Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 25

Day 25 was the 645 Cardio routine in the morning and Lift intervals in the evening. Both workouts went fine. I could use the increased amount of weight for all of the exercises. I found that the second set of each exercise was easier than the first, but then the weights got heavy again by the end of the third set. I liked all of the HIIT exercises in this workout because none of them were triple bear, catchers, or mountain climbers. 

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 24

On Day 24, I just did the 645 Cardio routine. I did not do either of the Lift 4 recovery workouts because I had a longer day than I had originally anticipated.

DVD/Documentary Review: Alexander Hamilton

 

Alexander Hamilton is a PBS documentary about the life of one of the (until relatively recently) lesser-known founding fathers of the United States. The DVD was released in 2007 and combines interviews with historians with scenes played by classically trained actors who mostly read lines from the writings of the people they were portraying. The documentary details Hamilton's life, from growing up as a bastard with no status in the West Indies, coming to the United States and taking up the cause of revolution against the English, impressing George Washington during the war, his advocacy for the Constitution (including writing most of the Federalist Papers) and becoming the first treasury secretary during Washington's presidency. It also details Hamilton's anti-slavery beliefs and his advocacy for a strong Federal government, establishing a national bank, and his penchant for pissing people off, which would ultimately end his life in a duel with Aaron Burr. 

The DVD is a single-disc release. The documentary runs just under two hours. The extras include a short behind-the-scenes featurette in which the documentary's creators explain how most of the scenes were shot and include interviews with a couple of the actors. Then, there are also a handful of deleted scenes that run anywhere from one minute to just over six minutes. Ultimately, the documentary provides much information on Hamilton's life, including some aspects that are not as well known. It does an excellent job explaining just how influential Hamilton was to the creation of the United States and his influence on the politics of the time. It is absolutely worth watching.

Book Review: Star Wars: Tears of the Nameless

 

Tears of the Nameless, published in 2024, is a young-adult novel by George Mann. It is set in the third phase of The High Republic after the destruction of the Starlight Beacon and the Nihil setting up the Stormwall. There are a few different intertwined plotlines that intersect at different times throughout the novel, each of them involving the Jedi trying to figure out a way to fight The Nameless creatures/Levelers and The Blight. Reath Silas is working with a Padawan named Amadeo Azzazzo to determine if there is a connection between The Nameless and The Blight, which have similarities in how they affect what they touch. Each seems to be controlled by the Nihil. Another storyline involves one of the Nihil Jedi hunters who is using three of The Nameless to hunt down Jedi. 

The hardcover version of the book is 500 pages long and could have easily been included as one of the adult canon novels. It does a lot to advance the High Republic storyline, including revealing the origin of the Nameless and a civilization of force users who eventually figured out how to control them. It does not close what to me seems like a giant plot hole in that the Nameless were used against the Jedi by the Path of the Open Hand in the early High Republic era when at least Yoda and Yaddle were around, and the Jedi still knew relatively little about them (and were totally blindsided by their use) in the later High Republic era 150 years later. Hopefully, later novels will shed some light on why that is the case, but this one does not. Even so, this tells a decent story and advances the overall plot. So, if you like the High Republic storyline, this is worth the time to read.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 23

Day 23 was the 645 cardio routine in the morning and Lift 4's back and biceps workout in the evening. The back and biceps workout was a 50/50 workout with the lifting first and the HIIT after. I was able to start each round with the increased weight, but had to drop the amount of weight for some exercises in the second and third sets of each block.  

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Luke Cage Season 1

 

