The United Kingdom recently announced its new plan to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, and some have noticed that plan holds a strange similarity to to stay at home to prevent further spreading of the virus. Very few aspects of every day life remain unaffected. The entertainment industry in particular has seen several changes in recent days.
Over the past week, numerous films and television shows have reported production shutdowns or delayed release dates. For example, yesterday Disney announced its big May release, movie theaters closing their doors around the world. As the situation is highly unpredictable, no one can say exactly when things will get back to normal, but many are planning for the worst.
Yesterday, the U.K. announced Prime Minister Boris Johnson has assembled four new committees to coordinate various aspects of the pandemic, all of whom will report their work in a daily meeting. These meetings are known as "C-19 meetings," which, as noted by Time's Carcass on Twitter, is the name of a not-so-great organization in Doctor Who lore.
While not represented in the actual television show, Department C19 appeared in several Doctor Who novels over the years. It's the British government's alien defense organization that had connections to other international agencies. It's certainly a funny coincidence that the real-life British government opted to name their new cabinet after an organization from Doctor Who, and one that seems to further exemplify how insane this whole situation is. At the very least, though, it could give fans a bit of a laugh, provided that they're not reminded of Department C19's checkered past when the Master infiltrated it.
It is always a bit disconcerting when life begins to imitate art, and that's been happening more and more as the outbreak goes on. Doctor Who is only the latest piece of pop culture that fans have drawn connections to, and it likely won't be the last. As long as the real C-19 meetings stick to real people instead of aliens, perhaps they will come up with a worthwhile solution.
Source: Time's Carcass/Twitter