Good lord. Sexy Beast (Paramount Plus) is going the shock and awe route. This week, there’s a scene where a terrifyingly fantastic female performance leads to a tragic loss for one of the characters. I was more gripped to this show than I have been so far. There were some other brutal moments in the third episode as well. The audio description is solid, I just hate that it seems to dodge a lot of the porn scenes by just kinda mentioning that porn is happening. If a sighted audience can see it, it should be in the description, and sometimes it feels like you’re dodging the use of uncomfortable sex conversations. This show does not shy away from anything.
In completely different worlds lives My Life With The Walter Boys (Netflix), which I now only have 1 episode left on. Will the parents have to sell the land, or will the kids find out and figure out how to stop it? Jackie does keep mentioning her uncle is rich, including in this episode when one of the lesser Walters gets accepted into something expensive in NYC. I didn’t put this show in the bottom 3 audio described titles, because there are worse. Especially after hearing the second episode of Not Dead Yet, which leapfrogged into the bottom 3 worst AD (Abbott Elementary, Not Dead Yet, Ted), bumping up The Traitors out of the bottom 3. But, this show needed to do a better job of describing these characters day one. This has a huge cast, and it’s even harder to picture or follow them because it made little to no investment in what any of these characters look like.
Speaking of bad audio description, Ted (Peacock), does fluctuate somewhat episode to episode, but there are always moments where we could get the description for one of then many sight gags the show goes for. This episode revolved around trying to lose your virginity, because of course. I’ll admit, the best joke was at the very end, and it was read off. But this audio description misses way too many jokes as a series for me to applaud it on any real level.
And then, we have returning shows without audio description. So, they get one mention. Last Week tonight (MAX) returned with an episode so hot button, HBO has refused to release it on YouTube. If you think of all the things Oliver has done before, talked about, etc., and THIS was the line? It really actually highlights what he was talking about regarding keeping the Supreme Court Justices happy, and how they have no real checks and balances. HBO doesn’t want to put out the main story on the Supreme Court, but they’ve done it with every other topic, including ones on Trump. So, I guess… who watches the watchmen? If anything, HBO is proving Oliver’s point.
Still wish that show had AD.
The other show that just pisses me off, is American Idol (Hulu). Look, you dirty fuckers. This show has been around since the Bush presidency. Last year was the 20th anniversary of From Justin To Kelly. This show, in its 7th season at ABC, and 22nd overall, *still* does not have audio description, after 22 seasons. What on God’s green earth is your fucking problem? They’ve had blind contestants on the show, but they can’t figure out audio description? Get your shit together. I’ve been a fan forever, but I’m tired of not knowing anything about the last seven years worth of contestants that aligns with my vision loss. And to think that there are likely blind fans who don’t know what ANY of the idols have ever looked like, worn, what the stage looked like, is all just bullshit. I wish we could send them some sort of letter as a community that is akin to the travel bans. NBC has finally started adding audio description to their competition shows, The Voice and America’s Got Talent, BOTh of which started after American Idol. So, the one that started it all is stuck in the days of yore, and sending a clear message to blind and visually impaired fans that they can promptly fly a kite. With the shit audio description coming out of ABC right now on Abbott Elementary and not Dead Yet, this seems to not be changing in our favor… likely ever.