TV Shows Watched: Black Mirror: S3E1 (Netflix) with audio description, Bet: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, The Pitt: S1E9 (MAX) with audio description, Nine Perfect Strangers: S2E6 (Hulu) with audio description, the Better Sister: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description, Ginny and Georgia: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Silicon Valley: S2E8 (MAX) with audio description, Love Death and robots: S4E7 (Netflix) with audio description, Futurama: S5E11 (Hulu) no audio description yet, Grimmsburg: S1E13 (Netflix) with audio description, Ironheart: S1E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description

Best Episode: Black Mirror and Ironheart, runner Up: The Pitt and Bet

Best Audio Description: Black Mirror, Runner Up: Ironheart, Love Death and robots, and bet

Best Performance: Bryce Dallas Howard (Black Mirror) Runner Up: Elizabeth Banks (The better Sister) and Nicole Kidman (Nine Perfect Strangers)

Best Moment Of Audio Description: The First Heist (Ironheart), The Speech (Black Mirror), The Guillotine (Bet), and The Rat (the Pitt)

Black Mirror- Nose dive is such a triggering episode for anyone like me who has to chase approval of some kind to survive or thrive. The episode depicts a world where everyone is suddenly an influencer, and everyone can be rated by anyone on any interaction. Bryce Dallas Howard plays a woman with aspirations of being above a 4.5, and she’s invited to this destination wedding full of “prime influencers”, but the road to get her there might not be worth it. I loved what this episode was putting down, I think it could have expanded more on its central concept. I feel that about a lot of Black Mirror episodes. This prioritizes influence as power and privilege, but doesn’t show maybe how being rated by someone higher has greater effect than someone below you. if you have a low score, the world seems to tell you that you don’t matter, so why would your scores matter as much? But it becomes such a huge factor as she’s on her journey, and one vote can have dramatic effects on her average in ways that should have been thought out more. But, that’s not Black mirror. these are short mini movies with high concepts, and this certainly was entertaining.

Bet- the final moments before the top 10 are revealed, and can our plucky lead make student council from dead last? Never bet against her. she also makes good on a promise to Mary from early in the season. I love Bet. the audio description is great and the guillotine scene had some excellent tension.

The Pitt- Another terrific episode. the waiting room is becoming a problem, and it really hits a wall at the end of the episode. I did like the rat appearing, and also how the rat went away.

the better Sister- Five episodes in, and this is still deeply predictable. However, Elizabeth Banks had some nicer beats as her character becomes better fleshed out and less one note addict stereotype.

Nine Perfect Strangers- After the last episode banked on emotional payoff that wasn’t there, we had to cram our features together so several characters took brief journies to the past. I gave Kidman a mention for the final moment she has with her mentor before that reveal.

Ginny And Georgia- I laughed. The ending to this episode is so shitty, so unintentionally hilarious, I laughed. this had bad writing, an while the previous seven episodes were fine, man this took a turn to jump the shark awfully fast. Marcus gets yelled at by Ginny and could not have crashed his motorcycle faster after that. And I love that they felt they had earned that dramatic weight, so that is where they leave you. No, ma’am. no you did not.

Silicon Valley- Another pitch meeting that doesn’t go well. there have been funnier episodes before. this was fine.

Love Death and Robots- A cool concept with warriors needing their language translated. It’s only 15 minutes of my life, and sometimes this show gets it right.

Futurama- The whole gang each gets 300 dollars, and spend it in equally stupid ways.

Grimmsburg- the season finale actually had odd payoff as all the bad guys from the previous episodes showed back up, and the meta jokes at Jon Hamm’s expense were nice touches. it feels like the episode you make just in case you don’t get renewed.

Ironheart- RiRi is back. She lightly mentions the events of Wakanda Forever, without actually saying anything substantial, and then launches into an intro that gets her kicked out of MIT and back home to Chicago. There, she’s struggling, and takes a job opportunity from some shady but funded thieves who need her suit and skills. She’s altruistic, and believes that if she can just get ahead, she can create this technology that will save and revolutionize first responders, based on a past that had her see her best friend and her step father gunned down in a drive by. Anthony Ramos looks to be her primary villain, maybe, though the first episode is more set up and less concerned with drawing a line between good and evil. I liked the audio description, and other than the show expecting everyone to have seen Wakanda forever, which makes it hard for new fans, I thought the pilot was well structured. the trolls have latched onto the fact that RiRi has to make poor choices and justify them to get forward, and act like no other hero ever has had to do that. They balk at the idea that a black girl can be this character, keep track of her crimes committed, all the while not mentioning how Scott Lang’s arc works, and they even work his status as a criminal into a necessary skill set for him in the first film. She’s fine. If you don’t want to watch a black girl kick ass, then don’t, but don’t ride the wave of truth and justice when you’re only willing to hold it up to heroes of color, or strong female leads.