Tag: CrunchyRoll

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The Small Screen Diaries: 11/03/26

John Stark

SPOILER WARNING: Today’s Small Screen Diaries contains spoilers for the episodes discussed below, including major plot developments, character revelations, and endings. Proceed at your own risk! Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day, is it a blue tsunami? Except, as a Florida resident, I feel like I got up and went to school, only to discover that all my classmates were getting on a bus to Disney World. Naturally, I got really excited. Oh my God, all my friends are going to Disney World, and I get to go too! Then the teacher stops me and asks, “Where’s … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 11/03/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 11/02/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day, vote. Go vote. Today is Election Day, and if you live in America, go vote. Right now. If you’ve put up with me long enough to read my daily ramblings about television, I have a feeling telling you to vote probably behooves me. So vote. In other television news, HBO Max has renewed Euphoria for a third season, which isn’t particularly surprising, considering I imagine they’re anticipating another strong showing at the Emmys. And I also saw Paget Brewster reacting to the cancellation of Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+. Apparently, that’s … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 11/02/26

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The Small Screen diaries: 11/01/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries, which I think should probably start coming with a spoiler warning. Generally, I’m pretty far behind on some shows, so I’m not always worried about spoilers because I’m reviewing things after they’ve already happened. But I have no idea how far behind you are, and that’s not really fair. So, consider yourself warned. There may be spoilers ahead, and today there’s certainly a lot to talk about. In first place is Dark Matter, Season 2, Episode 5, on Apple TV with audio description. What a wonderful episode, and also an excellent example of audio … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 11/01/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/27/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day is the acknowledgment that the Gotham Awards announced their nominations yesterday. In terms of precursors to the Oscars, the Gotham Awards are a little like how we have Groundhog Day, where we entrust the weather to a groundhog because that’s how it’s been done all these years. But then, to compete with Groundhog Day, somebody creates their own version with a different animal on the exact same day, and nobody really pays attention to it. That’s the Gotham Awards. They’re that other thing that isn’t even Groundhog Day. The one thing … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/27/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/26/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day, I woke up this morning to discover that Jay-Z has apparently selected himself to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. Now, do I think Jay-Z has enough material to headline the halftime show? Absolutely. Do I think it’s shady that the guy who signed a deal with the NFL to help select these performers has apparently chosen himself? Also, absolutely. It reminds me of the time when Jeopardy executive producer Mike Richards conducted this massive search for the next Alex Trebek, parading a variety of guest hosts through the studio, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/26/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/23/26

John Stark

Kicking off today’s Small Screen Diaries are two bits of good news, one of them pretty great. After a week of watching Carrie dominate the charts, Amazon has decided to indulge Mike Flanagan’s three-season plan by at least giving him a second season. So Carrie will return, and hopefully Flanagan will eventually get to complete the story he envisioned. Meanwhile, NBC has picked up Line of Fire for a full season, which is also welcome news if you’re a fan of that show. It’s always nice to start things off with some positive news, especially when so many shows seem … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/23/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/20/26

John Stark

Kicking off today’s Small Screen Diaries with a little bit of renewal news that I’m incredibly indifferent about, mostly because the current season is dreadful. Well audio described, but absolutely dreadful. Not surprisingly, FX has ordered a 14th season of American Horror Story. You would think that 13 might have been a logical conclusion for the series, considering the significance of that number to the horror genre and just how long this franchise has been running, but apparently they’re going to keep this thing going, pedal to the metal. Anyway, enough about that. It’s time for the rankings. Taking the … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/20/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/19/26

John Stark

Kicking off today’s Small Screen Diaries is the best thing I watched on what was otherwise a fairly neutral day. I can’t say I was overly enthusiastic about anything, and the five shows I watched were all pretty close together in terms of quality. However, if push comes to shove, I’m narrowly giving the victory to Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix, primarily because of its excellent audio description. The previous episode showed us what happened to one member of the Borden household, while this episode answers the question of what happened to the other, where he ended up, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/19/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/16/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for today, in a pretty easy first-place finish, is East of Eden, which is on Netflix with audio description from Descriptive Video Works, written by Liz Gutman and narrated by Paul Hoffman. The series has some really wonderful audio description attached to it, but this was also probably my favorite episode in general. I don’t love everything that Cathy ends up doing as a character, but Florence Pugh is so terrific in the role that she makes up for a lot of it. This is very much a series where you’re watching the antagonist … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/16/26

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The Small Screen diaries: 10/10/26

John Stark

On Sundays, I like to kick off the Small Screen Diaries with a look ahead at the week in television, highlighting some shows that might be of interest to you. These aren’t necessarily shows I’m going to tackle all at once, because, my God, am I watching a lot of random television programs. But there’s plenty coming this week, including ABC bringing back its Thursday night lineup of 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Nashville, and Grey’s Anatomy. FX has the second season of Ethan Hawke’s The Lowdown arriving Wednesday, while the fourth season of Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head lands on Comedy Central, … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 10/10/26

