I’ve been managing to wrap up a show pretty consistently every day for the past couple of days, and this was no exception. I finally finished One Life (Netflix). 14 episodes later and I can at least understand why people get emotional, it’s just that the character left standing is the one I didn’t like. I never related to him, no matter what struggles were thrown his way, because I thought he was such a dis likable person from the beginning. I never felt his redemption, so he’s left alone in the end, and I just don’t care. I’m glad this is behind me.

Also, I finished Baby Reindeer (Netflix), another buzzy Netflix limited series. i wonder if all that buzz will translate into Emmy nominations. Inventing Anna wasn’t the best received, but it still found its way in the right categories. I think lead acting is tight for the series creator to squeeze in against well known names, but Jessica Henwick could easily get in, especially if she’s pushed in supporting. I cringed at one moment of audio description in the finale, when it got a little too in the weeds. There’s a bit of narration when Richard has all the stuff spread out over his apartment, and his ex girlfriend comes in, and there was description about how she was looking, and it was “like she was worried about his own mental health”, something to that effect. It was a bit too much into interpreting the reason for a facial expression, almost like an audio book at that point. I will say, I personally don’t care that much, as I’m still acutely aware and have ranted a hundred times about all the things we never get to know through audio description, so I like to have as much as possible. but, there is a percentage of audio description users who will find description like that to be inappropriate. So, thus, I must bring it up. Someone will get mad about that, but forget that we don’t know what they’re wearing in that scene, how the scene is shot (are they both in frame for the whole shot, or are we going over each shoulder, or a mix?), the lighting, makeup, and probably a hundred subtle facial choices the actors make as they live and embody the character. Almost always, the most audio description is the better option.

The Big Door Prize (Apple Plus) really made me wonder if that teacher didn’t know her dog was pregnant. She just drops off a dog about to give birth… by chance? Giorgio should get an Emmy nomination. It won’t happen, but that actor is so good at playing an idiot who projects so much self confidence people forget he’s an idiot.

I knocked out another Velma (MAX), which revealed a character was still alive, and playing around with brains. There was also almost a burning at the stake. I laughed when I heard Project Scooby, because I was hoping we’d learn that Scooby is actually not a real dog, but some kind of dog-android.

Now, I only have two episodes left of American Rust (Freevee) season two, after watching an episode that had Jeff Daniels dealing with a ghost from his past, and Maura Tierney questioning why people from the company she’s supposedly working with have no idea who se is or what she’s talking about.

And finally, I did decide to watch a second episode of Tires (Netflix), a show that I stand by what I said. It does a poor job of establishing who these characters are, in terms of an ensemble, and seems to really have a problem with wanting to do offensive low brow humor, but also being afraid of having Shane get cancelled a second time. I think it just comes down to the writing. There are so many crude TV shows out there still, big Mouth comes to mind, that I feel like if there were better writers on Tires, Shane could have it both ways. but, this is such an odd show, where he’s not even the central character, but the plot keeps pushing to him. This feels like Family Matters, where the show shouldn’t be about Steve Urkel, but obviously is at a certain point. At least in that case, they had several episodes to establish the Winslow family, before Urkel was a phenomenon. Here, Shane just absorbs, and the rest of the ensemble waits to be needed. Character development is so important.