With all respect to Episode 5 of One Day (Netflix), and its heavier leaning subject matter, I just feel like the show hasn’t earned its emotional resonance. The format the show is taking is making it really hard to latch onto these characters. The male lead started out unlikable, and in the last episode just basically said he was looking for “fun”. So now he’s needing someone to talk to? I’m more concerned that there are people who find this person charming. You deserve better. This show does have fine audio description from a company that I’m unfamiliar with. The scene where he has to carry his mother up the stairs was well described, adding in that she had a headscarf, and leaned her head against him as he lifted her up the stairs. It was supposed to be an emotionally evocative scene, and it was written that way.
Constellation (Apple Plus) in its third episode still is asking more questions than answers given, which is fine. Jonathan Banks has the most screentime he’s had so far, as we explore his past as an astronaut, and how he has to deal with people who believe he never went to space. Conspiracy theorists. In a show like this, you don’t know if they are supposed to be annoying like always, or if they are truly hinting at something.
Tokyo Vice (MAX) had some characters living dangerously. I am paying more attention to the audio description now, in comparison to Shogun, and this week I purposely watched them again on different days. This narrator is making a choice to slightly raise his voice when he is reading a female character over a male character. No one spoke in Korean this episode, so I didn’t get that “In Korean” thing, and there were no kids. He’s making an effort to sound more feminine for feminine roles, but I think if we were still concerned about producing a truly quality audio description track, there would be more narrators, or a very distinct voice change, like how some voice talent for animated works can do ten different characters.
Ghosts (Paramount Plus) had some nice audio description for the 3rd episode of the 3rd season. Recently renewed, this episode had Jay’s sister visiting again with her boyfriend who claims to also see Ghosts.
I also watched an older show, catching up on the Season 2 premiere of Silicon Valley (MAX). It’s a shame that I feel icky for saying this, but TJ Miller is excellent in this series. Now I have to go cleanse myself.
