It’s Valentine’s Day. I love you. That is all.
7) Willow (Disney Plus)
English Audio Description?: Yes
Season finale. Finally. When Willow comes charging in with “her name is Alarra Dannon!” I’m just like… there’s no saving this show. Tonally, it’s all over the place. It’s not sure what age range it wants to be aimed at. It took a cast that would have been better on The CW, and paired it with often frustrating writing that shows that they had very little planned and just stretched it out for eight episodes. I really did not think this would be a miss for Disney Plus, but it is.Pull the plug, and put this out of its misery. At the very least, if you do decide on a second season, you need a new showrunner and an entirely new writers room, and a casting agent who hasn’t worked on Riverdale.
Episode Grade: C, Season 1 Grade: C+
6) Will Trent (ABC/Hulu)
English Audio Description?: Yes
I thought I might be dropping Will this week, but I think he did just enough to survive. My thoughts on episode 3 are not limited to the fact that at the end of the episode, we are still not really given any answers. There are quite a few questions left on the table as we move forward, but since this case is closed, we will never get them. The writers on this show think they are a lot smarter than they are, and that will likely be the downfall of the series. I just don’t have the time to nitpick this episode to death.
Episode Grade: B-
5) That 90’s Show (Netflix)
English Audio Description?: Yes
The sequel series no one asked for is doing a good job of figuring out that these kids are not that interesting, and that a heavy dose of Red and kitty, plus references and drop ins from original cast members is going to be what helps this show survive. Sadly, the new Saved by The bell cast had their own magic, but these kids are running on nostalgia, kind of like how Girl meets World only ran for three seasons.
Episode Grade: B-
4) The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)
English Audio Description?: Yes
There’s just a giant gap between the bottom 3 and top 4. I’m still loving the drama and humor this story has, despite the fact that I’m not a fan of the films enough to be this excited for the series. The Karen moments were great. Trying to play football again at 48? LJ has something to tell their father. Just some really nice story arcs.
Episode Grade: A-
3) Abbott Elementary (ABC/Hulu)
English Audio Description?: Yes
This was a solid episode of Abbott. I think my favorite part had nothing to do with the Valentine’s Day aspect, and rather Ava, who actually stood up for her teacher against an angry parent, and who had the perfect response that shut him down right away. I love Sheryl Lee Ralph, but I need Janelle James to get some awards attention too.
Episode Grade: A
2) Fleischman Is in Trouble (Hulu)
English Audio Description?: No
By the time you get to Episode 7, you’ve spent so much time with Toby and Jesse Eisenberg’s point of view, you’re not really sure there could be another view. I love how this series really came in and brought Claire Danes to this terrific turnaround of the show and her character, putting all of her feelings on display, and making you question everything the show had built up to at that point. I frequently walk away from this show wondering if I ever heard audio description, or if it was all just the normal narration the show has. It is kind of driving me crazy, and that’s because even when it does have audio description, it is so sparse. But, Claire Danes slays this episode.
Episode Grade: A
1) The LAst Of Us (HBO MAX)
English Audio Description?: Yes
While the show still won’t let certain things happen, I also don’t fully begrudge it in only episode 5. It feels like this show has been on longer, but really, I’m only one more episode further on this than The best man, and two more than Will Trent, and somehow, I feel like I’m in the second season. It has a strong ability to cover a lot of ground in a shot period of time.
Episode Grade: A