually wiping out the humans except for the crew of the Galactica, a battleship (called a Battlestar), and several colonial ships with refugees from the various colonies. The remaining ships start on a quest to find a lost 13th colony, Earth (which is in a different galaxy), while trying to avoid Cylon attacks. The original series was canceled after the first season without the Galatica reaching Earth. In the spinoff series, set 30 years after the events of the original series, Galactica arrives at Earth, only to discover humans on Earth are not technologically advanced enough to fight the Cylons. The Galactica drops off two crew members, (McCord and Van Dyke's characters) to integrate with the humans of Earth and help them advance their technology and then leaves the solar system to lead the Cylons away from Earth.

The Blu-Ray set is an eight-disc set. The original series has six discs and Galactica 1980 has two. Only the original series has bonus features. Those include a commentary track on the three-part pilot episode, including Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict. There are deleted scenes and outtakes for most episodes spread across the six discs, and then, on the final disc, a series retrospective that includes interviews with some of the surviving cast members and the series creator, and featurettes on restoring the series in HD. Galactica 1980 does not have any bonus features. The episodes can be played in a "play all" mode and you can pick up where you leave off if you stop in the middle of an episode. The A/V quality is good to excellent, but because computer-generated effects did not exist when the original series aired, you can definitely tell how fake the effects were when watching the series in HD, probably moreso than if you watched the episodes in standard-definition.

The original series is okay, but very dated and cheesy. Galactica 1980 is dated, cheesy, and mostly bad (although it has some okay moments). Neither series is as good as the 2004 reboot, not only because the special effects were not as advanced, but because Sci-Fi series at the time were not taken all that seriously, so the writing was not all that good and the look and feel of both series was very dated. Ultimately, while neither series is great, the original series is a Sci-Fi classic. If you are a fan of the 2004 reboot series, it is interesting to watch these series to see how the 2004 series changed and adapted the storylines and the various characters.     

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 50

Day 50 was the start of week 8 (the final week) in Lift 4. I did Shaun 20's Pure Cardio workout in the morning and then Lift 4's chest and back (circuit) workout in the evening.  I was able to maintain the same weight that I used in the chest and back workout last week. It is basically the same workout, but the exercise order is switched around. It was still a challenge because of having little to no rest between the exercises and only a few seconds of rest between the sets. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 49

On day 49, I again did a higher-impact cardio routine using the 645 cardio workout for timing. I think for the next workout(s), I am going to do Insanity Max 30 in the morning and then Power 90 in the evening. I intend to get myself to a point where I can do the full version of Insanity (probably modified) and P90x (unmodified) as a doubles routine. So, I will modify Max 30 and do Power 90 unmodified. Then, in 90 days, see where I am at. Since Max 30 is only a sixty-day program, I may switch to the full version of Insanity at the end of the 60 days and then pick up with P90x once I finish Power 90, but I will make that decision after I finish Max 30.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 48

Day 48 was the 645 cardio routine. However, I did not do either of the recovery workouts from Lift 4. I just did higher-impact cardio moves using the 645 workout for timing. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 47

Day 47 was Cardio Circuit from Shaun 20 in the morning and Full-Body HIIT from Lift 4 in the evening. Both workouts went well, as I can tell that my stamina and range of motion are improving. Full-body HIIT was very tough. Even the cast members in the video had trouble with this one so even if you are in great shape it is very hard to get through without resting or modifying.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 46

Day 46 was Pure Cardio from Shaun 20 in the morning and Lift 4's shoulders workout in the evening. During Weeks 7 and 8, the shoulder workout is another circuit workout, doing all of the shoulder exercises from the program basically without breaks.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 45

Day 45 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I did the 645 cardio routine in the evening. I did not do either of the Lift 4 recovery routines. The one I have still been slacking during this round is doing the stretching and foam rolling. Once I figure out what workouts I am going to do next, I am going to try to incorporate more flexibility-based routines in.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 44

On Day 44, I did the Cardio Circuit workout from Shaun 20 and the Legs (50/50) workout from Lift 4 in the evening. The big switch for this legs workout is that you do triple sets of lifting and then the HIIT portion is shorter, doing the three exercises for 30 seconds each, and not the 60, 45, 30 second split that you did in the 50/50 workouts for the first six weeks of the program. Again, it was a tough workout and it definitely shocks the body a bit, but I was able to keep using the increased weight throughout each block and set. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 43

Day 43 was the start of Week 7 in Lift 4, which is the first of the two shred weeks in which you switch up what body parts are being worked in the various workouts. In the morning, I did Pure Cardio, and in the evening, it was Chest and Back (circuit) in Lift 4. The circuit workout was very tough (since there was little to no rest until the end), although I was able to use the same amount of weight for all the exercises in each set of the workout.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 42

Day 43 was kind of hectic for me, so I again just did the 645 cardio routine in the late afternoon/early evening without doing either of the Lift 4 recovery routines.  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 41

Day 41 was just the 645 cardio routine. I did the workout in the evening and did not do either of the recovery routines from Lift 4.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: City of Angels

 

City of Angels is a 1998 romantic drama directed by Brad Silberling starring Nicholas Cage, Meg Ryan, Dennis Franz, Andre Braugher, and Colm Feore.  The film is based on, and partially a remake of, the German Film titled Wings of Desire. The movie's premise is that angels walk among us, mostly unseen, guiding and watching over humans. The angels can allow humans to see them when they desire, but humans mostly see the angels when they are sick or dying (in which case, an angel acts as a messenger to walk the humans toward the afterlife). The angels are immortal beings who can become human if they fall from a great height with the will to become human. Nicholas Cage plays an Angel named Seth, who allows Meg Ryan's character, a heart surgeon named Maggie Rice, to see him after she loses a patient on the operating table. He initially keeps his true identity a secret, but as the two fall in love, he contemplates "falling" to turn himself human to be with her.

The Blu-Ray is a single-disc release. The movie looks and sounds good in the HD format, although the film did not get an extensive restoration for the Blu-Ray release, and, as such, the A/V quality is not as good as what a newer movie released on Blu-Ray has. The bonus features include two different commentary tracks on the film, one by the director and one by the Screenwriter, Dana Stevens, and Producer Charles Roven. Both commentary tracks are a bit dry but provide insight into the movie's writing, casting, and production processes. The rest of the extras include deleted scenes (which can be played with or without commentary), a couple of different scene-specific commentaries, one by the director of photography and one by the production designer, a half-hour-long making-of featurette, a featurette on the visual effects, the trailers, and two music videos, one for the song If God Will Send His Angels by U2, and one for the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. Unfortunately, Alanis Morisette's video for Uninvited was not included. Apparently, not all of the bonus content included in the original DVD release was transferred to the Blu-Ray release, which knocks the Blu-Ray release down a star for me. 

