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. 

Friday, March 21, 2025

Blu-Ray/TV series review: Charmed (2018): Season 4

 


The 13-episode fourth and final season of the Charmed reboot series aired during the spring and summer of 2022. It only received a partial season pickup for the fourth season and was canceled as the fourth season episodes were airing (and likely had mostly been filmed). This season sees major turnover in the cast, with Madeleine Mantock and Poppy Drayton both leaving the series. Much of the storyline in the fourth season involves Mel, Maggie, and Harry dealing with Macy's death and the arrival of a new Charmed One named Kaela, played by Lucy Barrett. Unlike in the original series, in which Paige was written as a half-sister after Prue's death, this version changes the idea that the Charmed Ones must be sisters. The season's "big bad" is an original Charmed One named Inara, known as The Lost One.

The blu-ray (and DVD) set is a three-disc set. The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good. The episodes can be played with English captions and in a play-all mode that allows you to pick up where you left off if you stop before all the episodes on the disc play. The only extra is a short gag reel on the final disc. The storylines are not as good this season until the final handful of episodes. The final episode, which may or may not have been intended to be a series finale when it was written and filmed, does wrap up the fourth season storyline and left open the possibility that the show could have finally been tied to the original series had it been allowed to continue. The show also provided an explanation for why we did not see the Halliwell sisters referred to in the reboot. Unfortunately, however, none of the actors from the original series appeared this season. Ultimately, the season was good (very good in the last few episodes) but overall not as good as in the first couple of seasons. Even so, it is worth watching to see how the story ends.

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