The Season 1 finale dropped on January 12 and it was quite the sendoff to say the least. It’s a real shame not a lot of people have likely seen this TV Series let alone knows it exists. The reason: It requires an Apple TV+ subscription to watch.
I got real lucky and ended up getting 3-month free trial for Apple TV+ from Roku in early December. This allowed me to watch all 10 episodes of the just completed Season 1 in their entirety. I actually got the subscription to watch the Tetris Biopic but when I saw this TV series, I decided to watch. I was glad I did.
Those who’ve seen Kong: Skull Island will find the opening moments of the first episode familiar. An aged William “Billy” Randa (played by John Goodman) is running from a giant spider and is cornered on a cliff. Another monster comes out of the water and clashes with the spider. Randa drops the bag of research data he’d been collecting on Skull Island. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters picks up the story from there.
One of the interesting things about this first season is it tells two sets of stories that are seemingly unrelated through the first nine episodes. In the Present Day (2015), it’s been a year since the events of Godzilla (2014). San Francisco is in ruins and the world is still traumatized by what happened. Cate Randa, who was a schoolteacher in San Francisco before G-Day travels to Japan where she learns her father Hiroshi had another family. She meets her half-brother Kentaro and his mother Emiko in Tokyo. They find data in their father’s Tokyo office and Kentaro decides to bring it to his friend May who is a hacker. This inadvertently sets off a globe-trotting quest to not just find out what really happened to their father but where the Titans came from.
In the Past–starting in 1952–we’re introduced to Cate and Kentaro’s grandparents Keiko and Bill Randa as well as Lee Shaw. Shaw and the Randas are the ones who created Monarch on that note. Before it was the multinational Titan-monitoring organization it is today, it was a minor department in the U.S. Military. Shaw and the Randas were the first to definitively prove the Titans were real. Remember the footage from reel from Godzilla’s (2014) opening in which the U.S Military tried to nuke Godzilla? We find out a bit more about that. Lee and the Randas also find out several years later Godzilla survived unscathed which was a nice touch.
Speaking of Godzilla. Our favorite Apex Predator does make a few cameo appearances. Aside from swimming by their grandparents in the past, Cate and Kentaro see him in the desert while looking for their father. He does make one more appearance in the final episode but I’ll get to that a bit later. While exploring an abandoned nuclear reactor in Kazakstan in 1959, Keiko is seemingly killed after she’s swarmed by giant bugs. Three years later in 1962, Shaw is part of an expeditionary team that travels through one of the Titan portals. A nuke is used to lure a titan up and the team along with their pod is sucked in. Shaw is the only one who comes back alive. He reveals in the season finale he was gone for about a week but in reality, he’d been gone for 20 years (!). It’s 1982 when he returns and the child Hiroshi he’d left behind is now a grown man. The events of Kong: Skull Island happened nine years earlier (1973) and Bill Randa was among those who died over there. I forgot to say this before but Kurt Russell plays the elder version of Shaw while his son Wyatt plays the younger version of Shaw.
May is seemingly nothing more than an overly cautious tech-savy hacker but we find out there’s a pretty good reason she’s so secretive. It turns out she worked for a medical tech company before the fled to Japan. She did some digging around and learned that there was more to the company than she realized. She released malware into the company’s servers that devastated the company and fled to Japan. When Monarch picks up Cate, Kentaro, Shaw and May in Alaska they’re confused about her being so overly cautious about confirming her true identity as she’s not wanted by law enforcement anywhere.
Circumstances end up causing Kentaro and Cate to ally with Monarch. May’s former employer finds her and takes her back to their offices in Seattle. Cate finds out about it and recruits Monarch’s assistance in getting her new friend back. Monarch reluctantly agrees to pay a huge price in exchange for May’s freedom: All the research data they have on Titans. We then learn the new name of the company that is the main antagonist of Godzilla vs. Kong: Apex Industries. For those who may not have seen that movie, that’s the company that created MechaGodzilla using one of King Ghidora’s heads to control it.
Godzilla’s final appearance in Season 1 takes place in the Titan homeworld. In Godzilla vs. Kong it’s called Hollow Earth. While trying to making their escape, Cate and Lee’s party is attacked by a Titan that happened to be nearby. Suddenly unexpected backup arrives from Earth: Godzilla himself. During the ensuing battle, Lee sacrifices himself so the others can escape safely back to Earth.
Remember when I said earlier Keiko was seemingly killed in the first episode? It turns out she survived and we should’ve seen it coming after learning what happened to Shaw in Episode 9. At the end of the episode, Cate is attacked by a giant boar-like Titan. Keiko shows up just in time to rescue her granddaughter. Keiko reveals she’d been in Hollow Earth for about 57 days (as a reminder, she went in there in 1959). In reality, she was down there for 66 years (1959-2015). When Cate, May and Keiko return to Earth in the final moments of the Season finale two years have passed. After Cate, May and Shaw disappeared Kentaro, Tim and Hiroshi form an alliance with Apex Industries. When Cate, May and Keiko return they happen to arrive on Skull Island. The final moments show Kong make his grand entrance above the facility.
It’s now 2017 in the Present Day meaning the events of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters haven’t happened in-universe yet. Given the final moments of Season 1 happen on Skull Island, clearly the show is taking cues from the movies and telling you where the next season will likely focus. By the time we return to Skull Island at the beginning of Godzilla vs. Kong, it’s been 68 years since Monarch’s expedition to the remote habitat and home of Kong. I’m pretty sure we’ll see the return of split storytelling in Season 2 as well. The flashback scenes would likely focus on what Kentaro, Hiroshi and Tim were doing during the two year gap while Cate, May and Shaw were missing. Kentaro, Hiroshi and Tim welcoming the others when they returned tells me they likely found info from when Shaw returned in 1982.
All that said and in closing. I don’t expect Season 2 to drop for another year or two mostly because most of the cast are currently working on other projects. I also think this series would do itself better on Peacock, Max, Amazon Prime or Netflix personally. This series deserves to be on a streaming platform used by more people. I’ll just put it like that.
Over the last 18 or so years we’ve seen the rise of online Cloud Storage. Everyone’s probably at least heard of Google Drive and iCloud for example. This has opened up a lot of possabilities only dreamt of in the early 2000s including unified data infrastructures across multiple devices and platforms. For example. When you buy a new iPhone/iPad or Android phone/tablet you can use the same info from your old device on the new one by simply using your Apple or Google info on the new device. It will then allow you access to everything not locally stored on any of the devices in addition to your entire purchase history indefinitely.
That brings me to the one glaring flaw ALL cloud-based storage systems have: They require an internet connection to use. Without an internet connection (broadband, Wi-Fi, Data, etc.), it’s useless. That’s to say nothing of these massive data breaches and Ransomware attacks largely orchestrated by hacking groups based in Russia, North Korea and China.
Until recent years, high-capacity hard drives and USB drives were hard capped to around 500GB to 750GB. Now you can commercially buy External Drives up to 12TB quite easily online. With all the data privacy concerns with social media platforms in particular, I strongly urge everyone to invest or reinvest in getting a desktop or laptop AND a high-capacity external hard drive. Most of the world accesses the internet via a Smartphone (iOS/Apple or Android). Its convenience drastically reduced the number of people who own a personal computer at home in modernized countries. At the same time, it helped connect people who live in developing countries to the rest of the world.
There’s nothing wrong with that but the problem is with everything on your phone, if something happens to it you’ll lose everything on it forever. Contacts, Photos, personal data, everything. Don’t forget what I mentioned earlier about the huge downside to relying on Cloud Storage: It requires an internet connection. Without an internet connection, you can’t access that data. The way I see it, if you can afford to buy a new smartphone or video game console you can buy a decent desktop or laptop no problem. A Laptop might make more sense as you can take it with you though. Get one and get an external hard drive too.
Two years ago, I was given a 5TB external hard drive for my birthday. I was able to not only back up all the data on my two computers to it but all of the data on all of the hard drives I recovered from broken computers over the last 10 years. Last March I accidently broke the USB cable for it while using it with my laptop and it malfunctioned, never working again. It took longer than I would have liked but I recently not only got a new 5TB external hard drive but I also got a 2TB external hard drive to use exclusively with my laptop. My laptop came with a 250GB SSD Hard Drive. In exchange for the laptop working faster, I have limited storage on it. This is why I invested in getting an external hard drive. My mistake with the hard drive that broke was using it not only as my Master Backup Storage but also using it as the primary storage for my laptop. With two external hard drives, that mistake has been fixed.
Before I continue, it’s worth noting I ALSO have four internal hard drives that I can use as external hard drives with the enclosures I bought for them. I have a 250GB HDD and a 500GB HDD that I took out of broken laptops I used to have. I reformatted them with their enclosures and use them for media storage. I also have the 750GB HDD from my old desktop. The computer crashed during a system update four years ago. I got the laptop my 500GB HDD came from shortly afterward and after getting an enclosure for the 750GB HDD, I discovered I could access all my files on it. Based on that, I was able to figure out the files in the operating system had become corrupted and it was unable to boot up anymore. At least I could still access my files on the hard drive which was good news.
