Big TV News! Sarah Michelle Gellar is closing a deal to reprise her role as Buffy Summers in a Hulu revival of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If there’s anything we’ve learned, this show will be incredibly underwhelming, and unlikely to last more than 2 seasons. When they first announced plans to remake Buffy, the show got unnecessary blowback after plans were announced to cast a black actress as Buffy. Buffy was a specific archetype, battling that “dumb blonde” thing mixed with how TV was portraying kids from California, or even adults, in shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place. Even the TV version of Buffy leaned in more than Kristy Swanson did in the film. I was always like, there are so many different ways you could go, as there was a black slayer in the 70’s shown in an a flashback (that admittedly met an untimely end), but we knew nothing about her story. Kendra could have her own show, with a bit of a rewrite on her ending. I’d love to see a show around Faith. The series finale also basically opened up a lot more slayer potential. I don’t know who else is coming back for the sequel series. Nicholas Brendon seems like an unlikely ask, as he has struggled a lot with staying out of trouble. Alyson hannigan seems like a strong choice. Michelle Trachtenberg isn’t doing anything right now. Could one of the vamps make a return? Spike or Angel? Should they? I’m thinking this is a terrible choice, but it is happening, so we might as well try and make the best possible shitty sequel series we can.
TV Shows Watched: XO Kitty: S2E4 (Netflix) with audio description, Bookie: S2E8 (MAX) with audio description, The Recruit: S2E2 (Netflix) with audio description, The Kardashians: S1E1 (Hulu) with audio description, Going Dutch: S1E4 (Hulu) no audio description, Wags To Riches: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, The Daily Show (Paramount Plus) no audio description.
Best Episode: XO Kitty- Honestly, the overly dramatic episode that seemed to break every relationship ever was so much of a hot ass mess that I loved it. It reminded me of all the best moments from WB teen soaps. All the main characters trapped in one location, and by the end of the episode, no one is the same.
Runner Up: Bookie- It wasn’t a perfect season finale, but t made me laugh.
Best Performance: Noah centenao (The recruit)- I still hold what I said earlier to be true. he is a far more engaging lead than Gabriel Basso, just right out of the gate. he has the “Riz”. The kids use that word. i think I used it correctly.
Runner Up: The Kardashians (the KArdashians)- With a new season of this show launching this week, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. These fame monsters have been somehow stealing attention for two decades, and they are doing so without any other meaningful contributions to the arts. Kim has done some acting, her mom had a very short lived talk show, but for the most part they are famous for being themselves. Hulu was smart to snatch them up, because after being on camera for so long, this family seems to know how to expertly craft their lives in a way that would seem interesting, without actually being interesting. They have the best sound bites, and I’m not sure anyone is writing these things for them to say. This family truly defines peak guilty pleasure television, and I get it now.
Best Audio description- the recruit- The action sequences in this show, which are not as intense as The Night Agent, give it the edge. it was the best described show, overall.
Runner Ups: The Kardashians and Wags to Riches- Both reality shows are well done. they both have famous people in them, so there isn’t any character description. In the first episode of the Kardashians, they just immediately name everyone, with no description, because they are so iconic it is assumed you know who they are, and that is why you are here. But, both description tracks find so many beats in the episodes to keep us appraised on what is going on around them.
best Moment Of Audio Description: we’re Back! (the Kardashians)- The beginning of the first episode, which might also just be the opening to every episode, seems to effortlessly travel through as many Kardashian or Kardashian-adjacent people as possible. It’s as if they’re saying, “we’re back”, and letting you know who all returned. while you don’t get a description of, someone like Travis Barker, it does tell you what they’re doing in these moments. It was a lot, and really gave me hope that this show had solid audio description.
Runner Up: Too Many People (XO Kitty)- So, in this heavily over dramatic episode, they jammed almost every series regular, or heavily recurring character into a snowed out vacation cabin. And there were so many times in this episode, where someone would be having a personal conversation, only to be… shockingly…. Overheard by someone because there’s no space. I thought the audio description did a good job of this “he’s right behind you” feeling. It is a few little moments, but all with the same effect.
Worst Of… The Men (Wags To riches)- I’m surprised the famous husbands greenlit their significant others being on this show. these ladies are laying out all their laundry. Is Chad Ochocinco in some sort of competition with Nick Cannon for the most babies by the most amount of women? Hearing a conversation from his current wife about how she has to navigate something like 7 baby mama’s and eight kids at events, and listening to the other ladies react with similar stories is probably why anyone would watch this. But, the guys don’t look great coming out of this.