TV Shows Watched: Nine Perfect Strangers: S2E7 (Hulu) with audio description, black Mirror: S3E2 (Netflix) with audio description, Squid Game: S3E2 (Netflix) with audio description, The Bear: S4E6 (Hulu) with audio description, bet: S1E9 (Netflix) with audio description, The Better Sister: S1E6 (Amazon) with audio description, King Of The hill: S1E11 (Hulu) no audio description, Prison Break: S1E1 (Netflix) no audio description, Dexter: S5E2 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, The Guilded Age: S3E2 (MAX) with audio description

Best Episode: Squid Game, Runner Up: Bet

Best Audio Description: Squid Game, Runner Up: The Bear

Best Performance: Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), I’m Sure Someone From Squid Game Qualifies Here

Best Moment of Audio Description: mother Knows Best (Squid Game), What Ryan Got Himself Into (Bet)

Nine Perfect Strangers- A deeply imperfect season that is going to try and strive to bring down the House Of Cards around Mark Strong in the finale. Sadly, I feel like we still have some underdeveloped “strangers” in this cast, and with one more episode left, they will leave the resort without fully being able to get the richness out of their choices. I’m not really a fan of where this narrative seems headed, though it does have nice audio description.

Black Mirror- Play test. What a waste of a concept. Wyatt Russell plays a tourist avoiding calls from his mother, who after needing some quick cash, tests the most virtual/augmented reality experience. It’s a horror game inside your brain. Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, prey) jumps on board for what is just a basic Blumhouse or Shudder title, that could have explored less obvious fears. Instead, giant spiders, a ghost, and a killer ex girlfriend take center stage for a character who has already expressed that they are recovering from caring for their father who slowly passed from dementia. The smart move would have been to tap into that dark fear, that he would be like his father, but they shove it aside, and have him rapidly lose his memory, giving it less time than spiders. The worst Black Mirror episode, but had so much potential.

Squid Game- Brutal. hide and seek. I know only one person is supposed to survive Squid Game, but I lost one of my top 3 characters this episode. i wanted to see them make it as far as possible, and I’m heartbroken. but that goes to the strength of that character, the writing, and even the dub cast. Dubbing got me personally invested. So, in my performances up above, I had two actors I could have chosen, but I don’t get to experience the original performers as a blind person, and I’m unaware of who the dubs are. I would have chosen a Squid game performer for runner up. My “Mother Knows Best” is a reference to something that happens near the end. In an episode full of brutal violence, that had to be the worst of all.

the Bear- I’ve picked Ayo Edebiri as my top performer for three episodes straight. I’ve never done that. I also rarely binge a series. I suppose it is possible I picked jean Smart from hacks three times in a row, but not three days in a row. Ayo is setting a new record. her work this season is fucking beautiful, and this series needs to be forceably removed from the comedy series category and legally required to compete as a drama. in what world is this a comedy?

Bet- The student council meets the parents, and it is time to enact some revenge. Michael and Ryan are headed to stop the onslaught, but Ryan gets hilariously pulled into this bizarre game the wealthy crime bosses make their servants partake in. Some nice twists along the way, and while I’m betting against a second season, I’m obsessed with this show. Excellent audio description.

The Better Sister- Well, we started to actually reshape the mystery a bit, in the sixth of eight episodes. So, invariably the episode was more interesting because the stagnation and predictability of the first half of the season went away. Now, there is a bit of a MacGuffin in play and we don’t know who the killer is.

King Of The Hill- A reminder this returns in August, Hank wants a better lawn, which strains his relationship with one of the guys. that is, until, fire ants! No audio description. Hulu should step up ahead of the revival.

Prison Break- Netflix advertises this as being audio described, and much like the first season of Dark Winds, it isn’t. however, Hulu is making progress on their pilot for the new Prison Break they are also working on. Margo Martindale is tapped as the warden, so you know they aren’t messing around. I’m also going to try and catch up here. There are a lot more revivals and reboots coming down the pike.

Dexter- Oh, hey, another revival coming soon. Dexter returns this month with Dexter Resurrection. luckily, I did watch half the series, so I have less to catch up on. I should have given the show more credit, because I didn’t want to see Dexter be a single dad, and apparently neither did the show runners, who sent those kids packing real quick. This has some nice audio description, especially around the new killer Dexter has his sights set on.

the Guilded Age- I watch for someone else’s sake. I have very little thoughts. The audio description seems OK, and it is probably my general malaise that results in me never remembering who anyone is. I’d hate to have been the QC on this. I struggle to follow it, but it also feels like my brain is rejecting following it, of little fault to the actual audio description. oddly, I do love Bridgerton, so it isn’t a period drama thing.