TV Shows Watched: The Last of Us: S2E6 (MAX) with audio description, American Idol: S23E19 (Hulu) no audio description, Wandla: S2E4 (Apple plus) with audio description, forever: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, You: S5E5 (Netflix) with audio description, Last Week Tonight: Most recent (MAX) no audio description
Best Episode: The Last Of Us- I love character development in shows, and the opportunity to know more abut the people whose lives we are supposed to react when they live or die in any given situation. So to take an episode where Ellie and Joel flashback quickly through the time jump between seasons, and also cover what happened to Eugene, as well as this chasm of emotional baggage between them, especially compared to last week’s subpar episode, was a breath of fresh air. Not only was it nice to see Pedro one more time, but he was also given strong material to work with.
runner Up: Forever- This was a tough episode to write, the “first time” episode, for two kids still navigating their lives and the promise of a bright future, while there’s also lingering baggage because of Keisha’s past and inability to tell her mom the truth. Teens who feel like teens.
Best Audio description: The Last Of Us- Taking some advantage at a lack of horror in the episode, the description focused on smaller moments, and wrapped details around them. From Ellie’s trip to space, to a casual mention of fireflies, and motivational quotes written on walls, we learned a lot about the space lived in. The world they are fighting to keep alive. However, i could tell this episode got quality checked, and Roy had to do a second recording patch job. there was a phrase that the sound quality was noticeably different than the rest of the track, like it wasn’t recorded at the same time, place, or microphone as the others. Some or all of that. I can’t remember the phrase because it felt so innocuous, but it was during Joel and Ellie’s trip to the Space Museum. then again, we should be happy that the detail is being given in quality checking, as the rise of TTS could lead to more spot checking and not a true quality check.
Runner Up: You/Forever- Two very different approaches to sex, from two very different stories. One of these has to walk a fine line in romanticizing a sexual connection with a male character the audience is well aware of being a predator, and the other focuses on the frankness and honesty in the clumsy nature of first time experiences. You (which ended the way I was hoping it would) kept pushing the relationship between joe and his newest fixation, with this animalistic quality of being allowed to consume. despite that neither show is really ‘for kids”, this certainly had the more adult approach, and felt somehow more sordid. however, Forever still frankly uses penis and blowjob, terms that cut to the chase, and are pulled specifically out due to the age of the characters, the discovery of the situation, and the fact that while this show may not be what you want your kids to watch, it probably is. Both of these tracks dealt with the same topic, from two very different points of view, for two different audiences, and did so very nicely.
Best Performance: Pedro Pascal (the last Of us)- A last hurrah for Joel, and a scene full of emotionally connected moments for Joel and Ellie, that show our former leading man having a second chance at fatherhood, though just like his father, he isn’t getting it all right. then again, does anyone ever? He’s emotionally grounded, funny at times, and consumed by guilt, leaving us with the final image of a man who certainly wasn’t perfect, but never claimed to be, and owned his mistakes even if he would do them all over again.
runner Up: bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us)- so, while we’ve had plenty of time to see Ellie be surly and angry, we have missed out on the girl she was, and Ramsey does a lovely job putting the haters back in their place. The episode time jumps back to the span of time we lost between last seasons finale and this season’s premiere, and Ramsey has to incrementally grow up in front of our eyes. Ellie has to be a kid in the beginning, excited at cake, and dinosaurs, and being able to imagine a trip to space. Ramsey, who is 21, matching the age of their character, turned back time and gave us the Ellie who after everything they had been through, still had the possibilities ahead of what could be. they convinced us for a minute, that Ellie is capable of a happy ending, and a relationship with Joel as her surrogate father we know she never got, and slowly splits from as the episode progressed.
best Moment Of Audio description- fireflies (The Last Of us)- I honestly don’t know why I loved this little mention so much. It just has symbolism, with fireflies floating above a puddle of water, like how the fireflies were at Salt Lake City. It has an ominous context to it, and was obviously included in a shot for a reason, and I’m happy to know it was included in the description.
runner Up: Friend Or Foe? (Wondla)- Eva believes she can negotiate or talk it out with everything, which does turn out to be true with at least one new friend or foe encounter, but a second proves that she’s naive about all creatures being able to be reasoned with. The scene was described well, with the creature she was up against being done well too.
The Worst…- We now have a few months to convince ABC/American Idol that Season 24 is the time for audio description. Honestly, enough is enough. All of its contemporaries who have run for around the same length of time have some level of audio description. Even ones where the description is never going to fully bridge the gap, they make the experience better. Top chef gaining audio description this year doesn’t dramatically improve the quality of the show for blind people, but it provides a lot of context. it is hard to describe the dishes they bring out. It is hard to make people hungry at food they can’t see. Drag Race is focused so much on the look of the queens, and the description really does try its best to capture each look s much as possible. the lip sync is also a huge part, and while it isn’t exactly the same as seeing it, the description does a damn fine job of attempting to replicate. American Idol may not add audio description that radically changes the show, but at the very least, it could tell us who we’re looking at when their names flash on screen for sighted viewers, and maybe what these singers look like, or how they dress. The potential is simply unexplored, and until you start to explore it, it feels like a world of untapped possibilities. if Saturday night Live, the voice, America’s Got Talent, Survivor, and all these other shows can keep making choices to add audio description late stage in their runs, there’s no good reason why American Idol should be allowed to continue forward while making no effort to be accessible. Idol likes to give the semblance of inclusivity through top 10 contestant Scott Macintyre, who finished 8th against kris Allen in season 8, all the way up to a more recent contestant, Shay, who made it to the rounds in Hawaii under the reign of ABC, but not to the voting round. but, much like the inclusivity in casting in The Walking Dead, it feels lackluster and performative when what is such a recognizable name and franchise that has made a ton of money, still after all these years cannot find audio description at a time when so many of their contemporaries are. It is beyond time.