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The Small Screen diaries: 10/09/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day, Paramount had some big news, announcing that its new Avatar series has already been renewed through a third season. This certainly suggests that Paramount is committed to continuing to tell stories within the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, even after shifting the upcoming animated film, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, away from a traditional theatrical release and over to streaming. For fans of the new series, which premiered yesterday, congratulations! Apparently, Paramount has enough confidence in the show that it doesn’t even need to wait for the audience … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 10/09/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/08/26

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries today is a little bit of catch-up, because I realized I’ve been doing a lot of renewal news lately, and I’ve skipped over a few shows simply because I hadn’t started watching them yet. That’s not really fair to the people who have been watching. So, if you’ve already become an instant fan of Crew Girl or A Different World on Netflix, both series have already been picked up for second seasons. This seems to be part of Netflix’s determination to move content along at a quicker pace, rather than leaving audiences wondering whether … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/08/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 10/01/2026

John Stark

Kicking off the Small Screen Diaries for the day, I can announce that Amazon is sticking with the totality of the Jack Reacher franchise, with Reacher being renewed for a sixth season while Season 5 is still in production. Its spinoff, Neagley, was also just renewed for a second season. So, at this point, the anchor for Amazon is clearly this franchise, and likely Reacher will go on for however long Alan Ritchson wants it to. He continues to star in projects that are both streaming exclusives as well as theatrically released titles, and until he feels like he’s firmly … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 10/01/2026

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The Small Screen diaries: 09/13/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking dead: Dead city: S3E8 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E6 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, My brilliant Career: S1E6 (Netflix) with audio description, The Shards: S1E4 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Have I Got News For you: S5E1 (HBO MAX) no audio description, jeopardy Masters: S4E3 (Disney Plus) with audio description, The paper: S2E1 (Peacock) with audio description Dead City- Already reviewed, but 1 of 8 episodes with audio description is not accessibility. If eight kids were dropped off at day care, and one survived, that daycare doesn’t remain open. Tomb Raider King- … Continue reading The Small Screen diaries: 09/13/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/12/26

John Stark

A lot coming up this week for fans of returning shows. Not only do we kick off the week on Monday with The Emmys, but Dancing With The Stars (ABC), RJ Decker (ABC), The Voice (NBC), Masterchef (FOX), Kitchen Nightmares (FOX), Slow horses (Apple), South Park (Comedy), Mobland (Paramount plus), and Outlander Blood Of My Blood (Starz) all return, the latter of them may not have audio description. Netflix is also smashing the Lizzie Borden story with Eileen Wurnos for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but Ryan Murphy in Monster. Perhaps because there’s already a well known film titled Monster that … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/12/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/11/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Stuart Fails: S1E7 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Trying: S5E1 (Apple) with audio description, Black Clover: S1E4 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Rise Of The teenage Mutant Ninja turtles: S2E12 (Paramount) with audio description, Robin Hood: S1E8 (MGM Plus) with audio description, and Jeopardy Masters: S4E2 (Disney plus) with audio description Stuart Fails- Loved the opening credits about the dog. Another brilliant episode with terrific audio description. The show also has massive recaps at the beginning, so if you somehow missed an episode on streaming, and are too lazy to click back to it, you catch up really … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/11/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/06/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E7 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Black Torch: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Elle: S1E8 (Amazon) with audio description,Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: S4E7 (Netflix) with audio description, The Doomies: S1E2 (Disney Plus) with audio description Dead City- No audio description again. Only one episode this season dropped with it. Baffling. Also, this episode revealed the writers are still unable to write eight episode seasons. You did not earn this episode. Black Torch- Fairly easy to understand fantasy series about an aspiring ninja with the ability to talk to animals merging with an … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/06/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Shrouds: S1E1 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E4 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Lucky: S1E6 (Apple) with audio description, Rick And Morty: S9E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description, and Oasis: S1E2 (Netflix) with audio description The Shrouds- I actually started the day thinking I’d knock this series out either in full, or in part, but it is a miserable watch, so i couldn’t do it.The Troller is just such a disgusting distraction from an 80’s piece that could actuall have something to say about sexual fluidity from the eyes of Bret Easton Ellis. Instead, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: Ted Lasso: S4E5 (Apple) with audio description, Elle: S1E7 (Amazon) with audio description, Black Clover: S1E3 (CrnuchyRoll) with audio description, and The Comeback: S2E6 (HBO MAX) with audio description Ted Lasso- i feel like they are trying really hard to justify Roy’s presence in the show. Other than that, it is nice to have Ted and his mostly cheery and friendly disposition back. This is still a very well written show, even if it isn’t flying as high as the first three seasons. I also like the AD here, which I can’t say about every show on … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 09/03/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/26/26