The 13-episode first season of Luke Cage was released on Netflix in September of 2016. It was the third of the four Marvel Netflix series (including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist) that exists within, but ancillary to, the Marvel Universe/MCU. It starred Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Mahershala Ali, Frank Whaley, and Erik LaRay Harvey. Rosario Dawson also appears as her character, Claire, who was first introduced in Daredevil. Luke Cage (Colter) made his first appearance in season 1 of Jessica Jones (which is referenced throughout the series) as the owner of a bar. Now, he turns up in Harlem, working in a barber shop and as a dishwasher at a club owned by the local gangster (played by Mahershala Ali). It is partly an origin story for the character and part a fight to take down the local mob, corrupt cops, and politicians, with a bit of a Cane and Abel story and a lot of social commentary thrown in (yes, it does have a take on BLM for any snowflakes out there who cannot handle that). There is no direct tie-in from this storyline to what plays out in The Defenders (which will bring together all the characters from the Netflix shows like The Avengers), but it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The show is well-written and acted. While Mike Colter does much of the heavy lifting, the rest of the cast comprises many great actors, some great character actors and others of more notability. It is a true ensemble cast, however, because when the show aired (and arguably even now), none were really A-list actors (although Mahershala Ali is getting close). While set in NY like the other Netflix shows, it tells its own story and has its own feel.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The A/V quality is good, but the set is light on extras. It is a bit more than a MOD set, though, as it has a 22-minute roundtable discussion with some of the cast members with interview clips of the showrunners. It was not bad for what was included, but it was not a ton of material. If you are a fan of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, this is definitely worth checking out.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 22

Day 22 was the start of week 4 in Lift 4. So, I did the 645 cardio workout in the morning and the chest and triceps workout from Lift 4 in the evening. The chest and triceps workout was a circuit workout, and it was hard. I started out with the increased weight, but by the third set in each block, I had to drop the amount of weight I was using for pretty much every exercise. 

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 21

On day 21, I did the 645 cardio routine followed by Lift 4 stretch. Both of them went fine and I did have a bit more flexibility in my hamstrings than I did in the legs workout on Friday. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Prison Break Event Series

 

+++Warning, This contains spoilers from Season 4, but no major giveaways from the event series.+++

The nine-episode event series/fifth season of Prison Break aired in the spring of 2017, about seven years after the fourth and (at the time) final season. This series came about when Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell began working together on The Flash and reminiscing about their days on Prison Break and that it would be nice to revisit that story. There was already an unaired storyline from season 4 that showed events that occurred during the time jump to the last scene and set up Michael faking his death, and this series took things from there.

The series starts with Lincoln receiving a picture that intimates his brother is still alive and (again) in prison. He discovers that Michael is indeed in a prison in Yemen, under an assumed name, and is considered an ISIS-sympathizing terrorist. As was the case for almost every season of the show, not everything is what it seems, and for having just nine episodes, the show is packed with twists. Some of the twists worked, and some were kind of silly. The series does retcon the date of Michael's death listed on his headstone, having him die in 2010, most likely to match up with the seven-year break between the original series finale and the event series.

This series serves as a way to give the fans a better ending for the main characters. It also blends in characters from the original series, both in large and small roles, although not every character from the original series appeared in the event series. There are also many new characters, mainly from the Yemen prison part of the story. Given the limited run of the series, there was not a lot of time to develop any of the new characters in detail, but the show managed to give them some depth. The main cast for the event series included Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies, Paul Adelstein, Rockmond Dunbar, Robert Knepper, Amaury Nolasco, Mark Feuerstein, Inbar Lavi, and Augustus Prew. 

The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set. The only extra is an approximately 11-minute making-of feature on how the series was put together. It was okay, but not as extensive as the bonus materials included in the prior seasons. Given, however, that TV series on physical media (especially on Blu-Ray) have sharply declined since the original series went off the air, it is not all that surprising that the extras are very light. The Event Series was released on Blu-Ray separately, but it is easier to find on DVD (especially in the US). The easiest way to get it on Blu-Ray is by getting one of the complete series sets that includes it.

Overall, it is a good series that brings back popular characters and gives them more of a "happy" ending than they got in the original series. I do not think it as good as the original series, at least not the first couple of seasons, but I do think if you enjoyed the original series, you will likely enjoy this. And, it does give the series a full four-season episode count, essentially replacing the episodes that were lost due to the season-three writer's strike.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 20

On Day 20, I did the 645 cardio routine, followed by the foam rolling routine from Lift 4. The foam rolling continues to help get the knots out of my quads and hamstrings. I am not back to where I was when I was foam rolling every day, but I am getting closer.

