Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee Season 2

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major spoilers from season two+++

The 10-episode second season of Banshee aired during the winter and spring of 2014. The season picks up after the events that ended season 1 (the shootout with Rabbit and his gunman). In the first episode, the FBI comes in to investigate the sheriff's department, and the head agent, played by Željko Ivanek, basically slaps everyone on the wrist except for Carrie, whom he threatens with criminal charges unless she provides the whereabouts of her father. The uneasy truce between Proctor and Hood is tenuous at best, and the post-credits scene from season one pays off with the real Lucas Hood's son, Jason, coming to town to figure out what happened to his father. The storyline with Alex Longshadow is resolved, with Nola (Odette Annabelle) getting a larger role this season and Rebecca (Lilly Simmons) going even farther into the dark side. We also see more of Lucas and Carrie's backstories as we see the events that resulted in him going to prison. There is also a post-credits scene in the season finale which sets up the season three storyline.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. As was the case with the season 1 Blu-Ray release, the show looks and sounds great in HD, and includes quite a few extras. Those include commentary tracks on five of the ten episodes, deleted scenes, trailers, and about an hour's worth of Banshee Origin webisodes that give the various characters' backstories. There is "Lucas" post-arrest negotiation for testimony when he was arrested after allowing "Carrie" to escape. We also see Carrie meeting Gordon and see Sugar and Protor's history with one another. Some of the webisode material was integrated into the regular episodes, but there is also a lot of extra material there.

Overall, the season is very good and continues to tell a compelling story. We still do not learn Lucas' real name and only get snippets of information about who he is. Antony Starr does a good job playing him as a cross between a straight-up lawman who cares about protecting the town's people (even if he uses highly illegal measures to do so) and a crook still committing crimes. The series continues to have a lot of violence, sometimes over-the-top violence, and a lot of sex and nudity. So, if those things turn you off, you definitely want to avoid this. But, if you are looking for a good adult drama, this is a great series, and the season continues with a strong storyline. It is a serial storyline, so you must watch season one first to follow what is happening.

Supplement Review: 5-Day Fast & Cleanse by Nature's Secret | 5 Day, 5 Part Program

 

This is basically a group of supplements to take while doing a five-day fast. If you have not tried fasting before jumping into a five-day fast, with or without supplements is not an easy feat. So, you may want to try a couple of smaller fasts first to ease you into this. Or, you can do what I did, and eat a very small dinner (basically just soup) each night. As others have said, the fiber supplement is kind of like chalk. If you mix it with juice and slam it, it is not too bad, but there are better fiber supplements out there. How well the liver and colon cleanse worked is hard to tell. I did have regular bowel movements throughout despite not eating much food so in that sense, I guess the colon cleanse worked. The one thing that was measurable is that the first night I slept like a rock for nine hours. I do not remember waking up or even moving much.

I do agree that day thee is the hardest one to get through. Once you get past that, the worst part is over. Also, I would strongly advise against working out beyond just a light stretching workout. I would not do any kind of weight lifting or intense cardio because you are probably not going to have the energy for it.

Textbook Review: Engineering Economic Analysis 11th Edition

 

This is a book for an engineering economics class, which you will be stuck taking regardless of what branch of engineering you major in. It basically covers how to value property, determine the life of assets, make business decisions based on an economic analysis of one choice over another, or inaction version taking some action, etc. I found the class mind-numbingly boring, which skewed my opinion of the book. Overall, I think the book does a decent job explaining the concepts but falls into the trap that many math and engineering books do (although there are some things that it does gloss over a bit). Namely, the examples in the chapter text show you how to do the most basic problems but give little or no help when solving the more advanced problems. And, of course, the answer key in the back only gives you the answers for some of the problems, so it is hard to check yourself.

So, I would say it is a pretty standard textbook in what it does and does not give you. It is not the best textbook I have used, but it is not the worst. Realistically, you will be stuck with it if your teacher assigns it, but you will likely not be able to learn everything you need to know for the class just by reading the book.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 74

For day 74 I did Recharge again. Not because I really felt I needed to for my back, but I was working a bit longer into the day than I had anticipated, so I wanted to do a short workout and did not have a ton of energy. I am not sure which workout I will do tomorrow, but I am going to try and get it done in the morning. 

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 73

Day 73 was the Recharge workout again. I can say that my back is at 100% again, so thankfully, whatever was causing it to spasm has passed. Doing nothing but the Recharge workout this week has helped a lot both with my back and overall flexibility. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House of Cards: Season 2

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major season two giveaways+++

The second season of House of Cards picks up shortly after the events that ended season three, with Frank having maneuvered his way into the vice presidency, from where, unsurprisingly he keeps up the effort to take down President Walker, all while acting as an ally. Yet, he has his own loose ends from the setup and murder of Peter Russo while Zoe, with whom he was having an affair starts to piece together how crooked he is. The season has episodes that hit on several real-life themes, including entitlement reform, state-sponsored cyberespionage, money laundering in campaign finance, anthrax scares, sexual assault in the United States military, abortion, and Federal government shutdowns. Some of those would end up actually being prophetic a few years after the season aired (in 2013). But, the main plot throughout the season continued to be Frank's power grab and just how ruthlessly he would execute it.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, this season actually does have extras. There are five featurettes that range in length from four minutes to just under twenty. The longest one is basically a making-of documentary that goes through the process of producing an episode and how the series gets plotted out. The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray set is very good, with a lot of great visuals of the Washington DC area. The only negative to the set is again the horrible way in which the discs are stored in the case (in very tightly packed slip pockets). It is very hard to get the discs out without either tearing the pocket or risking scratching one of the discs.

