Watching Old Sitcoms
On several journal posts I've mentioned a creative writing interest and have criticized storylines, particularly in pro wrestling and Hallmark Channel.I really almost don't watch (other) network programming at all anymore; I watch maybe Blue Bloods. So, in addition to watching a number of movies and other shows on Prime Video, I've watched some old sitcoms on Antenna TV, like Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. I'm sure I've seen these shows all over cable since they originally ran in the 60's. Still, the writer in me is now looking at these shows as more than entertainment; how might I tweak or refresh them for today's audience?
To a certain extent, I cannot imagine Dennis the Menace being remade today Given sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, schools, and Scouts, could you imagine how many people might be suspicious of a retired Mr. Wilson taking a special interest in an unrelated young boy? How might we update the series for contemporary audiences? Maybe Grandpa and Grandma Mitchell would retire to a bungalow behind the Mitchell home. Maybe mother Alice is a caterer, dad Henry creates computer games, Dennis' buddies like Tommy are more diverse, and Margaret is a math/science geek who wants to be an astronaut.
The shows still hold up very well, although certain things are dated (like Sandy Koufax's guest appearance; he had retired before I started following major league baseball). But really what caught my attention was the transition between the Wilson brothers, George and John. Dennis' neighbor was George; now maybe they introduced John Wilson casually in earlier episodes (I don't think I've seen the initial series episodes in a while), but as I watched the episodes, the scripted transition seemed abrupt and awkward. They had scenes with Martha Wilson (George's wife and John's sister-in-law) that came across as contrived.
I figured out something must have happened to the actor playing George and did an Internet search; I think they originally explained George had gone away on some trip. The actor had suddenly died, some people speculating it had something to do with an extreme diet he was following. I don't think they ever scripted what had happened to George and Martha, which is odd because fans were vested in the characters. Now, granted, you have to be subtle in dealing with death or serious topics like mastectomies, menopause, etc., but shows like M*A*S*H and All in the Family succeeded. And maybe Dennis did have an episode or two about the death of a beloved hamster, frog or other that I've forgotten or haven't seen. Children do have to cope with things like a death in the family, divorce and other matters. I think there could/should have been a scripted way for Dennis to pay tribute poignantly to his friend Mr. Wilson and to provide closure for fans. For example, maybe George Wilson left Dennis his beloved coin or stamp collection, it brings up memories of moments they shared, Alice bakes Dennis some cookies from a favorite recipe that Martha shared before going to live with her sister in Nebraska over the summer.
The other scripted anomaly is on Bewitched where Darrin Stephens, witch Samantha's mortal husband, was recast from Dick York (first 5 seasons) to Dick Sargent (final 3 seasons). Maybe it's because my preferences and expectations were shaped by York's portrayal, but I did prefer the original Darrin. There were subtle differences in actors' portrayal of Darrin to such an extent I really thought of them as different characters.
So why did York leave the series? This is a better-known story. Reportedly York had suffered a back injury during past acting gigs, not discussed with show producers. Some of the show's scenes put York's body in physically demanding situations (e.g., hanging by wires) where York's back became an issue and hampered production as well as leaving York in miserable pain and/or bed rest.
Perhaps Darrin's death would have been difficult to pull off but it might have provided some interesting storylines as disapproving mother Endora seeks to set up Samantha with an eligible warlock. But widow Sam soon falls for another mortal (let's call him Doug) who reminds her of Darrin in many ways.
The Walmart Test in Shopping
Well, some things are returning to near normal. Traffic is heavier, the shopping lot is fuller, the aisles are more crowded, and I'm seeing more young kids wearing cute little masks. Toilet paper remains in stock and no unusual shortages (no frozen pepper strips I like to put in omelettes, but this is a normal type of thing; for example, they often sell out their value-brand 100% whole wheat bread, and I'll find it restocked by my next visit). They are still maintaining these unnecessary wraparound lines near the entrance staffed by one or 2 employees, and I think Hogan's face mask edict remains in place.How I'm Monitoring the COVID-19 Situation
I suppose I could manually save daily US deaths and infection counts in a computer spreadsheet and plot them. Ironically, I've had to go to 2 separate sources for plots. CDC has a total new cases plot:
NBC, on the other hand, maintains a daily death plot:
So we clearly see a downtrend in cases and deaths, although it's somewhat of an anomaly how sticky high numbers have been given weeks of near-isolation practices and the expected duration of infection.
The press, in the interim, continues to stoke fear-mongering of a second wave as states start scaling back stay-at-home mandate.
Probably the most interesting article I've read on the spread of COVID-19 and its mitigation is here. This article pays special interest to the aerosols; whereas I've particularly noted larger droplets, e.g., in sneezing), I've earlier mentioned microbes which can infiltrate non-medical face masks:
A bioaerosol is an aerosol comprising particles of variable biological origin. This can be fungal spores, pollen grains, endotoxins, or particles of animal dander. Bioaerosols are complex mixtures consisting of several components that can stem from simple organic molecules (dimensions in the nanometer range), viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores, mold spores and hyphae, pollen (with diameters as small as 100 micrometers), and animal and plant debris (of various sizes)... Aerosolization ... takes place through wind and spray and through breathing, speaking, coughing, and sneezing... – just to name a few...
Dust (10 to 100 micrometers) and droplet nuclei (smaller than 10 micrometers) are very small aerosols. Droplet nuclei consist of bacteria (or another biological agent) in a droplet. When the droplet fluid evaporates, the bacteria remain in a dried state. This is a form of bioaerosol.
They are so small and light, they may remain suspended in the air for several hours. Also, air currents can widely disperse airborne droplet nuclei.This article reinforces the importance of testing in order to identify the 30% or so of seemingly asymptomatic individuals responsible for the spread of up to 80% or more of COVID-19 infections.
[study citation above] it is particularly important to wear masks in locations with conditions that can accumulate high concentrations of viruses, such as health care settings, airplanes, restaurants, and other crowded places with reduced ventilation. The aerosol filtering efficiency of different materials, thicknesses, and layers used in properly fitted homemade masks was recently found to be similar to that of the medical masks that were tested