When I bought my current desktop, I replaced the 500GB HDD that came with the computer with a 2TB internal hard drive. I used a separate USB Drive to create a Recovery Drive with my laptop and then used that to install Windows 10 on the 2TB hard drive for my then new desktop. I then went ahead and reinstalled everything that was on the 750GB HDD on the new desktop hard drive. I also put everything that was on a 500GB External Hard Drive I’d had since 2007–I’d been using it as my “If everything fails, use this” backup–on the new desktop hard drive. As for the 500GB internal HDD my desktop came with, I put it in storage as-is. I figure in the event the hard drive I swapped it with fails, I can just swap it back in.
Once I did all that, I went ahead and reformatted all my loose hard drives except the 750GB one. I’m probably gonna make the time to do that later this year likely in early Summer. When I got my replacement 5TB External Hard Drive, I wasted no time backing up 1.5TB worth of data to it. About 480GB of it is just my iTunes Library–Music, Podcasts, Music Videos, Movies and TV Shows/Episodes–while 60GB is all my pictures including everything I have stored on my iCloud AND every screenshot I took with my Nintendo Switch and backed up to my computer. When using a memory card, the Switch has a hard cap of 10,000 Screenshots and 100 Video Clips. Once you hit the cap, you have to delete screenshots/clips to make room for more. You can do that in bulk of course. What I did before bulk deleting was back up all the screenshots to my desktop. As of last month, the count’s 70,000+ Switch screenshots meaning I’ve backed up screenshots seven times so far. I got my Switch in late 2022 for reference on that note.
I have a pretty large Steam library, most of which can be played offline as long as you have the game files installed on your computer. I downloaded my whole Steam library to my desktop and to my laptop (via the 2TB external hard drive I bought for it). That’s about 575GB or so worth of data (it took 3 days with my laptop though I didn’t have it running the whole time). I also have a Blizzard account and almost all of their games which totals about 325GB worth of data. If you do the math, the total for everything mentioned as well as document files, video podcasts, audio podcasts and a few other things comes to around 1.5TB. This was also why I felt comfortable just getting a 2TB external hard drive to work with my laptop. It now has access to all the of the stuff on my desktop with the added benefit of me being able to take my laptop with me when I leave home.
All that said, let’s just say I now have a LOT of contingencies in place to help ensure I do not permanently lose any data hopefully ever again. I am also happy to say there is nothing imporant to me that I have in cloud storage somewhere that I do not also have a local backup of. I’ve gone through several computers over the last 20 years and a few cellphones over the last 6 years. Those are the main reasons I’m being this thorough with my local hard drive storages. The new 5TB External Hard Drive’s sole purpose is being a hard backup storage and will rarely be used outside of that purpose. This is also why getting a separate 2TB External Hard Drive for my laptop was important. They’ll always travel together and more so since I installed my Steam and Blizzard libraries directly onto it.
My 4th Gen iPod Touch and the 3rd Gen iPod Touch I bought as a backup 6 years ago have both officially stopped working as of this week. I’m devastated and more so given Apple officially discontinued the iPod line last year. The move was largely to push people to get an iPhone though it does use the same firmware as iPhones. The only difference is the iPhod Touch does not have any of the communication features or hardware an iPhone does–specifically a SIM Card slot. Once I have stable income, I’m gonna buy some refurbished iPods via eBay. The only thing to watch out for is battery life since my 4th Gen iPod Touch stopped holding a charge in cold weather after a few years. I literally had to keep it plugged into a portable charger during the winter to keep it running.
This time, I’ll focus on getting newer model versions of the iPod Touch–5th Gen and later–with at least 32GB storage capacity. The 4th Gen iPod I had was 32GB and so was the 3rd Gen iPod I had. I’ve been checking out listings on eBay and Amazon. I ultimately decided to go with eBay instead of Amazon for my iPod hunt since I plan to buy several older model iPods and I’ll have a much easier time getting just one for well under $100 each from eBay (I’ll only buy from sellers based in the U.S. on that note). While 8GB and 16GB iPods typically sell for $15 to $40 on eBay, I’d only buy them in those sizes if I was giving them to someone who either can’t or doesn’t plan to add anything to it. In cases like that I’d have to preload them with content before giving them away.
All that said. The main reason I’m getting multiple iPods is largely for the many podcasts I listen to via Apple Podcasts. I actually download all the podcast episodes I listen to onto my desktop computer first. That way, I permanently have them when and if they’re no longer available on Apple Podcasts. Oh and yes they are part of the hard backups I mentioned earlier. Another reason is battery depreciation. Meaning the battery stops holding a charge even after you supposedly fully charge it. It will just shut off despite showing as “full” with no warning. That’s what ultimately killed my 4th Gen iPod Touch which I got 14 years ago preowned. The repeated power offs messed it up so bad it stopped rebooting properly. As for the 3rd Gen iPod, some dead pixels I knew about when I bought it eventually made the screen flicker white in addition to general stability issues. It got worse until finally it White Screened for good.
The 4th Gen iPod Touch is apparently imfamous for battery depreciation on that note and that’s why I’m gonna focus on getting 5th Gen and later iPods. I found two 5th Gen iPods from the same seller–one 32GB, the other 64GB– on eBay that are being sold for a combined $100 after taxes (both items have Free Shipping). I’m gonna make arrangements to acquire them one by one by early April. I’m staggering when I have time to program one before I get the other. Once I have both of them though, I can hold off on getting newer model iPods until I have stable income. The two I’m gonna get for now will cover my everyday needs. I’ll mainly use the 64GB one with the 32GB one acting as a backup that I’ll keep in storage at home. I’ll continue to use key mobile apps I use on my iPad primarily though I do plan to migrate most of the Freemium games on my iPad to the iPods based on compatability. We’ll see.
The thing about iPods to keep in mind is the same apps you use on an iPhone also work on an iPod and iPad. For example, I run Pokemon Go through my iPad (I often use my cellphone as a hotspot when I’m away from home on that note). With older iPods the same core apps such as Apple Music, Apple Video, Apple Podcasts, iBook/Bookcase, iMessage and Facetime do work though you’ll have some stability issues with the older models. You actually can use iMessage and FaceTime on older iPods–provided the device is connected to a Wi-Fi network or Wireless Hotspot–to communicate with people who have an iPad, iPhone or another iPod. You simply need to know the other person’s iCloud email (for example “username123@icloud.com” and/or whatever the email you used to make your iTunes account). Oh and no, distance does not matter. As long as both people are connected to the internet, it doesn’t matter where in the world you are or what Apple device you use. That right there adds a lot of value to iPods as communication devices. They do “chirp” for new message notifications by default as well.
Did I forget to mention the older iPods have Bluetooth functionality? Meaning you can pair them with Bluetooth speakers (and other devices). Not a bad thing to keep in mind especially if you don’t plan to use wired headphones. That’s also the biggest reason to get a few of the smaller storage size ones. You can simply put one genre of music or only Podcasts on one which shouldn’t take up that much space on average. Movies and TV Episodes–especially in HD–take up the most space. I do know on newer Apple devices, you can stream purchased Movies and TV episodes via the Apple TV app without having to download them first. With older devices you will need to download them before you can watch them though. Using iTunes from a computer helps keep things organized but if you read what I said earlier about having two computers, hopefully you understand this already.
Streaming apps like YouTube, Netflix, Crunchyroll and Viki will also work on the older iPods though you’ll likely be forced to use older versions of them due to compatability contraints on older devices. If you already have an iTunes account and downloaded them to a newer device, you can simply redownload them from the older device by going into your purchase history in the App Store from the older device. The same is true if you want to do direct downloads from iTunes or Apple Podcasts from the device instead of your computer. On a related note. While iTunes purchases and new Podcast subscriptions are automatically added to your iCloud account, if you want to download them to all your devices you’ll need to either manually do that or transfer them from a computer.
I forgot to say this before but you can import music to iTunes purchased from elsewhere such as Amazon Music (Computer required). The same is true for CD Rips. You can also access movie purchases from iTunes on Amazon Prime Video and a few other steaming apps like Movies Anywhere and even Xbox Live. They both allow you to link your Apple account on that note. For those who buy Blu Ray movies, most of them typically come with a code for a free digital copy. Always redeem the redemption code as soon as you take ’em home since they expire eventually. I’m speaking from personal experience on that note.
By the way you CAN watch digital media you bought from iTunes offline from either your computer or an Apple device BUT you’ll need to download it first. Plan accordingly if it’s something like one of the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Avengers movies in HD. Those files are MASSIVE after all. It’ll probably be a good idea to first download them to your computer and then sync them to your Apple devices to save some time later. There is no limit to how many Apple devices you can sync media to from your computer on that note.
This is true even if your iTunes info is not on the target Apple device. What theat means is you can add music and podcast episodes to an Apple device without using your own iTunes info with it. This is very handy especially in cases where you want to give an iPod to someone who either doesn’t have a computer or is not tech savy themselves. It’s also handy if for example you want to ship a preprogrammed iPod with music, videos, podcasts and other stuff to someone in another country where internet access is limited. You can also get free voice recorder apps through the app store which can come in handy for someone. Plus like I pointed out earlier you can communicate with someone who has an iPhone, iPad or their own iPod as long as the iPod is connected to the internet. If the person getting the iPod has reliable Wi-Fi access, yes you can keep in touch.
