Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 1

 

The 17-episode first season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2007/2008 TV season. It was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and starred Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar. The show's premise is that two physicists from CalTech, Sheldon (played by Parsons) and Leonard (played by Galecki), meet their new neighbor, Penny (played by Cuoco), who Leonard instantly falls for. The circle of friends also includes two other CalTech scientists, an Engineer named Howard (played by Helberg) and an Astrophysicist named Raj (played by Nayyar). All the nerdy friends are socially awkward, with Sheldon being an arrogant know-it-all, who is also on the autism spectrum, and Leonard is insecure about nearly everything. Howard tries way too hard to hit on every woman he meets, and Raj cannot talk to women unless he is drunk. Penny is a party girl working as a waitress while trying to break into acting. The supporting cast in the first season includes Laurie Metcalf, who plays Sheldon's Mother, Sara Gilbert, who plays another physicist, and Carol Ann Susi, who plays the voice of Howard's mother.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The episodes can be played with English captions and in a play-all mode (although the play-all mode does not allow you to pick up where you leave off). The two bonus features are on the second disc, a behind-the-scenes featurette that runs just under twenty minutes and a gag reel. The show is a pretty typical sitcom that primarily relies on procedural storylines that get resolved by the end of the episodes, mixed with longer character arcs. It is a mostly wholesome sitcom, but it definitely includes some sex jokes, and Cuoco is in skimpy outfits from time to time. It is filmed partly in front of a studio audience and uses a laugh track for the parts not filmed in front of an audience. 

The show is well-written, with many nerdy pop-culture references, and very well-acted. It also incorporates a lot of real-world science into the storylines. While the character of Sheldon became immensely popular (Parsons does a great job with the character and has great comedic timing), the entire cast plays their characters well, and the actors seem to have great chemistry. The show would become one of the most popular comedies in TV history (and was certainly the most popular sitcom of its era). The first season is mostly focused on character development and establishing the relationships between the various characters. Ultimately, it is a strong season that sets up the show well. Even though the first season is (as of this writing) about 17 years old, it holds up well (with many laugh-out-loud moments) and is worth watching.       

4k-UHD/TV Series Review: The Penguin

 

The Penguin is an eight-episode series that aired in the fall of 2024 on HBO/Max. It is partly a sequel to/spin-off of the 2022 film The Batman, with Colin Farrell reprising his role as Oz Cobb/Penguin. It stars Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Carmen Ejogo, Deirdre O'Connell, and Clancy Brown in the main roles, and Theo Rossi, Michael Zegen, Michael Kelly, Mark Strong, and Shohreh Aghdashloo in supporting roles. It starts out one week after the events of The Batman, with the city recovering from the flood and with a power vacuum in the organized crime community after the death of Carmine Falcone. Penguin begins to position himself by playing both sides of what remains of the Falcone family and Maroni family. The release of Sophia Falcone from Arkham (who was imprisoned for a decade for a series of murders) throws a wrench in his plans. The series also uses flashbacks to show Penguin's origin as a kid and then as a low-level operative in the Falcone family as Sophia's driver before she is sent to Arkham.

The 4k set is a three-disc set. The eight episodes are spread across the three discs. Each disc has bonus content, including the eight "Inside Gotham" segments that played after the episodes aired on Max and included interviews with the cast and showrunners about the events of the particular episodes. Then, there are several behind-the-scenes featurettes that range in length from a few minutes to just under ten minutes and cover different aspects of the series. The A/V quality of the episodes in the UHD format is outstanding. 

The series is very well-written and acted. The writers do a great job with character development, especially for Oz, Sophia, and Victor (played by Feliz). They have to balance making Oz human and showing why he is a true villain. They do a fantastic job of making him almost sympathetic and then having him do something truly despicable to take all that sympathy away. Farrell is outstanding in the role of Oz, and Milioti is a tour-de-force as Sophia. While the show has the same look, tone, and feel as The Batman movie, it does not include Bruce Wayne/Batman, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, or Jim Gordon (although Selina is name-dropped), and we do see the Bat symbol in the sky in the final episode. It does have a lot of violence and swearing. It also has some suggestive sexual content but no nudity (although there are a couple of shots that get close to showing nudity). So, it is definitely not appropriate for young kids. If you liked The Batman movie, this is absolutely a must-watch. Even if you have not seen the film, the show provides enough context from the film to follow along with the story without getting lost. Ultimately, it is a wonderful series that is worth your time to watch. 

