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. 

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 8

 



+++Warning: The review contains spoilers from prior seasons and hints, but no major giveaways, from season 8. If you have not seen the previous season, proceed with caution. +++

The 24-episode 8th season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2014/2015 TV season. All of the main cast members return for the 8th season, as do many of the primary recurring cast members such as Carol Ann Susi, Regina King, John Ross Bowie, Wil Wheaton, Laurie Metcalf, Christine Baranski, and Stephen Hawking (in another voice appearance). This season's notable guest stars include Stephen Root, Billy Bob Thornton, LeVar Burton, Nathan Fillion, and Kevin Smith (in a voice appearance). 

The show seems to be one that people either really love or really hate. It has been around long enough that most people know where they fall. It continues to focus on the relationships between the main characters, then tells various ancillary stories of the week while working in some larger ongoing themes. This season the big stories are Leonard and Penny's ongoing engagement and not setting a date for the wedding, Leonard and Sheldon co-authoring a physics paper that gets them some notoriety, and Sheldon and Amy's relationship. There are other stories about Stuart mooching off Howard's mom following the destruction of the comic book store last season, Raj's parents, and Raj's new relationship that develops now that he can actually talk to girls without being drunk. A couple of the stand-out episodes of the season are the Billy Bob Thornton guest appearance, Sheldon and Leonard's mothers meeting each other, and the season finale, which ends on a pretty big Sheldon/Amy cliffhanger. There is also a storyline about 2/3 of the way into the season that leads to some great Howard and Bernadette scenes and shows off the acting chops of Simon Helberg.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V transfer is very good, and the show looks and sounds great. For extras, on disc one, there is a relatively short writer's panel (and Wil Wheaton's appearance) from Comic-Con and a behind-the-scenes feature on Billy Bob Thornton's guest appearance. The second disc has a feature on a group of contest winners who were taken to the set and sat in the studio audience, a short feature on Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Chuck Lorre getting stars on the Walk of Fame, a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there.

If you have loved the show and do not think it has gone stale then you will love this season. If you have hated the show either because of the laugh track or any other reason, this season is not really going to do anything to change your mind. Thankfully the show is popular enough that the studio is still released on blu ray, for those of us who get the discs and prefer that format. The show definitely lays the groundwork for where it is going next season. As other reviewers have said it would be good if the show took some of the focus off the relationship of the main characters and incorporated more of their families into some episodes. That said, however, if you love the show this is definitely worth adding to your collection.

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