You are not crazy. there was no diary yesterday. I only watched one show, which is almost a historic low for me, so rather than do a hilariously awkward version of the SSD, I just rolled that show into this day.
TV Shows Watched: Andor: S2E1 and S2E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The Righteous Gemstones: S4E7 (MAX) with audio description, The Studio: S1E6 (Apple TV +) with audio description, The Residence: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description,Top Chef: S22E? (Peacock) with audio description, Good American family: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, The Bondsman: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, The masked Singer: S13E11 (Hulu) no audio description, and Running Pointe: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description.
Best Episode: The Residence- The Season Finale gets the win today, as not only did we find out all the answers, but this was feature length. A truly super-sized episode featured Cordelia laying out everything she had learned, and exactly who killed AB Winter. Did you guess it correctly?
Runner Up: The Studio- A hilarious episode that debated the merits of filmmaking against doctors saving lives, as Seth rogen’s studio head makes some very valid points about the subjectivity of art, and all the while trying to defend his newest film which features Josh Hutcherson getting showered in diarrhea.
Worth Mentioning: the Righteous Gemstones, Andor, and Running Point- These three shows would round out a top 5.
Best Audio Description: The Residence- Shocked? Yes. I picked the murder mystery in its final moments over the triumphant return of Andor. Honestly, this is hard to pull off, as the final episode has a lot of clues to reveal, and a huge cast to do it with. DVW and Bixie Jean did really great work this season.
Runner Up: Andor- OK. So the Star Wars series predictably has strong narration. I will say that Andor is a bit like some other shows I’ve seen recently, like 1923 and The Wheel of Time, where I realized I didn’t remember where we left off, but it does find its footing anyway.
Worth Mentioning: The Righteous Gemstones, The Bondsman, and Good American Family- these three shows would finish out a Top 5 for audio description of the shows I watched.
Best Performance: Uzo Aduba (The Residence)- In a role that will likely earn her an Emmy nomination, Aduba has crafted a quirky new detective worth watching. Her Cordelia cup is a cross between benwa Blanc and Harriet The Spy, looking for clues, in her own eccentric way. She always felt ten steps ahead, even if she says she isn’t, and the finale allows her to lay out everything of the last seven episodes and answer “whodunit”
Runner Up: The Top 5 (The masked Singer)- While one of them went home, I’m 100% convinced that somehow this show found five recording artists. I don’t think there’s a random unknown celeb under any of those costumes. While some of the judges guesses are absolutely nuts, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone here was a pretty big name, because the voices are really terrific for this stage in the game.
worth Mentioning: Seth Rogen (The Studio), Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones), and Diego Luna (Andor)- basically, the three leading men for their series all turned in strong work. Rogen was hilarious trying to justify some of the least artistic films, McBride had to stand up for his little brother and rally so Vance wouldn’t win, and Diego Luna was a welcome return as Cassian.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: Andor- I mean, the answer here is Andor. While I totally respect the other shows, Andor is a cien e fiction show that features a ton of things that have no basis in reality, and yet makes them feel like an extension of our world. There are big fight scenes, ships flying through the sky, creatures, droids, and a host of things that could fill not just this one spot, but all five spots. Andor. Pick any five moments from the first two episodes of Andor. the difference between Best Audio Description as a category, and Moment, is that the other can indicate consistency, and subtle excellence in execution. Finishing out a murder mystery may not spark the kind of sci-if imagination, but it deserves the same level of praise. However, there are several set pieces in Andor that are the kind of “moments” that will take your breath away.
Worst Of- I would love audio description for The Masked Singer. I’m leaning toward the final four being certain artists, but if I could get some clues, or at least a description of their costumes, who knows how much that could help.
