Anexis Matos

When I watched Perfect Match, a bunch of different reality shows was mentioned. This one was one of them. It was the only one I was interested in watching based on the premise.

For those unaware, audio description is a separate audio track added to visual media that describes visual aspects. This is mainly intended for blind and visually impaired audiences, but can be enjoyed by and benefit anyone.

Series Premise

Contestants enter the show and are given several missions to add cash to their prize. However, one of them is trying to sabotage them. They must figure out who. Players get eliminated based on their observation skills.

Series Information

Genre: Reality TV
Category: Adult
Explicit violence: No
Explicit sex: No
Content warnings I noticed: None

Review

The writing is good. The language fits the adult audience it targets. It’s very similar to other Netflix reality shows like The Circle.

The descriptions are okay. They’re easy to follow and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything. Descriptions are minimal. Minimal descriptions don’t overwhelm the viewer, but tend to lack detail.

People are not described. Viewers are not given an idea of age. No physical features. The only thing described about them is clothes once in a while.

While I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, I also don’t feel like a got a vivid picture. Action is well described. Descriptions are engaging. This is why I feel like I’m not missing anything, but, because it’s a minimal style of description, I would have appreciated people and setting being described.

There are other things, too. For example, when contestants are eliminated, they leave in a car. The viewer is not told what car it is. The same is the case when contestants are driving to a specific location.

The describer’s vocal performance is very engaging. They describe in a very neutral tone, but they’re pleasant to listen to. They use the same tone for every description. As engaging as the describer is, I think it would have been better if the tone changed for action. For example, contestants had a mission where they had to perform a bank heist, but the audio description doesn’t sound like it’s an action-packed, high-stakes situation. It doesn’t have to be a big change in emotion. It just needs to be a noticeable change to indicate the change in tone.

There’s one thing I’m currently trying to figure out. The audio describer is familiar to me from somewhere. I remember them narrating something I watched. I can’t remember if it was the Apple original See or something else. I watched See once and it was a few years ago. I plan to rewatch it soon, so I’ll find out if this is the case.

The audio description is edited well. The describer doesn’t interrupt the dialogue or commentary and allows viewers to appreciate music and silence. The audio describer is also not cut off randomly.

Netflix only offers this series audio described in English. The series is offered in several other languages, however. Once again, Netflix excludes viewers who do not speak English by not offering audio description in all the languages it offers the series.

Conclusion

Overall, this was a very enjoyable audio description. I need to figure out if the describer narrates See or another series. I’ll hopefully have an answer soon. I rate it three stars.