Overall, the season is great. It is a mixed bag given the allegations that have come out against Kevin Spacey since he was fired from the series. Even so, his is not the only contribution to the series. This season, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, and Rachel Brosnahan all turned in wonderful performances, as did Sebastian Arcelus, who plays Zoe's coworker at the Washington Herald. It was absolutely one of the best dramas of its time and is still worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Lucy

 

Lucy is a movie from 2014 written and directed by Luc Besson and starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman. The movie plays on the myth that humans only use 10% of their overall brain power (which, despite some humans trying to prove it, is actually untrue) and bases the story on what would happen if we could harness all of our brain power. This includes developing ninja-like assassin skills, the ability to link with computers, etc. Needless to say, the story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. Lucy is also a nod to the member of the extinct Australopithecus afarensis species whose remains were found in the mid-1970s in Africa nicknamed "Lucy" and whose species was one of the first groups of apes to walk upright.

The basic plot is that Lucy (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a student studying in Taiwan. She is forced to become a drug mule to smuggle a synthetic drug that enhances cognitive function, and when some of it gets into her system, she becomes an unstoppable killing machine bent on revenge. Freeman plays Professor Samuel Norman, a professor who helps Lucy understand what is happening to her. Throughout the movie, she can harness more and more of her brain powers, and with each increase, she becomes more unstoppable.

The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is wonderful. The movie looks and sounds great and has great visuals that pop in HD, especially if you have a large screen. The extras include a 16-minute making-of documentary and a featurette on the "real" science behind the movie. While there is some real scientific material out there on increasing cognitive ability, it is nothing like what is seen in the movie. If you can accept that and then just enjoy that it is a very good, fun action movie with a ridiculously attractive star (who has also proven that she does have acting chops and does not just rely on her looks), then the movie is enjoyable. If you are not a fan of movies whose plotlines overreach too much and go way beyond what is realistic, then you will probably hate this movie.

Book Review: Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the movies The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. +++

This is one of the newest canon novels in the Star Wars universe. Most of the book is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and serves a dual role. The first is to provide a proper origin story for Rey and her family, and the second is to provide a much better story for Luke and Lando than either of them received in The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker movies. The novel starts out on Exegol and introduces "the abomination," who would later take the name Dathan and eventually become Rey's father. It reveals that he was made from the genetic material of his father (who is not revealed in the book) but is a failure because he cannot feel the force. It also reveals how he got off Exegol (involving a cameo by a major legacy character). Then the book jumps to the present, in which Lando's daughter has been kidnapped, and Luke is balancing his time between retrieving artifacts with the help of Lor San Tekka (the character played by Max Von Sydow in The Force Awakens) and his Jedi Academy and training Ben Solo as his Padawan. Lando learns of a family being hunted by the Sith (Dathan, his wife Miramir, and Rey), and Luke, who has been having visions of Exegol, agrees to help him try to find the family and figure out what the Sith threat is.

The novel intertwines the two storylines very well. Of course, we know how Dathan, Miramir, and Rey's story turns out, but this gives us the actual backstory and shows all the events (including being hunted by Ochi of Bestoon) who is trying to capture Rey and bring her to Exegol. Dathan and Miramir are trying to find Lando and Luke (who they only know as The Jedi) and Luke and Lando are trying to find them, and they keep missing each other. We learn about the decision to leave Rey with Unkar Plutt on Jakuu (and why Rey was convicted they were coming back for her) and learn exactly how they died.

Whether this novel redeems the sequel trilogy will really depend on your point of view. If you are one who hates the sequel trilogy, then I do not think anything will help redeem it. While I strongly disagreed with Lucasfilm's original plan to have three different writers and directors for the sequel movies, I never thought that any of the movies were as bad as some make them out to be. That said, I think they would have been much better off having a single writer or set of writers write each movie, so what happened with The Last Jedi, basically discarding what was set up in The Force Awakens, would not have happened. I do think that The Rise of Skywalker would have been better if it had told more of this story (obviously, the book was not around at the time, so they could not do so), but had they fleshed out this story and jumped between it and the plot in the movie, it would have worked a lot better.

Overall, the book is very good. Even though most reading it knows even before reading it basically where the characters will end up, the book does a great job telling a suspenseful story to get there. It makes much better use of Luke than any of the sequel trilogy movies did and gives more depth to Lando than he arguably had in any of the prior movies, including Empire and Return of the Jedi. So, if you are one who only reads some of the novels, I would definitely consider this one a must-read.