I’ll end with this since it’s something anyone with online data in particular should seriously start thinking about: What do you want happening with your online accounts and your data overall when you die?
I do know Facebook does allow a designated party partial access to the accounts of someone who died provided you provide a copy of a death certificate or funeral program as proof the original account holder is in fact deceased. Alternatively, you can pre-designate specific people to get partial access to your account if you die as well. With partial access, the designated person can either deactivate your Facebook account for you or change it to a memorial account.
One thing all websites and social media platforms need to do is make it as easy as possible to scrub the internet of all of your information and data. A master kill switch of sorts. You hit the switch and everything is erased immediately, unable to be recovered. With everything going on in the world these days, all online platforms including iTunes, Google/Gmail and Battle.net (Blizzard) should have a master data wipe feature for all account holders. What’s that? “What if your account’s hacked and the hacker wipes all your data?” I actually wouldn’t be bothered by that and on a related note. Hackers have already proven 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) CAN be breached. I’m not gonna say more than that because I’d rather not give anyone ideas.
All that said. More so now than 25 years ago, the consumer should do everything they can to be 100% in control of their data at all times. It’s why I’m unapologetically obessed with local backups of all my data to say the least. It’s funny given around 60% of the data is music, 30% is video games, and the last 10% is my documents, manusripts and podcast files.
…Podcasts? Yes, video and audio podcasts.
I haven’t recorded anything since Spring 2021 though. Might be time to start doing that again soon. We’ll see =)
Companion AI Apps like Replika has been enjoying a surge in popularity after some news reports on it earlier this year. For those who may not have heard of them, these Companion Apps are exactly what they sounds like: digital avatars created by users who interact with them and talk to them. From what I’ve been seeing and hearing, the overwhelming majority of people who use these apps do have real human friends and healthy social lives. Most people use them out of genuine curiousity or fun and don’t spend a lot of time on them.
…Of course, those are not the kinds of people the media cares to do stories on.
They want to do stories on those who place equal and sometimes greater preference on their digital avatars as real people. I saw story on CBS News a few months ago on a woman in New Jersey who had a live-in boyfriend. Despite that, she spent far more time with the male Chatbot she created than him. When the journalist straight-up asked him if he feels any kind of jealousy toward his girlfriend’s chatbot, he basically laughed it off for the camera and said no. I’m pretty sure the journalist knew he was lying since he knew his answer would be replayed later. You can tell from the few moments of footage showing him looking at his girlfriend looking at her phone that he clearly felt otherwise.
It’s worth noting the journalists also interviewed some of the software engineers who created and developed Replika. The software engineers basically said–and I’m paraphrasing –that they are “meeting a demand” with the simulated relationships apps Replika and other apps like it offer. In truth, what they and other companies are looking to do is monetize app users’ need for social interaction but with A.I. companions instead of people. Me personally, it doesn’t matter how “human-like” the A.I. is made either in an app or in a virtual world. They are no replacement for real people at the end of the day.
I’ll let folks in on a little bit of a secret: It doesn’t matter how introverted someone is, eventually they will want to interact with real people. Don’t let what some movies, TV Shows, webcomics and other entertainment mediums project: People NEED to interact with others who have opinions, views, values and beliefs that are different from their own. This has been the case for thousands of years and no matter how sophisticated it becomes, A.I. will never be able to replace that. I’m actually getting very uncomfortable with a growing reliance some have on assistive A.I. like Alexa, Siri, Cortana and others. I actually don’t use them. I do have an Alexa speaker but I mostly use it as a bluetooth speaker or otherwise for sports news updates.
People need to understand something and I am repeating myself. The Companion A.I. Industry is out to prove they can put a price on social interactions. Right now most of those who use a Companion A.I. interact with human friends more but let’s not kids ourselves. Their target demographics are those who live alone and those who are largely antisocial. They’re betting on people only wanting to interact with “someone” who love bombs them all the time, only tells them what they want to hear, only tells them what they like to hear and makes them feel good.
…THAT can never be a REAL friend. That’s nothing more than a glorified cheerleader.
Don’t get me wrong, having positive people in your life IS important. What’s even more important is having people who genuinely care about you and want to see you succeed in life. That MUST include people who will tell you things you might not like or want to hear. People who are willing to tell you things you might not be open to hearing or accepting do anyway because they care and want to keep you from losing your way. On that last point. If you’re on the path to ruin and the only people in your circle are people who are cheering you on, you have yourself to blame at the end of the day. These days, most people wishing for your downfall are doing it with a smile on their face. Not everyone who smiles at you and says nice things to you has your best interests in mind. They want to lull you into a false sense of security.
That’s the main purpose of these A.I. Companion Apps. They want you feel good about yourself and tell you nice things. Push you out of your comfort zone? No, that goes against what they’re designed to do. They’re largely designed to coddle you, caress your ego and tell you all the nice things you wish others would say about you to you when you want it. Even though you know it’s not a real person, you won’t be able to help yourself before long. It can be addicting and that’s the intent.
By now, most of you have probably gotten sick and tired of the frequent price hikes with just Netflix. $23 a month as of September 2023? Yeah, no. Enough’s enough. For those who probably guessed it, YES the networks are passing the pain on to consumers. If you’re paying for Cable/Satellite you’ve probably already seen your monthly bill rising since the SAG-AFTRA strike began this past summer. How does it feel to pay more for less?
The studios and networks clearly think punishing us, the consumer with a larger bill is a good negotiation tactic. None of SAG-AFTRA’s demands are unreasonable and more so now. The studios and networks just don’t want to give what’s being asked for. Full stop. The writer’s strike, which began before the actors joined in and ended in August meant late night TV and certain other shows could resume. If the Actors’ Strike ended today, we would not see production on new shows, movies and TV Shows begin until 2nd Quarter 2024 the earliest. Meaning paying monthly from now until next Summer would largely be a waste of money.
Mind you, this only really applies to streaming companies based on the United States. If you use streaming services like Crunchyroll, Brit Box or Viki then you don’t have to worry. It’s true many of those who do voicework for Anime and video games are union members but not everyone is. I’ve also been hearing those who’ve committed to voicework projects before the strike happened are allowed to do the projects they commited to in advance. Those who dub anime and video games in English have a bit more leeway as well but I won’t digress further than that.
I’ve been open about this but typically, I get 12-month subscriptions. It’s more cost effective for me than paying $8 to $12 a month on average which averages out to about $68 to $144 a year. In contrast, you could pay $80 to $100 on average for a 12 month subscription. One bill for 12 months vs. 12 monthly bills. Which sounds more economical to you? Three other things to consider are of course how much you plan to watch per month, how much time per week you can make for watching and if there are certain shows or features that make a yearly more attractive to you than monthly.
Did you know Viki has an annual subscription tier priced as $50? Their Standard Annual tier–which I have had since 2015–is $50. Their Premium Annual tier which was introduced in 2019 is $100. More recently, Viki has been doing a better job at rotating more Premium programming to the Standard and in some cases Free tiers so eventually, everyone can enjoy most of what’s offered either free or at Standard tier. Crunchyroll’s annual subcription is currently $80 while it has three monthly premium tiers ($10, $12 and $15 respectively). Again, you’re saving money buying an annual subscription. For one, you feel no pressure to watch every week to make what you pay “worth it”. Another thing to consider is with new anime currently airing in Japan, they’re released as Subs (Japanese audio, English text on the bottom of the screen) on Crunchyroll for subscribers shortly afterward (Dubs in select languages including English are released up to a week later). Those watching for free typically have to wait at least a week for to watch new episodes.
All that said. I do think the time is soon coming in which Streaming Services will render Cable and Satellite obsolete. No one is willing to pay $200+ a month for Premium TV services just for the small handful of channels they regularly watch or in most cases, to have a “perfect” picture. I do think the time has come for certain Premium TV Channels to be “downgraded” to Free Broadcast Networks.
Here are some Premium Networks that I think absolutely could and should become Free Broadcast Channels:
The Weather Channel
NBC Sports (Based on Region)
Hallmark Channel
ESPN News
NESN (New England Sports Network)
NECN (New England Cable News)
The Travel Channel
Food Network
CNBC
I’m aware each network will have to pass FCC regulations to run as broadcast channels. I don’t see that being a problem for any of these. It’s just a matter of weather or not the owners of these networks see the value. I assume none do or they would have made the arrangements decades ago.
It’s interesting to note CSPAN and CSPAN2, which provide live feeds to the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively are government owned and controlled networks. The reason they are premium TV channels is because some of the things said or described would likely need to be censored (“Bleep!”) or something otherwise. It’s also why I didn’t include CNN, MSNBC or Fox “News”. They can swear on all of those networks because they’re cable networks. The FCC’s rules on that do not apply to Premium TV Networks.
Streaming Networks have changed things to say the least. While you currently need a Premium TV Subscription to watch Premium Networks via their Streaming Channel, I do see that changing very soon. People are tired of paying $200+ a month for hundreds of channels they either don’t watch or don’t like. This automatically makes streaming services very attractive. These efforts to force even premium subscription members sit through unskippable ads has been bothering me a lot. I largely pay a subscription so that I do not have to see Ads, more so when watching stuff on demand. It’s largely why I hate Hulu and barely tolerate Amazon Prime Video.
