I finished a show, though the knowledge that there won’t be a second season just made me frustrated with all those damn cliffhangers. Did it snag the top spot?

1) Breeders (FX/Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

One of the few shows I ever actually make the exception for to top the list. Breeders chose to come out of left field and spend the day with Mark and his parents. As he tried to provide them with a happy day, a walk down memory lane, as their friend is in hospice, the whole thing went to shit when his mom revealed that in the last episode, when she was out of the room,, or at least they thought she was, she caught a glimpse of a moment between her friend and her husband that convinced her they were having an affair or had one in the past. Of course, this revelation was a partial truth, as dad owned up to meeting her on dates but never sleeping with her. This betrayal was too much for her still, and she ended a 50 year marriage, and went to stay with her son for a bit. Will they be able to make up? Reminder: This is technically considered a comedy.

Possibly the best show you’re not watching, and likely due to no audio description.

Episode Grade: A

2) Night Sky (Amazon)

English Audio Description?: Yes

in the final hour (Thank Amazon) of a rather exceptional series, I was actually let down for many reasons. The first being that there are too many damn cliffhangers for a show that obviously thought “We’ve got JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek, I’m sure Season 2 is a foregone conclusion”. But aside from that, the biggest reason this episode dropped a grade had to do with the bed and breakfast, a random thing to throw in at the end, and that super secret high tech room with some guy working the cameras. It’s been years since Jude’s father passed through there, and you’ve had your B&B set up on lockdown on the offside chance someone drifted in looking for Gabe? Really? What does that dude in the room do when no one is checked in? I mean, it was very nefarious, but in an effort to keep us wanting more, they made it stupid, and now without a second season, they can’t explain anything, so it’s just this thing that makes the writers look like they had no idea what they were actually doing. On the flip side, Sissy Spacek dropped a very difficult scene in there like a stealth bomber and it’s clear that she’s been living with some massive guilt. Excellent actors should have been given more time to explore this world.

Episode Grade: A-, Series Grade: A

3) Heartstopper (Netflix)

English Audio Description?: Yes

I think this was Episode 5. nick was torn between a pity date with Imogene over the death of her dog, or Charlie’s birthday. Don’t worry, he chose correctly, and I should have had more faith in Nick. For a show I didn’t get into right away, it has really grown on me.

Episode Grade: A-

4) Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBo/HBo MAX)

English Audio Description?: No

Oddly enough, not as much fun or biting commentary as I would ahve liked during the first half, but that was more than made up for by a deep dive into the state of Mental Health in America, as well as the worlds creepiest televangelist. i mean, the walrus is a fun story to tell, but… I feel like we’ve got some serious stuff going down.

Episode Grade: A-

5) Resident Evil (Netflix)

English Audio Description?: Yes

And then, down at the bottom again, is Netflix’s quite awful Resident Evil series, that has a writers room that can best be described as “those kids who yell at you during your Call Of Duty matches”. The dialogue in this show is just… suicidally atrocious. A weird way to describe dialogue, I know. But, if ever a line of dialogue required running through a glass window and plummeting to your death, it was when Umbrella Soldier Bro responded to the bad guy who captured him, after just learning that the last Umbrella Soldier was sent out of there with his balls in his hand, that this guy would need both hands to carry said balls once removed because they were pretty big. I mean… what the actual fuck. It’s like everyone in this world is so stupid that no one has any sense of self preservation? I did (and this is a spoiler), really hate the fact that yet again, everyone who comes in contact with Jade dies. Even the guy who saved her life, broke her out of jail, was a bad ass, and deserved to stick around… still followed the tradition of “If you run into Jade, you will die.” The Resident Evil here isn’t the virus, or even Umbrella, or the Zeroes. It’s Jade and the writers room.

Episode Grade: C-