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

 

The Office was one of the best sitcoms to ever air, especially during the Steve Carell years. Chances are, most people looking to get this already know what the series is like, so I will not spend a ton of time reviewing the show itself. In a nutshell, it is a sitcom that follows the day-to-day operations of the Scranton, PA, office of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company headed by Michael Scott (Carell), the manager of the Scranton branch. It is a Mockumentary in which the various characters are "interviewed" although we never see an interviewer, so they are essentially just talking to a camera. It is a very character-driven show and the plots were a mix of self-contained stories and then arcs, usually dealing with various character relationships. It ran for nine seasons (although season one was very short, just six episodes) and was adapted from a British show of the same name that starred Ricky Gervais and Martin Freeman. The first season mirrors the BBC version sometimes slightly and sometimes a lot, and then it becomes its own thing after that.

This DVD set is just the individual season sets packaged together. So, if you purchased the seasons separately, you are not getting anything different besides a box to hold all the individual season cases. All of the extras (and there are a lot of them) are exactly the same, and nothing (at least in the DVD version) was added. I cannot say what they did with the Blu-Ray complete series set, although from what I have read, it has the same extras as the DVD set. The extras include audio commentaries on many episodes, which rotate various cast members, crew members, and writing staff. There are many commentary tracks in the early seasons and fewer as the seasons continue. Then there are many deleted scenes (the best of which involve Creed and "Schrute Bucks," blooper reels, webisodes, promo material, and more. If you love watching bonus content, there are hours worth (apart from the commentary tracks) to keep you busy.

Overall, the series is very good. Like many shows that last nine seasons, it was not as good at the end as it was in the beginning, especially after Steve Carell left. It had a large ensemble cast that included Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, John Krasinski (who, other than Carell, has probably had the biggest post-office career), and Craig Robinson. Many very recognizable comedy actors and actresses also appeared in the series in both large and small roles. The show definitely lives up to the hype, and even though the last couple of seasons are not as good as the early seasons, they are not as bad as some people make them out to be. So, if you are a show fan, this is a great pickup.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 72

For Day 72 I did the Recharge workout again. Thankfully, my back stiffness and spasms have subsided, so it was much easier tonight than it was Sunday or even last night. I have all of my range of motion back so I think tomorrow I am just going to do some kind of lower-impact cardio, then start back up with the Power-90 3-4 workouts on Monday.

DVD/TV Series Review: House of Cards: Season 1

 

House of Cards is an American Adaptation of a British series of the same name that aired in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The American version aired on Netflix from 2013 to 2018. Throughout the series' run, it starred Kevin Spacy, Robin Wright, and Michael Kelley in the leading roles and included many great stars in main and recurring roles from season to season. The 13-episode first season was released on Netflix in February 2013.

In the show, Kevin Spacy plays Francis ("Frank") Underwood, who is the Democratic whip in the US House of Representatives. When a promise by the newly elected President to make Frank Secretary of State is reneged on, Frank decides (along with his wife Claire, played by Robin Wright) to get revenge and maneuver his way into gaining more power. Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper, Frank's Chief of Staff who does much of Frank's dirty work. The series had a wonderful supporting cast in the first season (some of whom have gone on to become A-listers themselves), including Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes, an ambitious young journalist working for the Washington Herald, Corey Stoll as Peter Russo, a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Posner, a DC prostitute, and Mahershala Ali as Remy Danton, a powerful lobbyist. 

The series is definitely rooted in some reality (probably even more than it should be), detailing the kinds of back-room dealing and phoniness that have become a staple of how things operate in Washington. Spacey, who, of course, has now pretty much been blacklisted because of his behavior, including on the House of Cards set, did a great job with the character of Frank, playing him as both ruthless and willing to do anything to get ahead, yet also vulnerable at times. Wright does a great job as the equally ruthless Claire Underwood, who is basically in a marriage of convenience with Frank.

There are no extras for those who get the DVD or Blu-Ray set, just the episodes spread over three discs. The packaging is god-awful, with each disc jammed very tightly into a slipcase, so you definitely risk scratching the discs as you take them out.

Overall, the series is very good. For those who have even a little inside inkling of congressional politics, it is a little too eerily accurate, even if it is fictional. If you have seen the BBC series, this does borrow heavily from the first season of that series but adapts them a lot to fit not only the US political system but to just draw out some of the story arcs. It is a very dark series that is mostly a drama but does have some dark comedy included here and there. Even though many of the characters have little or no redeeming values, you still get invested in them, if nothing else to see how their arcs will turn out, and the writers do a great job weaving the various plot threads together in a limited number of episodes.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Batman: The Complete Television Series (Limited Edition)

 

This review is for the limited edition Blu-Ray box set of the 1966 Batman TV Series starring Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin. The series ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1968, airing a total of 120 episodes and a TV movie (which is not included in this set). Along with West and Ward, the series starred Alan Napier as Alfred, Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon, Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara, and Madge Blake as Harriet Cooper, Dick Grayson's aunt. Later in the series, Yvonne Craig would join the cast as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. The series did have a ton of great guest stars (mostly as the villains), including Cesar Romero (who hilariously refused to shave his mustache to play The Joker), Julie Newmar/Lee Merriweather/Ertha Kitt, who all played Catwoman in different episodes, Burges Merideth as Penguin, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Vincent Price as Egghead, to name just a few. The show even had Bruce Lee in a guest starring role when he and Van Willimas crossed over from the Green Hornet TV series.