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.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed (2018): Season 3

 

The 18-episode third season of the Charmed reboot aired during the winter, spring, and summer of 2021. The series started late because of the time it took to begin lifting the COVID lockdowns. Thus, like season two, this is another shortened season. The beginning of the season resolves the hanging storyline from season two, which ended early because of the start of the pandemic. Once that is resolved, the writers introduce the main storylines for season three, including writing in a magical allergy (clearly meant to be a fictional version of COVID) that prevented the sisters from touching other magical beings. Two powerful beings known as "The Perfecti" are introduced and the last few episodes introduce the season's "big bad" and entity called The Whispering Evil. All the main cast members return for season three, although the events at the end of the season will shake up the cast going forward. Mareya Salazar is introduced as Josefina, a second cousin of the sisters during the season as a new recurring character.

The blu-ray (and DVD) set is a four-disc set. The episodes can be played with English captions and can be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off. The only bonus feature is a short gag reel on the fourth disc. The A/V quality of the blu-ray is very good, and the effects look wonderful in HD. As with seasons 1 and 2, the third season is only available in the US individually on DVD. Only the complete series is available on blu-ray. 

The series keeps the same style and tone as it did during the first two seasons. It primarily uses a serial storyline that builds throughout the season. Unlike the original series, this one incorporates real-world social issues into the storylines, including racism and LGBT issues. Of course, that will piss off a segment of people who will never watch the show, while others may like that, and others may be neutral toward it. I tend to fall into the later camp. The show would have been fine without those elements, but they do not detract from the overall storytelling. The writers do a decent job of juggling storylines for the large ensemble cast, providing material for all the main characters. Although there were episodes in which some characters were used sparingly, so the storyline could focus on one or two characters. The writers also wrote Melonie Diaz's real-life pregnancy into the storyline toward the end of the season. If you enjoyed the first two seasons, you will probably enjoy the third. If you did not like either of the first two seasons, this one is not going to do anything to change your mind. Ultimately, if you have liked the series up to this point, season three is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed (2018): Season 2

 

The 19-episode second season of the Charmed reboot aired during the 2019/2020 TV season. Like pretty much all series that year, Charmed's second season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second season's plot deals with the fallout of the Elders' deaths and a group of humans trying to harness magic. Taking another element from the original series, the sisters fake their deaths, cloaking the house and operating out of a headquarters set up by the Elders that allows them to track witches in trouble and demon activity. The show also establishes its version of darklighters this season, but puts a major spin on what they are. There is some cast turnover this season with Elen Tamaki, Natalie Hall, and Ser'Darius Blain leaving the series. Nich Hargrove returns in a recurring role. Poppy Drayton and Jordan Donica join as series regulars, and Eric Balfour and Peyton List join as major recurring characters. Azura Skye also guest stars in a couple of episodes.  

The Blu-Ray (and DVD) set is a four-disc set. In the US, the individual seasons are only available on DVD, but you can get the complete series on Blu-Ray, which has the individual seasons packaged in a decorative box. The A/V quality of the Blu-Rays is excellent. There are no bonus features for the second season release, just the episodes spread across the four discs. The series continues to use mostly serial story arcs that build with each episode. The special effects are great, the acting is very good, and the writing is mostly good. Like the parent series, the writing can be uneven and a bit silly, in a different way. Where the sisters on the original series were always obsessing over needing a man in their lives, the sisters in this series are always going on about their independence and not needing relationships (but still trying to find one). One thing that I think the show could have benefitted from this season is tying the show to the original series. There was an episode that would have been perfect to name drop the Halliwell sisters (or even have one or more of them appear). However, I think the writers were still focused on having the series stand on its own (even though it does put its own twist on storylines from the original series from time to time). 

