Kicking off today’s diary with the new shows first. Sugar (Apple Plus) is so stylish, so cool, so swag that I can’t help but be enamored with it. It has all those feelings of The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe, and seems like the kind of project we could have revived Humphrey Bogart for. But, Colin Farrell is surprisingly terrific as John Sugar, a private detective who is hired by a wealthy grandfather (James Cromwell) to find his granddaughter who has gone missing, and keep it out of the papers. Despite the jazzy soundtrack, and the swag of the times, this is actually modern set, complete with cell phones, cameras, and GPS. It just feels like it comes from another time period. The pilot is directed by Fernando Meriellles, who is best known for City Of God, but also knocked it out of the park with The Constant Gardener. Farrell’s performance is excellent, and as much as I would love to see this character turn into a series instead of a limited, I have a feeling Farrell doesn’t want to be on a series. He likes things that have decisive endings. Tansy Alexander is the narrator here, and her cool and collected voice compliments the style of the show quite nicely. This is a mystery/detective story, so the devil is always going to be in the details. There aren’t a ton of big clues or reveals in the first episode, but she does point out some interesting notes. For example, the granddaughter had a flyer on her fridge for a band called Vanilla Whore. I would have totally missed that, but it helped to shape a character we hadn’t met yet. This is really nice work, and I think this pilot was exceptional. I can’t wait to watch more. Top Tier audio description, for sure.
I did also start up another version of The Traitors (Peacock), moving to the second season on Australia. Sadly, Peacock doesn’t have audio description so it’s not as fun. the only way to make this up to me is to bring back the bonkers lady from last season who spoke to the spirits and uncovered traitors that way. If she could come back and use her gifts once again, and randomly name some people, that would be great. To her credit, she did name two traitors, but she also named people who were not traitors. So, you win some you lose some? The first episode does not eliminate a traitor, and Australia decided to just once again start with three, instead of doing two, and having those two recruit a traitor.
We’re gonna be famous 5ever, cause forever’s too short. Girls5Eva (Netflix) is slowly slipping by me, with me getting the 4th of 6 episodes out of the way. Such a small order. I love this series with all of my heart and soul. The references here are so funny. I love when it feels like it is spilling the tea. In this episode, the Girls are hired to perform at a rich girl’s birthday party, and they struggle to even complete this task. The audio description certainly does whaat it can, but the dialog often comes fast and often. Middle/Top tier.
I suppose I also technically started American Rust (Amazon/FreeVee), but I watched Season 1 what feels like ages ago. Season 2 picks up where we left off, which I can’t remember. but I’m already rewatching the first seasons of 2 other shows, so I’m just jumping in. Mostly, I’m following this. I just forget the mystery a bit, and the relationships to the characters. The audio description isn’t getting a tier right now. As I work to remember what the hell this is, it’s not really fair to hold the description to the standard of others. Also, I’m just excited that this HAS description. Season 1 was on Showtime before they were on Paramount Plus regularly with audio description, and I’ve previously watched FreeVee shows stupidly on the FreeVee app. I can’t ever get audio description to work there. I watched Bosh Legacy on the Freevee stand alone app without audio description. So, starting American Rust, I noticed I could do it through Prime. Game changer. Too many variables, but I will say the audio description is human, so we are already on the path to likely getting a solid tier next week.
A Gentleman In Moscow (Paramount Plus) is a fascinating series, with what might become my favorite Ewan McGregor performance. I’m loving this show. Two episodes in, I’m sold. This narrator previously did Lawmen, and when I was asking around, many people tagged it as being Andrew Thatcher, so I’m going with that. The description of the hotel is strong, and the little details, involving the way people are dressed, or the falling of snow, all make this an easy Top Tier show.
Life And Beth (Hulu) didn’t make it in last week, but it is still around. This week, Beth is talking about getting pregnant, and going through some stuff with her sister. Michael Rappaport is doing some solid work in the flashbacks. The audio description is mostly fine, but it is sitcom audio description, which is very tricky. Putting this against Girls5Eva, I think Girls edges it by a little, but by no means do I think this is bad narration. This is just fine. Middle tier.
Palm Royale (Apple Plus) I guess isn’t going to use Carol Burnett that much after all. By Episode 3, let’s just say it’s a lot clearer. I think Allison Janney is doing some nice work here, but mostly I’m not getting the vibe this show is throwing down. At first, it reminded me a bit of something like The Spoils Of Babylon, but it seems to be far too serious at times.The audio description here is fine, but I wouldn’t mind a bit more opulence. It is a show that is steeped in this class warfare, so as garish as it can get, i would say. Middle/Top tier.
And finally, after all these weeks, Elzabeth (Paramount Plus) is back. I really enjoyed this audio description track, and the first of the two episodes they dropped. This featured Jane Krakowski and Linda Lavin, and I think the best moments were when the show was going through the clues. But, more importantly, this one particular scene/joke, where a character mentions they don’t trust Elzabeth because of her shoes, and when we cut to her, the narrator makes a solid point to reference those very shoes right after that joke, so we know exactly what kitten heels Elzabeth is wearing. This episode had a very Only Murders in the building vibe to it, and I was here for it. The audio description is getting Top Tier.
In all, a really great day for audio description. Only watched the one program that lacked it, and nothing deserves to be labeled in the bottom tier. What a great day to be alive.