The movie is a good romantic drama. Cage and Ryan were at the pinnacle of their careers when the film was made, and both are excellent in their respective roles. The supporting cast does an outstanding job, and Dennis Franz absolutely steals a couple of the scenes he is in. It does feel a bit dated watching it now (2025 as of this writing), but the movie generally holds up well. It can be sappy in parts, and the ending may be predictable for some. Ultimately, however, it is a good movie that is worth watching.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Men in Black: International

 

Men in Black International is a 2019 Sci-Fi action film. It is partly a sequel to and partly a reboot of, the Men In Black movie franchise made famous by the original 1997 film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It stars Tessa Thompson as Agent M, a young woman named Molly who first learned of Aliens and MIB as a young child, and then spent her entire life trying to get "recruited" into the organization. Chris Hemsworth plays Agent H, an MIB agent based in London, who is pretty much a "college bro" like character who ends up being Agent M's partner. The plot involves a possible mole within MIB working to assist an alien life form that can destroy the earth, and Agent M and H trying to stop it. They are joined by Kumail Nanjiani who plays the role of the alien sidekick. The rest of the cast includes Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, and Blaney. The movie is mostly a reboot, given that neither Smith nor Jones makes an appearance in the movie. There is a bit of continuity with Emma Thompson reprising her role as Agent O and cameos by Frank the Pug and the Worm guys. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-ray. The movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The UHD disc just contains the movie, and the regular blu-ray includes the movie and all the extras. The bonus content includes previews, a gag reel (which is actually the first movie-related extra, which is usually not a good sign for how extensive the bonus material will be), deleted/alternate/extended scenes, and then a handful of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes.

Overall, the movie was decent but totally unnecessary. You absolutely do not have to know anything about the prior movies to follow what is going on in this one. I do not think there was any clamor for a reboot to extend the series. That said, the story was okay, if not predictable in parts, and the acting was very good. Hemsworth has no qualms about making fun of himself and did so in this movie much as he did as "Fat Thor" in Avengers Endgame. He and Tessa Thompson had great chemistry, and she definitely shows that she has what it takes to be a lead (or co-lead) character in a big movie. This is not as good as the original movie, or either of the two sequels with the original stars. That said, as its own thing, it told a fun story and had great special effects, as you would expect. While I will not say that the movie is a must-have or must-see if you are a fan of the franchise, it is worth checking out, even if you just choose to stream it.

4k-UHD/Movie Collection Review: Men in Black Trilogy

 

This is a 4k release of the Men in Black trilogy of films (1997's Men in Black, 2002's Men in Black II, and 2012's Men in Black 3) directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This is the franchise that, along with movies like Independence Day, vaulted Will Smith into the status of summer blockbuster movie star. The original trilogy spanned a period of about 15 years, from the 1997 release of the original movie, the 2002 release of Part II, and the 2012 release of Part III. As most are aware, the premise of all the movies is that aliens are living free among humans on Earth, and a shadowy, secret organization called Men in Black keeps track of all the aliens, keeping the peaceful ones safe and in line, policing the non-peaceful ones, and making sure humans are blissfully unaware of their existence. It starred, primarily, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as Agents J and K, respectively, who in all the movies have to stop some kind of plot that will destroy Earth or cause some kind of intergalactic war.

Each movie had a strong supporting cast, including Linda Florentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, Laura Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Patrick Warburton, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, and more. The films (especially Parts II and III) included celebrity cameos (mostly playing aliens), such as Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Yao Ming, and Tim Burton. All of the movies blended a lot of humor, action, and even a bit of drama, and managed to tell unique stories without being carbon copies of each other, which would be very easy to do in a franchise such as this. Smith and Jones, and later Smith and Josh Brolin (who played a young Agent K in Part III) had great chemistry with each other. And, it seemed genuine from the behind-the-scenes material. If their relationships did not work, it would have never become a franchise that moved beyond the original movie. Smith, as a brash younger agent, played extremely well off of Jone's deadpan, curmudgeonly delivery. And in Part III Brolin did a wonderful job playing a version of Agent K that was different from how Jones played him but was able to include elements of what Jones did with the older version.

The 4K set is a six-disc set. The movies look and sound fantastic in the upgraded format. Obviously, Part III looks the best, but even the original is an excellent upgrade over the original DVD release. Each movie has two discs, one UHD disc with just the movie and one regular blu-ray with the movie and extras. Each movie has at least one general behind-the-scenes feature and then several specific featurettes such as, for example, scene breakdowns, how they came up with and made the alien creatures, the special effects, etc. There are also gag reels, trailers, and music videos. Each movie also has a commentary track. A lot of material for those who like going through the extras. The only negative to the set is that the discs are stacked on top of each other in their case (each movie has its own case within the outer box). It is a minor point, but it would have been better packaged so that each disc sat on either side of the case in its own housing. That said, I definitely recommend picking up this set.

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull: Season 6

 

The 22-episode sixth season of Bull aired during the 2021/2022 TV season. It ended up being the show's final season when Michael Weatherly announced early on that he would not return after the sixth season, and the show was canceled. The season started with a huge cast shakeup as Freddy Rodriguez was written out of the series, with the excuse that Benny left NY to marry a woman he had been dating for a month and moved to Italy. It was later revealed that he and the series' showrunner, Glenn Caron, had been let go after some internal investigation. Yara Martinez (who plays Isabella) was promoted to a series regular and was involved in many of the season's storylines. The series does get a few notable guest stars, including Eric Stoltz (who also directed several episodes), and Jill Flint returned to reprise her role as Diana Lindsay in one of the episodes. There was also an episode that included flashbacks from prior seasons of the show, one of which included Cable (Annabelle Attanasio), who was killed off-screen in the first episode of season three.

The DVD set is a five-disc MOD set. The episodes are not captioned, and the only bonus feature is a short gag reel on the fifth disc. There are no deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes material, or series retrospective to wrap up the show. Given all the controversy the show has faced over its run, it is not all that surprising that there was not much in the way of behind-the-scenes material, but usually, when a show that has lasted for six seasons ends, some making-of content is included in the physical media releases. The season was good, but not as good as the first couple of seasons. The writers continued to mix procedural case-of-the-week storylines with serial arcs. Some of the serial arcs were short (just a couple of episodes), while others stretched throughout the season. The final two episodes had a storyline that allowed an excuse for Bull to leave TAC. Ultimately, the writers did a decent job wrapping up the series. Still, because they could not incorporate Benny into the storylines, it never felt that the show had a proper conclusion, given how large a role he played in seasons 1-5. If you stuck with the show up to this point, the final season is still worth watching, but I cannot say that everyone will find it satisfying.  

