I finished two shows yesterday. I gotta say, I enjoyed Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix), but from a directorial standpoint, this season finale was so close to ending on a cool line of dialogue to set up next season, but instead it kinda pushed further into that diorama scene, which it didn’t need. There’s one of those “What’s next?” Type statements, and that would have been the place to cut, I think. It felt like a stronger ending. At this point, for season two, I hope the audio description is more immersive. There are a lot of fans of the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/08/24

Not really a new show, but I did dive into the second season of Loot (Apple plus). The series is hilarious, and the first part where she’s being interviewed and asked those questions was hilarious. Loved it. I’m not just a Maya Rudolph fan, but I love what MJ Rodriguez brings to the table as well. It’s got that battle of being a sitcom, and I’m convinced Apple has kidnapped Tansy Alexander at this point because I think she’s narrating the whole lineup now or something, but this tries to do the most with the time it has. there are … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/07/24

Kicking off today’s diary with the new shows first. Sugar (Apple Plus) is so stylish, so cool, so swag that I can’t help but be enamored with it. It has all those feelings of The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe, and seems like the kind of project we could have revived Humphrey Bogart for. But, Colin Farrell is surprisingly terrific as John Sugar, a private detective who is hired by a wealthy grandfather (James Cromwell) to find his granddaughter who has gone missing, and keep it out of the papers. Despite the jazzy soundtrack, and the swag of the times, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/06/24

Well, NBC went and fucked it all up again. Strong language, I know. Right off the bat. There’s really no other way to open with NBC repeating the same mistake. Quantum Leap has been axed again, without bringing anyone home. No finale season. They didn’t even get what LaBrea got with those handful of episodes to wrap things up. Honestly, you could probably just do a two hour Quantum Leap event, bring everyone home, including the (sorry, spoilers) two current leapers, as well as Sam. Bring everyone home. Call it a day, and never touch this franchise again. But no. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/05/24

I decided to check out the hot new limited series, Ripley (Netflix), which has All Of us Strangers star Andrew Scott playing Tom Ripley, in a loose reimagining of The Talented Mr Ripley. Translating a book to film often shortens the material, but into a limited series, and you can keep a lot more of the subject matter. The question is whether or not this sustains the run as well as the film managed to. Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning c-star. The audio description here was perfectly fine. If I had any note, it would be to lean more in … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/04/24

Even more TV news! And it concerns a show I watched yesterday! Will Trent (Hulu) has been renewed by ABC for Season 3. Not really surprising. The narration can be better. I did figure out that they are creating a multipurpose track that can go anywhere, which is why we keep using torches. but, it is shooting for the bare minimum, with there being times when description might have been nice. For example, when the captain gets dressed up in advance of her press conference, a couple of the cast make reference to that, but we have no idea what … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/03/24

I can’t believe we are in April. Time flies. Speaking of time, remember how yesterday I mentioned American Idol finally figured out audio description? They didn’t. It was a glitch in the matrix. To offset this error I made ABC renew Grey’s Anatomy for Season 21. It’s not an even trade, but Grey’s is coming back next year. The Gentleman (Netflix) is a fun idea. I wish this was being done with something that felt a lot more Guy Ritchie than this. I know he’s directed some of this show, and remains a producer, but I miss the energy Ritchie … Continue reading The small Screen Diaries- 04/02/24

I shall mention this, only because of the context. Recently, in an update, the Audio Description Project (AFP.acb.org), added American Idol as having audio description on ABC. So, now the work becomes getting that audio description to travel to Hulu for anyone who doesn’t watch the show live. It has taken them this long, but there is now audio description on Idol, apparently only if you watch live. I watched this on Hulu, without, so there’s your status update. What did have audio description was The Completely Made Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin (Apple Plus), which is one of the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 04/01/24

I started Renegade Nell (Disney Plus), which is about a woman in medieval times who is given a temporary, and seemingly random ability to beat up bad guys. She learns more about this in the first episode, which expertly has her learning things so the audience can learn along with her. It is one of the strongest pilots I’ve seen recently, which does an excellent job of introducing us to the characters, and giving us an idea of the season long arc, while slowly building the rule book for how Nell’s abilities work. This is certainly a first episode where … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/31/24

Alright. Let’s talk about the new show on Amazon, The Baxters! Oh wait, this doesn’t have audio description. Never mind. It sounds awful. Next! OK. Let’s try this again. The new show A Gentleman In Moscow (Paramount Plus with Showtime) starring Ewan McGregor as a former Count who lives in Russia, and has his title, money, and land stripped from him with the rise of communism, and is forced to live in the servants quarters of a hotel. The audio description here is great, and I’ve been hearing this narrator on a lot of Paramount Plus (and Showtime/CBS) content lately. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/30/24

I did start up a new show yesterday, We Were The lucky Ones (Hulu). I knew nothing about it, but I wanted to at least have a pilot review. The show takes place just at the onset of WWII, before the Jewish population of Europe really is subjected to what we know is the historical ramification of this period. Obviously, it isn’t a happy show, but this does start with a little bit of naïveté in terms of believing what is still to come. We focus primarily on one family, and the characters in or adjacent to that family. the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/29/24

This movie would have really popped in the late 80’s, early 90’s. That was the sweet spot when cartoons seemed poised to launch toys, and other things for kids to get excited about. Lunchboxes, junk food, comics, whatever. The Tiger’s Apprentice is actually based on a concept that could have launched a kids TV show, and sold some toys. there’s a lot of potential when your heroes are representative of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. So, each kid would want to collect their own favorite hero. Totally possible. I had the four Ninja Turtles, but there were all … Continue reading The Tiger’s Apprentice

In the third episode of Three Body problem (Netflix), we finally hear the phrase “Three Body Problem”, and learn what it is in relation to the show. There’s a very well described sequence at the end, where something is happening, and Darren Polish makes it very clear that this isn’t just something that isn’t being recorded on the cameras, but also a man outside can’t see it happening through the window. This show did not have a great pilot episode, but the next two episodes have been far better and more focused. If the first episode didn’t grab you, try … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/28/24

X-Men 97 (Disney Plus) is still blowing me away. I loved the section with all the nightmare fuel caused by the Goblin Queen, and how well described that all was by the team at Deluxe. This is excellent, top tier audio description. There was a lot of complex imagery thrown as the Jean Greys battled it out through astral projection, and the description was very well written and voiced. I appreciate it. I am enjoying Constellation (Apple Plus), which is doing a good job of balancing what is increasingly a weirder show. Clearly, there are two dimensions to work with … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/27/24

Another pretty slow day, as most weekdays are balancing work with TV watching. but, the Gentleman (Netflix) had our lead explore other venues to try and get the criminal enterprise off his property, by helping an actor with a blackmail problem. I would safely put this in the top tier now of audio description I’m listening to, if there are three tiers, Top, middle, or bottom. It hasn’t committed any sins that I can remember, and leans into the violent and Guy Ritchie tone of the show. The Completely Made Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin (Apple Plus) is the show … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/26/24