Seven shows entered the fray. only one gets to reach the top. Many deserve it. Who will get it? It’s probably the obvious choice.

7) The Great North (FOX/Hulu)

English Audio Description: No

It’s actually a pretty good sign that television was good when one of my consistent stalwarts ends up on the bottom. While this weeks episode about the family slowly losing their minds during an ice storm paid heavy homage to A Few Good Men, while also putting a heavy focus on a film I love as well, Enough Said, it was just an average episode of The Great North. Not an instant classic. Also, this show lacks audio description, which will always work against it.

Final Grade: B+

6) Celebrity Jeopardy (ABC/Hulu)

English Audio Description?: Yes

While I love proving how I would have beaten all three of these celebrities, it’s like whisper or scream on the difficulty of questions. I actually watched Celebrity jeopardy right before Jeopardy this time, and I had a banner time getting like 80% of the Celebrity Jeopardy questions right. Then on real jeopardy, I got like ten. It’s a great mood booster, but at the same time, these are really easy questions. Eliza answered a question that was the equivalent of being given the answer with “Duracell Rabbit”. And she’s a semi finalist. This comedienne actually eliminated two celebrities dumber than her. Duracell. Bunny. Later, when asked a pretty easy question about who played Cleopatra opposite Richard Burton, her answer was “The Ten Commandments”. I’d love to see her play real Jeopardy.

Episode Grade: B+

5) The Rookie (ABC/Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

Sadly, on one of the more important episodes of the season, ABC decided to skip audio description for a week. Maybe, we should skip paying the executives for a week and see if they notice. I bet they wouldn’t like that. So, an episode that was rather tense, and had a series regular in a very life or death situation, with a bunch of traps that kept popping out, I didn’t get any audio description to enhance this experience. This episode had a chance of topping this list, but I felt like I was missing too much. I do love The Rookie, and when it has audio description, it is actually one of the better described series.

Episode Grade: A-

4) Uncoupled (Netflix)

English Audio Description?: Yes

It’s just that tight of a day. The series is finally doing what I wanted it to do all along, which is flesh out the supporting cast around Neil Patrick Harris’s Michael, and make it more of an ensemble. Suzanne got a big boost in screentime as half the episode revolved around her, and her ability to get into a club, with the help of a young friend of her son’s who may or may not be flirting with her. Actually, just like last week, her story was more interesting than Michael’s, who is still very clearly not over Colin. This show has to give him closure at some point, obviously. He can’t move on until he finds out why he was dumped.

Episode Grade: A-

3) Paper Girls (Amazon)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Any other day of the week, the episode where Mac goes and visits her own grave would have topped the list. Also, the time rift, and the setup for what clearly will be a big battle in the next episode. Sadly, it’s still cancelled.

Episode Grade: A

2) House Of The Dragon (HBo MAX)

English Audio Description?: Yes

look, i could have, and probably should have put this hour at the top. A lot happened, a new King was crowned, and that ending was super dope. But at this point, I think House Of The Dragon has all the fans in the world, and I think my number one show is being slept on… heavily. And I want to give it a week on top.

Episode Grade: A

1) The undeclared War (Peacock)

English Audio Description?: Yes

If you’ve been seeing the upwards mobility this show has had on me since its premiere, it’s because this show actually does top itself each week. It gets better and better, and scarier with each week. As we progress, the reality that this is so close to our current climate and that a spark could suddenly make this seem like a premonition hits you with every too close to home moment. There was a moment in this episode, the 4th, where a character describes the destabilization plan, and its chilling. It mirrors exactly what has been happening here, where a coordinated attack on the truth creates a climate where people start believing everything is a lie, and as she says “and in that climate the biggest liar wins.” Later, just when a different character thinks she’s made a bold choice all her own, her subject reminds her that she was manipulated. Everything is manipulated. The choice she thought she made, already had an answer, and before she could ever ask the question, her subject had long ago been told to give her an answer, and exactly what answer to give. This is like the 1984 of TV shows, and more people should give it a chance. I’m putting it above House Of The Dragon just to drive home what you are missing.

Episode Grade: A