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Doctor Season 2

 

++++Warning, this will contain season-one spoilers, but no major season-two giveaways++++

The 18-episode second season aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. It picks up shortly after the events of the first season, with Glassman having resigned as president of the hospital because of his brain cancer diagnosis and Dr. Andrews taking over. Shaun is obsessively "helping" Glassman through his treatment and continues his struggle to fit in as a surgeon and as a member of the surgical team.

There are some cast shake-ups this season, with some characters leaving and others getting a more expanded role or upped to series regulars. Most of the main cast members, including Freddie Highmore, Antonia Brown, Paige Spara, Richard Schiff, Hill Harper, and Nicholas Gonzalez, all return. Chuku Modu's character is written out, and Fiona Gubelmann, Chistina Chang, and Will Yun Lee all have expanded roles.  Daniel Dae Kim, who is an executive producer of the show, has a guest-starring arc about 2/3 of the way through the season, which shakes up things for everyone at the hospital. The show does a good job of providing the large ensemble cast with good material to work with and providing depth and development to the characters. We learn more about the backstories of Dr. Park, Dr. Lim, and, to a lesser extent, Dr. Reznick and Dr. Melendez. The season ends not so much on any cliffhangers for the characters but more as a set-up for big season-three storylines.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. The extras include deleted or extended scenes for most episodes, which are included as special features on each disc. Then, there is a gag reel and a handful of short behind-the-scenes features on the final disc. Excluding the deleted scenes, there are about 20 minutes of material and 45 minutes, give or take, if you include the deleted scenes. So, it has a decent amount of extras compared to what is being put out with the ever-fewer series that get physical media releases. One thing to keep in mind if you are in the United States is that only seasons 1-3 received a Region 1 release on DVD. The remaining seasons are available in Region 2 releases, so you need a Region 2 or Region-free DVD or Blu-Ray player to watch those (and likely pay a higher price for the DVD sets). 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Gotham Season 5

 

++++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season and some hints, but no major giveaways for season 5+++++

The 12-episode fifth season of Gotham aired during the winter and spring of 2019. It is, of course, the final season of the only DC superhero show that was never tied to the other shows of the Arrowverse (although there was a quick shot of the Queen Consolidated logo that flashed on a building during season 1). With the infinite Earths storyline that has been building on the other shows, there is a strong possibility that it was just set on an alternate Earth than the other shows. Still, it was never definitively tied to the Arrowverse during its run.

From the beginning, Gotham has been telling origin stories for the various characters that would eventually be part of the Batman universe. It has really been the first live-action telling of the story during the period from when Bruce Wayne's parents were killed until he becomes Batman. The show would have benefitted from a 10-season run to give David Mazouz time to grow up to a point where he could believably be Batman. Even though he got taller throughout the series's run, at age 19 (as he was during this season), he was still not very muscular, and he still looked like a teenager, so it was hard to buy him as being intimidating in the suit.

The final season picks up months after the events that ended season 4. For most of the season, up through episode 11, the show did its take on the "No Man's Land" story from the comics. It was a very different telling of that story from the version shown in The Dark Knight Rises, the final film of the Nolan Trilogy of movies. You must suspend disbelief to buy the story as a whole, given that a few bridges blowing up would not really be enough to keep help from coming in, getting people out, etc. That said, it was very well done and did provide a way to introduce Bane, played by Shane West, into the story. That part of the season was mostly about tying up that last storyline, introducing some new elements (such as the birth of Barbara Gordon, who will become Batgirl), and resolving storylines of the various villains.

The final episode does a time jump. It will not be giving anything away to say we see Batman in the final episode. That much was given away before the season even started. It was a decent series finale, but it did feel a bit too rushed. It should have been a two-hour finale with more interactions between the characters. After watching it again, I know why the showrunners made the choices in the final episode they did, but it may leave some people unsatisfied. The big controversy surrounding the final episode was recasting Selina and replacing Cameron Bicondova with Lilli Simmons (probably best known for the series Banshee). Bincondova has said that it was her choice not to play the older Selina, and to me, given Selina's role in the finale, it was not a huge deal.

Overall, I think the show did a good job with the shortened season and ultimately took the story where the writers and producers intended it to go. That said, I do think that because there were 10 fewer episodes than the usual 22 episodes, the writers were trying to pack a ton of material into the limited number of episodes to give all the characters a show that at least highlighted, if not was centered, around them, that it did not tell the story as well as it could have been told.

For those who get the blu-rays, the 12 episodes are on two discs. They are (thankfully) the blu-ray sets that allow you to play all and pick up where you leave off if you stop midway through an episode. The extras include deleted scenes from some episodes, a portion of the NY comic-con panel with some of the actors and producers, a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette on the final season, and a 38-minute featurette on various DC comic villains (not only from the show, but the other DC shows like Arrow, Flash, and Krypton). So, it has a pretty good amount of bonus content, especially considering how light some TV series sets being released on physical media these days are on bonus features.

Overall, it was a good show that had a pretty good run. I cannot say everyone will like how the show ended, but given that there was no guarantee that the show would even get a final season, I think they did the best they could with the number of shows they had to work with.

Product Review: LED Stop Sign Parking Assistant for Garage with Flashing Signal

 

This is a parking assist stand for a garage. It is excellent for a garage setup with shelving on the back wall in front of where your car pulls in (especially if you have boxes or bins underneath the shelving). If, when you pull into the garage, it is hard to tell exactly how close you are to the edge of the shelf or the boxes, you can put this in front of what you don't want to bump with the car. It has a wide base and then two poles that connect to each other. Once the poles are connected, one end connects to the base, and the stop sign connects to the top of the other pole. The stop sign starts flashing when you bump the pole with your car. 

