There’s so much great TV on right now. I wish Amazon gave people more than a half second to find and fall in love with Night Sky. Anyway… here’s my ranks from yesterday.
1) Ozark (Netflix)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
In the 13th episode, another one bit the dust. I won’t reveal who, just in case you haven’t caught up, because this episode did a pretty good job of making you believe any number of bodies could hit the floor. And honestly, the one that did, I wasn’t even expecting. I know one that will hit the floor before the finale, and one that won’t. And I’m still not OK with that direction. They need to make me Ok in the last few moments here before Ozark goes from “one of the best series ever” to “shit the bed when they hit the finale”.
Episode Grade: A
2) Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
English Audio Description Available?: No
Gotta love a girl who sits down and does an episode about Roe V Wade while recovering from Covid. That’s commitment. Also, we learned more about glitter and micro plastics.
Episode Grade: A
3) The G Word With Adam Conover (Netflix)
English Audio Description Available?: YEs
Finished this series off. Thought it was cool how he focused on local elections for the last episode, and their importance. I’d still much rather see him ruin everything, but it is fun to hear him curse every once in a while.
Episode Grade: A-, Series Grade: A-
4) Under The Banner Of Heaven (Hulu)
English Audio Description Available?: No
This series would be higher on my list if it had audio description. I’d know what was happening in the quiet moments, and it would’ve be so hard to follow. But even my blind ass could tell that shit was seriously getting real in this fourth episode, and Andrew Garfield’s cop might be a Mormon, but he’s very much a cop first. So, don’t try to use your Mormon voodoo on him, cause it won’t work. He stands up to a man who clearly is his superior in the church, and that was a solid moment for the series. Also, this episode actually used the phrase “Under The banner Of heaven”, in case you’re wondering where it came from.
Episode Grade: B+
5) Atlanta (FX/Hulu)
English Audio Description Available?: No
I know Donald Glover is trying to do something here with this one for me and one for you format, which just means we spend far less time with the main crew, and instead get taught lessons from Glover on race. I have a lot of thoughts on this episode and why it doesn’t work. I also am reviewing a show and an episode perhaps not aimed at my audience. So, what’s the point? The episode itself was silly, and somewhat demeaning to black people in order to prove its point, but maybe that’s what Glover was hoping for? Asking the kid a starter question about Hennessy didn’t make the kid look ignorant, it made the rich black guy asking a high schooler what he mixes with his alcohol ignorant. Regardless of the race of any of those characters, when you start using childish situations, they tend to draw away from whatever larger point you’re trying to make. Perhaps the idea was about the kids level of blackness, versus black culture. Or perhaps, Glover was trying to make a point about colorism, and we were supposed to sympathize with the kid. I don’t know, because this episode was all over the place, and by the end of it, I didn’t have a clue who I was supposed to root for. in an episode that had a shot at being incredibly smart and provocative, the message got blurred, and I didn’t think it stuck the landing. Of course, audio description would help. One thing is for sure. Atlanta has been gone for a minute, and comedy got smarter. The competition this year against Atlanta, plus his shifting format, and the limited amount of nominations could see Atlanta being left out of several races. Most notably Best Actor, as there are only five spots, and just off the top of my head, Glover has to overcome Martin, Short, Sudekis, Hader, all of whom are pretty much locks. That fifth spot? every other series lead is fighting for it, from Anthony Anderson’s last season of Blackish, to Rhys Darby’s breakthrough in Our Flag Means Death.
Episode Grade: B-
60 Tokyo Vice (HBo MAX)
English Audio Description Available?: Yes
I’m basically watching this show right now because I respect Michale Mann. But it’s clear to me, this show should have prepared itself either as a movie or a limited series, not a multi-season show, because it is only occasionally interesting enough to hold attention.
Episode Grade: C+
