TV Shows Watched: The Count Of Monte Cristo: S1E1 (PBS) with audio description, The Night Agent: S3E3 (Netflix) with audio description, Hijack: S2E6 (Apple) with audio description,Love Story: S1E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description, and BatFam: S1E5 (Amazon) with audio description

The Count Of Monte Cristo- Obviously, this has been adapted to death, but this newest Masterpiece adaptation starring Sam Claflin seems to be getting off to an interesting start. The pacing in the pilot was interesting, giving us a glimpse into the future of Edmund through a confessional, but then showing us basically everything that leads up to him being thrown into jail. I don’t know if it is an extraordinary adaptation, but it is very solid, with a wonderful cast, and more than competent direction. On top of that, the audio description from Media Access Group (narrated by Peter Jaycock I believe) is wonderful. I rarely get into PBS shows, but I can see myself getting pulled into this.

The Night Agent- The next episode seems to confirm what happened at the end of the last episode, as they finally have to brief the President. Then, paths collide as the intrepid reporter must rely on Peter because The Father is still out there. I was on board, until The Father yanked that PlayStation. It even had the other guys login on it. As if no one could trace that? Really? The audio description is good though, and that’s the point.

Hijack- I’m still not convinced we neede this second season. It has gotten a bit more interesting as it starts to answer the Why and How of the season, but it lacks the same flair as the first time around. The show somehow manages to feature less Idris Elba, as he has very little to do, with the constraints of the season limiting him to not being able to tell or talk about anything for most of the season, and when he can, he’s still very cagey and closed off. So you would think the show has built a robust supporting cast around him? You would think that wouldn’t you. You’re cute.

Love Story- The Kennedy family hasn’t revolted in mass against this, so I guess I’ll check it out. As I’ve seen Ryan Murphy’s recent output, it has become increasingly difficult for me to believe he’s at the top of his game. My best guess here is that he wants to normalize JFK Jr and Caroline by showing them as regular folk, and not these glamorized stars they became, or as CNN labeled him through their docuseries, American Prince. watching Caroline do a bump of cocaine in the pilot is a strong choice. What my little bit of research on that suggests is that there was a perception about her increasing paranoia that she used drugs, but her friends maintained that she did not, and it was just the pressure of being launched into fame. The Crown had so make some tough choices regarding the depiction of Diana, and through similar means, though we also built to that. Diana in the crown was shown breaking down into it, while Caroline and cocaine happens in the first episode, before she has that fame to hide behind. The performances are fine. It’s probably the best thing Murphy is doing in the past year, given his mediocre output.

Bat Fam- Mama Croc was fun. I noticed in my Amazon X-Ray stuff that James Cromwell is voicing Alfred. Really? Damn. that’s awesome. Amazon hasn’t renewed the series yet, which premiered in November. The audio description was good. Roundabout I believe.