This works as intended but could be better in a couple of ways. First, the poles push together, and it is challenging to get them to stay together as you assemble them. It would be more secure and less flimsy if the poles screwed together. Second, although the base is wide, it is not heavy. I put a brick on top of the base behind the pole to keep it from sliding on the garage floor when I bump it. Ultimately, it is decent and works as it should, but a couple design changes would make it better.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 40

On day 40, I did the "Ass and Abs" workout from Shaun 20 (which is the last workout in that program I had not yet done) and Legs (HIIT) from Lift 4 in the evening. The Shaun 20 workout is another circuit workout with two blocks that you repeat twice. You do need a moderate sized weight for some exercises. Each circuit has four exercises consisting of two leg exercises and two ab exercises. You do each exercise for one minute and get a break after you have done all three exercises and then between the two circuits. The Lift 4 workout was challenging even though, aside from triple bear, it did not have the most challenging HIIT moves in the programs.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 39

Day 39 was the Pure Cardio workout from Shaun 20 in the morning and Shoulders (Intervals) from Lift 4 in the evening. I found the shoulder workout was a lot more challenging than last week. So, although I started with the same amount of weight for each exercises as I used last week, I had to reduce the amount of weight I used for most of the exercises by the third set in each block (aside from shoulder presses and upright rows).  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 38

Day 38 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I did 645 cardio in the evening followed by the Lift 4 stretch routine. Both went fine, and because I just did one workout today, I did higher-impact and more difficult versions of the exercises in the cardio routine. 

Product Review: Outlaw 68 Inch Console

 

This is a TV stand/storage console that I purchased from Slumberland (which you can find at https://www.slumberland.com/products/outlaw-68-inch-console). It comes fully assembled and is packed well to keep it protected. It has a fantastic distressed look and three color options: saddle (shown in the picture), navy, and black. I bought it to store DVDs and Blu-Rays, which it is ideally suited for. There is a single shelf in each door and the middle, so you essentially get upper and lower shelves perfectly spaced apart for holding DVDs, Blu-Rays, or books. So, for you movie and TV series collectors, you can easily store over 150 discs on the console (if you have a mix of single discs and larger box sets). If you do not have many box sets, you can store closer to 200 discs. 

If you want to use it as a TV stand, it can easily hold a 65-inch TV, and slots are cut in the back to thread cords through to make cord management easy. It is reasonably priced at $350. It is made from solid (real) wood and is heavy (130 lbs). If you live alone, especially if you have to get it up and down stairs, you can pay extra for full-service delivery to have the delivery crew put it where you want it and take the packaging away. So, if you are looking for a well-made, reasonably priced console, this is well worth the price. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull Season 4

 

The 20-episode fourth season of Bull aired during the 2019/2020 TV season. It picks up months down the line from the events of the third season finale with Bull and Benny's big blowout over the revelation that Bull slept with Benny's sister. Benny is out of TAC taking any case that will come his way, and Bull is trying to find a replacement lawyer without much success. As you can expect, they eventually work things out, and things mostly return to normal at TAC.

The show continues to use a mostly procedural case-of-the-week format. The writers juggle the storylines for the large cast well, giving every character either a storyline or at least an episode centered on them. There is much less focus on TAC's jury selection process this season. In fact, it is skipped in some episodes, which generally makes the episodes flow better. The writers also tackle some real-world topics like the college admissions scandal and the myriad of high-profile sexual abuse/harassment cases, which is kind of ironic given the allegations made by Eliza Dushku against Weatherly after her recurring role in prior seasons.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The extras include commentary tracks on the first episode and the episode that Weatherly directed. Then, there is a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette featuring interviews with the cast and crew, mainly focused on having to end the season early because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not a ton of bonus material, but more than is included for the handful of shows that still get physical media releases. The AV quality is definitely not as good as Blu-Ray sets, but a lot better than most MOD DVD sets.

Ultimately, the season is good. The show continues to be well-written and acted. You will probably like this one if you have been a fan of the show's prior seasons. On the other hand, if the show has not done much for you up to this point, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: The Karate Kid 3 & The Next Karate Kid

 

This Blu-Ray release contains 1989's Karate Kid Part III and 1994's Next Karate Kid. These are probably the two "universally" thought of worst movies in the Karate Kid franchise. While Part II was an excellent follow-up to the original film that rivaled it in quality, these two most decidedly did not. I personally think Part III is worse than The Next Karate Kid, but they both fit nicely in the category of "hot garbage" for me.

Part III is the last movie with Ralph Macchio, who reprises his role as Daniel Larusso. It picks up shortly after he and Miyagi return from Okinawa. We are not really told how long that was, but long enough that the Cobra Kai dojo has essentially gone out of business. Most likely, it was set about 6 months after their return from Okinawa because the next All-Valley Tournament occurs at the end of the movie. Kreese (Martin Kove) has mounting bills and no students but is bailed out by his wealthy friend, Terry Silver, played in an extremely over-the-top way by Thomas Ian Griffith. Think 1990s Jim Carrey hammy overacting at its worst. They hatch a plan to get revenge on Daniel and Miyagi by having "The Bad Boy of Karate" (I kid you not), Mike Barnes (played by Sean Kanan) try to get Daniel to register for the tournament so he can take his title. Because, of course, he "needs" the title. Yes, the plot is that stupid.

The Next Karate Kid sees Hillary Swank take over the role of the Karte Kid and be taught by Miyagi. I will not even try to describe the nonsensical plot, but it is set in Boston, and the new Cobra Kai is a bunch of paramilitary high school students led by Michael Ironside, who essentially leads a security force at the local high school.

You definitely do not get these movies expecting cinematic greatness. Although, I know there are people out there who think they are quality films. In my opinion, they are good for a bit of nostalgia and laughing at the absurdity of the plots and the comically bad acting. The blu-ray transfers are not great quality at all, and there are no extras. Just the two movies on one disc. No behind-the-scenes material or even captions.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 37

Day 37 was the back and biceps (50/50) workout in Lift 4 (which I did in the evening) and the Cardio Circuit workout from Shaun 20. Both workouts went okay. I was able to use the increased weight for all sets of the lifting exercises in each block of exercises in Lift 4, although it was a challenge to finish off the wide biceps curls in the last set.  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 36

Day 36 was the start of week 6 in Lift 4, so I did the Pure Cardio routine from Shaun 20 in the morning and the Chest and Triceps (circuit) routine from Lift 4 in the evening. I started the first set in both blocks of the Lift 4 workout using the same increased weight as last week, but I had to reduce the amount of weight I was using for some of the exercises by the third set. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Bull Season 3

 

The 22-episode third season of Bull aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. It picks up months after the end of season two, which ended with Bull having a heart attack on the courthouse steps. Of course, he survives, but it is revealed he has been down in Arizona, getting in shape and stopping drinking. If you watch the bonus material, you will know it was planned out because Michael Weatherly expressed his plan to the showrunners to get back in shape, so they wrote the heart attack storyline. When he returns to NY, he finds some changes, some big, some small, have occurred in his absence at TAC. From there, the show mainly follows the "case of the week" format that it used in seasons one and two, but with less focus on jury selection and the mirror jurors as in the first two seasons and just get into the cases.

