I totally forgot to do anything Earth Day related yesterday. What did you do to celebrate the big ass rock we all live on? Did you plant a tree? did you watch a documentary about someone planting a tree? Did you plant a tree in Minecraft? Did you watch the Minecraft movie only to be assaulted by flying popcorn and soda?
TV Shows Watched: the Handmaid’s Tale: S6E5 (Hulu) with audio description, American Idol: S23E12 (Hulu) no audio description, Tracker: S2E14 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Million Dollar Secret: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, Dope Thief: S1E7 (Apple TV +) with audio description, Surface: S1E8 (Apple TV +) with audio description, Ransom Canyon: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: SS1E? (Amazon) with audio description, the Rookie: S7E14 (Hulu) with audio description.
Best Episode: The Handmaid’s tale- of course, the episode that featured June and Moira secretly sneaking back into Jezebel’s to warn Janeane did not go as planned. We also saw Nick worry about something that could bit him in the ass, Commander Lawrence learned the truth, Aunt Lydia tried to convince Serena of the truth, and Serena got engaged. OMG. I bet she’s a bridezilla.
Runner Up: Dope Thief- A show that once managed a bit more levity, is looking quite bleak, as we feel the ramifications of what happened at the end of the previous episode, as well as what seems to be a descent into madness for one of our leads, and the end of the line for another.
Best Audio Description: Dope thief- I think the show has been pushing a lot more into a lack of reality which allows for there to be a bit more tricky audio description. it wasn’t even about one specific scene, but really about the most balanced, and impressive audio description out of the nine shows.
Runner Up: The Handmaid’s Tale- I think they navigated this episode really well, even if the standout sequence still had an element that I couldn’t wrap my brain around.
Best Performance: Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)- I think with everything she had thrown at her, plus the direction they are taking Moira, this exceptional actress who for too long seemed to be on auto pilot from the writers, is being given the best lines, and the best scenes. Moira has offered scathing rebuttals to June in two successive episodes, and also dealt with the PTSD of having to return to a place where she was routinely raped. Wiley killed it this week.
Runner Up: Brian Tyree Henry (Dope Thief)- There’s a part toward the end, where it seems like everything has fallen apart for Ray, and he’s almost in this fugue state, just holding Michelle and talking about falling. the feeling of falling, and never stopping. Henry is an exceptional actor who has really been doing some of his best work on this show.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: The Big Fight (tracker)- Two fight scenes stood out today, the other being in Handmaid’s Tale. I think Tracker didn’t leave me with any questions, so I picked that fight scene. It’s the big one where Colter and the people he is with, have to fight the bad guys of the episode, and everyone is ready to throw down.
Runner Up: Not Today (the Handmaid’s Tale)- June and Moira teamed up for another takedown sequence, but I did wonder how logistically their opponent was maneuvering. The sequence is basically an attempted rape, and a guardian has Moira, who is the intended victim, but is holding a rifle with one hand aimed at June. It is probably a weapon best held with two hands, and I’m guessing his other task at hand would be best achieved with two hands. So I couldn’t quite picture how this idiot was planning to achieve anything, but the ensuing fight around this was amazing.
Worst Of…- I won’t fully blame the audio description team for this one, but I also do believe a stronger writer would have found more beats. I really did not think this weeks episode of The Rookie was well described. there were long breaks between description, with location changes, random characters popping up, and it felt like I just didn’t have any support. Was there some description? Absolutely. Do I think a different team would have probably gotten at least a little more out of this episode? Yes. But, I also acknowledge that sometimes things are poorly structured, and don’t leave a ton of wiggle room. I’m just not convinced this was the best effort.