Chances are most people reading this have seen at least some of the series either because they are old enough to have watched its original run on TV or, like me, watched it in re-runs back when it aired in syndication regularly. If you do not fall into one of those categories, this classic show is pretty much the antithesis of what Batman has become in the more recent animated series and movies. It is not remotely dark, either visually or in tone, and is, at times, very, very silly. But, it was a product of its time and worked in the mid-1960s. The episodes were very repetitive. Pretty much every episode was a two-parter. At the end of the first part, Batman and Robin are usually in some life-threatening situation, and in the second part, they catch the bad guy (only for said bad guy to be released (or escape) from prison a few episodes down the line and return to do the whole thing over again). And, of course, nobody figured out who Batman and Robin were even though they went out in broad daylight and never did anything to disguise their voices. So, it is something that you just have to go with and accept that it will not make a ton of sense or be even remotely realistic. 

The Blu-Ray set is a 13-disc set. The discs for each individual season are packaged in their own flip case inside a decorative outer box. The A/V quality is very good. The episodes were completely remastered with upgraded video and sound. The show looks wonderful in HD and is much improved from what it looked like when it was on the air. Where the set really shines is the bonus content. There are some physical collectibles like a hot-wheels version of the Batmobile, some replica trading cards, and a booklet that serves as an episode guide. As far as the Blu-Ray extras go, they are pretty much all included on the last disc and include about three hours worth of featurettes that range from focusing on Adam West's life and career to featurette in which various celebrities discuss their love of the series. Unfortunately, there are no episode commentary tracks, which would have been nice because I am sure Adam West and Burt Ward would have recorded them if they had been asked to.

Overall, this is a great set. The Blu-Ray remaster looks great. All of the colors (and there are a lot of them) really pop, and the audio track, while they are not in the category of Dolby Atmos, sounds fine. There is an issue with a couple of the discs missing content from episodes, but Warners did a disc replacement program to allow you to swap out those discs. The show was one of the more successful superhero shows, getting a decent series run on a major network (of course, the CW and the WB did not exist when the series aired). It is not as good as the Nolan movie trilogy, Tim Burton's movies, or even Snyder's movies (assuming you like the darker, brooding version of Batman). But, for what it is, it is a fun series and is definitely worth the pickup.

Book Review: DragonLance Chronicles Volume 1: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight

 

Dragons of the Autumn Twilight is the start of a trilogy (Chronicles) of fantasy novels authored by Margret Weiss and Tracy Hickman based on a series of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game modules. This is the first novel released in 1984 and would eventually spawn two more novels released in 1985 and a follow-up trilogy (legends) in 1986, and then a ton of spin-off novels. If you walked into any bookstore in the 1980s through to probably the late 1990s, you would see an entire section in the Sci-Fi fantasy section devoted to Dragonlance. Weiss and Hickman have come back over the years to pen novels in the series (sometimes together, sometimes on their own, or with different co-authors). The ones they write together are generally considered to be the "main" novels in the Dragonlance saga.

This book introduces readers to the world of Krynn which inhabits humans, dwarves, elves, kender, goblins, and other races of creatures. A group of friends had separated five years earlier and made a pact to return to their hometown (Solace) after five years. They discover that the world is on the brink of war and find that Solace has been taken over by a religious cult (called seekers) who are in league with an autocratic group known as dragon highlords who are preparing to unleash their might on the world of Krynn. The members of the group get in the middle of a skirmish that leads them to discover that the war is between the gods of good versus the gods of evil being fought by proxy on Kryn by the followers of each.

The Dragonlance series of novels were to those of us who were kids (or young adults) in the 1980s our generation's Lord of The Rings (which D&D and Dragonlance were clearly inspired by) and served as a bridge to series like Game of Thrones. It has a similar quest/adventure theme that Tolkien's novels had, but (at least for me) had a lot more action and less period of inactivity than Hobbit and LOTR had. And, there were far fewer "core" characters so it was easier to keep all the characters straight (something that plagued both Tolkien's novels and GoT). This is also something that, unlike GoT, kids can read without it being too adult. There are some violent action sequences, death, and some sexual content (mostly innuendo, not the graphic detail that GoT gets into).

Overall, I would say this is somewhere in between what you get in the later Harry Potter novels (Books 4-7) and what you would see in the more adult series. I first read this when I was in middle school (when I was about 12 or 13) and I think that the book (and the series overall) is fine for someone that age. It is also something that adults can easily enjoy. The storyline does have themes like gods and magic, but the gods are more like those from Greek mythology and are not heavily modeled after any contemporary religion. So, if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and have not yet read these novels, this is definitely something you should check out.

