TV Shows Watched: The Wheel Of Time: S3E1 (Amazon) with audio description, Adolescence: S1E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Survivor: S48E3 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, 911: S8E8 (Hulu) with audio description, Ghosts: S4E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, and The Masked Singer: S13E5 (Hulu) no audio description
Best Episode: Adolescence- In what feels like a painstaking attempt to mimic real life criminal proceedings, this limited series focuses on a 13 year old boy, who to the surprise of his family, is arrested under suspicion of murder, which leads to an intense home raid, and a step by step, beat by beat, real life unfolding of what comes next. I thought the first episode was stunning. I was instantly roped in, and I can’t wait to see if he’s guilty or not. Or, if there’s an even bigger story. the pilot certainly gives you a lot, so there has to be more. It does a very good job of being a pilot episode.
Runner Up (the Correct Answer): The Wheel Of Time- I’m actually starting to remember who these characters are, and what happened in the previous season, which can sometimes be a problem with expansive cast shows that take a long time off between seasons. But, I remembered almost everyone it seemed suggested I should have remembered, so that’s a win in my book. And, there were two really cool fight sequences. the funny thing about this show, is that I was contacted by a rep who was hoping I’d jump on board to have some article about the LGBTQ angle, as an LGBTQ critic. I was thinking about that, and the cool thing about these sweeping fantasy series adapted from novels, is that they are being created in a world where LGBTQ really isn’t the same thing. it isn’t really a definition. It just is what some characters are, without actually bringing out how evolved people have become, or how groundbreaking or rule defying a relationship is. Fantasy worlds can give us magical powers we don’t have, and set us on adventures to fight creatures that don’t exist. but, they can also do something as simple as showing that there could be a world where zero fucks were ever given about your preference of partner, allowing each individual the fluidity to find the partner right for them, without societal pressures. I think that’s what so many authors explore, is the fantasy world where LGBTQ people just are, and no one batted an eye.
Runner Up (hot Take, And Not The Correct Answer)- 911- The return of 911 had Maddie tracking down a serial killer. 911 really goes over the top a lot, with big action set pieces, like the shenanigans at the beginning of the season where Athena had to land a plane that had a mid-air collision, which killed one of the pilots, and incapacitated the other. Stuff like that. I mean, Lone Star’s series finale featured Armageddon AND a Nuclear Meltdown in the SAME EPISODE. But sometimes, their batshit crazy ideas come in the forms of a twist at the end of the episode, and I have to hand it to a writer at 911… I did not see that coming. I surrender. You win. Congratulations on another completely out of left field idea.
Best Audio Description: the Wheel of Time- yeah, and it isn’t really even close. The Wheel Of Time has so much fantasy stuff it has to describe, while managing a large ensemble cast, that it is actually impressive we know as much as we do.
Runner Up: Survivor- I mean, the challenges are really well described. there’s a lot of physicality here. Compared to some other competition reality shows, Survivor has pretty solid audio description. It could have done more with what these people looked like in the beginning, but the rest of it is pretty solid. Also, what an insane ending. I’m not even a longtime fan, and I felt like this weeks ending was so specific it had never happened in 48 seasons.
Best Performance: Donal Finn (The Wheel Of Time)- Mat had a standout moment, which really then turned into something of a nightmare. But, he seemed to be struggling with the experience of having been the one to blow the horn, and needed some therapy. We got something else entirely in the end, but for a character who rarely has the emotional depth given to him in this episode, it felt like worth mentioning of the ensemble (who were all pretty consistent).
Runner Up: Owen Cooper (Adolescence)- I don’t know if I’m going to hate Jamie by the end of this, or feel even more sympathetic, but Cooper did an excellent job of playing the “you have the wrong person” kid for the whole episode. Toward the end, we see that maybe he isn’t so innocent, and the police had reason to bring him in, but Cooper felt like he was the appropriate level of shocked, scared, and confused. The whole episode hinges really on his performance, because if he feels shady at all, then the end of the episode doesn’t have the same weight.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: The Nightmare (The Wheel of Time)- I’m not even sure I fully understand what happened, but this is spoiler free. There was a segment that came out of nowhere, and in the middle of the night, where our heroes had to fight off… something. But they didn’t even know what they were fighting, considering this is a world laden with magic. So, it was a very interesting fight, with a lot happening, and it deserves to win here.
Runner Up: The Opening Scene (The Wheel of Time)- The other scene that deserves a ton of praise is that one sister coming and accusing the one in charge of these misdeeds, which does NOT go well. My favorite part of the description involved a character vomiting a torrent of blood.
There was a clue last week in the Masked Singer about the eliminated contestant wearing something around his neck, and that was the giveaway to me. I did not realize they had those accolades that the Crack The Case box revealed. That name is not immediately someone you associate with “lifetime achievement award”.
Worst Of…- Nothing. Other than the perpetuity of The Masked Singer not having audio description, all five shows that did have it have audio description I’d grade at B+ or higher.
