Don’t you just hate when audio description doesn’t travel? Like, I’ve heard from these various streamers and companies that they don’t mind sharing audio description tracks. They said is aloud in a virtual conference at the ACB a few years ago. it is so perplexing, considering Apple doesn’t have the audio description for the Formula One: Drive To Survive series it now shares with Netflix. then again, if I were to drag Apple, I would also point out how nearly every single audio described program in their store is a movie, and they’ve made no effort to obtain audio description for any TV series you could digitally purchase from them. Fandango At Home and Amazon, their closest competitors in this field,both offer shows (at least some) with audio description. Why are there always so many glaring gaps in audio description?
TV Shows Watched: DTF: St. Louis: S1E1 (HBo MAX) with audio description, Down Cemetary Road: S1E6 (Apple) with audio description, Strip Law: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: S2E3 (Paramount) with audio description, The Beauty: S1E3 (Disney Plus) with audio description, and ALst Week tonight: S13E3 (HBO MAX) no audio description
DTF St Louis- Oh, I love the narrator here. And that’s about it. The audio description seems to be fine, but I have so many questions about Jason Bateman casually riding around on a giant tricycle. I’ve seen people using those recumbent bikes, where they are laying down, and (I swear to God), a few years ago I had a neighbor who traversed my hood on a unicycle. There’s something about this tricycle element that I’m trying to accept as it is given to me. The show is… well… dull. Everyone here has done a better show. Like Jason Bateman? Watch Black Rabbit. Like David Harbor? Watch Stranger Things. like Linda Cardellini? Watch Dead To Me. Like Richard Jenkins? Watch Six Feet Under. This show is so weird, and ahs so many unnecessary eccentricities, I can’t even begin to explain it. there’s a scene where Bateman asks Harbor how he learned ASL and if he was hearing impaired, to which Harbor’s choice to respond with, to a man he just met, is to tell him No, he’s not deaf, but his penis is curved at a 30 degree angle or greater, making it a medical condition. I could never get what this show was trying to do, because it feels so bafflingly stupid that it has to be some kind of dark comedy, or parody, but everything is played so straight. They have like a ten minute conversation about Indiana Jones porn. It is self described as a dark comedy, character study, and procedural drama, though I’m not sure it correctly achieves anything. The rapport between Jenkins and the other cop is so bizarre. It’s uncomfortable. It’s not sexual or mean, it has such an odd read on it. I couldn’t recommend this to anyone. I’m only intrigued to see what the hell this is, but I fear it may just be hot garbage.
Down Cemetary Road- The mystery deepens, and I’m beginning to feel like the material is being stretched. I’d also prefer if Emma Thompson had the most screentime, instead of taking the 2nd or 3rd spot every episode.
Strip Law- This was weird and fun, as they do a Halloween/Christmas hybrid, and they go to court to prove someone is Santa. things get very weird, as they should for a show in this genre looking for an audience. I liked this, and the narrator here sounds like Liz Gutman’s kid sister.She’s not, but a similar voice, just sounding a bit younger.
Rise Of The TMNT- Pete is such a weird cast addition, but the mind control plot is working for the show, and Craig Robinson doing guest work here as the trainer is nice. This was one of the first cancellations under the new regime, so this is just a burn off. The AD is fine.
The Beauty- Truly, what the fuck. The AD found nothing to say for a good few minutes, long enough for me to check to see if it was alive. you know how every other show does the FX Fearless? Nope. Not here. I thought AD had been disabled because the writer took forever to put anything out there, then it finally popped up. Due to the extreme violence and gore, this show does have some brilliant moments of AD, but if I have to check to see if the shit is turned on, you missed something.
Last Week Tonight- It’s like 35 minutes reminding us what USAID was, the people who have suffered and died without it, and the best part was John Oliver using a clip from Marco Rubio when he was running for President himself where he defended USAID, explaining why it was so vital. Oh, how quickly a man sells his soul.
