The Small Screen Diaries- 03/25/24

I finished Sexy Beast (Paramount Plus), and I’m not sure the world needed that. I really do want to rewatch the film, since it has been so long, it just doesn’t have audio description. I think the audio description for Sexy Beast really did try and get with the general dirtiness of the series, and I appreciated that attention to detail. It’s hard to describe a non-porn show that is so much about the porn industry. I also got through an episode of Avatar: The LAst Airbender (Netflix) that really gave more backstory to Zuko, making him seem more sympathetic … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/25/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/23/24

Well, it turns out that Showtime isn’t moving forward with the second season of Uncoupled after all. I don’t know why. I was so excited to see this show getting saved. Maybe Netflix will change its mind, and bring the show back? I immediately jumped in on a second episode of Three Body Problem (Netflix), which is narrated by Darren Polish, so I could have a better understanding of the show and its audio description. I think the show actually has really good audio description, which really comes into play as they spend a lot more time in the second … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/23/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03./22/24

We’re gonna be famous 5 ever, cause forever’s too short. I know Community talked a lot about six seasons and a movie, but what makes sense to me is that Girls5Eva (Netflix) gets to Season 5. This new season is amazing, hilarious, and I love that even though they were on a streaming service before, they still feel like they have more creative control on Netflix. I think the show actually got better. Netflix, please, renew this. I think I’m now one episode away from the finale of Halo (Paramount Plus), as Master Chief could have killed the new guy … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03./22/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/21/24

Lots of TV news to start the day. NBC has predictably ordered new seasons for all three Chicago shows, as well as two of the three Law and Order shows. This time, Organized Crime has been left on the bubble.Meanwhile, over at Peacock, the streamer has reversed its decision to do a second season of Butkus. Honestly, I’m not sure how much Joe Pesci wanted to really do another season, and he was the best part about that show. So, I’m not mad. I wouldn’t have watched a second season without joe. Netflix just launched their high profile Three Body … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/21/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/20/24

All I wanna do is talk about X-Men 97 (Disney Plus), and how the little kid in me who used to watch the X-Men animated series in the mornings and played with action figures, had the comics, and even trading cards, was so happy to see someone attempt to bring this magic back. The original series was great because it featured so many characters from over the years, and felt like it was right out of the comics. This has some original voice cast, for Storm, Wolverine, and Beast, and adds some new members to the team, with Morph and … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/20/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24

Not surprising at all, but CBS will continue to air its Australian import, NCIS: Sydney for its second season, despite already having two NCIS shows, and currently in development on two more. Fun fact, this entire franchise only exists thanks to a series being rescued from cancellation. Possibly the smartest “save our show” ever has turned out to be CBS picking up JAG after it was cancelled at NBC after one season. Without that, they wouldn’t have had the long and successful run of the original show, nor would they have NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, NCIS New Orleans, NCIS Hawaii, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/19/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/24

The Girls On The Bus (MAX) still seems to be wandering a bit as a show tonally. Maybe it just can’t find the right lane, but it feels so much like the team that was behind the The Sex Lives Of College Girls is making this show. It’s just in the way it is being presented, as something meant to be so broad it could reach anyone, while it also really ends up reaching no one. The audio description is really light, which while it is good audio description, doesn’t help the show when it tries to have a moment … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/18/24

The Small Screen Diaries: 03/17/24

I know The Tourist (Netflix) was trending. I had no idea what it was so I didn’t check it out initially. Then, I clicked on it, and I found out that the second season had just dropped. Jamie Dornan? Audio Description? Sure, let me jump right in… wait. It says my next episode is Season 2, Episode 1. What? Have I seen this before? So, i went back and rewatched the pilot instead, and slowly these pieces started coming back. I don’t remember how the season ended though. when was this? Why did my brain delet this show? Is it … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 03/17/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/16/24

Apples Never Fall (Peacock) is just a travesty. Mostly, the show suffers from poor direction and writing, but I can pinpoint some specifics. This show centers around a retired wife (Bening) who goes missing from her family, and former tennis star husband (Sam Neil). Her kids think something is afoot, so they start investigating, and over the course of 7 episodes, we will learn why Apples Never Fall (far from the tree). They introduce a character, Savannah (Georgia Flood), who shows up in the middle of the night supposedly fleeing domestic abuse. Flood delivers one of the worst performances I’ve … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/16/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/15/24

Good news for fans of The Bear! Variety is reporting that as Season 3 of The Bear is ramping up production, Hulu is actually quietly ordering Season 4 so it can be filmed back-to-back. My guess, is the cast is getting popular now, and they have them for this window, so they are trying to film two seasons so they have another to follow even if their top talent are off shooting movies like Fantastic Four. I started a new show today, the MAX original The Girls On The Bus. As far as pilots go, it was really disappointing. I’m … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/15/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/14/24

I’m not really sure what was going on with the actress playing Crystal on The Connors (Hulu), but her few lines were some of the worst line readings I had heard in a long time. Honestly, it felt like a regular person had won the chance to be on The Connors from their live studio audience, and had never acted before. I loved the meta moment where Darlene was trying to answer a trivia question in which she would be the answer in the real world. I also watched Abbott Elementary’s (Hulu) very special post-Oscar episode, which was hilarious as … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/14/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/13/24

With all respect to Episode 5 of One Day (Netflix), and its heavier leaning subject matter, I just feel like the show hasn’t earned its emotional resonance. The format the show is taking is making it really hard to latch onto these characters. The male lead started out unlikable, and in the last episode just basically said he was looking for “fun”. So now he’s needing someone to talk to? I’m more concerned that there are people who find this person charming. You deserve better. This show does have fine audio description from a company that I’m unfamiliar with. The … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/13/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/12/24

CBS came in clutch with two early, and easy, renewals. After previously picking up Tracker for next season, the network predictably confirmed that Ghosts and Fire Country would both be back for a 4th and 3rd season respectively. This is a no-brainer choice, since CBS has struggled to launch a new hit sitcom, and Ghosts is that for them, and Fire Country has a spinoff in contention for the fall. My early predictions would be that CBS retains its entire FBi lineup, current NCIS programs, The Neighborhood, and Elzbeth. I think their bubble shows are So Help Me Todd and … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/12/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/11/24

I had quite a busy day yesterday, and I still managed to squeeze in some shows to talk about. First of all, kudos to the bold choice of using “ass” in the audio description over at Sexy Beast(Paramount Plus). I think the general line of thought from the old guard would be to avoid that word for some out of date reason. There’s no one watching Sexy Beast, who got to Episode 6, heard “ass” and got offended. The show features a lot of sex, is primarily set in and around porn, and that use was during a sex scene. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/11/24

The Small Screen Diaries- 03/10/24 (with Oscar reactions!)

Since the diaries are always about audio described television I watched the day before, The Oscars (ABC) are eligible, as I did actually watch the thing all the way through, live, with audio description. Even the red carpet had it. Shoutout to my friend Nefertiti for being half of the AD team on this. It is so hard to describe some of the garish fashion choices, but they did a great job this year. As far as the ceremony goes, I loved it. I didn’t get them all right, but every category I lost, the one I thought might win … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries- 03/10/24 (with Oscar reactions!)