TV Shows Watched: Goosebumps: S2E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Traitors: S3E3 (Peacock) with the legal definition of audio description, On Call: S1E2 (Amazon) with audio description, 911: S8E6 (Hulu) no audio description?, Papa’s House: S1E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Beast Games: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description
Movies Watched: Big Boys (Screener) no audio description, the Return (Apple Store) audio description
Best Episode: The Traitors- Likely, a default winner, unless challenged by true greatness.
Runner Up: Goosebumps- Actually, I thought this was a strong start to the second season. it certainly is pushing the boundaries of family friendly horror, even more so I think than last season. I’m certainly intrigued.
Best Performance: The Ensemble (big Boys)- Yes, no audio description, but excellent casting of fresh new talent. these young actors have bright futures ahead of them, and it bears mentioning. I wish this film had audio description.
Runner Up: bob The Drag Queen (The Traitors)- The person I’d like to see the most in the final four right now. Certainly, he offers some great moments every episode, and is filling the void that last season missed when they eliminated Peppermint first. Bob has already made it further than any other Drag Race alumni.
Best Audio Description: On Call- There was stronger audio description that kept Episode 1 away, but really, not today. With 911 failing to even have audio description, and The Traitors will likely never be in this category, it came down to just a few choices. I thought about choosing The Return, because that film has an excellent track, but On Call found a dismembered body this episode, and I thought that scene was pretty well described.
Runner Up: Goosebumps- It was really close. But, check the “worst of”, but also “Best Moments” for some clarity.
Best Moment of Audio description: Goosebumps- This show could fill this category. I’ll start with the flashback sequence that really gets the ball rolling. No spoilers, but that was well described, and made me think maybe this isn’t for the youngest kids in your family.
Runner Up: Goosebumps- The series later returns with this weird black mold, that comes up a few times. once when our male lead for the season is dared to enter a building, but the scene that takes the runner up spot is the later sequence, at home, with the vines, and also the glitch screaming the main teen does. The silent scream, people being pulled by vines, and David Schwimmer looking at his hand and saying “that’s not good”. Goosebumps delivered.
Worst of…- But, Goosebumps only delivers on Disney Plus. Despite being billed as a Disney Plus/Hulu show, I’ll say I started this on Hulu. that is where my Apple TV app suggested. It was wrong, and there was no audio description through Hulu’s stand alone app. however, if you play it through Disney Plus, you get audio description. i don’t like the idea that one block of subscribers has less accessibility than another. That pisses me off, so Goosebumps, despite having excellent audio description, is also the worst of the day, but the honor here is actually Hulu. the fact that one of this season’s episodes of 911 that aired last fall is suddenly just without audio description I really feel like is a Hulu problem. Sometimes, I’m convinced this streamer is run by one guy in a basement somewhere, because it certainly feels like it. Considering how long Hulu has functioned as a streaming service, you would think they would have this down pat. Clearly, not. So, the real loser of the day is Hulu.