I think most people are reaching the same stage of this COVID-19 crisis: cabin fever.
It’s hard to be stuck inside so much! The thought of just walking down the street and grabbing a cup of coffee sounds so good. So good! Alas, it is not possible. And that’s really for the best. I’d rather be healthy inside than sick (or, God forbid, making others sick) outside.
But it’s good to know we aren’t the only ones feeling squirrelly as the long quarantined days go on. Other people feel our pain, including some really famous people. And they’re making the best of it. They’re even helping!
The first example of that would be Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, stars of Hot Fuzz, Spaced, The World’s End and, of course, Shaun of the Dead. It’s that final film that Pegg and Frost reference in a new viral (I swear that pun wasn’t intended) video they made to encourage social distancing during the pandemic. It’s great. It’s self-referential and funny. It’s like seeing ol’ Shaun and Ed back together again. Enjoy!
The next bit of good news due to the sheer madness that comes with idleness comes from Conan O’Brien. Like many (all) other late night hosts, O’Brien’s show has gone on hiatus because of the coronavirus outbreak. But that will no longer be the case, as it’s been announced that Conan is returning to TBS on March 30. But don’t worry, it’ll still be safely done. The show will not have an audience, will have all guests appear via Skype and the entire affair will be filmed on an iPhone. You can’t kill comedy, coronavirus!
Conan has showcased some of the silliness he’s dying to share via some videos he and his team have made during the hiatus. The best one, featuring Conan safely preparing a jigsaw puzzle, is below. I can only hope that there is more bizarre, absurd but topical comedy coming when the show returns on the 30th.
It’s important that everyone stays safe but it’s also important that we have a laugh when we can. The news has been so bad lately and things have been so depressing and so scary. We deserve humor. Some people think no one should be able to laugh during a time like this. I disagree. We aren’t laughing at the epidemic or the deaths or the fallout from the disease. No, we are laughing at a shared experience, we are laughing to ease the tension and pain and fear. We are laughing to say, “Hey, things are really weird and troubling right now but we are going to be okay.”
And it’s something we are doing together. That’s important, especially right now.