S07.E05: Coronavirus (Covid-19)

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The show goes on without a studio audience.

Main topic: Coronavirus/Covid-19

Also: TikTok Hamster explains what you need to do

Original air date 2020.03.15

[Annber03]

Ahahahaha, that ending. Fantastic. 

Perhaps one of the best episodes this show's ever done, if not the best. Informative, sympathetic, honest, compassionate. I'm going to spend my allotted thirty seconds of frustration ranting about how much it'll suck to not have Oliver (and Colbert, Meyers, et al) on TV each week for the foreseeable future, because in times like this, they're a real comfort and distraction. 

I could comment on all the stuff about Trump, but I've exhausted my thoughts about all of that in discussions elsewhere, so I'm just going to spare myself that this go round. I will simply say that I hope we take a lesson from this. 

I would, however, like to know why the fuck Alex Jones is still allowed to talk or do anything. Or Geraldo, for that matter.

That Tik Tok hamster, meanwhile, is the best and I love him <3. 

To Oliver and co., take it easy and stay safe, and that goes for everyone else in general, too. Here's hoping he'll be back, and the worst of this will pass, as soon as humanly possible. 

[peeayebee]

I loved this show, too. Maybe it was the novelty, but the white background and lack of laughter and applause was refreshing. It was good just to hear John talk. I really really liked that.

It is strange how the severity of this was sunk in. I didn't doubt it from the beginning, but I still didn't think anything like remaining in my house would be taking place. 

Anyway, great show. I'll miss John.

Everyone stay safe and calm.

[Iguana]

Holy shit, John. Way to do the straight talk.  When a Tik Tok hamster is better informed and better at communication about the corona crisis than the president, does this mean the virus wins?  
 

Stay safe, y’all. 

[SHD]

I think I prefer the show without the audience and the sensory overload that this show sometimes is. It had a better rhythm and John seemed toned down (which I liked).

These are strange days indeed. Everyone take care and obey Tik Tok hamster.

[lynxfx]

One thing that I think is going to become very apparent after this pandemic is that there are a lot of industries that are perfectly capable of having people work from home or offsite. My last programming job was 100% work from home and I found I could do my work in 4 hours and then take the rest of the day off. Video conferencing once a day was all we did as a company and then #slack for communication. That is obviously one of the easier jobs to convert to telecommute but there are plenty more.

Tik tok hamster knows all.

[swanpride]

I am working from home anyway...but the people who life with me don't, and they have a lot of contact during the day. Hence we are practicing "social distancing" in our own home, as much as possible.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

https://isthisacat.com/

Edited March 16, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In case you can't get enough of Tik Tok hamster's video:

Props to the guy who made the video for using one of the best freestyle songs ever:

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[swanpride]

This is still my favourite instruction video:

 

 

The fun part starts around the 0:30 mark

[Lantern7]

If it turned out John immediately vomited into a bucket after walking off the “stage,” I wouldn’t be that surprised. Very powerful and very unnerving note to go out on for the foreseeable future. Of course, John mixes in enough sugar to make the medicine go down, up to and including trying to get Geraldo Rivera to suffocate himself.

Remember: always listen to Tik Tok Hamster.

[nickp1991]

Last Week Tonight deserves an Emmy for last night's episode 

[Popples]

Is it weird that I got a bit emotional at the end? I actually started to tear up a bit. I also really enjoyed it being just John by himself, he was still really funny without the audience laughing, which is a feat not everybody can pull off.

Just like TikTok hamsters, Wu-Tang Clan would also like everyone to know that coronavirus ain't nothing to fuck with, so stay as safe as you possibly can everyone!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I saw that WuTang sign posted at a restaurant last week! All of this coronavirus stuff is legit scary, but I'm so glad to see that people are still retaining a sense of humor in the midst of it.

[angora]

The no-audience thing and "fictional afterlife blank void" of a set, was certainly different, but I liked it. The more subdued tone made the episode feel half comedy news show, half fireside chat. I liked that he allowed for some space to be selfishly annoyed at things that were cancelled while continually emphasizing the importance of listening to the experts and doing what they say. There will be other parades, other basketball games, other movie releases, etc. - just not right now. Amazing work by John and his team.

[AnimeMania]

This is the first show that I have heard mention that everybody in the world will probably get the Corona Virus at some point. All of the precautions are just so that everybody doesn't end up catching the Corona Virus at the same time, thus overwhelming the health care system. I already realized that everybody was going to get the Corona Virus so I couldn't quite understand why they were spending so much money cleaning things instead of using that money to shore up the health care system. Now I know.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

14 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I loved this show, too. Maybe it was the novelty, but the white background and lack of laughter and applause was refreshing. It was good just to hear John talk. I really really liked that.

 

12 hours ago, SHD said:

I think I prefer the show without the audience and the sensory overload that this show sometimes is. It had a better rhythm and John seemed toned down (which I liked).

I'm surprised you guys liked this format. I felt unsettled by it. Like, the pauses for laughter with no laughter happening, especially. I never realized before how much the studio audience adds to the show.

 

[Robert Lynch]

I think it is going for all shows with no audience. Not just his.

[ahisma]

It felt weird to me the first few minutes, not having an audience, but John had his rhythm and I stopped noticing it pretty quickly.

[swanpride]

That the whole thing with the lock-down is mostly to "flatten the curve" to use a phrase I heard very often in the last month is something I am very aware off...over here, our politicians mostly stock to announcements regarding the measures they take to help people to survive the crisis economical speaking. But the medical messaging, that is done by the Robert Koch Institute. They do daily briefing by experts and explain every development.

Over here, we should know in ten days if the current measures have helped to "flatten the curve".

What a LOT of people forget is that this is not just about Corona patients. They think "well, I am not in the risk group, so I will most likely survive it". Which is correct, but that doesn't prevent you from having a heart attack, or an accident or getting in another situation in which you need an intensive care unit, fast. If they are all filled up with Corona patients, you won't get the help needed. That is the current situation in Italy, while the current count of Corona victims is 2.158, the number of people who died because of the situation is most likely higher.

Trump btw REALLY managed to p... Germans off this week. There is a company which developing special kind of vaccines and is naturally working (along with a number of other companies and institutes) on Corona. Trump (or his people, but let's be honest, those are roughly the same thing) tried to secure the exclusive rights for the potential vaccine for the US market. Now, the company basically showed him the middle finger, since the main shareholders are actually investing in those kind of companies in order to improve society, and they have been very clear that should they find the solution, they would share it with the world equally. But our government has also been very clear in the wake of this incident that there are options to prevent something like this, and that they would use them if necessary.

Let's hope that if a solution is found it will be by people who are not just in it for as much profit as possible.

[paigow]

What happened to all the  "and now this" segments already created? Those could be a show and new ones can be created without a lot of staff interacting with each other.

[Quickbeam]

22 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

This is the first show that I have heard mention that everybody in the world will probably get the Corona Virus at some point. 

My entire generation, virtually 100% of us, got the measles and chicken pox, both viruses. So I agree we’ll all be exposed at some point, perhaps get ill, develop antibodies. 
 

I liked the show without the squawking audience. I loved his passion for Liverpool. 

[swanpride]

A vaccine would be better. Measles are nasty and have often terrible side-effects.

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I loved his passion for Liverpool. 

I don't follow that sport, but I felt so bad for him when he was talking about how close his favorite team was to success and seeing how frustrated he was. That really does suck. 

[juno]

9 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I loved his passion for Liverpool. 

Not me. I am a Tottenham fan. But I am sad every year.