I also find it hypocritical to force ads on those who bought a subscription in mostly to remove ads. Ads are the primary way streaming services pay for the service on their end. I understand that. The thing is, it’s kinda hypocritical to offer an ad-free experience and then don’t. The worse part about this is the way they’re working to “incentivize” ad viewing by largely showing trailers for shows or movies they offer as well as local services. My problem is again, I pay a subscription largely so I do not have to sit through Ads. I certainly DON’T like these efforts by Netflix, Peacock, Paramount+ and other streaming services to have two or more premium tiers. There should just be the ONE premium tier.
…Whew.
When I first drafted this post, the SAG-AFTRA strike was still ongoing. As of November 10, a deal was reached and the strike is now over. Almost immediately, all the ads and promotions that couldn’t be run due to the actors’ strike flooded TVs. It also saw WWE Superstar turned actor John Cena, who returned to WWE during the actors’ strike return to Hollywood. Cena revealed during the press conference after Summer Slam in August that his current run in WWE would end the moment the actor strike ended. He revealed both then and in subsequent interviews he is a part of several Hollywood projects he can’t talk about–one now revealed to be a daytime talk show–and would need to return to Hollywood the moment the strike ended.
Had the strike lasted just one more day, no new shows or movies could be filmed until 2025. Movies and Shows that were already filmed could not be promoted by the actors. Shows and movies that had begun filming were put on hiatus until the strike ended. Since the writer’s strike ended over the summer, talk shows and late night could resume airing. The Chosen, which is a dramatized account of the New Testament from the perspective of the disciples was given special permission to film its second season during the strike since most of the actors involved were not union members.
Hollywood is going to be working hard to make up for all the downtime and more so with the country on the verge of tearing itself apart in the aftermath of the conflict in Israel. Without new TV shows or movies there to keep most of America distracted, people had nothing better to do than to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. While many will readily turn their attention back to the distractions of Hollywood at the first opportunity, I do think the majority of Americans have realized the importance of keeping themselves informed of what’s going on in the real world though. More so with everything going on these days.
Bel Air’s season 2 finale just dropped. It didn’t end with a cliffhanger life Season 1 did but several new lead-ins were made clear.
Let’s start with the two biggest moments, one of which was Carlton admitting he’s addicted to Cocaine in front of his school and family moments after receiving the Founder’s Award. The moment was built up since his relapse a few episodes back. If I’m Colin, I’m terrified wondering what Viv will do when/if she finds out he was Carlton’s dealer (!).
In a scene before Carlton shared the news, he snapped at Ashley who realized he relapsed. Will suspected Carlton was relapsing but wasn’t able to confirm it on his own. Geoffrey knew Carlton was hiding something but just didn’t know what.
In Episode 9, we find out the reasons behind Doc taking bribes for college recruits and why he wanted Phil’s help resolving the matter. Phil wants to wash his hands of the matter now that the truth is out but it’s a bit more complicated than that. If Phil doesn’t help Doc with his problem, the basketball dreams of Zenith’s players will be forfeit. After talking to some of the members of the team and learning Doc went out of his way to help them off the court, Phil decides to help Doc get his problem taken care of after initially planning not to.
Will knew at the end of the day, Phil would help him out when he learned the truth about Doc. The real mature thing about him is he didn’t forget about his Zenith teammates. In getting Phil to help Doc, he was able to make away back to Bel Air Academy’s basketball team. Will’s friend who is still on the basketball team mentions they’re getting ready to play against a strong team. After Doc’s problem is resolved, Will recruits some of his Zenith team members to help him train Bel Air Academy. The coach pulls him aside and offers him a spot on the team next year as thanks for his help.
Ace Attorney Philip Banks is back!
Phil is ultimately able to come through for his law firm but the price is steep: He cuts a deal with former love interest and rival attorney Erika. In exchange for bailing out his law firm, Phil agrees to join her law firm. Erika insists to both Phil and Viv separately that her interest in him is strictly professional but Viv is not entirely convinced. Phil reveals to Viv during the Finale he has his own plans for the future and is “playing along” with Erika.
After Cartlon’s breakdown, Phil initially declines Erika’s offer via text to hang out but changes his mind. It’s obvious their relationship will big a significant storyline going into Season 3. Phil is clearly willing to play a very dangerous game with her so we’ll see how things go.
Daphne Reid, who played the second Aunt Viv in the sitcom has a minor recurring role in Bel Air. She plays Janice, an accomplished artist who works for the same organization Viv recently joined. After Viv vents her frustration on social media, two board members approach her not to fire her but to offer her a promotion.
The problem: They offer her Janice’s job.
Viv understandably feels conflicted about taking the job of someone she not only respects but was the one who brought her in. Janice is so upset when she learns of what’s going on, she threatens to take the matter to the media. In the season finale, Viv drops some truth on her: In an industry with few black women in it already, the media would have a field day covering a story about two black women in a power struggle. She is ultimately able to convince Janice to retire with her dignity intact.
I found it foreboding when Geoffrey’s son Marcus was mentioned during the recap at the beginning.
Geoffrey tells Phil someone from an unknown number keeps calling his phone but when he answers, no one says anything. He finally traces the number and finds out it’s from East London. Near the end of the episode, Geoffrey opens an envelope and discovers a photo of him meeting with his son in LA. from a dew episodes back. Apparently, someone with suspicious motives–likely someone from his past–saw them and is now sending him a message. Geoffrey’s likely heading to the UK very soon–possibly with the Banks family as a cover–to look for Marcus. We’ll have to wait and see.
Jazz out, LaMarcus in?
When LaMarcus suddenly came back into Hillary’s life, his and Jazz’s relationship was on shaky ground. Before they broke up, LaMarcus made it clear he wanted her back in his life. With encouragement from Will, Jazz makes one final effort to win her back. Hillary declines after explaining how emotionally devastated she was after their breakup. More so after Jazz told her he can’t promise he won’t make her feel like that again. He said the right thing on that note.
I’ll be interested in seeing if LaMarcus has a similar fate as his sitcom counterpart. In the sitcom, Hillary’s love interest randomly dies while proposing to her on national TV. I don’t think he’ll be killed off but given LaMarcus is a football player and CTE has been in the news, I could see him suffering a career-ending injury or something like that. We’ll see.
Ashley was barely there for this season which kinda makes sense. With everything going on with the rest of the family, she was pushed to the side for most of the season. There was a pretty interesting development in the season finale. Ashley notices the classmate she was suspicious of and is now forced to work with for an class project is wearing a Pride Flag pin on her dress. Ashley’s sexuality is revealed in the first season but it’s also revealed only Hillary knows about it so far.
I’m pretty sure Ashley will get more development and screen time in Season 3 for several reasons, one of them being her reconciling with Carlton. Before he went off on her at school when they were alone, Ashley gave him a card. Even after his very public confession, as you can see in the first picture above, she is not in a good mood to talk about what happened between them.
During the fade to credits, Will Smith–the actual person–finally made a cameo appearance in Bel Air. Sort of. His iconic Summertime song began to play during the fade into and during the credits.
In the final scene, Will and Lisa were talking about planning for summer vacation. We’ll have to wait and see if this was a tease for a possible Summer Special or the lead-in for Season 3. At the end of the Watch Along Jabari Banks (Will) and Olly Sholotan (Carlton) accidently let it slip someone is revealed to be pregnant. We do know Will and Jasmine have sex in episode 9 so there’s that. At the same time, Will and Lisa are back together at the end of Episode 10. If Jasmine is revealed to be pregnant by Will in Season 3, it will be interesting to see how that’s handled.
That aside, there’s also Carlton undergoing drug rehab. In one of the final scenes we see Viv looking up treatment centers on her laptop. That will most likely be happening offscreen. We’ll have to wait and see if it means Carlton will be absent for a bit in Season 3.
Another big question going into Season 3: Who from the sitcom will appear next? So far we’ve seen Daphnie Reid and Tatiana Ali (Ms. Hughes). Literally everyone except the late James Avery could appear in some capacity. I would not be surprised if Joseph Macrell, who played Geoffrey in the sitcom is brought in to play either his counterpart’s father or someone from his past next season. It would be real interesting if Alphonso Ribiero, who played Carlton in the sitcom is cast to play his counterpart’s therapist.
We’ll have to wait until Season 3 either way. It’s probably fair to assume Season 3 will begin filming this summer and premeire next February like the first two seasons did. If there is a summer special, it’s likely they’re filming that now. We’ll have to wait and see either way. Bel Air’s first two seasons can be found exclusively on Peacock. If you want to watch the original sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on demand, it can be found on Max (formerly HBO Max).
All I can say is I’m glad there WILL be a season 3! That and I’d like to see a dramatized version of Family Matters next!
Peacock announced last week they have greenlit a third season of Bel Air. Being the streaming platform’s most watched original series will do that. It’s easy to forget when it was in development, the reimagining of the 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a more serious drama was a huge gamble. The biggest question was would fans of the original show be willing to give Bel Air a try. It’s fair to say for most, the answer has been a resounding yes. People are subscribing to Peacock just to watch this series that’s how popular it is.