4K-UHD/Movie Review: The Bourne Identity

 

The Bourne Identity is a 2002 action thriller directed by Doug Liman and adapted from Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Gabriel Mann, Julia Stiles, Clive Owen and Adewale Akinnouoye-Agbaje. Sharp-eyed viewers will also recognize Walton Goggins (from the excellent series Justified) in a minor role. The movie starts with Damon's character being pulled out of the ocean by the crew of a fishing vessel. He has been shot in the back and has no memory of who he is or where he comes from, and the only clue to his past is a small laser projector embedded in his hip with the name and address of a bank in Switzerland on it. He discovers that his name is Jason Bourne, and throughout the movie, he realizes that he speaks multiple languages and is highly skilled in fighting and counterintelligence. Potente is a woman he meets at the American consulate in Zurich who agrees to help get him to Paris in exchange for $20,000. The two are then pursued by local authorities and shadowy assassins with the same skills as Bourne. Bourne ultimately discovers that he is part of a CIA black ops program called Treadstone, which is run by Cooper's character, Alexander Conklin, who works for the deputy director of the CIA, Ward Abbott, who is played by Cox. 

The 4K set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD disc's A/V quality is good. The audio is outstanding, but the video transfer is not as good as it should have been. The only bonus feature on the UHD disc is the director's commentary track. The other bonus material, which includes an alternate opening and ending, deleted and extended scenes, and about two hours of behind-the-scenes material, is on the regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie itself is a good blend of action and drama with a couple of humorous moments mixed in. Damon does a good job in the lead role, and although he is not extremely physically imposing, he does an excellent job in the action sequences. It is well-written and very well-acted, and while you do have to suspend your disbelief to accept that Bourne could survive everything he goes through in the movie, it is entertaining. If you are a fan of action thrillers or the spy genre, the movie is absolutely worth seeing. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is not a major step up from the regular Blu-Ray, so if you already own it on Blu-Ray, you may want to stick with that version, especially if you are a big A/V wonk.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight: Season 2

 

The 13-episode second season of The Good Fight aired in the spring of 2018. The show continues to do an excellent job of standing on its own without leaning on the success of The Good Wife. That said, there are still nods to the parent show. Many of the supporting actors and actresses from The Good Wife appear this season, such as Mike Colter, Wallace Shawn, Maimie Gummer, and Margo Martindale. The show does keep its own storylines and does not recycle old ones from the parent series. The biggest non-Good Wife guest star this season is Alan Alda, who plays a smarmy lawyer from an opposing firm. Similar to the role Michael J. Fox played, but a very different type of character.

The Season starts with the funeral of Carl Reddick, who died offscreen between seasons one and two. His daughter, played by Audra McDonald, joined the firm after she was fired from the US Attorney's office after sending out an anti-t***p tweet. The writers wrapped up the Rindell storyline early in the season, which was needed because the story had played out. The rest of the season focuses on Diane going through a mid-life crisis, Chicago lawyers being bumped off, Luca and Colin's relationship, and being anti-the-orange-genital-wart. The show pulls no punches in its political bent and hatred of t***p, at least by the showrunners. So, if you love t***p and are one of his idiot cult members, you will absolutely hate this season (and probably the show in general).

The DVD set is a four-disc set. For those who get the discs, they are a bare-bones, almost a made-on-demand set. It does have a handful of extras, deleted scenes for some episodes, and a gag reel. There are no commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes material. Pretty par for the course when it comes to what is being released on DVD for TV seasons these days.

This is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone. It is highly and unashamedly political. And, because it airs on the streaming platform, it does show nudity and has a lot of swearing, including the f-word. Kind of hilariously, the gag reel bleeps out all the swear words the actors say when they mess up, but the show is full of swearing. So if that kind of stuff will turn you off to a show, then you should skip this. However, if you liked season one, the writing and acting are on par or better.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 19

Day 19 was 645 cardio in the morning (or early afternoon in this case) and Lift 4 legs in the evening. I did both workouts a bit later than usual, but got them done. The leg routine was absolutely challenging with the increased weight, but I was able to do all the reps in each set with the increased weight (although my front-loaded squats were shallower with 25 lbs than they were with 20 lbs, so I was at the limit on those).  

