issue 27// vol 46 Looking at the homemade content and art of COVID-19 » Nova Scotian memes and SNL's at-home episode Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist Ba movie theatres, performing arts centres, and libraries are closed— and productions of shows are delayed or downgraded—everyone is trying to find alternative ways to be entertained. Most of the major channels are showing 24/7 coverage of the pandemic, so there are not a lot of shows to watch. But on the internet, you can do anything with current technology. So, that opens an unlimited amount of creative content for everyone to enjoy—even for first timers to the web. This pandemic has led to a lot of content that spreads the word on social distancing. Both social media and mainstream media have been creating this content. For example, most late-night shows are produced from their homes— making it look like the type of content that you would see on YouTube. Household backdrops and relatives getting involved are hallmarks, but it works. The possible season finale of Saturday Night Live this season was aired with Tom Hanks as host and the musical guest as Coldplay’s Chris Martin. They showed that anyone can create content live from their house. Everyone on the show had to make their own sketches discussing the current situation. Improvising made the skits authentic and enjoyable, and the bits even expanded characters on the show. Highlights include when Pete Davidson rapped a parody song about Drake, and a skit about a business team experimenting (and failing) with Zoom for the first time. The gang at CBC Kids made a song about self-isolation called the “Staying Home Song” with beats that you would expect from a Drake song. This song has the energy to get the entire country excited and encouraged to stay at home. The well-known medical leaders have been recognized through art as well during this time. Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Theresa Tam have been painted into murals in Gastown by an artist. Dr. Bonnie Henry has also been honoured by shoe brand John Fluevog with “The Dr. Henry” Illustration by Athena Little he Rw AA CO shoe. During a coronavirus press conference in Nova Scotia, Premier Stephen McNeil told everyone to “stay the blazes home.’ This caught on and quickly everyone in the province was saying the iconic phrase. A song was also created by The Stanfields, and that went viral on YouTube. On social media—especially on Instagram—various challenges have been trending. Some of these challenges include the “push-up challenge,” the “wash your hands challenge,” and the “rubber glove challenge.” There were also trends where people would thank all the essential workers by going outside, yelling their thanks, and hitting their pots and pans. In some cities (including Vancouver), first responders do a parade in their vehicles. A lot of musicians do live streams and free concerts to get their work seen and to raise money for relief. Additionally, many YouTube shows and podcasts are talking about how the pandemic has affected their industry (including a YouTube channel about J-pop that I care for called No Idol No Life). The pandemic will likely still be going in the next few months, but there will still be a lot of entertaining at-home content being made for a variety of platforms. You can also take this time to make your own content to entertain yourself and others as well! The best characters you've never seen » Looking at the greatest concealed roles on TV Craig Allan Staff Writer nlike movies, television is a fantastic medium for character development. A character can be built through multiple episodes and seasons. However, despite this advantage, there are some characters which have their whole backstory and face never revealed. This is the role of the unseen character, and they appear for many reasons. Regardless, they remain enduring mysteries for audiences to chew on. It’s time to shine a light on some of the best unseen characters in TV history. Charlie Townsend—Charlie’s Angels We'll start this list out with what may be the most famous unseen character of all. It’s hard to deny the illusiveness of Charlie Townsend, the prominent name and encompassing force behind the Charles Townsend Detective Agency. Though heard frequently through a voice box when communicating with the Angels, Charlie was never seen on the show. There are fans who speculate that he may have appeared on the show in a quick “blink and you'll miss it moment” but officially, the character never made a full-fledged appearance on the show. Maris Crane—Frasier This one could have been a tossup between Maris and the original inspiration for her, Vera from Cheers, but Maris is the pick due to how deep the well goes for her mysterious character. Maris has been described as “skinny,” “ounces of fun,” and as a bag of flour because she is “bleached, 100 percent fat-free, and best kept in an air-tight container.” The initial goal wasn't to hide Maris, but instead to make a sly reference to Frasier Crane’s previous show Cheers. This would make the audience think that they were going to go back to the same joke, but they had the plan to reveal Maris a few episodes into the first season. However, the writers quickly went too far in describing the malnourished proportions of Niles Crane's wife that they felt there was no way they could cast someone who could would genuinely deserve the reputation they had established for the character, so she went on to remain unseen for the show’s entire run—with the exception of her silhouette in one episode. Wilson Wilson Jr.—Home Improvement One of the weirder unseen characters in TV history is Wilson Wilson Jr., the always helpful neighbour of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor. Wilson could be seen and heard in every appearance he made on the Tim Allen comedy. However, his body and face were always obscured—most of the time by a tall fence. Wilson appeared in every episode of the show, but can only be seen unobscured in a “behind-the-scenes” special after the final episode of the show, in which the actor comes out to take a bow. Bob Sacamano— Seinfeld There were three possible choices here: Jerry’s cousin Jeffery, and another one of Kramer’s friends Lomez, but the mention goes to Bob Sacamano due to his rich backstory. Sacamano is described as being left a soprano after a botched hernia operation, selling replica Russian hats at Battery Park, and having a previous job at a condom factory in Edison, New Jersey. The story behind Bob Sacamano is that he was apparently named after one of writer Larry Charles’ real life friends, but the friendship Promotional image for 'Home Improvement' ceased after the first reference was made. Michael Scott’s Mother— The Office (US) For a character as fleshed out and layered as Michael Scott, it’s amazing that his mother was never seen on the show. Yes, Michael Scott’s dad is never revealed, but his mother was pointed out frequently as an important person in his life. The closest she ever came to appearing on the show was in the episode “Customer Survey,’ where she can be heard talking to Michael on the phone after he calls to tell her he is getting married. Though she is never seen, it is possible that the show was setting itself up to introduce her, as the actress on the other end of the call is none other than acclaimed actress June Squibb in an uncredited role.