As most are aware, there is a major plotline at the beginning of the season, which was necessitated by one of the main cast members leaving to take a directing job. I will not give away who the person is and how the person is written off, but the storyline is wrapped up pretty early on. As the season goes on, all the characters get a chance to shine in their own stories, even if for just an episode. The show continues to do a good job juggling a large ensemble cast. There are some soap opera-like moments, mainly involving Bull's personal life, that get mixed into the weekly storylines, but the show's focus is still on the cases. The season does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but different than last year's.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. The episodes can be played either in a "play all" mode or individually. The extras include deleted and extended scenes for select episodes, but the only way to see them is to play the episodes one at a time. They are not listed as separate special features, and if you do the play-all mode, it just kicks you to the main menu at the end of the last episode on the disc, and you will never see which episodes have deleted scenes. The remaining bonus content includes about 30 minutes of making-of, and behind-the-scenes material is included on the last disc. Not surprisingly, there was no mention of the allegations of Eliza Dushku against Michael Weatherly stemming from her short arc at the end of season one, despite it causing at least some controversy during season three.

Overall, if you have enjoyed the prior seasons, chances are you will enjoy this one unless you really liked the jury selection process that was a huge focus of the first two seasons. As I said above, that gets cuts way back this season. The show still does take some of the shortcuts that all legal dramas take, and while it does get some of the legal stuff correct, it is not perfect. That will probably only bug the lawyers out there, however. The acting and writing remain good, and I think the writers keep the show interesting. So, ultimately, if you liked the first couple of seasons this one is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon: The Complete Series

 

Young Sheldon is the prequel series to the popular comedy series The Big Bang Theory (BBT), set around the character of Sheldon Cooper (played by Jim Parsons in the parent series) as a child. It aired for seven seasons from 2017 to 2024. Most of the series is set in the late 1980s to early 1990s, starting with Sheldon starting high school at the age of nine and ending when he goes to college at Caltech at the age of fifteen. The show stars Ian Armitage as the titular young Sheldon, Raegan Revord as Sheldon's twin sister, Missy, Montana Jordan as Sheldon's older brother George Jr./Georgie, Annie Potts as Sheldon's grandmother, Connie (who everyone calls Meemaw), Lance Barber as Sheldon's father, George Sr., and Zoe Perry as Sheldon's mother, Mary. Jim Parsons narrates the series (and appears live in the final episode) in the guise of writing his memoir.

The casting choices of Barber and Perry are interesting. In BBT, Barber played a minor character as Leonard's high-school bully. Perry is the real-life daughter of Laurie Metcalf, who played the older version of Mary in BBT. Thus, Perry looked and sounded very much like a younger version of the character her mother played. Unfortunately, the writers missed a golden opportunity to joke about Sheldon's dad looking exactly like his roommate's high school bully. Emily Osment joined the cast as a recurring character in season five and was promoted to a series regular for the final two seasons.  The show also has a strong supporting, guest, and recurring cast, including Matt Hobby, Wyatt McClure, Wallace Shawn, McKenna Grace, Melissa Peterman, Wendie Malick, Sarah Baker, Reba McEntire, Brian Stepanek, Rex Linn, Ryan Phuong, Craig T. Nelson, Jason Alexander, Richard Kind, Ed. Begley Jr., Doc Farrow, David Hasselhoff, and Robert Picardo. Some members of the BBT cast also appear in voice roles. Kaley Cuoco voices a swimming pool in Sheldon's nightmare, Simon Helberg voices his character Howard from the BBT, and Mayim Bialik voices her character Amy in a couple of Sheldon's narrations. Bialik also appears live in the series finale along with Parsons.

The Blu-Ray set is a 14-disc set with two discs per season. It comes in a large keep case and an outer slipcover. The discs are held in tabs that can be difficult to remove the discs from at times, and at other times the discs fall off them. Some seasons include bonus features such as behind-the-scenes material featuring interviews with cast and crew members. A couple of the seasons do not have any bonus content. The A/V quality of the Blu-ray discs is excellent. Although the series does not rely much on special effects, it looks and sounds great in HD. The content of the discs is the same as the single-season releases, so you do not get anything different if you already have those.

The series is very different from BBT. Where BBT is a straight sitcom filmed in front of an audience and uses a laugh track, Young Sheldon is filmed more like a movie and includes much more drama in the storylines than the parent series did. I would say the series looks and feels more like The Wonder Years than it does BBT.  While the character of Sheldon is the focus of the series, especially early on, because of the time frame it is set in, it can focus on the other characters. While all the actors do a great job with their characters, Potts and Revord are great early in the series, stealing nearly every scene they are in. Throughout the series, the character of Georgie probably changes the most, and Montana Jordan does a fantastic job as the series goes along. 

Several easter eggs in the series refer to or connect with things from BBT, such as the origin of Bazinga, why Sheldon uses the word coitus, and how he came up with the three-knocks routine. And, for those who were kids in the 80s and 90s, there are some great blasts from the past. The writers also retcon and/or add context to some elements of Sheldon's past referred to in BBT, the largest being Sheldon's reference to seeing his father kissing another woman. The series is well-written and very well-acted. Armitage and Perry did an excellent job making their characters (the two characters seen most in BBT) their own without copying everything Jim Parsons and Laurie Metcalf did. Lance Barber was wonderful as a charming, caring, and tough father who struggles to understand Sheldon, struggles to connect with Missy, and wants more for Georgie. While you do not need to have seen BBT to follow what is going on in Young Sheldon, it does help to have watched BBT first. It is worth noting that Parson's narrations reveal things that happened to Sheldon after BBT ended, which may spoil that series for people watching Young Sheldon first. Ultimately, if you liked or loved BBT, this is a must-watch. If you just like period shows or wholesome family shows, regardless of whether you liked or even watched BBT, this is also worth watching.        