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 18

Day 18 was the 645 cardio routine in the morning and the shoulders workout in Lift 4. This week's shoulder workout was an interval workout, so it was one of the quicker workouts, which was nice.  I was able to increase the amount of weight on the various exercises, which kind of surprised me, given that shoulders have been my weak point for the past few rounds of workouts. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded for Life Season 5

 

Grounded For Life was a very underrated sitcom that aired from the early to mid-2000s. However, it ended up being a very uneven series due to a cancellation from FOX, switching to the WB network (and nights that it aired), and a good amount of cast turnover. The final season was really a partial season given to the series to give it a sendoff as opposed to an outright cancelation. The 13-episode 5th season aired during the 2004/2005 TV season. The actor who played Henry (Jake Burbage) left the show after the fourth season, and no explanation for his absence was ever given. There were only a couple of throwaway references to him in the final two episodes of the season. Walt (played by Richard Riehle), who had become a minor recurring character (which really hurt the show, in my opinion), only appeared in the series finale.

The show ended with a "life will go on" feel for the characters. The writers tied some things up by the end of the series but left a lot open for the characters, leaving the audience to imagine how life would work out for them. That was a fine way to end a series like this. Even though the series did not feel the same as in past seasons, it tried to hit on similar themes of family and growing up that had carried throughout the prior seasons. Overall, the show ended up with a 91-episode run, slightly under a "normal" five-season run for a series, which usually results in at least 100 episodes. While it was the right time to end the series, I would have liked the full original cast to have more of a presence, at least in the final couple of episodes.

The DVD set is a two-disc set. Of all the DVD releases for the series, this one is the most bare-bones. It just includes the episodes. It has no extras, and the episodes do not have captions. The DVDs do go out of print from time to time and can be harder to find at a reasonable price. If you can find the set at a fair price and have the other seasons, it is worth adding to your collection. If not, it is available to stream and I believe is included if you have Amazon Prime.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 17

On day 17, I did the 645 cardio workout in the evening. I had to work out a bit later than I anticipated, so I just did the cardio workout and did not do either of the Lift 4 recovery workouts. 

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 16

Day 16 was the back and biceps workout in Lift 4 and, of course, the 645 cardio routine in the morning. The Lift 4 workout was a circuit workout. Even though it had no cardio, it was tough. I did try to increase the amount of weight I was using for the exercises, but on some of them, I had to reduce the weight after the first set, especially in the second block.  

Blu-Ray/TV Movie Review: Prison Break The Final Break

 

+++Warning, This will contain spoilers from the fourth season of the show as well as a minor spoiler for the fifth season/event series that aired in 2017. ++++

The Final Break is an hour-and-a-half-long TV movie that aired a few weeks after the series finale of Prison Break (on May 27, 2009), showing the events that occurred during the time that passed in the time jump in the series finale where it was revealed that Michael was dead. The basic story is that Sara is arrested for the murder of Michael's mother and thrown into a women's prison in Miami. The General sets up a hit on Sara, and Michael finds out and springs a plan to break her out. Most of the major characters that appeared in the fourth season (Sucre, Malone, Lincoln, and T-bag) also appear in this. Jodi Lynn O'Keef also reprises her role as Gretchen and gets a better sendoff than she got during the "main" episodes of the fourth season. Lori Petty plays the main antagonist for Sara in the women's prison. There is not really any setup for the storyline that would play out in the event series where it is revealed that Michael faked his death, aside from the fact that his death is never shown on screen.

The Blu-Ray is fairly bare-bones. The A/V quality is akin to the series releases; the only extra is about four minutes of deleted scenes. There is no making-of feature, no commentary track, etc. That knocks it down a star for me, but overall, it gives a decent but somewhat unnecessary alternate ending to the original series run. Personally, I think the fourth season's ending was a fine ending without any further explanation, regardless of whether the event series was ever made.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 15

Day 15 was the beginning of week 3 in Lift 4, which meant doing chest and triceps and increasing the amount of weight for each of the exercises. I was able to use increased weights on every exercise through the three sets except for the skull crushers. I did the first set with 20 lbs and the last set with 15 lbs. For the second set, I did about five reps with 20 lbs and the other five with 15 lbs. During the cardio portion (this was a 50-50 workout), I modified the 180 squat jumps and the jump lunges, but I did not modify the soccer runs. And, of course, I did the 645 cardio routine in the morning. So, ultimately it was a good, but tough, workout day.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight Season 1

 

The 10-episode first season of The Good Fight aired in the winter and spring of 2017. The show was spun off from the long-running CBS show The Good Wife. It was created by the showrunners of The Good Wife and stars Christine Baranski, Justin Bartha, Rose Leslie, Sarah Steele, Delroy Lindo, Audra McDonald, Nyamibi Nyambi, Gary Cole, Erica Tazel, Michael Boatman, and Cush Jumbo. Even though the show is a spin-off, you do not need to have seen a second of The Good Wife to be able to follow 99% of this show. That is mainly because there was nothing in the final season of The Good Wife done to set up the events that kick off this show, aside from introducing the character of Lucca Quinn (played by Jumbo).

