I can’t believe we are in April. Time flies. Speaking of time, remember how yesterday I mentioned American Idol finally figured out audio description? They didn’t. It was a glitch in the matrix. To offset this error I made ABC renew Grey’s Anatomy for Season 21. It’s not an even trade, but Grey’s is coming back next year.
The Gentleman (Netflix) is a fun idea. I wish this was being done with something that felt a lot more Guy Ritchie than this. I know he’s directed some of this show, and remains a producer, but I miss the energy Ritchie had in his early years, in films like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RockNRolla. but, I think the audio description is pretty good, and I’m not finding any faults, so I’m comfortable being on the fence. Top/Middle tier.
A member on an audio description forum called out the series Tracker (Paramount Plus) for having confusing audio description. I was more laser focused on this weeks episode of Tracker than I think I’ve ever been. I don’t know what to say. We live in a world of opinions. There are people who believe the earth is flat. Still. I cannot convince you that Tracker has really great audio description, and the team at the Media Access Group is doing some nice work here. If I acknowledge faults, it is in how the show is structured. Because it is in this episodic style with a new case, and new characters, the description does not really invest that much into describing characters that are not sticking around. I think this show has five series regulars. I think they were all initially described, but that was 7 episodes ago. Most of this is described like a detective story, as you try and uncover the mystery along with Justin Hartley’s lead. It is not jumbling things, or giving bad audio description. It may not be enough, and for the format, it personally is where I think it needs to be. This is a present day show, not a period drama. It isn’t fantasy or science fiction. For all intents and purposes, this is a procedural, and it follows that description need rather well. I stand by this. Top tier audio description.
I also watched The Equalizer (Paramount plus), which is narrated by Ingir Tudor, and is more action packed, but is still in many ways a procedural. I think because of the level of action in here, sometimes the audio description can feel like it isn’t getting everything, because there are usually more fight sequences or shootouts than on Tracker. However, I really enjoy the audio description on this show as well, and I think Tudor is one of the best in the game. Top tier.
I guess I’ll finish Death And Other Details (Hulu) for real. I wasn’t going to, because the 9th episode lost my reason for watching. Mandy wasn’t in this episode at all. This show has morphed into something else entirely following the first episode, and I don’t know if they are trying for a second season or what. I enjoy Roy Samuelson’s narrations quite frequently, and this show has a ton of people in the cast. I’ll admit, especially when I put a gap between episodes, I do get that “who’s that?” Vibe with this show, because of the wide scope of the cast. I think I have mentioned that this show wasn’t really doing it for me, and I was watching for Mandy Patinkin’s performance anyway. It’s hard sometimes to separate the feeling of a film or TV show not being good from the audio description, but I feel pretty good about this audio description, in spite of how I feel about the show. Top/Middle tier.
The Dynasty (Apple Plus) is living in this genre of docuseries where too often we do not get enough audio description. Either we don’t know who is talking, or get any idea of footage being used. I think I’m five episodes in, and Tansy Alexander and her team have made a really strong audio description track. I will say, five episodes in, tracking voices can be a bit of a problem. In a world of binge watching, if someone sat down and spent the day, I don’t think they would notice, because I believe everyone at some point has been mentioned. but in every episode? That’s where it gets maybe a little murky, if I were to get extremely nit picky. But, this streaming world is being designed more and more for binge watching. Documentaries, whether film or television, are really hard, like sitcoms are. These are generally two things that rely a lot on talking. The description finds a way to do as much as it can, I think. Top/Middle tier.
