“The Good Doctor” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14) returns for a fourth season. Like any series set in a hospital, the makers of the series had to decide whether to put their characters on the “front lines” of the fight against COVID-19. In promotional clips for the season opener, the folks behind “Doctor” declared that it would seem false to ignore the situation.
“Good” isn’t the first series to address COVID in a medical setting. Not even the first on ABC. On the season debut of “black-ish,” Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) is hailed as a hero for her work as a doctor, something that gets under Dre’s (Anthony Anderson) skin, so he declares that his stay-at-home work for an advertising agency is equally “essential.”
Time will tell if COVID-related storylines will be welcomed or even remembered. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, shows including “NYPD Blue,” “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing” incorporated the new “war on terror” into storylines and each seemed rather shoehorned and forgettable.
Is there any way to discuss an ongoing crisis in an “entertaining” fashion? Do viewers tune in to medical melodramas for social commentary or to be entertained?
Hollywood was fully enlisted during World War II and churned out many “war” pictures, but the vast majority were forgettable quickies. The Vietnam War, a national trauma for more than a decade, was brought home on the nightly news and dubbed “the living room war,” but television “entertainment” did not comment on the war until “MASH,” set during the Korean War, looked at it from an oblique angle.
Hollywood produced many provocative films about Vietnam, but only years after its conclusion. John Wayne, who had appeared in some of the World War II movies mentioned above, tried to repeat the process with his 1968 effort “The Green Berets,” but it was considered dated at best when released. Many considered it a clumsy attempt at propaganda.
TV shows, movies, fiction and “make-believe” may not be appropriate for anything more than propaganda in the midst of an ongoing crisis. It’s simply too difficult to create art in the midst of such turmoil. William Wordsworth famously described poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquility.” It may be some time before we can look back at COVID in that manner.
— “Saturday Night Live: 2020 Election Special” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14) reflects on tomorrow’s choice. The current president, who once hosted this show, has not been good for its reputation, as satire and interpretation have given way to mere impersonation.
— The 2020 documentary “With Drawn Arms” (9 p.m., Starz) recalls Tommie Smith, the gold medalist at the 1968 Olympics whose Black power salute on the medals podium caused much controversy at the time, and resonates today as athletes use their status to comment on police brutality.
It also reflects on the ongoing resentment of some sports fans toward athlete activists, reflected in Fox News personality Laura Ingraham’s suggestion that LeBron James “shut up and dribble,” when he discussed politics and racism during an ESPN interview.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— The New York Giants host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFL football action (8 p.m., ESPN).
— McKenna protects her mother’s privacy on “L.A.’s Finest” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Mark’s ride in a squad car does not go smoothly on “All Rise” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG).
— Ginger turns the tables on her kidnappers on “Filthy Rich” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “Frontline” (9 p.m., PBS, r, check local listings) repeats “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden,” offering profiles of each candidate with a special emphasis on the psychology and character of both men.
— A pro bono case interferes with Christmas plans on “Bull” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— The last day in Italy on the season finale of “We Are Who We Are” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— After the death of his true love, a man finds religion on “Soulmates” (10 p.m., AMC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— A detective (Victor Mature) hunts down a boyhood friend-turned-killer (Richard Conte) in the 1948 noir drama “Cry of the City” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-PG). Conte appeared in more than 100 films, most notably in “The Godfather” as Barzini.
SERIES NOTES
“The Price Is Right at Night” (8 p.m., CBS) … “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Improvisations on two episodes of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) … Illusionists audition on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Anthony Anderson, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Big Boi and Sleepy Brown featuring Killer Mike and Big Rube on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