I got a 1-year subscription at the end of last August mostly for WWE Pay Per Views but with all the uncertainty around WWE potentially being sold, I’m glad to have another reason to renew my Peacock subscription for another year. I am disappointed Peacock does not include live programming from most local NBC affiliates (NBC10 Boston for me though some 24/7 local news prgramming is included), USA Network, MSNBC and NBC Sports in particular–I get it though, most of those are premium networks–but I think adding additional premium tier options that includes them might not be a bad idea at this point. Maybe for $25 a month or a $50 add-on to the annual subscription. Just an idea on my part.
Moving on. I’ve been super busy in recent months with some of my other blogs but I have been keeping up with Season 2 of Bel Air since it started on February 23. The first episode picks up where the end of Season 1 ended. By the end of the first episode, Will returns to the fold. By the time we’re halfway through Episode 2, Geoffrey has also returned to the Banks Household. There’s a lot of big plot points in Season 2 to say the least. So I’ll get into some of the biggest ones so far.
Of course I’m going to open with another big guest appearance from the original show.
Tatiana Ali, who played Ashley Banks in the original sitcom makes recurring guest appearances in the first half of Season 2. Like the oiginal Aunt Vivs’ characters in ths show are mentors for their Bel Air counterpart, Ali’s character plays her Bel Air counterpart’s History teacher. Due to disagreements over the school’s history curriculum, she gets in trouble with the school and is fired. Will and Carlton organize a protest for her for which Will is suspended for a week from school. While talking to Aunt Viv, Uncle Phil reveals she has decided to return to her hometown of Chicago to be closer to her family.
I don’t think this will be the last we see of Ali in this series though. It’s very possible she could be brought back later as another character. Like I mentioned just now, she is now the third member of the OG cast after the Aunt Viv actresses to appear in Bel Air. Like Janet Hubert-Whitten and Daphne Reid, Ali appeared with her Bel Air counterpart. It’s probably fair to expect the same to happen with the other living Fresh Prince cast members when and if they also make guest appearances. It’s probably fair to assume Will Smith will be the last to appear for obvious reasons. I like the format they came up with so far: They made the original cast relevant when they appear without overshadowing their Bel Air counterparts in the scenes they appear in. You’re not looking for them but when you see them, it doesn’t feel out of place or shoehorned in.
As for who might appear next. I think next it will be either Alfonzo Robeiro (Carlton), DJ Jazzy Jeff) (Jazz) or Karyn Parsons (Hillary) with the last two probably appearing together. I’ll get to why I think that a bit later.
Will and Carlton have become besties to say the least. More so since Season 2 started. It’s revealed Cartlon suffers from anxiety. By the time Season 2 begins he’s stopped snorting drugs. Due to various events that have unfolded in Season 2, Carlton relapses in Episode 7. Things get real crazy for Carlton in the next episode: After an alcohol-fueled drug binge at someone’s house, Carlton wakes up find his car, wallet and phone all missing. When his mother picks him up at a bus stop, he lies about what happened. Geoffrey confronts him the next morning and makes it clear he’s not buying Carlton’s explaination of events.
Despite drifting apart again due to various circumstances in Season 2, Will is still trying to look out for Carlton. In Episode 8, Will tells Carlton a mutual adversary was the one who leaked an embarrassing video to the entire school. Earlier in the Season, Will steps in when he sees Carlton having an anxiety attack during a planned protest outside of their school. For context, Phil and Viv asked Will to look out for Carlton at the beginning of the season. Despite their recently strained relationship, he is still trying to do that.
Hillary x Jazz is all kinds of EPIC!
More so given apparently, their pairing had been planned for the sitcom but was ultimately never used. They broke up in Episode 7 but I wasn’t surprised and I’m sure they will reconnect at some point.
…Man oh man.
It took 8 episodes but finally, Will found out what the audience knew about Doc all season: He’s a con artist. We found out from the beginning Doc has ulterior motives for aggressively recruiting Will. He sees Phil as his meal ticket more or less and it’s why he targeted Will. He even used his niece Jackie as a means to that end in keeping Will under his control. Phil never trusted Doc from the beginning and made that clear to both Doc and Will. He tried to warn Will but Will wasn’t ready…until the end of Episode 8 that is.
Earlier in the episode, Will notices a teammate is no longer around and no one is willing to tell him anything. Jackie was planning to tell him about that but they ended up not meeting due to Will helping Lisa get to the hospital for the birth of her new brother. Will goes to the gym afterward but by then, Jackie got tired of waiting and went home. Will runs into the missing teammate who stopped by to clear out his stuff. Will asks him what happened and though we don’t see the conversation, the ex-teammate tells him Doc isn’t the kind of guy he thinks he is.
As for Jackie, we’ve been seeing signs in recent episodes her feelings for Will may no longer just be an act. She was planning to tell Will at least some of what was really going on. He found out through other means obviously so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the two next meet in person.
No question Geoffrey got the most development this season though the reasons are obvious.
Going into Season 2, Geoffrey left the Banks home after his betrayal of Phil’s trust. In Episode 1 of Season 2, Geoffrey is the one who ultimately convinces Will to return to the Banks home. We notice Geoffrey poking around in Phil’s office and honestly for a minute I thought he’d been hired by someone to look for some confidential information. It turns out he was looking for information about his son Marcus.
In episodes 6 and 7, we finally learn about Geoffrey’s past. As many fans theorized, Geoffrey ran with a gang in the UK. Phil helped get him out of some legal trouble and even helped get him out of the country. Unfortunately, he had to leave his son behind for their safety. Not long after Geoffrey left the country, his son’s mother gave him up for adoption due to stress. Phil was able to find Marcus but Geoffrey made him promise not to tell him where his son was. In exchange, Phil would make sure his son stayed safe.
Fast forward to Episode 7. With some urging from Will, Phil arranges for Marcus to travel to Bel Air to meet his father. Now a young man, the meeting is awkward for him. It’s interesting to note this episode dropped the same week a documentary about Jimmy Akingbola (the actor who plays Geoffrey) being an adoptee as a child dropped on Peacock. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Akingbola was placed in an orphanage and then adopted by a family due to some complicated circumstances he learned as an adult. You really need to watch his documentary to understand but it’s good. When Marcus sees the life his father made for himself with the Banks family, he feels pretty uncomfortable. He tells his father he’d rather go back to how things were when they were apart but he seems to have a change of heart at the end.
News recently broke Bel Air WILL get a season 3. WOOT!
Season 1 was 10 episodes. Assuming Season 2 is also 10 episodes, it will wrap up by the end of April. We know from the first two seasons that Season 3 will likely premeire in February 2024 meaning filming starts this spring or summer. This gives me a good reason outside of WWE content to renew my Peacock subscription for another year at least. We’ll see.
I only use a handful of streaming services and of them, I prioritize those that offer 12-month subscriptions. Why? Because it’s more cost-effective to pay once annually than to pay the $5 to $15 a month they all ask for. See, they want you to think you’re saving money by only paying $5 to $15 a month. That money adds up over time when you think about it. Let’s look at Peacock’s $5/month subscription (+$5 if you throw in No Ads for a total of $10/month). $5 x 12 months = $60 annual ($120 annual if you include No Ads). Meanwhile, the same streaming service offers an annual subscription for $50 (+$50 if you throw in No Ads for a total of $100 annual). You save $10/$20 getting an annual subscription.
With Viki, they have three tiers. Free, Standard ($10/month or $50/annual) and Premium ($12/month or $100/annual). There is content you can only watch if you have the Standard or Premium tier on that note though both include No Ads. I typically get the Standard Annual ($50) which is good since I have gone weeks and even a few months in the last few years without watching Viki. Given I only watch shows that are available in full on demand, it works for me. I pay to have the ads removed basically. These days I mostly watch my streaming services via Roku but in the past, I mostly watched it via a gaming console. I do have the mobile app versions on my iPad and I can also watch on my computers if need be. What this means is I can watch what I want whenever I want wherever I want.
For me, the biggest perk is not having to deal with Ads. I get it, Ad revenue allows those with Free Tier accounts to also watch/stream (though obviously with some limitations). Well, the main reason I buy a subscription is so I don’t have to see Ads. I don’t mind Ads for shows on the service like Amazon Prime and Peacock. I’m talking about commercial Ads like what’s on YouTube and Hulu. I want to be able to watch shows or movies without commercial interruptions. Admittedly, they’ve gotten better at not putting commercial breaks in the middle of dramatic moments or scenes. That said, I’d rather not see them at all and it’s why I buy subscriptions.
The second-biggest perk for me is obviously being able to watch TV shows or movies anytime and anywhere. This was the biggest game-changer streaming services introduced that TV networks initially underestimated. No longer were people shackled to a weekly TV schedule. This is also why Cable and Satellite providers started offering on demand features about 10 years back in addition to DVR. You miss this past weekend’s WWE PPV event? You can watch it in full the next morning or a few days later on Peacock (or WWE Network if you’re outside the U.S.). Want to watch the latest episode of Attack on Titan? You can get it same day it drops in Japan on Crunchyroll (a week later without a subscription). Little things like that are pretty big.
I want to comment on a term commonly associated with streaming services that I’ve recently stopped using: Binge Watching. Streaming services recently embraced the term commonly used by most who use streaming services. I decided to move away from it because of the word “binge” which is commonly associated with binge eating or binge drinking. That and it’s misleading to assume those who watching any streaming service has some kind of problem. I don’t even watch every day for that matter. I’ve gone months without watching shows on Viki and Crunchyroll too. To me, the term “binge watch/watching” is misleading and doesn’t fit with me at all.
