Was it worth incorporating COVID-19 into fictional worlds of TV?
A year into the pandemic, we’re spending more time than ever in front of the TV screen. Usually it’s in search of a distraction from the realities of the coronavirus. But it was inevitable that some shows would incorporate COVID-19 into their storylines, whether in the background or devoting entire storylines to it. The broadcast networks, with their episodic procedurals and hospital shows and sitcoms, were most equipped to react to the moment at hand. Was it worth it the effort? Overall, I would say no. Much as I admire the showrunners who have embraced the challenge — and make no mistake, in practical and creative terms, this has been an enormous challenge — so much of what we’ve seen is nonsensical. I’ll never forget a scene from NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” this season featuring a group of detectives huddle together in a hallway and removing their masks to talk. Don’t even ask if they were social distancing. They were not social distancing.
Or take the delightful NBC comedy “Superstore.” This is such a wonderfully offbeat show with a humane outlook on life. And yet, the staff of the Cloud 9 big box store will assemble at the start of the day barefaced and then mask up when they open the doors for customers. There’s no logic to it. All I could think was, COVID spreads through aerosols and aerosols don’t care if the store is open or closed!
The Los Angeles-set CBS courthouse drama “All Rise” is another fun show for the most part, but its portrayal of the pandemic has been bizarre. Characters will frequently appear wearing plastic face shields, but