Study Aid Review: The Linear Algebra Tutor - Volume 2

 

This is the second of a two-volume course on Linear Algebra that, when combined with the previously released Matrix Algebra Tutor (that covers the introduction to Matrix Algebra students generally see in College Algebra and the first couple of lectures in a Linear Algebra course) will cover about 80-90 percent of what you will need to know for an Introduction to Linear Algebra (or equivalent) course. The set starts out going over the various types of transformation matrices (which get used in computer science/software engineering), the rank and cofactors of a matrix, and the multiple ways of finding the determinants of a matrix (determinants are used in many upper-level engineering courses), finding a cross product of two vectors using determinants, and then ends with several lessons on eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Those lessons provide the most straightforward explanation I have seen for what eigenvalues and eigenvectors are, and why they are helpful.

As is the case with Jason's previous courses, he goes through many examples, step-by-step, explaining things as he goes along. He also provides a recap of every problem after he is finished solving it. The drawback, as always, is that you are limited to the examples that he shows, and he does not address every single topic that one is likely to see in class. He does encourage people to work the problems on their own after he has solved them to make sure people are retaining knowledge of what they have watched. But, this is truly a supplement to, not a replacement for, class lectures. If you are just trying to learn the material on your own, then this will give you a good overview of the main topics on the subject. If you are planning to go on to take any higher-level engineering classes you will use at least some linear algebra techniques in multiple classes. So, if you learn best by seeing example problems worked out, this is a very good study aid.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 71

Day 71 was the Recharge workout again. Thankfully, my back is feeling much better. It is basically back to normal. But, as I said in the prior post, I am not going to overdo it this week because I do not want to end up in the same situation I was from Saturday night through Monday evening (or worse). But, assuming all goes well with doing Recharge (and maybe one of the other low-impact workouts) I will resume with Stretch 3-4 on Monday. 

Video Game Review: WWE 2K15 - PlayStation 4

 

This was the 2015 release of the WWE's video game. It included a lot of legacy characters, including Sting (both the Crow version and the surfer version) as this was released just as Sting started making appearances on some of the WWE documentaries and was eventually brought in for what would be a lackluster run in the ring. The graphics are awesome, but the gameplay is very hard. Much harder than a lot of other games. And, the guide does not give you any help on how to execute anything more than basic moves. That is what knocks it down a couple of stars for me.

Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: Halloween: The Complete Collection (Limited Deluxe Edition)

 

This 15-disc set released in 2014 contains all of the original Halloween films (1-8), the two Rob Zombie remakes, and hours of bonus content. The set is probably overkill for many people, including casual fans of the original Halloween movie, especially now that it is out of print and very expensive. But, for those who are die-hard fans of the movies and love getting bonus content that comes with purchasing physical discs over streaming, this is a very good set. I will not spend much time reviewing the movies since anyone likely to be looking at this already is familiar with them. This set includes multiple versions of the original 1978 classic horror movie and its original sequels (plus Halloween III, which I personally do not count as a part of the Halloween series, and Rob Zombie's remakes). The movies range in quality. Most people consider the original movie the best, but opinions vary wildly on the quality of the other movies. For me, Halloween Resurrection is the worst of the bunch, but opinions definitely vary. Here is a breakdown of what you get on each disc:

Disc One: The first disc contains the original theatrical edition of the first movie. The extras include a great audio commentary track with John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis, an hour-long featurette entitled "The Night She Came Home," which chronicles Curtis using her (and the movie's) fame to raise money for charity through an appearance at an autograph signing/convention appearance. Then there is a ten-minute featurette on the neighborhood the movie was shot in showing some of the locations, a collection of scenes that played in the TV cut of the movie, the trailer, and TV and radio spots. There is also a new commentary track on the movie with the director of photography Dean Cundey, Editor Tommy Lee Wallace, and Nick Castle, who played Michael (aka "The Shape").

Disc 2: This disc includes the movie's theatrical cut with a commentary track by Carpenter, Curtis, and producer Debra Hill. The commentary track repeats a lot from commentary on disc 1 but does have some decent additions from Hill. Then there is an 87-minute retrospective documentary with the cast and crew members made after the original Blu-ray release. Then there is a fast film Facts featurette and the same TV and radio spots from disc 1.

Disc 3: This disc includes the theatrical version of Halloween II, the sequel to Halloween that Carpenter reluctantly made in the early 1980s, continuing the Laurie Strode/Michael Myers story, picking up exactly where the first movie ended. There are two commentary tracks on the movie, the first with director Rick Rosenthal and actor Leo Rossi and the second with actor/stunt coordinator Dick Warlock. Then there is a 45-minute making-or retrospective documentary and an episode of "Horror's Hallowed Ground," which looks at the shooting locations, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, stills, the theatrical trailer, and TV and radio spots.