Because filming ended early, the season does not end on any cliffhangers or with an episode that feels like a season finale. So, there will likely be hanging storylines from this season that will be wrapped up in season three. Overall, if you liked the first season, you will probably like the second one. Conversely, if you hated season one, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind. Ultimately, the season is entertaining and worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed (2018): Season 1

 

This is a reboot of the late 1990s TV series of the same name about three sisters who are powerful witches who fight evil (mainly in the form of various demons). This version stars Madeleine Mantock, Melonie Diaz, and Sarah Jeffrey as the titular "Charmed Ones" Macy, Mel, and Maggie, and Rupert Evans as their Whitelighter, Harry. The supporting cast includes Nick Hargrove, Ellen Tamaki, Ser'Darius Blain, Natalie Hall, Craig Parker, Valerie Cruz, Leah Pipes, and Virginia Williams. The 22-episode first season aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. The show's premise is similar to the original series, three sisters discover that they are witches whose powers have been activated after the death of a family member. In the original series, it was the grandmother's death, and in this series, it was the mother's death. This series includes characters such as Elders and Whitelighters and various demons. Where the original series was more of a blend of procedural and serial storylines, this series uses much more serial storytelling, with the primary storylines of each episode building on the next. There are some monster-of-the-week storylines, but not as many as the original series had, especially in its first couple of seasons. 

The blu-ray (and DVD) set is a five-disc set. It should be noted that the individual seasons were only released on DVD, but the complete series was released on Blu-Ray after the series ended. All the extras are included on the final disc. Those include a making-of featurette featuring interviews with the showrunners and cast and a short gag reel. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. The show is actually much better than it got credit for being. It got backlash when it was announced for not including the original cast members. Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs expressed their disappointment. However, the showrunners stated that they had already told that story and wanted to be its own show and be more inclusive, by having the sisters be multi-racial and include LGBT characters. Some people will also hate it because it is "woke," which to the extent that is really a thing, it absolutely is. Within the monster fighting storylines, the show does tackle real-world issues such as sexual assault, discrimination, and the like. So, if that bothers you, you should absolutely steer clear. 

Ultimately, the show is good, but like the original, it has its silly parts (it has a bit of a prime-time soap opera element to it) and the writers sometimes set things up without good follow up. The special effects are light years beyond what the original series had (even in the later seasons). Of course, that has a lot to do with CGI being much better than in 1998, and this show having a larger effects budget since the actors in the show were not big names. The writing is a bit inconsistent but the acting is very good. While I cannot say that everyone who loved the original series will like this one, if you were a fan of the original series (or just a fan of the fantasy genre in general) this is worth checking out.

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.     

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.

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.

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.        

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.       

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/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.

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. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon: Season 5

 

The 22-episode fifth season of Young Sheldon aired during the 2021/2022 TV season. The entire main cast returned, as did the major supporting and recurring cast members, including McKenna Grace, Reba McEntire, Ed Begley Jr., Wallace Shawn, Craig T. Nelson, Rex Linn, Matt Hobby, Wyatt McClure, Melissa Peterman, Wendie Malick, Doc Farrow, etc. Dan Bryd and Emily Osment join the cast in significant recurring roles.  Both are included as a part of major storylines toward the end of the season. This season's guest stars include Ming Na Wen, Penn and Teller, and Lance Reddick. The writers continue to use a combination of procedural and serial storytelling. The major serial arcs this season include the fallout from George and Brenda flirting with each other at the bar. We learn that George just had chest pains, not an actual heart attack. Throughout the season, his relationship with Mary becomes strained because of his guilt toward flirting with Brenda and Mary's relationship with a new youth pastor (played by Bryd). Other storylines include Sheldon going to college full-time and becoming a research assistant to Dr. Linkletter, Connie buying a laundromat with slot machines in the back room, Missy becoming a moody teenager, and a major storyline involving Georgie that will extend into season six. We also discover the reason for Sheldon's hatred of engineering, which includes a great voice cameo by Simon Helberg.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The only extra is a behind-the-scenes featurette on the series' 100th episode that occurs this season. There are no deleted scenes, no gag reel, or commentary tracks, however. The show continues to be strong, with an excellent blend of humor and drama. The writers do a good job of developing the characters and continue to drop easter eggs that tie into the parent series, The Big Bang Theory. Jim Parsons continues to narrate the show, and his narrations (along with another voice appearance by Mayim Bialik) continue to provide details of Sheldon's life after The Big Bang Theory ended. The cast members all do a wonderful job in their roles, and the writers give all the actors great material to work with. While the show is centered around Sheldon, he is a secondary character in some episodes, allowing the storylines to focus on the other characters. So, if you liked the first four seasons, this is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon Season 3

