TV Shows Watched: Silo: S2E7 (Apple plus) with audio description, What if: S3E6 (Disney Plus) with audio description, laid: S1E44 (Peacock) with audio description, Dexter: Original Sin: S1E3 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Get Millie Black: S1E5? (MAX) with audio description, The Diplomat: S2E4 (Netflix) with audio description, and Matlock: S1E? (Paramount Plus) with audio description
Movies Watched: Gladiator 2 (Screener) with audio description, And So it Begins (Screener) no audio description, The Girl in The Pool (Paramount Plus) no audio description
Best Episode: Silo- I’m definitely biased, because this is one of my favorite shows on air, but I thought they did another excellent job at expanding the lore of the Silo, what came before, what Bernard knows, and what is happening in the other Silo.
Runner Up: Laid- A fast favorite of mine, which started diving into that sex cluster. I also came so close to picking What If, but considering how wild this western themed version was, when we got to the Hood, and we had already established the Ghost Train, i was thinking what an excellent way to remind people Ghost Rider exists, in a very unique way. Then they whiffed it.
Best Performance: Tim Robbin’ss (Silo)- I could have filled this Performance category with just Silo cast members, but in a very Sophie’s Choice moment, I landed on Robbin’s, who is doing a fantastic job of unraveling. Steve Zahn has also been brilliant as Solo, Rebecca Ferguson has been a rock all season, and even Harriet Walter has been doing great work all along as Walker. Hell, while Common is not the best actor, this show uses him at full capacity. But, Robbin’s is making a really compelling villain, and often we love those complex and devious bad guys the most.
Runner Up: Tamara Lawrence (Get Millie Black)- While Get Millie Black might be flying under your radar, it really is a very interesting show, with a strong female lead who has delivered a dynamic performance over the short run. I hope to see more from her in the future.
Best Audio Description: Silo- Balancing a dystopian future where one character literally describes swimming as a concept that no one has ever actually done, mixed with a broad ensemble, Silo does a nice job every week. The only time it really let me down was weeks ago when we saw Solo step out for the first time. Other than that, it has been gangbusters.
Runner Up: Get Millie Black- As this show winds down, and What If had an easier episode to describe, I wanted to single out what has been really strong description for this crime drama.
Best Moment Of Audio Description- Silo- The description of the Shadow’s quarters. Considering we hadn’t been in there before, and this is also likely where Solo lives in a similar condition, it was nice to see this swaggy little place fleshed out.
Runner Up: What If- The first gunfight featuring Walker. What If is doing a nice job this season of reinforcing the next Avengers, all the new characters who haven’t had much to do since their TV show a while back, but are all slated to appear again.
Worst Episode: If I’m being honest, The Diplomat is spending a lot of time unraveling this one thing, and it isn’t quite as interesting as last season. but, technically, The Girl In The pool was the worst thing I saw, and it doesn’t have audio description.
Worst Performance: Monica Potter (the Girl in The Pool)- While I was trying to connect some dots, I saw an interview Potter did with co-star Freddie Prince jr, and the interviewer (of course), and Freddie was asked how he shaped his character, and he has this really elaborate well thought out response. She was asked virtually the same question, and admitted she gave no thought to her character. LOL. I normally don’t drag people, and I wouldn’t have after that, but seriously…girl. You’ve been in the industry far too long to not have a canned response about how you came to find your character. Her response was basically “I just came and played off of Freddie”, which sounds a hell of a lot like “I don’t care.” it shows.
Worst Audio Description- And So it Begins- technically, a way better film than girl In The Pool, but also with no audio description. the problem here, is that about half of the movie isn’t in English. It might be more like 40%, but it is a lot. the film dives into Filipino politics, and there’s quite a bit in Tagalog. Thus, the need for audio description is higher. Though, if you are deeply interested in the corruption in the Philippines, or are bilingual, I’d recommend the film. It was enlightening.
