TV News: CBS has parted ways with FBI International, reducing that franchise to just two entries come next Fall.
TV Shows Watched: Dope Thief: S1E1 (Apple Plus) with audio description, Reacher: S3E4 (Amazon) with audio description, Yellowjackets: S3E5 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Traitors: UK: S3E1 (Peacock) no audio description, Harley Quinn: S5E9 (MAX) with audio description, Cassandra: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: S1E12 (Amazon) with audio description, Elzabeth: S2E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Matlock: S1E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description, and Abbott Elementary: S4E? (Hulu) with audio description
Best Episode: Yellowjackets- I think the thing that interests me the most is realizing that the girls who got their hands the dirtiest are the ones who seemed to have lived. The more passive members of the group still alive don’t have adult counterparts. Shauna is probably the greatest example, as she’s supposed to be our sympathetic lead, but it is so hard to get behind her when you see how easy it was for her to do what she does to Ben.And in the present, Walter basically calls her on it. Why wouldn’t she be the prime suspect? She makes the most sense.
Runner Up: Elzabeth- This was the episode where the rich guy who built the building he lives in was murdered. They introduced a new detective who is decisively unlikable, and a rather sympathetic killer for a change. By the end of the episode, I was kind of hoping she’d get away with it.
Best Audio Description: Harley Quinn- I’m having such a hard time with this category today because of razor thin decisions. I do think this episode of Harley was strong,as they ramped up the action, but still managed to maintain their level of humor. Harley Quinn has pretty solid audio description, and I’ve never gotten a chance to really single it out.
The Runner Ups: Dope Thief, yellowjackets, Reacher, Matlock, Elzabeth- Every show has a reason I could or could not choose it. dope thief had such excellent attention to detail in certain places, but also really didn’t have great character description for our leads. Reacher has reliably strong description, though there were some bodies found, and I felt like it pulled back on the description. Yellowjackets has a lot to celebrate, but I got a little lost in the interaction Tai was having with her ex, and her son. Matlock isn’t flashy, but has a way of connecting the dots as needed, as does Elzabeth. they are all marginally close to each other. I just picked Harley because half hour comedies are hard, and the fact I was even considering it, against dramas that have more opportunity, stood out to me.
Best Performance: Brian Tyree Henry (dope thief)- I love Henry as an actor, and he got more featured moments in the pilot over his co-star. We learned more about him, his current living situation, and his past. he got to speak at a narcotics anonymous meeting, and by the end of the first episode, i had a much better grasp on him than his co-star.
Runner Up: Elijah Wood (Yellowjackets)- wood has been so wonderful as a cast addition since last season. there’s something unsettling in his cheerfulness. He’s menacing, but with a smile. He was excellent this week as he was trying to solve the latest mystery, and also regain his footing in Misty’s life. Honestly, I don’t know why she’s pushing him away, as the two are clearly both a little off, and deserve each other. Misty can’t ever have a normal life, and will always need someone like Walter to match her level of disassociation.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: The Termite Raid (dope Thief)- In what is not the first raid of the episode, but the raid of most consequence, our leads gain a third to help them, but this is where everything goes horribly wrong. Lots of shooting, and chaos. I thought this scene was done well.
Runner Up: Play Misty For Me (Yellowjackets)- From the description of where Ben was, to him being brought his final meal by misty, and Misty’s tearful heartfelt apology to Ben, I selected this scene for being able to capture the emotional weight behind both teen Misty and ben, who emoted the hell out of the gravity of this point in time.
Worst Of…- I would love for Peacock to describe their International versions of The traitors. The UK version is still using non-celebrities, so it is even harder to know anything about them. However, I have to mention, I can tell that Cassandra is narrated by an AI voice. It’s more noticeable than the Leopard.But, like I was having this conversation in real life just yesterday, if we are to preserve the art of human narration we have to ask ourselves every time out what a human voice talent brings to a project. it isn’t simply that they are human. We have to start casting narrators, not hiring them. there are so many voices out there, and some of them are more effective at pulling the human emotions and themes almost subconsciously out of their projects than others. Some are better in certain genres. We should be looking at projects and thinking about casting responsibly for projects that are intentionally crafted with diversity in mind. There are so many choices we can make every single time, that I’m not sure we are making, which is why Netflix is cost cutting on International shows by having AI voices. This one, sounds like a robot to me. I’ve also heard worse. As AI voices get better, the intentionality behind human narration must become more tangible.
