TV Shows Watched: American Idol:S24E9 (Disney plus) no audio description, The Forsyths: S1E1 (PBS) with audio description, Finding Her Edge: 4 (Netflix) with audio description, DTF: St Louis: S1E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Crutch: S1E5 (Paramount) with audio description, and Last Week Tonight: Monday (HBO MAX) no audio description

American Idol- Man, the cuts are going to be brutal. I do wish this show had audio description, so we could know more about these singers, and the other singers already cut, but this was a tight night. I wonder how the voting is going. Keila really shut down everything at the end. Jordan was also terrific. It’s less about who was bad, and more about who stood out the least. Lucas’s Tim McGraw cover became the most forgettable thing for me at the end. It wasn’t that he was bad, I just would put him at most forgettable, in a night of big bold choices and performances. They often say they have the best crop of singers ever, but they let little wimpy voices, and it never pans out. These 20 singers are probably the best Top 20, with at least half of them making solid cases for why they should win, and nearly every single one making a statement on why they should stay. It’s also one of the most diverse casts, not just in terms of race/ethnic/gender makeup, but in terms of style. They also don’t seem to be pushing one specific genre this season, allowing rock to slip back in a bit more than previously.

The Forsyths- Jack Davenport and Stephen Moyer topline a new period drama for PBS, that has that Downton Abbey/The Guilded Age vibe to it, in terms of society, falling in love within your station, marrying off for opportunistic reasons, and a family with a recognizable last name to the people around them. The audio description is Media Access and (I believe) Peter Jaycock. It is very well done, just like Count Of MOnte Cristo was. I prefer Cristo, but then again, I struggle through Guilded Age. It just isn’t my spot of tea.

Finding Her Edge- Shocker. The two skaters that seemed to hate each other start developing a bond, and *shock* relationship? the most predictable show ever. The audio description is fine, I guess. I’m not into figure skating or ice dancing, so it’s hard to tell if this is being accurately represented. As a throwaway romantic drama, it is likely appealing to a specific audience.

DTF: St Lous- A show I just flat out don’t get or understand. The vibe they are going for here, I’m lost. I did laugh when she went to the Jamba Juice and the girls kept repeating that drink order, like they knew someone by drink order, and not name. Those girls were a lot of fun. Most of this show feels aimless, like it can’t ever figure out or decide on a tone or genre. The talent here is incredible, but they so frequently feel lost in their material, and not in a good way. More like being lost in the weeds. I’m not noticing anything in the audio description track that would suggest it isn’t working, as it seems to pick up the intent of every scene, like the beer between the legs, or the Playgirl magazines, where it makes sure you know the pictures are the same, suggesting a repetition that is important to the plot. Now that Linda Cardellini has a bit more to do, she seems most comfortable in whatever format this is,so she should explain the show to everyone else.

Crutch- Gentrification. The episode is about gentrification. The audio description was fine. Fun fact, neither of Tracy Morgan’s new sitcoms have been picked up for a second season yet.

Last Week Tonight- John Oliver uses that same clip I’ve seen before with the disillusioned Trump voter who finally woke up, but the episode is primarily about Sting operations. So, if you like John Oliver when he’s not leaning into politics, the entire main story has nothing to do with anything in our current political landscape, and is more about who police are actually getting in sting operations, like officers going undercover to get special needs students to buy them weed. What a victory. You fake befriended an autistic kid, who bought a joint off a homeless man so you would be his friend.