TV News: Hulu failed to upload the new episode of The Handmaids Tale with its accompanying audio description, so I was unable to watch it. Some shows, I don’t mind because I know audio description isn’t coming, so there’s no point in waiting, and other shows like Will trent, when they don’t get next air audio description, I care about less. But, I’m not advancing any further on the show that has been topping my weekly rankings until Hulu makes it right. I’m tired of constantly having this problem with Hulu. Why is it so exclusive to Hulu? Why is Hulu as a streaming service uniquely terrible about uploading titles with audio description the day they release?
TV Shows Watched: Midcentury Modern: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, #1 Happy Family USA S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, Forever: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, American Idol: S23E18 (Hulu) no audio description, the Wheel of Time: S3E8 (Amazon) with audio description, Careme: S1E3 (Apple plus) with audio description, The Daily Show: Monday (Paramount Plus) no audio description, The Rookie: S7E18 (Hulu) with audio description
Best Episode: Midcentury Modern- The gang takes on a Republican Party girl in a really fun episode.
Runner Up: Forever- Man, I really dislike Justin’s mom. I wish they could give her some layers, but she bursts in pretty constantly as the bearer of bad news. I’m liking how they are developing these characters, but it does seem so weird that after everything, she still plans on going to prom with her Ex. Justin is absolutely right about that. it’s just fucking weird. But, it was a slow day, so it was this or The Daily Show.
Best Audio Description- The Wheel Of Time- Technically, this is the answer. But I’ve totally fallen out of love for this show. It is so hard to keep up with the world. Maybe if I had read the books, but I also feel like I never know what’s going on. but, the audio description will describe some magic that sounds cool, or a fight scene that has gravitas, and I realize I’m only watching at this point because of the audio description. Whether it comes back or not, time is up for this Wheel.
Runner Up: #1 Happy family USA- The adult animation genre is such a tough needle to thread, but I think this show does a nice job of managing to keep the sight gags in there for the audience, so we don’t just get the verbalized humor, but also things that are just there as a picturesque punchline.
Best Performance: Nathan Lane (Midcentury modern)- Every time he would try and describe some political topic he clearly knew nothing about, it was funny. he was mad as hell, wasn’t going to take it anymore, but had no idea why.
Runner Up: Levy Simon (Forever)- Keisha absolutely had her moments, even if she still isn’t making all the right choices. if these characters weren’t on the cusp of graduation, it would be easier to write off choices like “still going to prom with problematic ex” as just a mistake a kid makes. But these two leads are about to graduate and put themselves out there in the real world, and I’m hoping they continue to push her character further because the actress is up for it.
Best Moment Of Audio Description: The texting (Forever)- so the show does this neat thing where the kids are texting each other, and they start by texting the heavy thing they want to say, but then deleting it for something much more subdued, hiding their emotions. The audio description here was super helpful, great, and important. I can’t see cell phones texting on screen, you know.
Runner Up: Something From The Wheel Of Time- I’m not sure what, but my lack of enthusiasm for this show doesn’t mean it doesn’t have great description. My brain deletes things it feels are not important, and in less than 24 hours I’ve apparently moved on from this series already.
worst Of…- American Idol needs audio description. The producers should have allowed Thunderstorm to talk about his wife being a mother on Sunday, because in Monday’s episode… he has kids. but his Mother’s Day package never mentioned his wife being a mother. So weird. Otherwise, I’m done with The wheel Of Time and Careme. The latter of the two just doesn’t inspire me. I’m not genuinely motivated to finish, and I know that early on. Not every show is a winner, and while Apple did produce a few International shows I watched from beginning to end, that doesn’t have to be true for all of them.
