TV Shows Watched: #1 Happy Family USA- S1E7 (Amazon) with audio description, Duster: S1E2 (MAX) with audio description, Survivor: S48E13 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, got To Get Out: S1E7 (Hulu) with audio description, Love Death and Robots: S4E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Bad thoughts: S1E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Ransom Canyon: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Tucci In Italy: S1E1 (Hulu) no audio description, and Hacks: S4E5 (MAX) with audio description.

Best Episode: hacks- There’s still this bubbling chaos between our leads as the talk show is getting off the air, and a resistance to listen to each others opinions that could sink the show. That is pretty present in this episode, which sees Deborah being picked apart by focus groups for what demos she does and doesn’t work for, and what kind of accessible person she needs to become to keep her dream alive.

Runner Up: Duster- I almost picked Happy Family, but there’s something about that episode that made me uncomfortable in a weird way. Perhaps because the “test” they said was performed during that range never happened to me, so I didn’t quite get the heavy references? So it was all walking into big Mouth territory. but, since the pilot didn’t quite light a fire, I thought the second episode of Duster certainly built on it, and didn’t slow the series down. The episodes could stil use a Red Bull in terms of pacing, by either making things feel more high energy, or shortening the runtime.

Best Audio Description: Number One Happy Family USA- All things considered, even though the episode didn’t work for me as much as some others, it was still really well narrated. A bit of a slower day gives me an opportunity to recognize a steady audio description track for its solid performance week in and week out.

Runner Up: Got to Get Out- I haven’t really yet sung these praises either. It is close to the end of its run, and I definitely found myself sitting in the second to last episode fully appreciative of how much audio description they are pulling off. I started diving more and more into reality TV, so I can hold The Traitors to account for its abysmal and pointless description, and I’m seeing so many other shows that seem to have much better audio description. This is one of them.

Best Performance: Patrick Warburton (Duster)- Man, it has been a minute. he used to be everywhere, and he still is as a vice actor. but, seeing him pop up as the guest star of duster this week was such a pleasant surprise. Sadly, it is a guest spot, and he’s not a cast addition. Man, i wish he was. he nails this part perfectly.

Runner Up: Jean Smart (Hacks)- Probably technically still the best, but she can also just be the runner up. I celebrate her all the time anyway. She had an excellent arc trying to make everyone happy except Ava.

Best Moment Of Audio Description: Dance mom (hacks)- I don’t think I’ve ever complimented the Hacks team. It just isn’t really a show that is structured for robust audio description. However, when Deborah chases some clout by having a social media phenom on her show, the audio description track soars describing her dancing, and eventually Deborah’s as well.

Runner Up: going Bowling (Duster)- The scene at the bowling lane. Well done. No spoilers.

Special Achievement In Awesomeness: So, I thought it was pretty random and cool that Adrienne Barbeau, who has jumped in the audio description community after having an impressive career in Hollywood. A younger version of her, played by some new actress, appears in the second episode of duster, as she’s spotted at a party at Elvis Presley’s house. She even mentions her upcoming audition for Maude, and the show maybe distastefully uses her suggestively in a way that they need for the plot. It’s just fun seeing people in our community out there doing things apart from description.

But, that’s not all. I did say this was a special achievement in awesomeness. JJ Abrams clearly knows his shit, because not only does he have a younger actress portraying Barbeau here, but she’s ACTUALLY IN THE SHOW. She makes a guest appearance as Evelyn, who really does not want to be bothered. There’s room for her character to recur, and she just might. So celebrate Adrienne today, and even if you aren’t planning on watching Duster, please check out her work in the second episode, where she’s on screen as someone else, and someone else is also on screen as her. Pretty cool.

Worst Of…- i don’t want to make a big deal, and I would have left on a high note, but if you are planning on listening to Stanley Tucci roam Italy again, his new show has no audio description, and plenty of people (including Tucci) speaks in Italian with no translation. it is not a rewarding experience. If you need a Tucci fix, he’s actually in Fountain Of youth, which dropped on Apple Plus yesterday.