 

The 21-episode third season of Young Sheldon aired during the 2019/2020 TV season. It is, of course, the spinoff series of The Big Bang Theory, telling essentially weekly stories of Sheldon as a 10-year-old growing up in Medford, Texas, in the late 1980s/early 1990s. It differs from the parent series in that it is not filmed in front of an audience and is supplemented by a laugh track. It has more drama blended into it than BBT, and more long-running themes are tied into the various weekly hijinks. So, it uses more of a blend of serial and procedural storylines, whereas BBT's storylines were mostly procedural for the bulk of its run. Plus, the show has a great 1980s soundtrack and is narrated by Jim Parsons as adult Sheldon, allowing the show to drop hints about what happened to the character post-BBT.

The show continues to be well written and acted, with all the various actors, Iain Armitage, Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, and Annie Potts, getting ample storylines devoted to their characters and knocking their performances out of the park. The show does a great job not just focusing on the character of Sheldon but also developing all of the characters and giving great material to all members of the very large ensemble cast. The big storyline for Sheldon in season three is whether (and where) he should attend college, as he does not find high school challenging. This causes a lot of friction between Sheldon and his parents. Another standout storyline is Missy trying to get on a little league baseball team. That storyline introduces Craig T. Nelson as a recurring character in the show, as Missy's coach, Georgie's boss, and a potential love interest for MeeMaw. I will not go too much into the various storylines to keep from spoiling anything, but the themes this season are very good, and the show is definitely not getting stale. Most of the recurring and supporting cast return this season, including Wallace Shawn, McKenna Grace, Rex Linn, and Ed Begley Jr. 

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. While it is a MOD disc, it includes English captions, and the episodes can be played in a play-all mode that allows you to pick up where you stop, even in the middle of an episode. The extras are very bare-bones. It just includes a short behind-the-scenes feature of the show's setting in the 1980s. So, if you only get the physical discs when there are a lot of bonus features, then you may just want to stick to streaming this. Ultimately, the show continues to be strong and is absolutely worth watching.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Young Sheldon Season 2

 

The 22-episode second season of Young Sheldon (which also aired concurrently with BBT's final season) aired during the 2018/2019 TV season. It provided more character development for all the main characters, fleshed out storylines for all the characters (even if just for an episode or two), and brought the show solidly into the "dramedy" category with many touching and even sad moments. All the main cast members returned for season 2, and the show expanded the roles of some supporting characters such as Pastor Jeff (played by Matt Hobby) and Veronica Duncan (played by Isabel May). Wallace Shawn's role was greatly expanded (to almost a series regular) and the show added Ed Begley Jr. as a rival to Dr. Sturgis and Mckenna Grace as a recurring rival child genius to Sheldon. I will not go too into storylines, but we did see moments referenced on the BBT (like Sheldon trying to build a nuclear reactor to power the neighborhood), and in the season finale a very touching scene with the BBT characters as children.

The blu-ray set is a two-disc MOD set. It has no extras, just the episodes with English captions (which can be hit-and-miss on MOD sets). So, if you only get the physical discs when there are a lot of extras, then you will probably just want to stream this. Overall, the show continues to be very good, and definitely not a carbon copy of BBT. Ian Armitage continues to make the character of Sheldon his own while doing a great job at giving glimpses of Jim Parson's version of Sheldon, Annie Potts is hilarious, and Regan Revord steals every scene she is in. It is absolutely worth watching, especially if you liked the first season.