THE Covid 19 story is fast turning into a TV soap opera. But is it time we switched off to both? Television soap is characterised by an ongoing storyline which is only resolved when a new disaster has begun to unfold, usually the fragments of the original story splintering, creating continued despair.
Take the current Coronation Street example; the story of the dying child and all the trauma created by the parents’ refusal to accept the inevitable is powerful.
But the storyliners can’t leave it at the funeral. To keep us tuned in we are dropped hints about the possible break up of the parents’ relationship, of financial subterfuge and conflicts of commitment.
It’s a formula that’s proven to work. But with the arrival of Covid 19 is TV soap now redundant? The pandemic – and the way it’s been mishandled by our governments – suggests we have had our fix of tragedy, confusion and that other soap staple, sheer misunderstanding.
The real-life dramatic storyline we have to contend with is news of the 24-hour infection rates and deaths (800 tested positive and two deaths).
And the building storyline is what the Scottish and UK governments will do by way of a game plan and to what extent will our lives be restricted? (We haven’t had a hint of a spoiler, a clear sign that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon fears deeply she will lose her audience and perhaps never win them back.)
TV soap is always reliant upon its villains, eg, the murdering Lenny in River City, Corrie’s current psychopath Geoff the magician, who made his ex-wife disappear for ever. And EastEnder Ian Beale.
But why watch BBC or ITV output when the real scary stories are coming at us via news programmes and newspaper content? Most recently we’ve been shocked senseless by Margaret Ferrier, the church-going MP who seemed to think that God (should he/she exist) knowing of her illness was enough to sate her own conscience.
And that’s not the end to the villainy. If our FM continues to alienate the hospitality/travel/tourist sector – while asking huge amounts of students/younger people – there is a real danger she will slide into the role of Lead Villain.
Soap, as we know, has long been reliant upon its clowns, the characters who don’t seem entirely at one with the world. In EastEnders it was the hapless Ricky, the Coronation Street character is Kirk. In our world it’s Education Secretary John Swinney, who can’t seem to do long division, to work out that if you divide one kitchen by eight students the answer is 19. As in Covid-19.
The worry for our soap producers, who have to be applauded for their efforts to lure us onto their platforms, is the handling of the virus is infecting our sensibilities. How can viewers ignore the permanent state of confusion we now live in and tune into the chaos that is soap for relief? It’s hard enough to keep rising anxiety levels in check.
Yes, the Covid storyline has had us gripped. But for how much longer? How can we keep on reading of the rising ‘R’ numbers, to factor in the infection rates, to ask ourselves why the track and trace system is not running to full capacity?
How can we continue to consider travel restrictions when flights are landing daily from Madras and other virus hotspots, with no testing at the airports?
And why should we tune into River City to see how Caitlin’s reckless contraction of Covid is viewed by Shieldinch residents when we’ve had to contend with our MPs and special advisers turning rogue?
Soap is all about failed romance and friction. It’s about rivalry and over-reaction. But TV soap has at least a huge advantage over the real-life drama we’re having to contend with. It may never offer an ending, certainly not a happy one, but at least it isn’t being written in crayon on an old jotter the night before.
We know we need to be sensible, to keep as far away from people as possible. But we need to be part of a plan. Do we need to avoid friends’ homes we’ve been visiting – carefully – since lockdown was lifted? If we’re not going to full lockdown are we going to partial circuit breaker? If the R number drops to less than one will pubs and restaurants open fully again? If quarantine/testing works at a certain level can travel corridors be reopened?
Given a vaccine is months away, we need a new script, one that will hopefully tell of a track and trace system that runs to capacity, or features a four nations agreement. Because if we don’t have an idea of plot and outcome the real danger is we will all switch off.
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