Disc four: This includes the TV version of Halloween II, which basically removes the gore and nudity from the theatrical cut and adds a few scenes to make up for what is cut out. It is not in HD and does not have a lossless audio track, so it is kind of wasted on Blu-Ray. Then, there is a copy of the Halloween II script.

Disc five: This has the hotly debated Season of the Witch, a sequel in name only that never should have been released under the Halloween name. Had it just been titled Season of the Witch and not Halloween III, I do not think the movie would have received nearly the backlash it received over the years. There are two commentary tracks on the move, one with the director Tommy Lee Wallace, Rob G. from "Icons of Fright," and Horror's Hallowed Grounds' Sean Clark, in which Wallace defends the movie, and one with lead actor Tom Atkins and BD/DVD Producer Michael Felsher. Then there is a 33-minute making-of documentary, another episode of Horror's Hallowed Grounds that visits the various shooting locations, a stills gallery, TV spots, and the trailer.

Disc Six: This disc includes Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, the 1988 movie that basically reset the franchise. It includes a great commentary track with stars Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris and a second commentary with director Dwight H. Little and author Justin Beahm. This disc included an audio glitch (I never noticed it on my player, but it was noticeable on some tracks, so the studio offered a replacement disc). The only other extra on this disc is the theatrical trailer. The rest of the extras specific to this movie are, for some reason, on disc 15.

Disc Seven: This disc includes Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and again has a couple of commentary tracks, one with Don Shanks (who played Michael) and author Justin Beahm, and the second with director Dominique Othenin-Girad and actors Danielle Harris and Jeffrey Landman. Then there is an "on the set" feature, which is just raw behind-the-scenes footage from when the movie was made, a promo for the movie, and the theatrical trailer.

Disc Eight: This disc contains the very controversial Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers. This was one of Paul Rudd's first movies and Donald Pleasance's last (he died during production). The movie had a good concept but was just basically a mess and totally screwed up Jamie's story (along with recasting her because Danielle Harris hated the script). This has just the movie's theatrical cut, TV spots, and theatrical trailers.

Disc Nine: This disc included, for the first time officially, the much bootlegged "Producer's Cut" of Halloween 6. The producer's cut does flesh out the story a bit more and fixes some (but not nearly all) of the issues that were present in the theatrical cut. There is a great commentary track with the writer Daniel Farrands and composer Alan Howarth, in which they discuss the differences between the theatrical cut and the producer's cut and why the producer's cut was ultimately not the version released. Then there are several making-of featurettes, some alternate and deleted scenes, archival footage, an interview with Danielle Harris about why she did not return for the movie, with a pretty hilarious quip about her pitch to the producers that she could be topless now that she was over eighteen to entice them to give her a larger role, a short tribute to Donald Pleasance, trailers, and promo reel.

Disc Ten: This has the great Halloween H20: 20 Year Later, which was the movie that I would have been perfectly fine with being the end of the series. It saw Curtis' return to the franchise and a great showdown with Michael. There is a commentary track with Sean Clark, who hosts director Steve Miner and actress Jamie Lee Curtis, an hour-long making-of documentary, scenes with the original score, vintage behind-the-scenes footage, a stills gallery, the trailer, and a TV spot.

Disc Eleven: This has the horrid Halloween Resurrection. It was an awful movie that ruined Halloween H20 in pretty much every way and was a total waste. It has a commentary track with director Rick Rosenthal and editor Robert A. Ferretti, deleted scenes and an alternate ending, a featurette that edits together the webcam videos, a 37-minute making-of documentary, a short set interview with Jamie Lee Curtis, a set tour, storyboard analysis, a stills gallery, tv spots, and the theatrical trailer.

Discs Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen are just the Rob Zombie versions of Halloween and Halloween 2. The same content was included in their Blu-Ray release, including the same commentary tracks, deleted scenes, bloopers, and the 260-minute making-of documentary for the first movie. There was nothing added for this release.

Disc Fifteen: The final disc has basically all of the other extras. There is the 101-minute extended edition of the original movie, a 27-minute archive documentary, an interview with producer Moustapha Akkad, more stills from the first movie, an interview with the Season of the Witch's make-up effects artist, and the rest of the Halloween 4 and 5 extras (making-of-documentaries for each movie, TV Spots, stills galleries, and more Horror's Hallowed Grounds episodes).

If you love the Halloween Franchise and love bonus material, you have a lot. The only thing this set does not have are a couple of extras included in the releases and of course, the new Blumhouse movies. It is not a perfect set, as not everything is in HD, but the plusses definitely outweigh the minuses. It has hours and hours of bonus content to keep you entertained. The only drawback is that you may get sick of watching the movies multiple times to listen to all the commentary tracks (if you want to watch everything quickly). I definitely recommend it for fans of the series.

Supplement Review: Pre Workout | Six Star PreWorkout Explosion

 

I take this about 45 minutes before working out. The serving size is two scoops, but I find that one scoop is plenty for me. The directions do say to start out with one scoop to see how you tolerate it before increasing the amount. It definitely gives me the energy to make it through my workouts, which is helpful since I often work out in the evening, so it definitely gets me going again after a full workday. Working out in the evening is another reason that I do not take more than one scoop. I'd easily be up all night long if I took two scoops of this in the evening. So, if you are looking for a good, inexpensive pre-workout, this tastes very good and works as advertised.

