I had a great time last night talking audio description with a group of industry officials who love it as much as I do. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and hope to continue to talk about expanding this accessibility whenever and wherever I can.

5) 5) 911 Lone Star (FOX/Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

There was a scene where Mateo was slowly devolving into madness that I got totally lost. Trippy sequences that don’t really make sense in the normal order are even harder to follow without audio description. So, I guess he was getting blasted, and suddenly his life was a sitcom. It was definitely a bold choice for the episode. But between Mateo dealing with his cousin, and Judd dealing with Wyatt, the team kept this episode pretty low budget. If they’re looking to trim costs for the 911 franchise, I suspect we see a lot more of these episodes.

Episode Grade: B+

4) The Ark (Syfy/Peacock)

English Audio Description? Yes

Well, there were a ton of dead bodies in this episode, and other than sort of describing one, it largely avoided describing them. So I assume they had nothing to describe? Just a lot of cherubic faces. Nothing to see here. Of course, I figured when Kelly was the only remaining person on board, that she was somehow up to no good. She may seem innocent, but she’s stone cold. Never trust a lone survivor. Not on TV anyway. unless they’re Edward.

Episode Grade: B+

3) Extraordinary (Hulu)

English Audio description?: Yes

Well, that’s a wrap on Season 1. I feel like the final episode was a bit crammed, with Cash and Carrie breaking up, in somehow the coolest way ever. It was really much more emotionally resonant for Cash, who has been portrayed up until this point as a man child, to keep trying to change his future by using his power to go back before Carrie breaks up with him, but every single time she keeps saying it. I could go into how much I enjoyed Jen trying to get a cat to lover her, thinking she was talking to jizz, or Jen finally getting through a ton of emotional baggage with her mom. but, the thing you shouldn’t want spoiled happens at the very end, and will definitely shake up Season 2.

Episode Grade: A, Season 1 Grade: A-

2) Ted Lasso (Apple Plus)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Amazingly a really complicated show. What did we just watch? A show about soccer/football? Not really. We saw a man who took a shot at happiness by asking his friend with benefits if she’d like to go on an actual date, only to be rebuffed because he’s still a mess. You can feel the weight of this following Ted through his biggest game of the season, and even though he’s clearly been dealt a blow, he maintains his positive attitude and kindness toward others. He even tries to chat up Nathan, even after seeing the video of Nathan destroying the sign. Then he closes out the episode with a nice and overdue call home. Some people thought they just saw a show about footballers, where Zava lets his kids name themselves when they turn 7. Dream big. The rest of us watched a guy deal with his emotional baggage head on in a respectful and honest manner. Really well done episode.

Episode Grade: A

1) The Mandalorian (Disney Plus)

English Audio Description?: Yes

I would have been happy to give Ted first place, but seeing this week’s episode of The Mandalorian, which played very uniquely like an episode of law and Order, I enjoyed the format. It made me wonder what a show like that set in this universe would be like on a weekly basis. Star Wars: Major Crimes. But, the investigation of rogue battle droids, and Bo facing off against a former disciple of hers so she can win the honor of more Mandalorian to bring into the fold was all badass. And that final shot of the dark saber was so well described, adding The little part about the white light around the edge. That saber sounds really freaking cool, and this is my favorite episode of the season.

Episode Grade: A