These days, many churches and religious denominations have launched their own streaming services. 3ABN, Amazing Facts and Hope Channel are three of many streaming services for Adventists for example. All for free. I also watch NHK Japan on my Roku which is also 100% free. There’s something for everyone out there.
You also do not necessarily need to carry them around on your backpack. Honestly, I don’t see the practicality in having solar panels hanging from your backpack or bike and more so when moving through a rough environment. That said, the last few years in particular has seen a variety of portable solar panels and portable solar power banks hit the market. While most of them are being heavily marketed for use while camping, hiking or traveling, you can certainly use them in your everyday life too. Even better is a lot of them are relatively cheap.
I recently bought a few Solar Power banks, all via Amazon. Anyone who knows me knows I have a LOT of portable or handheld devices that run on a rechargable battery. I currently have a Nintendo Switch, two New Nintendo 3DS handhelds, several Bluetooth speakers, two iPods, an iPad and of course my cellphone (Android) to name a few things. I also made it a point to always carry the charger cables for all of them with me weather I also have my laptop with me or not. That makes sense when you know you’ll have access to an outet where you’re headed but what if that’s not available to you?
This was something I really started thinking about two years ago just before my brief stint with Nordstrom Rack. I actually do still have my JBL Charge Speaker, which has a built-in ion Lithium battery and a USB port for charging things. It was given to me as a birthday present back in 2013. The biggest drawback to it is it’s actually large and bulky. Only in recent years have I started investing in portable power banks. I got a few non-solar ones of which I still have but when I stumbled upon some with Solar Panels, that changed things.
I actually first got a slightly smaller version of this solar power bank. Made by the same company, the first YOESOID power bank I got had a 20,000mAh storage capacity in the battery. The solar power bank pictured here–which I later separately got–has a 30,000mAh storage capacity. Aside from that and this one being slightly bigger, they are both identical in design. They both have a built in flashlight and compass as you can see. That makes them good for camping, hiking or walking around at night or in dark places.
While the company that made my first two solar power banks seems to no longer be on Amazon, you’ll find others of the same or similar design on Amazon. Some allow wireless charging while others have 4 USB Ports. I’ll repeat this later on but although these power banks have built-in Solar Panels, USB is the primary way to charge them. You should only use the Solar Panel to charge them when it’s not possible to USB charge.
That said, I expect these versions to become the national standard sooner than later that every family in America should have at least a few of. They can reliably fully recharge a phone, tablet several times before needing to be recharged itself for example. How many times really depends on the device on that note. Also, make sure to fully charge these via USB as soon as you get them before you use them or solar charge them.
I almost forgot to mention this but for those who will be flying or may planning to buy and then ship this, there are rules around flying or shipping ion lithium batteries which all power banks are made with. Care is needed in transporting them to avoid the battery getting damaged or possibly even exploding is why. All power banks are carry on only with airplanes. This is because a passenger plane’s cargo hold can experience extreme temperatures compared to a plane’s cabin. If you ever wondered why you’re asked if you have any cellphone, small electronics or other devices with a rechargable battery, hopefully this helps explain the why.
That brings me to this brick-sized beautiful monster. It has a whopping 50,000mAh, 4 USB ports and takes almost 24 hours to fully charge via USB (!) when you first get it. Another company has this in other colors on that note. I haven’t really used mine since getting it because I plan to use it as emergency backup personally. It was well worth the $50 I paid for it though.
This one’s most practical for emergencies, camping or road trips. It’s not as heavy as it looks–it weighs 2 pounds. You could throw it in your backpack and probably not really feel it if you think you’ll need it. Like the other solar power banks, this one does have a flashlight built in. Double press the power button to turn it on. Just keep in mind you will need to do this again to turn it off. While the flashlight is on, you can press the power button to change between three different modes.
When not using the flashlight, you can press the power button to check the battery. 4 lights mean it’s at or close to 100%. 3 means it’s at or close to 75% and so on. It goes without saying with such MASSIVE power storage, it can charge any phone or tablet at least 10 times. Like the other two featured solar power banks, this one has Fast Charging capablities too. Also like the other two, this one has built-in overcharge and overheating protection.
I forgot to say this before but although you can, it’s not reccommended you charge devices while USB charging the power bank. The reason is because doing this can damage the ion lithium battery, causing it to not fully charge. According to one reviewer who tested it, you will have to wait 3 to 4 days to fully recharge this purely from solar energy. I shouldn’t need to say this but try to avoid leaving this or any other power bank in a hot car or exposed to high temperature for long periods of time. The ion lithium battery could leak or explode is why.
While the first one boasts portability and the second one boasts storage capacity, this one boasts a faster solar charging speed. The secret is in the three additional solar panels. Four solar panels = faster solar charging. Unlike the other two, this one is advertised as being water resistant. Actually the word used is “Waterproof” but common sense dicates you don’t drop it in a bucket water, pool or intentionally drench it in water.
Despite the four additional solar panels, this one was clearly made for regular everyday use. The travel hook included with this power bank is clearly meant for it to be hung from a backpack. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that and more so given how thin the small keyring on the power bank is. Someone walking behind you could yank it free and run off or it could get caught in something and fall off without you noticing. I just wouldn’t use it that way personally.
This particular brand sells for $24 but with an in-store coupon you can get it for $20. It also comes in three colors though at the time I bought the blue one, they were out of stock with the black one (the third color is Orange). Other brands that do the same thing sell for $30+ on that note.
Before I digress, I do want to comment on something some reviewers and people asking questions about and that is about the fact these and other portable or small electronics are made in China. Some of the companies are based in China and others are not but they obviously have stock in the U.S. I am WELL aware the attitudes of many toward China have greatly soured in recent years in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact of the matter is China leads the world in manufacturing and mass production. The reason many American companies still prefer to outsource manufacturing and mass production of goods to China is because it’s more cost effective for them.
The reason I’m saying this is because some have the presumption just because “Made in China” is on the box, the company must be based in China as well. Even for Chinese-based companies, they still have to make sure their products pass the same quality control and safety tests their American counterparts do. Those that care about staying in business don’t dare cut corners because it reflects badly on them in the long run.
You also need to keep in mind China actually does have a monopoly on most of the world’s rare earth minerals (REMs). In recent years they’ve been leveraging their advantage against other countries politically by sharply limiting exports of their stockpiles, citing “dwindling supply of REMs”. This is also why there is a global shortage on microchips and superconductors too.
I actually got this bundled with another LED light made by the same company. I actually kept the other one since I plan to get this one in a different color (I gave the one with the solar panel with my mother). I did briefly handle this one before handing it off and aside from the solar panel, it’s not that different from the one I kept. The obvious difference is this one has a solar panel and thus you have a secondary way to charge the ion lithium battery.
Both models do also serve as a built-in power bank on that note. Both also have magnets on them that binds to almost any metal surface. Both also have a hook so you can hang them from something. They’re Portable LED Worklights so being able to use them anywhere for any reason and purpose is pretty handy to say the least.
I double checked the product page and missed the fact the one with the Solar Panel actually had two sets of lights. The one you see pictured above is the COB light. It can run for 3 to 8 hours on a single charge. The LED Flashlight on the top (not in view above) can run for up to 12 hours on a single charge. Like the Power Banks, you want to make sure you USB charge this fully first.
I consider this one a more freestanding version of the previous one. I also want to point out it’s actually smaller than the pictures lead you to believe. It can do everything the other one does though. The big difference is it’s bigger but still lightweight. Another difference is this one has a stronger emphasis on running it on solar power: It can fully charge after 6 to 8 hours via the Solar Panel. It can also run for up to 12 hours. That might feel like a big dropoff compared to the previous one but chances are pretty good even in an emergency situation, this will suit your needs.
This one’s bigger than the one featured above but it’s still portable. It also doubles as a power bank (11,000mAh) and has two magnets for sticking it to a metal surface. Jt also covers a much wider area than the above smaller one.
For me, the biggest selling point is the staying power: 8 to 22 hours on a single charge depending on brightness level. This is aside from it being able to run for up to 36 straight hours in Red/Blue flash mode, which is great for those who might be on the road or lost in the middle of nowhere and need to flag help. On that last point, this is one that’s good for you to keep in you car. With the built-in power bank, you also have an emergency backup power source to charge your phone if the car’s battery isn’t available to you. It’s weatherproof, waterproof and durable.
One thing I wanna make sure to say is if you’re rough with it or drop it a lot and the internal battery comes loose or stops charging, don’t blame the manufacturer. I mean for this and the two above too. Yeah they’re made to withstand accidental falls and being knocked around in a moving vehicle for example but if you run over one with a vehicle or drop one out of a window, you can’t be surprised if they break. The casing is made of hard plastic, not ceramic on that note. I read some of the reviews and I can confirm the magnets DO support the weight. The manufacturer wouldn’t dare make that claim without first testing it. If you’re trying to bond it to the hood of your car, make sure there is pull for both magnets (no stickers or rubber in the way).