Book Review: Use of Force (Scot Harvath Series #16)

 

Use of Force, published in 2017, is the 16th book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thriller novels written by Brad Thor. The plot of this novel involves a series of terrorist attacks in Europe after the body of a terrorist suspect washes ashore in Italy after a distress call is received by the Italian coast guard. The CIA hires Harvath on a black ops contract to provide the government deniability for his actions as he investigates the attacks. Intertwined with that storyline is an internal US plot that involves the surveillance of the CIA director and the head of the Carlton group, Reed Carlton. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 350 pages. It reads much like the other novels in the series, so it will read as quickly or as slowly as the other books (assuming you have read them). While it is not imperative to read the other novels in the series to follow the plot of this one, Thor does refer to events from the prior books from time to time. He also does not provide the main characters' backstories as those have been fleshed out in the previous books. So, it does help to read the prior novels to understand who all the characters are. Ultimately, the book tells a good story and blends action and suspense with some humor. If you are a fan of action thrillers, spy novels, and/or Thor's prior books in the series, this one is worth your time to read.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 35

On day 35, I did the 645 cardio routine, followed by the Lift 4 stretch routine. Both went fine, although I admit I did not go all out on the Lift 4 workout, mainly because I was having streaming issues. But, I was able to get it done.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 34

On day 34, I just did the 645 cardio routine in the evening. I again did the workout a bit later than I anticipated, so I did not end up doing either of the recovery workouts.  

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 33

Day 33 was Cardio Circuit from Shaun 20 and Legs (50/50) in the evening. As with the other Lift 4 workouts this week, I increased the amount of weight I used for each exercise in the lifting portion of the workout. And, I was able to keep using the increased weight for all the sets in each block. The HIIT portion of the workout was hard, one of the hardest in the program, so I still had to modify this one a lot. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 32

Day 32 was Pure Cardio from Shaun 20 in the morning and Lift 4's shoulders (intervals) workout in the evening. Both went well, and I continue to get better cardio stamina. In the Lift 4 workout, I increased the amount of weight I was using, but I did have to go back to a lower weight for a couple of the exercises after the first set with the increased weight. 

DVD/Movie Review: Chasers

 

Chasers is a 1994 comedy directed by Dennis Hopper and starring Tom Berenger, William McNamara, and original Baywatch babe and former model Erika Elaniak. The supporting cast included Crispin Glover, Dean Stockwell, and Gary Busey. Hopper also made a minor but funny appearance about 2/3 of the way into the movie. The film is part buddy-cop, part chase, and part romantic comedy. In it, two Navy shore patrollers (the Navy's version of military police and security), Eddie Devane (McNamara), who is a day away from being discharged, and Rock Reilly (Berenger), are assigned to transport prisoner Toni Johnson (Elaniak) from Camp Lejeune to their base, where she is to be transported to prison. She keeps trying to escape detention, causing a series of mishaps along the way. Along the way, Eddie and Toni fall in love, and he regrets having to turn her in.

The DVD is very bare-bones. It can be played with English captions, and the only bonus feature is the movie's trailer. The best way to describe the film is good but not great. The story is a bit predictable and formulaic, but it does have some funny moments. Berenger plays a great, no-nonsense but somewhat out-of-touch grump, and Elaniak and McNamara had pretty good chemistry (and both were ridiculously good-looking). Elaniak was a couple of years removed from Baywatch and absolutely gorgeous. The movie has a lot of swearing, some sexual content, and nudity. Elaniak is in lingerie a couple of times during the film, and there is a sex scene between McNamara and Elaniak about halfway into the movie where she is topless and shows her ass. So, it does earn its R-rating. While it is not the greatest movie ever, it does not try to be more than it is, and it has some entertaining moments. It is worth checking out as long as you don't expect it to be something it is not. 

DVD/TV Series Review: The Finder: The Complete Series

 

The Finder was a procedural drama that was a midseason replacement during the 2011/2012 TV season. It was a quasi-spinoff of the series Bones (and was developed by the series creator of Bones, Hart Hanson) and aired during Bones' timeslot when Bones was on hiatus. It was not a direct spinoff of Bones as none of the major characters from Bones joined the show as a series regular; however, John Francis Daley and T.J. Thyne each made guest appearances as their characters from Bones, and the series actually received a backdoor pilot during the sixth season of Bones. It only received a 13-episode initial pickup and was canceled without any additional episodes being ordered. The series suffered low ratings, likely due in part to the lack of star power in the cast and the fact that FOX, much like it did with the series Firefly, aired the episodes out of their intended order, so the story did not flow as well. 

The series starred Geoff Stults, Mercedes Mason, Maddie Hasson, and Michael Clarke Duncan in the leading roles. Stults played Walter Sherman, an Iraq war vet who retired after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a roadside blast that killed all the members of his unit and that allowed him to see connections and a compulsive desire to find things (as well as turning him into an eccentric recluse). Duncan plays Leo Knox, a former attorney who manages a bar and acts as Walter's manager, bodyguard, and legal advisor. Mason plays a US Marshal named Isabel Zambada, who has a friends-with-benefits relationship with Walter and helps with his cases. She is also putting herself through law school with the goal of becoming Attorney General of the United States. Maddie Hasson plays Willa Monday, a juvenile delinquent Romani gypsy who is part of a Romani crime family and betrothed to another member who she does not want to marry. She lives in a trailer on Leo's property and works in the bar while on probation. The show had a strong guest cast and recurring cast, including Eric Roberts, Amy Aquino, Jodi Lynn O'Keefe, Annette O'Toole, John Ashton, John Fogerty (who was also the music supervisor for the show), Nestor Serrano, Patrick Fabian, and Kelly Carlson.

The DVD set is a four-disc Region 2 set, meaning you need either a region-free or a Region 2 (European) DVD or Blu-Ray player to watch and play the discs. The episodes can be played with English captions, and there are about 20 minutes of bonus material on the fourth disc. The bonus features include a making-of featurette with interviews with the showrunners and cast members and a featurette on the Hodgins-centric episode featuring an interview with T.J. Thyne. 

The series is well-written, has a nice blend of humor and drama, and is very well-acted. It blends procedural case-of-the-week stories with serial arcs that span throughout the season. The writers did a good job developing the characters in the short run of episodes it received before it was canceled. Because it was canceled after 13 episodes, the mid-season finale became the series finale and ended on multiple cliffhangers, leaving several characters in limbo. So, just be aware that if you like the show, it does not end satisfyingly. Of course, even if the show had finished the first season and been picked up for a second season, Michael Clarke Duncan (who was the most recognizable cast member when the series premiered) passed away in September of 2012, and the series would have had a hard time continuing without him. Even though the series does not get a proper conclusion (it would have been nice if it could have received a proper wrap-up by featuring the cast members on Bones after it was canceled), it is still an entertaining series worth watching.       

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 31

Day 31 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I just did the 645 cardio routine in the evening. I had intended to do at least one of the Lift 4 recovery workouts, but I ended up working out later than expected, so I just did the single workout. 