John Stark

Another tragic loss. Tim Curry, whose talent blew through The Rocky Horror Picture Show and into a variety of films, from The Hunt For Red October, Clue, and Congo, to family fare like Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Muppet Treasure Island, and his voice work in films like Ferngully, and on TV for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. he is a Tony nominated actor, he is also nominated for a Grammy, an Emmy, but sadly never an Oscar. He was chosen in 2026 by GALECA as their Timeless Star honoree (a group for which I am a member). … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/26/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/24/26

John Stark

Yesterday… was nuts. I’m amazed I watched anything. TV Shows Watched: Lanterns: S1E2 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Black Clover: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Solar Opposites: S6E9 (Disney Plus) with audio description, Strip Law: S1E10 (Netflix) with audio description Lanterns- Did we just learn in this episode that Zoey is black? Probably could have gotten that piece of info earlier. I don’t think her intro at the bar in Episode 1 described her, so it forced me into defaulting her into redneck white lady, which she apparently is not. If studios don’t want ethnic description in the AD track, … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/24/26

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The Small Screen Diaries:08/23/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: The Walking dead: Deaad City: S3E5 (AMC Plus) no audio description, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: S1E9 (Apple) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E2 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description,The Westies: S1E8 (MGM Plus) with audio description,Life Larry and the Pursuit Of Unhappyness: S1E7 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Pop Culture Jeopardy: S2E17 (Netflix) with audio description, and Marshals: S1e13 (Paramount) with audio description Dead City- Back to not having audio description again. Good job guys. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed- I love how invested I am in this woman getting to keep her daughter, more than the strange shit happening around … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries:08/23/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/20/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: among Us: Season 1 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E12 (CruncyRoll) no audio description, and Berlin: S2E? (Netflix) with audio description Among Us- Not a big day, but I did knock off the entire first season of Among Us (likely the only season) which was a lot of fun. Totally bingeable by the way. Each episode is approx. 15 minutes, So it’s under 2 1/2 hours. The audio description was interesting, and I didn’t catch credits in the span of time before it pushed me into the next episode. The characters here … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/20/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/14/26

John Stark

Two shows entered cancellation thunderdome, with one getting renewed, and the other cancelled. Stuart Fails To Save The Universe has been picked up for a second season at HBO MAX, while the synthetically described Deli Boys failed to make it to a third season.Synthetic narration. It may be hazardous to the health of your series. TV Shows Watched: Silo: S3E7 (Apple) with audio description, Stuart Fails: S1E4 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Tomb Raider King: S1E1 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Detective Hole: S1E8 (Netflix) with audio description, Will Trent: S4E17 (Disney Plus) with audio description And in other news, stay … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/14/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/09/26

John Stark

Some shows coming up this week include Reacher (Amazon), Tires (Netflix), and a new Happy Madison film starring a Sandler child on Friday, along with the premiere of Girls like Girls on Peacock. It’s a slow week. TV Shows Watched: Walking Dead: Dead City: S3E3 (AMC Plus) still no audio description, Your Friends And Neighbors: S2e10 (Apple) with audio description, A Good Girls Guide To Murder: S2E3 (Netflix) with audio description,The Westies: S1E6 (MGM Plus) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E11 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, The Five Star Weekend: S1E1 (Peacock) with audio description Dead City- AMC … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/09/26

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The Small Screen Diaries: 08/05/26

John Stark

TV Shows Watched: X-Men 97: S2E8 (Disney Plus) with audio description,Ted Lasso: S4E1 (Apple) with audio description, Daemons Of The Shadow Realm: S1E10 (CrunchyRoll) with audio description, Strip Law: S1E9 (Netflix) with audio description, Tales Of The TMNT: S2E10 (Paramount) with audio description, Life Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappyness: S1E5 (HBO MAX) with audio description, Breaking Bad: S4E7 (Netflix) with audio description X-Men 97- Still synthetic, but in terms of the written context, it was fine. Some of the X-Teams take a back seat, and aren’t mentioned anywhere, but they basically are all now in the same plot line. … Continue reading The Small Screen Diaries: 08/05/26

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Witch Hat Atelier: Season 1

John Stark

Admittedly, I have not seen nearly the amount of anime that many fans would probably require before seeking my opinion on something like Witch Hat Atelier. It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with the medium. I’m a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli films, and I realize that many of the cartoons I watched growing up originated overseas. So I’ve always had an appreciation for anime, just not necessarily at the level of people who’ve made Crunchyroll their number one subscription service. What makes Witch Hat Atelier different is that it’s part of Crunchyroll’s push into audio described … Continue reading Witch Hat Atelier: Season 1

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Suzume

John Stark

Nominated for a Golden Globe for best Animated Feature, this CrunchyRoll film caught my attention. i just didn’t want to pull that trigger right away. It doesn’t have audio description. in fact, nothing on CrunchyRoll has audio description. Perhaps, that is the best reason for me to have watched this, because if Sony’s streamer doesn’t show a metric that there is a demand among the blind community for audio described anime, then will they ever choose it on their own? CrunchyRoll as a streaming service predates many existing services that currently have audio description, including MAX, Peacock, Apple Plus, Tubi, … Continue reading Suzume