More and more countries and investing in Rewewable Energy. Not just because of Climate Change but as the conflict in Ukraine reminded the world, as a matter of National Security. One of the few problems with building a large Solar Farm array or Solar Power Plant is actually building a facility capable of holding what’s likely to be hundreds if not thousands of Refrigerator-sized Ion Lithium Batteries to store enough electricity to power an entire city. Currently, Solar Panels are used in tandem with fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. It’s one thing to have solar panels on your roof or to use portable solar panels or portable solar power banks but it’s a whole lot more complicated when it comes to building solar power plants capable of powering a city.
Another obvious and related problem is having enough power from solar energy at night, when it’s cloudy or when there’s bad weather like rain or snow for at least several days in a row. You would typically want to either have either enough power in reserve or a backup power source. Most of the fossil fuel industry knows this and it’s why they are so confident efforts by most of the world to research and invest in Renewable Energy is “a fool’s errand”. They’ve long accepted the fact everyone now knows fossil fuels are bad for the environment. What they’re betting on now is most people would rather have fossil fuels now than wait for Renewable Enerrgy.
There are some outliers in ExxonMobil and BP–both of which have had to deal with imfamous oil disasters in recent decades–that are actively investing in renewable energy. These companies are well aware that their industry must evolve and adapt not just for good publicity but if they want to stay relevant. More so given car makers are researching and beginning to mass produce electric cars of their own.
This is in addition to car makers such as Toyota, Subaru, Ford and General Motors to name a few that have started investing in designing more fuel-efficient vehicles that run on clean energy. 15 years ago, Hybrid Vehicles came onto the scene. These were vehicles that could run on natural gas as well as traditional gas. Tesla introduced electric cars that other car makers have also started making. These vehicles run on high-capacity Ion Lithium Batteries and do not have internal combustion for that matter.
The costs associated with buying one as well as having a charging station installed at your home are the two biggest reasons why most people have not invested in getting an electric car. Having your own charging station installed can cost between $500 to $7,000 from what I read online. Electric Cars do come with a charging cable that will work in a traditional outlet but that will take quite a while longer. These are hurtles that are sure to be overcome sooner than later though.
Honestly I don’t see any reason or point in trying to resist the energy revolution we’re in the early stages of. More energy efficient and larger capacity rechargable batteries are being developed basically every day. I think it’s only a matter of time before homes, neighborhoods and cities are entirely self-reliant and self-contained to the point they do not rely on a grid for power. Probably by 2040 the latest we’ll see the first carbon neutral major cities.
NASA announced its Curiosity Rover, which was one of the first to touch down on Mars using the Sky Crane Maneuver shut down for good last year. The reason: A buildup of Martian Dust that blanketed the solar panels prevented it from charging enough to continue functioning. Opportunity, which is another Rover is functional but is no longer able to move due to a broken wheel. NASA’s latest rover Perseverence and its companion helicopter drone Inginuity–the first aircraft ever to fly on Mars–are both over a year into their missions on Mars.
While Power Banks on Earth utilize high-capacity Ion Lithium Batteries, the Mars Rovers actually run on Nuclear Generators powered via its Solar Panels. This is how they are able to function for years and why they cost several million dollars to build. Now that we know for sure aircraft from Earth can work normally on Mars, I think it’s a matter of when not if someone sends drones to clean off the solar panels on all the Mars rovers. NASA is starting to ramp up plans for America’s return to the Moon by 2030 which will this time have the caviat of being a stepping stone for putting the first humans on Mars.
This is nevermind the fact the first permanent space outpost–a hotel actually–is expected to open for business in 2025. US-based company Orbital Assembly first announced its plans back in 2019 with plans of opening for business in 2021. Then the pandemic in 2020 happened. Whoops! In a recent interview with CNN, the company announced they are now planning to put not one but TWO hotels in space: The orignally announced Voyager and the newly announced Pioneer.
Voyager is the larger of the two and is planned to house up to 400 people. It’s planned to open in 2027. The new Pioneer is smaller and is planned to house up to 28 people. It’s planned to open in 2025. That’s where the differences end. Both will be in the shape of a wheel and the inner parts will rotate, creating articificial gravity. The modules humans would be in would be on the outermost parts and would spin at a much slower rate. The company will rent out modules for not just guests but researchers and other companies for work or research. This would likely be their primary revenue stream.
Once the costs of going into space have come down a lot more, space travel will become as common as traveling by train or plane is right now. Solar Power and high-capacity batteries will be integral for that. The next two to three decades are sure to be real interesting in regards to renewable energy to say the least.
It wasn’t until that I realized much of the season was actually slow building toward the emotionally charged meeting between Will and his estranged father Lou Smith. Of all the ways this first season could have ended, this was a solid choice. I would even dare say it was at least as big as the Sitcom’s episode. Bel Air took things in a different and somewhat cliched direction with Lou’s backstory but it lines up with the little you learned about him to that point. You also get a better appreciation and understanding for why Phil and Viv didn’t want Will to meet his father when long buried family secrets are revealed.
Vy told Will a bit about his father back in Episode 8. We learn the rest from Lou and Phil. It turns out when Will was still young, Lou got into some trouble with the law. Those who watched Episode 8 might remember although Viv and Vy buried the hatchet, there was a big “SOMETHING” that caused them to become estranged and it’s only vaguely touched on. Lou reveals what drove him to crime and ultimately 10 years in prison was pressure from Vy who kept comparing their lives to Phil and Viv, who were becoming financially successful in LA.
It turns out the attorney who represented Lou in court was none other than Phil. Obviously he lost that court case but that wasn’t what caused the fracture with Lou. It was the fact Lou wasn’t honest with him about everything that happened and that made him look bad in court. After Lou went to prison Phil, Viv and Vy decided to keep the truth about Lou a secret from not just Will but Hillary, Carlton and Ashley.
Speaking of. We really see Cartlon come full circle in regards to his relationship with Will from Episode 1. Before Will and Lou speak, Carlton finds the envelope Geoffrey gave to Will who in turn gave it to Phil. While Lou and Phil are talking, Carlton finds and brings the envelope to WIll and urges him to read its contents if he wants to know why their fathers are talking in Phil’s office. The father-son reunion comes to an abrupt end when Will explodes after Lou makes disparaging remarks about his mother.
Will’s anger doesn’t subside after Lou leaves but is redirected at Phil, Viv and Vy for keeping the truth from him. He packs a bag and leaves. The family tries to stop him from leaving and during the confusion, Carlton slips a wad of cash in Will’s pocket. After Will leaves in a car, Viv calls Vy to tell her what happened and she is understandably distraught. Back at the mansion, Ashley and Hillary note Geoffrey is not picking up or responding to their text messages. Vivian reminds them Geoffrey is on leave but when she leaves the room ro call Vy, the kids turn to Phil and say “We know about Geoffrey”.
Jazz, who was notified of Will’s disappearance has a pretty good idea of where to find him. He drives to the spot overlooking Bel Air we saw during the day back in Episode 1. Will tells Jazz he’s starting to understand what Jazz meant when he told him “Don’t let this town change who you are.” Jazz tells Will despite what he learned today, at the end of the day he’s the one who has to decide who he wants to be and how he wants to live his life.
With Season 1 now over, the wait is on for Season 2. I am assuming filming for Season 2 is now underway or will be starting soon at this point. Peacock won a 3-way bidding war with HBO Max (which has streaming rights to the Sitcom) and Netflix and they requested two seasons. That was before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock a few weeks ago at the Oscars. We do know some of Will Smith’s projects have been directly impacted as a consequence. It’s too early to tell if Bel Air will be one of them but it shouldn’t be.
It’s fair to say at this point Season 1 exceeded a lot of expectations. Season 2 will be about making the case for additional seasons and hopefully there will be more. Ten episodes is a good number for each season and it can easily match the number of seasons the Sitcom got as well. The Sitcom got 6 Seasons on that note.
Season 2 has a lot to address from Season 1 to say the least and there will likely be a time skip from Season 1. Here’s some stuff from Season 1 that need to be touched on in Season 2:
Vivian’s Revived Art Career: This is where I think there will be a time skip. It was revealed Vivian will need to be away for a year and this is why Phil is basically going to be a Stay At Home Dad. They could still have her go away and just film her scenes separately but I think it would be better to have that skipped unless we’re going to get into Reid.
Geoffrey’s Status: Geoffrey went “on leave” due to his falling out with Phil. Now that the big reason for his exit is no longer a thing–the campaign–and the kids are now aware of why Geoffrey’s really not around, he should be back next season. It will be interesting to see if we do find out what he was doing during his absence from the family.
Ashley’s Sexuality: This seems to be a thread that will be touched on in second season. It’s a question of which of her parents she will talk to about it first: Phil or Viv.
Hillary and Jazz: Hillary’s new job will settle her $50,000 debt with her former boss/landlord Kylo and she’ll likely be getting her own place soon too. Who has been there for her for the ride? Jazz, that’s who. They both view Will as a cool younger brother (which is funny for Hillary since she actually does have a younger brother) and if you remember, he was the one who introduced them early in the season. It will be fun to see where things go with them in Season 2.
