Disney just loves pissing me off. I can already predict they didn’t describe the new Phineas and Ferb revival starting next week because they didn’t describe the Wizards OF Waverly Place revival last summer. I’m not even sure they got audio description for the documentary Sally, which premieres in June, because they are inconsistent with NatGeo co-productions. So, should I really be surprised The Golden Girls still hasn’t had its audio description restored? it is bad enough that we have to scrape, claw, and scream to get incremental movement in the field, and it makes it worse when something that was already reliably there just vanishes despite the project at hand not changing services. This isn’t even a case of audio description not travelling, which we face all the time (hint: the LAst Showgirl had audio description in theatres, it does not on Hulu), but it actually just disappeared from the service months ago, and Disney refuses to fix it.

TV News: Duster: S1E3 (MAX) with audio description, The better Sister: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, Got To Get Out: S1E8 (Hulu) with audio description, Bad Thoughts: S1E4 (Netflix) with audio description, love Death and Robots: S4E3 (Netflix) with audio description, A narrow Road to The Deep North: S1E2 (Amazon) with audio description, Ransom Canyon: S1E9 (Netflix) with audio description, Krapapolis: S2E22 (Hulu) no audio description, The Golden Girls: ? (Hulu) no audio description, Hacks: S4E6 (MAX) with audio description

Best Episode: Hacks- Ava loses her shit, and it forces Deborah to have to come to terms with her feelings instead of her snarky pushback, because she’s worried she might actually lose Ava.

Runner Up: The Better Sister- this murder mystery has an intriguing start, revealing quite a bit up front, which really makes me wonder how they will evolve the mystery over the course of a season. the acting was on point, and I love that Jessica Biel has been getting good shows like this and Candy, to help her continue to explore her dramatic range.

Worth mentioning: Duster, The Golden Girls, Got To Get Out- Duster has been solid since the premiere, surprisingly so. The golden Girls are iconic, even if they lost their accessibility (Sophia would not put up with that), and Got To Get Out finished in a way I didn’t expect, but probably should have.

Best Audio Description: The Better Sister- What struck me the most was the attention to detail. Little clues matter, because we don’t know who the killer is. In one scene, someone has scratches on their arm that is normally covered up by the length of their shirt, but when they reach for something, the scratches are visible. This is seen by someone, and the way it was all described told me everything I needed to know in order to move forward with my own personal suspect list.

Runner Up: duster- there were a couple of moments I really liked, from the bar fight, to the changing into uniforms at the hospital. There’s some richness in this description as well.

Worth Mentioning: Love Death and Robots, Got To Get Out, Ransom canyon- I think these three would roun out the top five. Love, Death, and Robots always gives the AD team something cool to describe, Got To Get Out is really solid for a reality competition series, and I’ll slide Ransom Canyon in the fifth spot. I didn’t like Bad Thoughts this week, and there isn’t enough about the Narrow Road’s writing to overcome the mix.

Best Performance: Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)- I don’t know how she hasn’t won. I know they want to give an Emmy this year to Liza, and I would be really happy if Janelle James won finally, but it boggles my mind how voters keep watching this show and only seeing Jean Smart. Hannah is fantastic, and Jean Smart needs her for the show to work.

Runner Up: jean Smart (Hacks)- though, these two definitely owned the entire day. The episode was fantastic, and Jean is also very much earning her Emmy. that final scene, where she finally had to put away all the bullshit and be honest with Ava was a lovely moment for her.

Worth mentioning: Keith David (duster), Jessica Biel (The better Sister), Rachel hilson (Duster)- Keith David really got to expand his crime boss finally, and had some real moments. His best was facing down a racist bartender, and demanding to be called Sir, because he’s earned it. Biel threaded a really tough needle for a character that could be a suspect, and was just as believable grieving as she was possibly guilty. And, Rachel Hilson continues to navigate the white male bullshit of the FBI and outsmarting everyone. She was in a smidge of danger this week, and reacted to it well.

Best Moment Of Audio Description: Changing Clothes (Duster)- the bar fight was excellent but there was something stylish about how they changed outfits, and the audio description nailed the visuals, as well as the cool way they seemed to transition. for a show that had already mentioned clark Kent earlier, this felt intentional.

Runner Up: it Has A Face (Love Death And Robots)- That reveal right at the end of the episode really tied it all together.

Runner Up 2: the Scratches (the Better Sister)- Already mentioned above.

runner up 3- The Bar Fight (Duster)- Fight scenes, and brawl sequences are fun to see how the description navigates through every punch and smash.

Runner Up 4: The decapitation (The Narrow Road To The Deep North)- there’s a callous decapitation here, basically just for fun, as two of the enemy soldiers discuss what it is like to decapitate someone (one has, one hasn’t), and then they just decide to do it. The fear for the poor guy they chose was real, even though we all knew where this was headed. Or… beheaded?

Worst Of..- Other than Golden Girls? I’ve previously mentioned Bad Thoughts positively in other episodes, but episode 4 was poorly done. There’s clearly a sex scene, and the narration thinks that describing the point of ejaculation is enough. I know we are supposed to be repulsed by the sex sequence, but nothing was described. A rather sad attempt at audio description if I’m being honest. You’ll describe the money shot but not what leads to it? Why?