For years, it has been the tradition in the Television Crossover Hall of Fame that the October inductee should be some kind of monster – figuratively, or literally. Some ot those monsters have been fictional, but many are televersions of historical figures – Hitler, Stalin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
And this year is no different. Our newest member is a monster who has been represented in Toobworld more than enough times to warrant inclusion in the Hall.
The difference this time is that this monster from the Trueniverse was never human….
From Wikipedia:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 are variable but often include fever, cough, headache, fatigue, breathing difficulties, loss of smell, and loss of taste. Symptoms may begin one to fourteen days after exposure to the virus. At least a third of people who are infected do not develop noticeable symptoms. Of those who develop symptoms noticeable enough to be classified as patients, most (81%) develop mild to moderate symptoms (up to mild pneumonia), while 14% develop severe symptoms (dyspnea, hypoxia, or more than 50% lung involvement on imaging), and 5% develop critical symptoms (respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction). Older people are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. Some people continue to experience a range of effects (long COVID) for months or years after infection, and damage to organs has been observed. Multi-year studies are underway to further investigate the long-term effects of the disease.
COVID‑19 transmits when infectious particles are breathed in or come into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth. The risk is highest when people are in close proximity, but small airborne particles containing the virus can remain suspended in the air and travel over longer distances, particularly indoors.
Transmission can also occur when people touch their eyes, nose or mouth after touching surfaces or objects that have been contaminated by the virus. People remain contagious for up to 20 days and can spread the virus even if they do not develop symptoms.
Testing methods for COVID-19 to detect the virus's nucleic acid include real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR), transcription-mediated amplification, and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT‑LAMP) from a nasopharyngeal swab.
Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed in various countries, which have initiated mass vaccination campaigns. Other preventive measures include physical or social distancing, quarantining, ventilation of indoor spaces, use of face masks or coverings in public, covering coughs and sneezes, hand washing, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face. While work is underway to develop drugs that inhibit the virus, the primary treatment is symptomatic. Management involves the treatment of symptoms through supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.
A Visit From The Neighbors,
Mr. & Mrs. Herpes
Covid was so prevalent that it even factored into the Tooniverse. But for all our sakes, we’ll just deal with Earth Prime-Time. However, none of those shows had screen grabs which specifically exemplified COVID in any fashion. So for visual interest, I’ll be using the anthropomorphic COVID family in Skitlandia, as seen in ‘Saturday Night Live’ back in 2020.
These are just some of the TV series which have dealt with COVID-19 in Toobworld. They are presented in no particular order. Just make believe you’re flipping through the dial as a channel surfer….
- Superstore
- It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
- The Bear
- The Other Two
- The Righteous Gemstones
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- You
- The Morning Show
- Brooklyn 9-9
- NCIS Los Angeles
- New Amsterdam
- The Good Fight
- Shameless
- Greys Anatomy
- This Is Us
- Law & Order: Organized Crime
- Interview With The Vampire
- 9-1-1
- The Connors
- The Good Doctor
- Bull
- NCIS
- Saved By The Bell
- Billions
- Station 19
- Your Honor
- Black-ish
I can’t be certain, but I think COVID-19 is the first “monster” from the Trueniverse in the 21st Century to be inducted into the TVXOHOF.
As usual, I am not welcoming this month’s inductee into the Hall. (Probably Frank Barone of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ was the only one I welcomed.) But a head’s up to the other members of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame to keep their vaccinations up to date, no matter what century they’re from.
Bottom's Up!