TV Shows Watched: Severance: S2E3 (Apple Plus) with audio description, School Spirits: S2E1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, the Night Agent: S2E8 (Netflix) with audio description, An Update On our Family: S1E3 (MAX) with audio description, American Primeval: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Pop culture Jeopardy: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description, Abbott Elementary: S4E13 (Hulu) with audio description, the Rookie: S7E4 (Hulu) with audio description.
Movies Watched: Goodrich (MAX) no audio description, Clone Cops (screener) no audio description, and Getaway (Apple Store) with audio description
be sure to check out The Dark Room, as somehow while Alex was at Sundance, they managed to interview a visually impaired writer who has been in the writers room for a few Dexter iterations.
Best Episode: Severance- It is just on a different level. This is a show headed for an Emmy nomination for Best Drama, and it continues to find ways to make itself compelling. I don’t know what the shelf life for Severance is, but with more and more shows tapping out early to preserve their quality, I’d be surprised if this went past a fourth season. Silo is doing 4, Squid Game is ending after Season 3. No longer does it matter if a network or streamer wants to keep you around, showrunners are more concerned with keeping the quality high and not jumping the shark.
Runner Up: School Spirits- I’m glad Paramount Plus gave this another season. It does feel like it has been forever, but Peyton List had to finish Cobra Kai, which is a very stunt heavy show. She’s 26 and she’s still most well-known for playing high schoolers. There’s an interesting little twist at the end of the premiere I really liked.
Best Audio Description: Severance- There’s a lot of subtext in the conversations the characters have, but also, still very much this science fiction element. like, what’s going on with the goats? And I love how we all just accept that the goats are here, and necessary.
Runner up (Tie): School Spirits and the Night Agent: the two shows that will have my most memorable moments were both really strong.
Best Performance: Patricia Arquette (Severance)- I love that she’s back, and she seems somehow more unhinged. Like the title of Pedro Almodovar’s movie, she’s a Woman On The verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. She’s captivating because in no way do I want her back on the severed floor, but the show would also suck a little without her. So, figuring out where she can fit in has been a big fixture of the season.
Runner Up: Peyton List (School Spirits)- I just love her, and I love her in this role. I’m glad she’s back.
Second Runner Up: Janelle james (Abbott Elementary)- One day, she’ll win an Emmy. I have to believe that. Her work is perfection. From immediately knowing the worth of that truffle, to giving a big speech about some gymnastic move she’s about to do, every comment she makes also makes the episode better. Her delivery is spot on.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: The waiting Room (School Spirits)- Avoiding spoilers here, but this sequence was really well described, and those in the waiting room, and their eccentricities (if you will) were well described. I got the picture.
Runner Up: Murder (The Night Agent)- We see what Murder looks like, so we understand what a massacre might look like. If you know, you know.
2nd runner Up: Wolf Attack! (American Primeval)- Pretty self explanatory. But, well described.
Worst Of…- I didn’t need to have any help this time, I could tell I was missing visual gags in Abbott Elementary this week. there just has to be a better way to do the audio description for this show.