4k-UHD/TV Movie Review: Battlestar Galactica

 

This is a TV movie version of the three-part premiere (the pilot episode and the two-part Saga of a Star World) of the original 1978 Sci-Fi series Battlestar Galactica, starring Lorne Green, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Maren Jensen, Jane Seymour, Terry Carter, Laurette Spang-McCook, Rick Springfield, and Ed Begley Jr. (the latter two in smaller roles). This is essentially an edited version of the pilot episode of the TV series titled Saga of a Star World, with an alternate ending from what was shown in the series. The series would have been quite different if the movie ending had been used. It is set in a distant galaxy and involves a war between twelve human colonies and a race of robots called Cylons. The Cylons present a peace offer, and representatives of the twelve colonies and several Battlestar ships arrive for armistice talks. Commander Adama (played by Green), the commander of the Battlestar Galactica, suspects a trap, which the Cylons spring, destroying most of the fleet and killing the council of twelve. Adama uses the Galactica to rescue as many humans from the colonial worlds as possible. Then they set off to find the legendary 13th human colony, Earth, all while battling (and trying to avoid) the Cylons. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc (the original Blu-Ray version of the movie released in 2013). Both discs have the same content, just the movie and no bonus features. The video quality of the UHD disc is excellent. It does have some film grain, but the video is crisp and clear (mostly), which is sometimes a detriment because the special effects back in the late 1970s were not great (at least by today's standards). In general, the shots set on the planets and ships look fantastic, while the space battles did not look as good. Many of the costumes and makeup for various aliens look very cheesy, and you can tell how fake everything was when you see it in 4k resolution. The audio is okay, but not great. The same 2.1-channel surround track created for the 2013 Blu-Ray release is on the UHD disc and was not upgraded for the 4K release.

Ultimately, I would say the movie is okay but absolutely dated. If you have watched the 2003 reboot, you will recognize elements from the plot that were incorporated into the pilot episode for the rebooted series. While I have not watched the entire original series yet, this is definitely not as good as any of the episodes in the rebooted series. Part of that is, of course, due to the limits on special effects at the time. CGI did not exist in 1978, and even practical effects and makeup were more limited back then than they are now. Even so, this is a Sci-Fi classic, and if you liked the 2003 series, this is worth watching, if nothing else, to see the differences between the original series and the reboot.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 30

Day 30 was the cardio circuit workout from Shaun 20 in the morning and the back and biceps (circuit) workout in the evening. In the Lift 4 workout, I again raised the weight I was using for the various exercises by a couple of pounds. I was able to use the increased weight for almost every set, except the last two sets of full curls in the burnout round. I started with 17.5 lbs, but had to drop to 15 for the second and third sets. Overall, however, the workout was great. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon: Season 7

 

The 14-episode seventh and final season of Young Sheldon aired during the spring of 2024. The series was given a shorter season to wrap up the various storylines, which primarily involved getting Sheldon to Caltech and dealing with the significant death that Those who watched The Big Bang Theory always knew was coming. Within those major arcs, we also see the aftermath of the tornado that destroyed Connie's house at the end of Season 6. We also see Sheldon's summer in Germany, where he was not the smartest person in his class for once, and we see Connie get busted (finally) for running the illegal gambling room at the back of the laundromat and video store. The writers also focus on Georgie and Mandy's relationship and acclimation to being parents, which sets the stage for their spin-off show. We also learn that adult Sheldon's narration during the series is due to him writing his memoir as he has been going through the events of his childhood. 

All the main cast members returned for this season, and the show brought back several of the supporting and recurring cast members, including some who had not been seen in a while, such as Ryan Phoung, Mary Grill, and Reba McEntire. Jason Alexander and McKenna Grace were the only two major recurring cast members who did not appear this season. This season, the two notable guest stars were Robert Picardo, who played Sheldon's German professor, and Octavia Spencer, who played Connie's parole officer. Mayim Bialik and Jim Parsons also appear in the series finale (live, not just with voiceover roles). 

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The episodes can be played with English captions, and the second disc has one bonus feature. The only extra is a featurette on the easter eggs in the series that tied Young Sheldon to the Big Bang Theory. It ends up being a series retrospective and includes interviews with cast members and showrunners. The season is very good. The writers do an excellent job wrapping up the series and retconning the storyline we thought we would get (and they teased) about George cheating on Mary. We get the full context for what happened when Sheldon walked in on his father kissing another woman (which he mentioned in The Big Bang Theory) and see the origin of his "three knocks" routine. The end of the series was very emotional, especially the first part of the series finale, and the cast did a wonderful job in their roles, as usual. The final scene, with Sheldon arriving at Caltech, was perfect (and included a cameo appearance by David Saltzberg, the science consultant for both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon). Ultimately, if you liked the show's first six seasons, this is absolutely worth your time to watch to see how it (and the vast majority of Sheldon's arc) is concluded.

DVD/Movie Review: Can't Hardly Wait: 10 Year Reunion Edition

 

Can't Hardly Wait is the underrated and often overlooked late 1990s coming-of-age teen comedy. It is overlooked mainly because American Pie was released a year later and became a massive hit and franchise. This movie, released in 1998, was co-written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose, and Peter Facinelli. The supporting cast includes several recognizable faces (especially if you grew up watching TV and movies in the 1990s or early 2000s), including some who would become stars and/or appear in more prominent roles. They included Jason Segel, Jamie Pressly, Sean Patrick Thomas, Freddy Rodriguez, Donald Faison, Chris Owen, Selma Blair, Amber Benson, Clea Duvall, Breckin Meyer, and Eric Balfour. Jenna Elfman and Jerry O'Connell, who were more recognizable than the rest of the cast when the movie came out, had cameo appearances in the film. 

The movie is set during a graduation party in which all of the various high-school cliques show up. Several storylines occur in the movie, including Seth Green's character Kenny/Special K trying to get laid, the school geek Preston, finally taking his shot with the girl who doesn't know he exists (JLH's character, Amanda) who he has been pining after since freshman year and has just been dumped by the mega jock, Mike Dexter (played by Facinelli). Dexter is the subject of a humiliation plot by a group of nerds. Some of the storylines intertwine, and some are kept separate. Green is hilarious in the movie as the typical white suburban kid who thinks he is black, trying too hard to impress everyone. Hewitt does not do much in the film (besides looking pretty) until the end, and Facinelli plays a great asshole. It ultimately becomes a story of old friends reuniting, people from different high-school groups discovering (at least for a few moments) that they have something in common, and the guy trying to get the girl of his dreams. All mixed in with graduation party debauchery. 