The Good Fight picks up a little more than a year after the series finale of The Good Wife. The opening scene is Diane (Baranski) reacting to the inauguration of t***p, and then planning her retirement in France. Of course, she signed the paperwork to give up her partnership with the law firm (which now has eight named partners because of mergers with two other firms), much to the delight of David Lee. She is then caught up in a Madoff-like financial scheme allegedly run by the parents (and uncle) of her god-daughter and newly hired associate of the firm (who was never mentioned on The Good Wife), Maia, played by Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie. When Diane tries to revoke her retirement and resume her role as a named partner in the firm, she is essentially forced out and ends up with a rival, mostly black-owned firm, Reddick, Boseman, and Kolstad. That is all the setup the show gives or that the audience needs to know before the show gets going.

There are a few main themes that run throughout the season, Diane trying to catch on at the new firm and being a fish out of water, Maia trying to navigate being a new lawyer and dealing with the scandal involving her family, and, of course, the various cases of the week. We do not really get much of an idea of what happened to the main characters from The Good Wife. We learn through Lucca and Marissa Gold (the latter of which comes in as Diane's assistant) that Alicia has left Chicago, but we do not learn of her "post slap" fate beyond that. The only plot point from The Good Wife that carries over to this show is Diane and Kurt's relationship after the final trial of the other show.

The series does an excellent job of introducing the new characters into the universe the prior show set up. The great (mostly) character actor Delroy Lindo and Justified alum Erica Tazel play the new partners opposite Diane. Justin Bartha (probably known best from the National Treasure movies) plays an AUSA and love interest for Lucca. Those who were fans of The Good Wife will recognize many guest stars, including Christine Lahti, Matthew Perry, and Jason Biggs (among others). Michael Boatman also reprises his role as Julius Cain, who has left Lockhart, Agos, and Lee and become a partner at Reddick-Boseman.

As with the parent show, this one delves not only into politics (and if you are a t***p supporter, you will probably not like the political bent) and current (or recently current) events. It is well written and acted, and like The Good Wife, it gets a lot (although not all) of the legal stuff correct. Any lawyer will appreciate the scene where Maia is refreshing the screen while waiting for her bar exam results to come in, which many would-be lawyers have done. It does take many of the same creative liberties with the courtroom scenes that The Good Wife did to make things more dramatic than would occur in real life.

The DVD set is a three-disc set. It is a very bare-bones release. It is almost a MOD release, but it does have some extras (deleted scenes for most episodes and a gag reel) and captions (which kind of hilariously were clearly done knowing most sets would likely be sold in the UK because they spell words like honor as honour, and use mum for mom, as would be done in the UK). However, given that most shows do not get a DVD release in the US these days, it is nice to get anything from those who prefer physical media. I think the showrunners made a good decision to keep the season shorter, 10 episodes, as opposed to the 22-24 per season that The Good Wife got. It enables them to get in and out of the main storylines and leaves the viewers wanting more. Because it airs on the streaming platform and not over the air, the episodes are a bit longer (usually between 45 and 55 minutes), and they get away with swearing (there are many f-bombs dropped). While I cannot say that everyone who was a fan of The Good Wife will like this one, I generally think if you enjoyed that show, you will like it. That said, the show really goes out of its way to stand on its own, and while it does pay homage to the parent show it, wisely, does not try to be a carbon copy of The Good Wife.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 14

On Day 14, I did the 645 cardio routine, followed by the Lift 4 Roll and Recover routine. It again felt good to do the foam rolling routine because I still have a ton of knots in my legs.  

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 13

 On Day 13, I just did the 645 cardio routine in the late afternoon. I did not do either of the Lift 4 recovery routines, but I plan to do at least one of them tomorrow.