DVD/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 1

 

Medical dramas can vary wildly in quality. Some are really good and become instantly popular (e.g., ER), some are good and never get good enough ratings to stick around, and a handful never really take off. This one, fortunately, is in the first category. It stars Hugh Laurie as Dr. Greg House, a witty, acerbic diagnostician with no bedside manner who does everything he can to avoid patients. He is the head of diagnostics at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey. He leads a team of three young doctors, Dr. Robert Chase (played by Jesse Spencer), Dr. Allison Cameron (played by Jennifer Morrison) and Dr. Eric Foreman (played by Omar Epps). His boss, the hospital administrator and Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy (played by Lisa Edelstein) is constantly butting heads with him and is the only one who can sort of keep him in line and on his toes, and his only true friend is Dr. James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard), head of the Department of Oncology.

The series is basically a case-of-the-week procedural, with some patient presenting with symptoms that nobody can figure out. Each episode, for the most part, is self-contained with House making a brilliant diagnosis by the end of the episode, usually saving the patient. There is a serial arc about midway through the season that involves Chi McBride's recurring character who immediately dislikes House and vice-versa. The season ends with a two-part episode that sets up part of the storyline going into season two. Because the series was written by David Shore and Bryan Singer (before he became one of the persona-non-gratis in Hollywood) the series was able to get a bunch of recognizable guest stars as well as several young actors basically just starting out. Those included Robin Tunney, Cress Williams (who would go on to star in House of Dixie and Black Lightning), Sam Trammell (from True Blood), Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Purcell (before Prison Break), Brandy, Harry Lennix, Leslie Hope (from the first season of 24), Amanda Seyfried, Nicholas D'Agosto, Sarah Clarke (also from 24), the aforementioned Chi McBride, John Cho, and Sela Ward.

For those who get the DVD set, there are six short featurettes that total about 20-minutes, give or take, The Concept (which is basically an overview of the show), the Casting Session with Hugh Laurie, Medical Cases (which talks about selecting the cases for the team to work on), a Set Tour with Jennifer Morrison and Lisa Edelstein, House-isms (in which the case discusses some of the better one-liners that House delivers, and one that is just entitled Dr. House, in which the cast and crew talk about the character. So, not a ton of extras, but what is included is good.

Overall, the series is great. The acting and writing are both top-notch. It is not exactly a politically correct show, and I am not sure some of what made it to air in the first season would fly today. But, the characters all have layers and are definitely not one-dimensional. Almost all of the main cast members get time to shine this season, and the show does a good job balancing the large ensemble cast. The best episode is probably the second-to-last episode of the season in which House is forced to substitute teach a class presenting three cases of leg pain to the medical students trying to see who can figure out what is wrong with each of them (which also includes pretty hilarious appearances by Carmen Electra). So, if you are a fan of medical dramas, and are one of the few who have not seen House by now, it is definitely worth watching.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 70

Day 70 was the recharge workout. I really needed it because wrenched my back in the last sculpt workout and could barely sleep Saturday night because I was having back spasms. This helped for a while, but my back tightened up again about half an hour after I was done. So, I decided that I am going to take a total recovery week, with no lifting or cardio workout to let my back heal. As I am writing this, it is Tuesday. Sunday night was awful, Monday was better, and I almost feel back to normal today. So, I will probably do Recharge again at least a few more times this week and then resume with Day 71 next Monday.

Product Review: Tartan Cable 4 Foot High Speed HDMI Cable

 

This is a good, relatively short (just four feet) high-speed HDMI cable. It is good for connecting a Blu-Ray player or one of the older gaming systems (like a PS4) to a 1080p TV or connecting a monitor to a laptop. It is not something that you would use to connect a 4k player to a 4k TV, however. It is good if you want a shorter cable, the only drawback is that it is not very flexible so if you have to bend the cable at much of an angle, this is not a good option. But, as long as you have a straight shot at the HDMI ports, and do not have a long distance to connect devices, this is a good cable to use.

Product Review: Air Fryer Disposable Paper Liners Square

 

As anyone who owns one of the air fryers (or the combination machines), they can get messy depending on what you are making in them. I have the original Ninja foodie combination grill, air-fryer, oven, etc, and tend to use the air fryer function the most. Depending on what I am making, it can collect a lot of grease in the bottom, even when air frying, so I got these to make clean-up a bit easier. Basically, you let the unit pre-heat like normal, then you put this in the basket and put your food in. They are not really sturdy enough to put the food in first and then put the combination of the food and the liner into the machine without risking spilling. It will definitely work better for larger items like chicken breasts, or a bunch of fries that can be pretty evenly distributed throughout the liner. This will help to keep the liner held down and not curl up during the cooking process. Things like meatballs, however, if you are just doing a few of them, will not hold the liner down well and the sides will curl up as it gets hot, which makes it a bit harder to get the food out at the end. You do have to be a bit careful taking the liners out so you do not spill any grease that has collected as you bring it to the trash can, but overall, they do work and definitely help keep your machine cleaner so you do not have to wash it as much.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Penny Dreadful: Season 1