The DVD release has many extras, including just under an hour of featurettes filmed in 2008, including interviews with Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont and several cast members discussing the film and what they think their characters would be doing ten years later. Then, there are deleted and extended scenes, the music video for Smash Mouth's "Can't Get Enough of You Baby," which featured members of the cast and clips from the movie, and two different commentary tracks on the film, one done for the original DVD release and one for the 2008 re-release. Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, and Seth Green participated in both commentaries, and in the 1998 commentary, Faison, Facinelli, and Joel Michaely (one of the nerds) participated. In the original commentary track, Green started out using a British accent and seemed content to do it the entire time until Kaplan told him the joke was getting old, which Green brought up in the 2008 commentary. In the special features menu, a Special K 411 edition is listed, which appears to be another commentary track that would just feature Green in-character commenting on the movie, but it just plays the original 1998 commentary track again. 

Ultimately, the movie is a well-written and acted comedy that mixes in some drama. It does feel dated now, and certainly, some of the jokes they used would not be used today. It was not as raunchy as American Pie, and while there was some sex and a lot of swearing and drinking, there was no nudity. Most of the actual drinking was kept off-camera to keep the movie PG-13, and when we did see people drink, the actor was drinking non-alcoholic beer. Overall, the movie was pretty tame, especially by today's standards. While I would not say that it is as good as American Pie (or any of the American Pie movies with the main cast members) or that it is the best film in the coming-of-age comedy genre. That said, it is enjoyable and absolutely worth watching.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 29

Day 29 was Pure Cardio from Shaun 20 and Lift 4's Chest and Triceps (50/50) workout. This was the start of week 5 in Lift 4, which meant increasing the weight for the lifting exercises again. I increased the weight I used for each exercise by another 2.5 lbs, which was challenging but doable.  

DVD/TV Series Review: The Librarians Season 4

 

The ten-episode fourth and final season of The Librarians aired from the winter of 2017 to the spring of 2018. Although it was not intended to be, this ended up being the final season of The Librarians, which was spun off from the various made-for-TV movies that Noah Wyle made after he left ER. The fourth season essentially followed the prior seasons in that it set up the major storyline of the season in the first episode, then had story-of-the-week episodes as fillers while interweaving the larger story arc here and there. I will not go into the major story arc too much, just to say it involves a former guardian whose loyalties are questioned.

The show continued to give all the characters depth and balanced out the storylines for them well. We finally got a Jenkins-centric episode (which was directed by Lindy Booth), which John Larroquette knocked out of the park. Wyle also has a larger role this season since he was not splitting time between this show and the series Falling Skies as he was in the prior seasons. Rebecca Romijn, John Kim, Christian Kane, and Lindy Booth all do great jobs with their characters, and the series continued to be well-written and acted. This season's guest and recurring stars include Rachel Nichols, John Noble, Richard Kind, Steven Weber, and Gloria Reuben, among others.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. The extras this season include writer and director blogs for select episodes and commentary tracks on every episode (usually with the writer and director of the particular episode and sometimes with one or more members of the cast). A decent amount of material, but not as much as there had been in prior seasons. You do learn, if you listen to the commentary for the final episode, that they just found out before recording it that TNT had canceled the show. While the season was not written to be the final season, and the last episode was not written to be a series finale, the show, thankfully, did not end on a major cliffhanger this year, so you are not left wondering about a storyline or an event that will not have a payoff. You are, however, left to wonder where the show would have gone as a next step.

Overall, the show is well-written and acted. I did not feel like it was getting too stale, and I think it could have easily had another season. It would have been nice if the showrunners were given a season that they knew would be the last one to see exactly how they would have ended the show with a proper series finale. Dean Devlin had held out hope that the show would get picked up by another network, but so far, it does not seem like it will happen now that we are two years (as of this writing) removed from the cancelation, plus the complication COVID has on the shooting schedules for all the shows and movies that were in production when the pandemic shut everything down. And, given the show had more of a cult following than it ever had mass popularity, I do not think it will likely be picked up. But, if you are a fan of the show, it is definitely worth checking out the season, even knowing that you will not get a true series finale.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 28

Day 28's workout was again the 645 cardio routine, modified with different exercises. For this workout, I worked in the jump knee switches from P90x's plyo routine and switch kicks from Insanity while still doing soccer runs and speed skaters from Lift 4.  And, on the pulse squats I did the full jumps and not just lifting onto my toes.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Shaun 20/645 Cardio hybrid: Day 27

On Day 27, I did the 645 cardio routine. I did not do either of the Lift 4 recovery workouts, however. Since this was an off day from the second workout, I did a higher-impact version of the workout and incorporated switch kicks from Insanity into the routine. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon: Season 6

 

The 22-episode sixth season of Young Sheldon aired during the 2022/2023 TV season. The show continues to blend procedural and serial story arcs, although this season the focus was more on the serial arcs. Most of the season's serial storyline involves Mandy's (played by Emily Osment, who was promoted to a series regular) pregnancy and her relationship with Georgie and the family. We also meet Mandy's parents, played by Will Sasso and Rachel Bay Jones. George and Mary's relationship troubles come to a head when George's feelings for Brenda and Mary's feelings for Pastor Rob come to a head. Missy and Sheldon also have substantial story arcs this season, with Missy's involving teenage angst and Sheldon working on an invention while trying to position himself for grad school. Connie's storylines intertwine with Georgie and Mandy. She gives Mandy a job and a place to stay while running her illegal gambling operation. All of the series regulars return for the sixth season, as do many of the significant supporting and recurring cast, including McKenna Grace, Wallace Shawn, Ed Begley Jr., Rex Linn, Matt Hobby, Craig T. Nelson, Doc Farrow, Wendie Malick, Melissa Peterman, and Wyatt McClure. And, of course, Jim Parsons continues to narrate the series.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. There are no bonus features with the physical media release this season, but the episodes can be played with English captions. The lack of bonus content on the Blu-Ray release is disappointing, but since not all shows get a physical media release (especially a Blu-Ray release), it is better than nothing for those who prefer physical media.

The show continues to have an excellent blend of drama and humor. The writers do a great job continuing to develop all the characters, especially Georgie. Montana Jordan is wonderful in all his scenes this year and has really run with his expanded role beyond just being the "other kid" as he was in the first few seasons. Unlike the first few seasons, Sheldon is not the focus of every episode, which is ultimately good because it gives the other actors more to work with. Ian Armitage still does an excellent job with his version of Sheldon, which is still quite different from The Big Bang Theory version of the character. However, now that Armitage is getting older and his voice has changed, it is a bit weird because he sounds nothing like Jim Parsons which is only emphasized when you hear Parson's voice. Ultimately, if you liked seasons 1-5, this season is worth watching.