Lisa’s Family Situation: This was one of the stuff I was expected to get kicked to the second season. Phil withdrawing made Fred the frontrunner to become the new District Attorney. We’ll have to wait and see how their relationship has since changed since it doesn’t look like Fred and Phil have spoken since the latter bowed out. One big question many fans are rightfully wondering is if Will, Phil or Viv will tell Lisa about her father and stepmother’s affair while her mother was dying(!). It’s the kind of scandal that could end her father’s campaign run let alone force him to resign after the fact.
Will’s Next Move: Obviously the biggest and most immediate question. My guess is he will stay with Hillary and/or Jazz but will eventually return to the Banks Mansion.
The wait is now on to see when if Season 2 will premeire. If Peacock is willing to overlook Will Smith’s incident with Chris Rock and requests an additional season or two, hopefully we find out sooner than later. Bel Air has reportedly exceeded expectations in regards to ratings and that’s a good sign when it comes to hoping for additional seasons!
So much was revealed in these three episodes, you’d think Episode 9 was the Season Finale. Things came in hard and fast in all three episodes to say the least. Ok here we go.
In Episode 7, Will makes a serious push to befriend Carlton. As it happens, Carlton is having social problems at school and things come to a head when a Lacrosse teammate makes a racist comment about him so Cartlon breaks his wrist in retaliation. Will approaches Cartlon and proposes throwing a house party at the mansion to help rebuild his social cred at school. Carlton reluctantly agrees to the plan as Phil and Vivian will be away for the weekend.
During the party, Carlton talks to some of the kids and they’re brutally honest with him about why they pay him no mind at school: It’s because he didn’t show them any love first and turned a blind eye to racist comments from his Lacrosse teammate. Speaking of, that same teammate shows up at the party. Carlton stands his ground and the guy leaves, promising payback. We don’t have to wait too long to find out what he has in mind either but more on that in a minute.
Before that confrontation, Carlton talks to Will about when and why he started using drugs: Anxiety. He suffers from severe anxiety due to the pressures of being the son of a strong back man, having to maintain appearances and not being able to talk about them with anyone. That is, until Will came along. Episode 9 clarified something from Episode 1 I initially misunderstood. Ashley and Hillary knew Carlton was dealing with severe anxiety but they didn’t know he was using drugs. Hillary is legit shocked when Will tells her about his drug abuse in Episode 9.
Getting back to the house party in Episode 7. Will’s love interest Lisa defies her father and shows up at the mansion where she and Will end up having sex. Carlton’s teammate decides to get even by calling the cops who go to the mansion. Knowing how it would look with her father being both the chief of police and a candidate for District Attorney, Will tries to talk her out of going downstairs with him but she insists. Thanks to her father’s intervention over the phone, no one is arrested.
Will’s mom Vy comes to visit Will in LA for Will’s birthday. In the aftermath of the house party, Carlton is grounded but since Will’s mother is visiting he will be punished later. Carlton vents about the disparity to his father who reminds him Will is a stranger to their world but he’s not and more is expected from him. Part of Phil’s critique came after he was turned down for a key endorsement from a state congressman.
That reminds me. In episode 7, Phil and Viv has a long chat over the weekend where they discussed Viv trying to revive her art career and the friction with Phil’s campaign. Phil vows to support her if that’s what she wants to do no matter what. In episode 8, Viv and Vy are at each other’s throats for most of the episode before Will and Carlton separately get them to have a serious talk about their issues with each other. They eventually come to have a mutual understanding. Most importantly, Vy no longer sees Viv and Phil as trying to take Will from her.
Things take a real interesting turn in Episode 8 when the subject of Will’s father comes up. Viv is alarmed when Vy tells her she’s thinking of telling Will about is father. When Viv tells Phil, he is visibly disturbed and urges Viv to urge her not to tell Will anything about Lou Smith. What neither of them know is Vy does tell Will a little about the father he never knew. She doesn’t go into detail but she is honest with him about what kind of man he was.
While exercising with Geoffrey, Phil asks him to make sure Lou doesn’t come anywhere near Will. Geoffrey is uneasy about doing this and tells Phil as much. Phil doubles down, reminding him whom he works for. At the end of Episode 8, Geoffrey is in Phil’s office alone and is about to leave a resignation letter on the desk when Will walks in. Will asks him to find his father for him and Lou agrees to his request. In Episode 9, Geoffrey hands Will a sealed envelope containing the information he collected about Lou. Geoffrey tells him he will leave the decision of weather to learn about his father or not to him but if he wants to meet his father in person, he can make it happen at a moment’s notice.
Later in the episode, Will approaches Uncle Phil in his office and gives the sealed envelope to him. He tells Uncle Phil he thought about it and decided he doesn’t want to know about his father after all and more so since as far as he’s concerned, his uncle has been more of a father to him than his own father ever was.
It’ an obvious nod to this iconic scene from the sitcom:
All that said. Phil confronts Geoffrey about his involvement with the envelope and is furious. Geoffrey finally snaps and starts telling Phil about the problems within the family. Phil stops him when he gets to Hillary and Ashley, making it personal by referencing Geoffrey’s estranged son (another Sitcom easter egg). Despite knowing he should be fired, Geoffrey demonstrates his loyalty to the Banks family once again by reminding Phil of how it would look for him to “suddenly” be fired in regards to the campaign. Phil agrees to Geoffrey’s proposal of him going on an leave of absence under the guise of a family emergency. It goes without saying Geoffrey holds a lot of Phil’s secrets and even though he didn’t have to, he is still loyal to the Banks family.
That brings me to Episode 9’s finale.
In Episode 7, Lisa and her father Fred Wilkes as well as Will and Phil have parellel conversations basically warning Will/Lisa to stop seeing each other. As I expected, Fred found out Phil went to Judge Robertson for help getting Will out of jail in Philadelphia. He tells Lisa about it and Lisa immediately confronts Will who tells her everything. Will and Carlton (who also knows about Will’s situation as a reminder) rush to the venue where Phil is about to have a debate with Fred Wilkes. Judge Robertson himself pays Phil a visit and makes reference the incident involving Will and Phil is shocked he knows which means Fred likely knows about it too. Will and Carlton provide the “how” when they tell him Fred knows everything, reassuring them by saying “everything will be ok”.
Phil calmly tells his nephew and son he’ll take care of it and walks out. By now, it’s easy to know what Phil’s going to say if you paid attention during the last two episodes. Phil announces he’s dropping out of the campaign and will support Fred Wilkes, urging his supporters to vote for Fred before walking off the stage and hugging his family. As a reminder, Phil knows Fred had an affair with his current wife while his previous wife was dying. That would have ended Fred’s campaign but if Fred revealed Will’s situation, that would have put Phil in prison.
I’m just going to assume for now Fred is going to keep quiet about Phil’s secret. If he doesn’t…well, Phil does know his secret. We’ll also have to wait and see what the fallout means for Lisa and Will’s relationship. Phil is taking a step back to focus on his family but not that he’s no longer in the campaign, that should open things up for Will and Lisa to continue their relationship. More so now that she knows about is situation.
On a related note. As a reminder, Ashley came out as Bisexual in Episode 3. In episode 7, her love interest turned her down. Things get interesting in Episode 9 when Ashley is seen talking to the pastor about promoting LGBTQ+ members into leadership positions outside the choir. Aunt Viv later approaches her about her “sudden” interest in LGBTQ+ advocacy and Ashley is dodgey about it. The only person who currently knows about her sexuality is Hillary. With Viv now going to be away for a while, we’ll have to wait and see if Ashley comes out to her father who plans to be home.
As for Hillary. After the fallout with the Thirsty Chef video, Hillary decides to leave the Influencer House she was living in. In doing so, she’s breaking her contract and her penalty is paying $50,000. She’s been given time to come up with the money and is currently living in a hotel. She knows her mother will be out of the picture for a while it’s a matter of time before pressure is put on her to pay up in full. When her father told her in Episode 9 it might not be a bad idea for her to go into law school, she didn’t seem too put off by doing that. This might be a thread that’s explored further either this season or next season.
It took 9 episodes but we now have our first cameo appearances from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air!
Daphne Maxwell Reid, who played the second Aunt Viv and Vernee Watson-Johnson, who played Viola “Vy” Smith in the sitcom appeared together in a scene with Bel Air’s Aunt Viv. Peacock did announce their appearances were coming earlier this month so it wasn’t a complete surprise. Still, it’s cool to see confirmation members of the original cast will make cameo appearances but obviously in other roles. I do think it would be an interesting and cool setup to have Janet Hubert-Whitten, who played the first Aunt Viv be revealed to be Uncle Phil’s mother in Bel Air for example.
This also raises the obvious question of weather or not Will Smith himself will appear in Bel Air. No question if he does, it would have to be in a prominent role appropriate for this series. As I mentioned earlier, there is ONLY one role that would make sense for him to do: The lead character’s father Lou Smith. As I also mentioned earlier, I do agree with fan speculation Lou’s appearance is being delayed for that reason and they are building toward it. Geoffrey doesn’t think the matter is settled which means he could cross a line and actually bring Lou to Will himself. We’ll have to wait and see.
If you haven’t seen any episodes yet, Bel Air is on Peacock. New episodes drop on Fridays. So far, we know for sure there will be two seasons. If filming for Season 2 is currently happening, we could see the premiere later this year or early next year and more so if each season is 12 or 13 episodes long.
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