DVD/TV Series Review: Grounded For Life Season 4

 

The 28-episode fourth season of Grounded For Life aired during the 2003/2004 TV season. It ended up being the longest in the series run. This is because there were six episodes filmed during season three that were held over as the show moved from FOX to the WB network after FOX canceled it. While the show continued to be very funny, I think the downgrading of Richard Riehle's character to recurring (he only appeared in a few episodes this season) hurt the show. That said, since the show had a large ensemble cast, coming up with enough material to give all the characters enough of a story arc was hard, so I can see why they did it. However, having his character as a part of the dynamic regularly was missed.

For the most part, the show continued with the same feel as it had. Mostly, story-of-the-week episodes that did not carry over to subsequent episodes. They did not rely on flashbacks as much as in prior seasons to tell the stories. The show still incorporated them into most of the episodes; they just did not use as many as they did in the prior seasons. The show continued to use the themes of family and growing up, both for the kids and the adults of the show. Although the characters of Henry and Jimmy took a backseat to Lilly's storylines as far as the kid's characters went.

The DVD set is a four-disc set. The extras were the same as the season-three set. Commentary tracks on select episodes and previews for other DVD sets released around the same time. There are no other behind-the-scenes materials. Chances are, the only people likely to get these DVDs are people who were fans of the show when it was on the air. The sets are going out of print and getting much harder to find as time goes by, which is why some are $50+. This one is the most expensive of the individual season sets, so if you can find it for a reasonable price, pounce on it because they may get more expensive as time goes by. And, given that TV series being released on physical discs are going the way of the dodo bird, the chances of it ever getting another DVD printing is slim to none.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Prison Break Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains season 3 spoilers, but no major giveaways from the final season +++

The 22-episode fourth season (and original final season) of Prison Break aired during the 2008/2009 TV season.  The fourth season packs a lot into the 22 episodes, starting with two episodes that essentially finish the season three storyline, which was cut short due to the 2007 writer's strike. We find out what happened to the Sona prison and where the various characters end up after the escape (which involves a bit of a time jump). It is not spoiling anything to say that the reveal that Sarah was not killed (Sara Wayne Callies resolved her contract dispute and returned to the show), and from there, the rest of the season involves the group trying to take down the company, mainly surrounding a McGuffin plot point called Scylla. There are some returning characters from prior seasons, as well as new characters, notably a Compay hitman played by Cress Williams, who would go on to play very different characters on Hart of Dixie and Black Lightning, and if you saw those shows before this one, his performance as a bad guy is even more impressive, and Michael Rappaport, who plays a Homeland Security agent with a deal for the team.

The show has a lot of twists and turns, as it did in prior seasons, but I think some of them were things that would have been revealed last season if season three actually had a full season run and was not cut off at 13 episodes. So, it just feels like the season jumps around a lot. There are a lot of reveals, and as you should have come to expect from the show by now, not everyone makes it out unscathed. One thing I think the show did a great job of is not giving a happily-ever-after ending to all the characters.

The Blu-Ray set is a six-disc set. It should be noted that the Blu-Ray release contains the original 22 episodes that aired but does not contain the two unaired episodes (which are available separately under the title The Final Break), which aired as a TV movie and bridges a time-jump gap that occurs in the series finale. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, mainly from the writers of the particular episodes. However, some cast members appear on a couple of the commentary tracks. Then, the final disc has a little over a half hour's worth of behind-the-scenes material (broken up into three featurettes).

Overall, I think the season ended the series in a good way. Of course, it did not end up being the end of the series, as a limited event series aired in 2017 and gave the show a much better ending. But that was not a given thing when the fourth season was shot. The acting and writing were still top-notch, and the show still managed to do a lot of character development, even with the established cast. Because of the show's serialized nature, you need to have seen the prior seasons before watching this to really get what is going on. If you liked the prior seasons, then you will most likely enjoy this one.

Workout Update: 654 Cardio/Lift 4 Hybrid: Day 12

On Day 12, I did the 645 cardio routine in the morning, followed by the Legs routine from Lift 4 (a HIIT routine without any lifting) in the evening. I was very sore and tired in the evening workout, so I swapped speed skaters for triple bear and squat jumps for catcher jumps. Even with those modifications, the workout was still challenging, and I tried not to modify any exercises until I absolutely had to.