No more running up that hill. At least, not until the final season of Stranger Things drops, which I’m assuming is a two year wait.
1) Stranger Things (Netflix)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
Yes, I finished. 2:22 later. Sweet baby Jesus. That was a long episode. And honestly, for all the hoopla online about who was going to die, based on some rumors that death was upon us, I felt underwhelmed. But, jsut as I did with Dr Strange, I separated the episode itself from the hype machine around it, and looked at it for what it was. An excellent conclusion to the fourth season, and also very much like the bomb has dropped, and there can only be one more season. It’s like, after the events of this, that moment where Buffy activated and gave slayer powers to everyone. But unlike that Buffy finale which also wrapped up its main story, Stranger Things has now done a similar thing, making it impossible to look away. How will that play out in the final season?
Side note. What the hell happened to Jason? Is he just so irrelevant that the series just stopped following the psychotic basketball player? Last thing i saw was him getting knocked out. Then, at least from a blind person’s audio description perspective, he’s never mentioned again. Did the audio description miss something?
Episode Grade: A
2) The Shining Girls (Apple Plus)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
I’m only two episodes in, and I can already tell this show is nuts, and will continue to be nuts. And it might be the creepiest, most batshit show I’ve seen in a while. it very much has that potential. I hope it doesn’t squander it. It’s terrific so far. If you slept on this show, and you like weird things, go for it.
Episode Grade: A
3) Girls5Eva (Peacock)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
The fact that I watched two more things I felt comfortable putting above my favorite sitcom shows you how great those two dramas were. Girls is hilarious, and the sixth episode had one of the gang convinced that an artist that wears a beekeeper suit was actually their dead 5th member.
Episode Grade: A
4) The Staircase (HBO MAX)
English Audio Description?: Yes
In the third episode, we get more into what Mike likes… sexually. What made this more interesting was that the end of the episode finally revealed how Mike came to adopt two girls. And that should play out nicely in Episode 4.
Episode Grade: A
5) We Own this City (HBo/ HBO MAX)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
I started watching the first of this six part limited, and it was a bit slow. Some of it was good, but it jumps around more than a pilot should. It doesn’t ease its audience in very well, and expects you to keep up with a broad ensemble investigating multiple things, all while they’re being investigated presumably for being bad cops. it was a LOT for a pilot. It didn’t totally work for me, but the acting was on point.
Episode Grade: B-
6) Gentleman Jack (HBo/HBO MAX)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
Finally finished season 1. I watched Season 1 for the sake of watching the current season, so even though this show underwhelmed me, I have to move into the second season, otherwise this binge was for naught.
Episode Grade: B-, Season 1 Grade: B-