 

The eight-episode first season of Penny Dreadful aired during the spring and summer of 2014. It was a horror series that aired on Showtime and starred Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Harry Treadaway, and Reeve Carney. It is set in England in the late 1800s is based on the old vampire, Frankenstein, and Dorian Gray stories. There are actually several different story arcs that are mostly independent of one another (especially in the first season) and then intertwine at points. The main storyline involves Dutton, Green, and Hartnett's characters. Dalton plays Malcolm Murray, a British explorer whose daughter, Mina, has been abducted. He enlists the help of Ethan Chandler (Hartnett), who is an American with great marksmanship and, along with Mina's best friend Vanessa Ives (Green), tries to find Mina to bring her home. They also enlist the help of a young Dr. Frankenstein (played by Treadaway), who, quite separately from the plot to find Mina, has created a literal monster (played by Rory Kinnear). Dorian Gray (Carney) basically seduces a bunch of people and sets his sights on Vanessa.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The series looks and sounds great on Blu-Ray. The show uses a lot of practical effects, but there is some CGI, and everything blends seamlessly. The show uses a lot of shadow and darkness, which can border on being a bit too dark, but other than that, the A/V quality is fine. For extras, there are several short behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that total about twenty minutes, give or take, in length altogether. They are all separate, however, range from about a minute and a half in length to just over three minutes and cannot be played all at once. Then there are two episodes from the Showtime series Ray Donovan.

Overall, the show is very good. It uses a lot of characters from old horror stories like Van Helsing, Dracula, Frankenstein, and more and weaves them into the story. The series is very well written and acted, with Green, who has a pretty incredible acting range, doing much of the heavy lifting. She can go from classic, gorgeous Victorian upper-class to raving psychotic with ease, and throughout the series, she does both. There is a lot of violence as well as sex and nudity in the show. So, it is definitely not family-friendly. But, if you are looking for something that is a good blend of horror and drama with a lot of the classic horror story characters, this is a great one.

DVD/TV Series Review: Northern Exposure: Season 6

 

The 23-episode 6th and final season of Nothern Exposure aired during the 1994-1995 TV season. My feelings toward this season are mixed. It has some excellent episodes, including the wonderful season premiere in which Joel, after ingesting some concoction of Ed's when he is sick, dreams of an alternate reality in which he is a practicing doctor in NY, married to Shelly (who is a corporate lawyer) and everyone in the show has a role that is pretty much the opposite of their regular character. But it is also the season in which Rob Morrow's contract battle comes to a head, and he ends up leaving the show midway through the season (in another great episode). The showrunners, hoping to save the show, introduce a new doctor into the series, Phillip Capra (played by Paul Provenza), and his journalist wife, Michelle (played by Teri Polo), who move the Cicely from Los Angeles. At first, they are excited to be there, and then the writers start bouncing their story around so they love Alaska in one episode, hate it in the next, and the whole thing does not work. Rob Morrow did stick around for 15 episodes, with a much-reduced role in which his character moved to the wilderness to live with one of the tribes on a remote island. His last episode, entitled "The Quest," sees him and Maggie trek through the wilderness, looking for a magical city of the north. That episode would also mark the final appearance of Adam (Adam Arkin), the wacky, acerbic chef who has been a recurring character throughout the season.

In the final few episodes, the writers were just throwing things against the wall to see what would stick, including trying a totally out-of-the-blue romance between Maggie and Chris. Ultimately, the ratings got so bad that the show was canceled. It did have a series finale that, for the most part, felt like just another episode until the final scenes, over which the song "Our Town" (which, thankfully, Universal paid for the rights to) put a bow on the series.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. If you get the US DVD set, the only extras are deleted scenes for most of the episodes. Of course, the issue with the music in the US releases remains, with some, but not all, of the original songs from the show being replaced with canned instrumental music. As I said above, thankfully, the final song to appear in the show, Our Town, was used because the ending montage would not have worked nearly as well without it.

Overall, the final season was uneven, to say the least. The show definitely lost a lot with Rob Morrow's departure, and without him, the show could not have recaptured the fish-out-of-water aspect that made the show so good in the beginning. Unlike the show ER, which survived multiple cast members leaving and could plug new characters in for those who left, I equate Morrow's leaving akin to what would have happened if Alan Alda had left MASH. He was clearly the main character, and the show could not survive without him even though the other actors did a great job in their roles. Unfortunately, the show just petered out at the end and never got a great send-off.

Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 69

Day 69 was the sculpt 3-4 workout again. I was able to increase the weight on just a couple of the exercises from the last workout on Thursday and did hit the 10 rep max on a couple more tonight. My back was a bit sore this evening so I did dial things back a little, especially when using the heaviest weights. But, I got through it and am looking forward to the Recharge workout tomorrow.