# Medical dramas in the age of Corvid19 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124 "2020-04-19T14:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/1 "2020-04-19T14:04:59Z")
I got to wondering how medical drama will or won’t include the new reality of the current pandemic in their shows? There are obvious plot lines to use about Corona expose/patients/ventilator shortage and so forth, but won’t those make most of the ‘normal’ type medical dramas seem…sorta irrelevant? Yeah, your patient has a mysterious rash? Thousands of people are dying every day, so give them a prescription for some lotion, tell them to try not to scratch, and tell them to stay the hell away from the hospital! With all the nurses and doctors worrying about catching the disease and the shortage of PPE, how much canoodling in the supply rooms is going to be going on? Are all the formerly bearded male actors going to have to change to a clean shaven look? For that matter, is your entire cast going to be wearing face masks 90% of the time? Or do they simply ignore the whole thing? Is St. Amsterdam located in an alternate reality version of NYC, and life just goes on as normal? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/2 "2020-04-19T17:55:05Z")
Well, the show _New Amsterdam_ did have an episode titled “Pandemic” that was supposed to have aired last week but they pulled it on account of it being a leetle too topical given the current situation. They’ll play it sometime I’m sure and we’ll be able to compare/contrast with reality. I’ve been watching various tv shows to see which one’s going to be the first to really address the issue but I’m thinking the reality is too stark and too prolonged to be effectively handled in a drama situation. You’d have to have at least one entire season that reflects contagion procedures on a daily basis and it’s hard to act from behind a mask, especially when you’re talking patients AND doctors AND outside of an OR. Dramatically speaking, it would kinda suck–pretty much the way it sucks IRL. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/3 "2020-04-19T18:10:47Z")
Medical dramas (along with police, law, fire, etc. dramas) concentrate on the personal lives of the staff and patients. They’ll spend plenty of time on the overload conditions, but they’ll also show a lot of what’s happening outside the hospital at people’s homes. It will be tricky to find the situations where anybody isn’t wearing a mask outside of their homes. Probably a good time for a lot of flashbacks. But they do plenty of surgical scenes dramas where everyone is masked, it’s the setup that is difficult, they can’t stand around prepping and chatting without masks on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/4 "2020-04-19T18:43:50Z")
The difficulty is that most shows aren’t filming new episodes right now, because the cast and crew are all staying home. And by the time they are filming again, it won’t be topical any more. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/5 "2020-04-19T18:44:05Z")
The difficulty is that most shows aren’t filming new episodes right now, because the cast and crew are all staying home. And by the time they are filming again, it won’t be topical any more. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/6 "2020-04-19T19:13:10Z")
My guess is that the medical dramas are going to ignore the real situation, partly because it’s a little too real and depressing. We watch these things partly as an escape from reality. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/7 "2020-04-19T21:00:44Z")
That spelling in the thread title…is that because it’s spread by the crow-navirus? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/8 "2020-04-19T21:09:52Z")
Gotta say that [_Medical Police_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_Police) would have been a heck of a lot different.: > [@](#): > > Childrens Hospital doctors Lola Spratt and Owen Maestro discover a world-threatening virus, and are recruited as government agents in a globe-spanning race to find a cure. In the process, they unmask a deep conspiracy amidst the outbreak. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/9 "2020-04-20T00:40:16Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > That spelling in the thread title…is that because it’s spread by the crow-navirus? Those crows are damn smart, you know. They can talk and use tools. And fly! We’re doomed. Ooooh. My very own conspiracy theory! ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/10 "2020-04-20T11:21:43Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Those crows are damn smart, you know. They can talk and use tools. And fly! We’re doomed. > > Ooooh. My very own conspiracy theory! Excellent. I’ve never been in on the ground floor with one of those before. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/11 "2020-04-20T13:52:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The difficulty is that most shows aren’t filming new episodes right now, because the cast and crew are all staying home. And by the time they are filming again, it won’t be topical any more. And most of the shows have donated their medical gear to actual hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/12 "2020-04-20T13:58:37Z")
That was good of them, though I’m surprised they had actual, working equipment. I would have guessed it was all mock ups or outdated/broken stuff salvaged. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-dramas-in-the-age-of-corvid19/852124/13 "2020-04-20T14:35:12Z")
I expect most of it was. Even if it started off as real equipment, a lot of that stuff is only meant to be used once. Not a big deal if you just need something that looks right, but the hospitals aren’t going to want used masks. Still, they probably had some usable stuff, and they weren’t using it right now anyway, why not donate it?