12) 8 Simple Rules (Disney plus)

English Audio Description?: No

Sorry, this was a tough day to rank, and 8 Simple Rules just felt like it missed a mark the most. This episode had a solid reference to Three’s Company, but squandered the “kids out of the house” moment by not letting the adults actually have any meaningful time together. john Ritter’s time on the show was fleeting, and I can’t help but think this missed a mark to show that Paul and Kate were more than just parents. What made it worse was that Kate tried so hard to make this happen.

Episode Grade: B-

11) Friends (MAX)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Ended

Basically, this episode was a jumble of things. Ross was the most absent, as he needed to be so Rachel and Monica could take care of Ben, before monica hits his head against a post. Phoebe has some great stuff about people dying Everytime she goes to the dentist, and the possible death of ugly naked guy. And Joey has to tell Chandler that Janice is cheating on him, leaving Chandler to make a tough decision. It was a mixed bag of a lot of juggling.

Episode Grade: B

10) Weakest Link (Peacock)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Unknown

I knew the weird lady who lived in some cabin in the woods would be the first to go home. Her answer to “What is the northernmost point of South America?” Was “South America”. I mean, technically? But, I think you don’t understand how this works.

Episode Grade: B

9) 911 (Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

Status: Moving To ABC

Buck rejoins the team and is met with a chilly response, his sister’s continued attempts to help someone she thinks has an abusive partner go horribly awry.

Episode Grade: B

8) And Just Like That (MAX)

English audio description?: Yes

Status: not Yet Renewed

This show still has a massive new cast that need exploring, and Miranda took up a lot of air. i didn’t like how they left Che in this episode, like they were totally disconnected from Miranda’s panic. I love Che as a character, but they were a bit salty. What helped this episode was watching Carrie struggle with reading her chapter about finding Big in the shower for her audio book. Sarah Jessica Parker’s work on this show is really strong.

Episode Grade: B+

7) Justified (Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

Status: Revival Starts This Week

Lots of things happening, from trying to return stolen confiscated money, to a bomb threat at the courthouse. It would seem that someone is looking to pick a battle with mags, and considering Margo Martindale’s limited time on screen so far, and her Emmy win, I think that isn’t going to work out for them. Also, there are still chunks of this show I can’t understand without audio description, once again hitting its cap.

Episode Grade: B+

6) Futurama (Hulu)

English Audio Description?: No

Status: Reviving Later This Month

In the future, Santa is a murderous robot. This is a winner of a X-Mas special episode.

Episode Grade: A-

5) XO kitty (Netflix)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Renewed

mino now has a crush on Kitty. And Kitty might just ruin this whole secret parent drama because she’s a little tipsy at Mino’s party.

Episode Grade: A-

4) The Lake (Amazon)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Unknown

Perhaps the strike will produce a reduced competition for next year’s Emmy nominations, and Amazon will push this little engine than can to the race. Especially Julia Stiles, who goes full on party girl to spite her mother.

Episode Grade: A-

3) A Small Light (Disney plus)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Limited

I saw three series or season finales in the same day. This one had a slightly lessened impact due to the true story nature. The episode hangs a lot on waiting for Anne Frank to come home, which was heartbreaking. It’s like watching Hachi waiting for Richard Gere to return. We know he won’t, but the dog didn’t know that, and neither do the characters in this piece. Overall, I thought this did a solid job of telling a story we already knew, but from a different perspective, and had some terrific performances. It’s a shame that Emmy voters felt differently.

Episode Grade: A, Series Grade: A-

2) Class Of 09 (Hulu)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Limited

I think I’m now low key obsessed with Brian Tyree Henry. His performance here has been fantastic, as has Kate Mara. but this show reaches a fever pitch conclusion in its message about the dangerous future of AI, and it was the best episode of the series. Everything it was working up the courage to say, it said in the final hour. A solid series otherwise, but it ended strong.

Episode Grade: A, Series Grade: B+

1) Silo (Apple Plus)

English Audio Description?: Yes

Status: Renewed

I’m quite obsessed with this show now. The twists and turns this show dares to take, and the cliffhangers we are left with, really are just so indicative of an excellent writers room and source material to work from. Silo is probably easily one of the Top 5 new shows I’ve seen this year (non-Limited), and I’m so glad Apple is sticking with it for another season.

Episode Grade: A+, Season 1 Grade: A