A bit about spoilers

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I have a couple of friends who have said about spoilers that even an episode reaction is a spoiler. I didn't understand this, but I have tried to respect it.* Now I understand.

We can't all watch on the same schedule. Those of us in the US may get a UK episode later the same day or months later. Those in the UK may get a US episode later the same day or months later. And those of us with busy lives—which is everyone, right?—may have to wait to see something because they're working, or they watch with family members and have to wait until everyone's available, or there just enough hours in the day.

When I say I understand, it's because the back half of the latest Downton Abbey was heavily spoiled for me, but I am in the enviable(?) position of being able to explain without being angry at any one. This really is no one person's fault (except for the last straw in TV Guide). No one should feel bad, even if you posted something about DA. But now I can explain in detail how even a brief episode reaction can spoil someone else terribly.

Read further only if you have either already seen the most recent season of Downton Abbey or don't intend to watch. Serious spoilers.


This may be more detail than anyone needs or wants. Consider it Anatomy of a Spoiler, or A Study in Spoilers.

So! In the fall, I read a Parade magazine interview with Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley. He was asked if it was true that he had other good job prospects and would be leaving the show this season. He answered, "I could tell you, but then Mrs. Patmore would have to cook you." So I figured he was leaving, but not necessarily this season. (I'd heard a rumor that another cast member would be leaving this season, and it turned out to be false.) I remembered that I'd heard that a certain someone would be leaving another tv show an entire season before that actor left, and I spent the whole season in an agony of expectation that at any moment something horrible would happen to a character of whom I'm terribly fond, and it was all wasted emotion.†

So I told myself not to worry terribly. That worked great until a certain point. I think no fewer that five friends posted about DA anything from "Oh, no!" to "I am wrecked!" They didn't all post the same day, and some didn't specify the episode, so I wasn't sure which episode it was, but I knew somebody died. I figured it was either Matthew or the character played by the cast member I'm not naming.

I got my DVD set by making a gift to my local PBS station and claiming the set as a premium (which I won't do again, because they gave it a market value of $50! Who paid $50 for that thing? Anybody? Bueller?). I then watched on the PBS schedule because a) I got the set three days after the season premiere had aired on PBS and b) Small Child got interested, and once a week was all we could manage.

So Sybil died, and I was wrecked, and I thought, "Oh, okay—that's it. At least I know what the bad thing is." Except that at least one other person who seemed to be watching on a different schedule then posted what a horrible way to end the season, and then I expected something terrible to happen either in the last regular episode or the Christmas special.

We survived the end of the regular season only while I waited at any moment for Matthew to die. He could have a heart attack. Robert could kill him in a fit of pique. He could be poisoned by people getting distracted in the kitchen.

The straw that broke the camel's back (wait—am I a camel?) was when TV Guide's blurb for the Christmas special included the phrase "Matthew is still driving around in that rickety car." Oh, you're fracking kidding me, right? That car never looked "rickety" to me. So then I knew that Matthew would die, and I knew how, and I was very relieved when he took the train. I wondered if he'd borrow a car in Scotland. I thought he'd borrow a car to get Mary back to the hospital in Downton. I was glad when he didn't. As soon as the plan for him to drive to and from the hospital was announced, I knew.

I spent multiple episodes waiting for Matthew to die. I could hardly enjoy Bates getting his freedom because I was waiting for Matthew to die. I felt terrible for poor Tom Branson, not only because he'd lost his wife but because I kept thinking that he would lose his closest ally in the family at any moment. Yes, this is a silly and self-defeating way of watching television, but I really couldn't handle the spoiler. I think now that I'd have been better off looking up when it happened so that at least I could enjoy everything up to the last two minutes of the season.




Thus I will hide even my episode reactions under a cut (although I understand that certain journal styles are sometimes revealing what's behind a cut, and I sincerely apologize if that happens to any readers from any of my posts, including this one). I've realized that if I post that I liked an episode of, say, White Collar, people who know what I like on WC will know what an episode probably did and didn't contain; if I post that I didn't like an episode, they're going to have some darned good guesses about why.

Again, no blame and no guilt for anyone. Except TV Guide, which acted like everyone had already seen an episode that hadn't yet aired in this country. (Okay, maybe only my family and my parents hadn't seen it yet. Still.) I'm just adding my plea to keep even emotional reactions under a cut.

And I know I'm doomed as soon as Sherlock starts up again in the UK, but we do what we can, right?



* I know I goof up—I once sent an email (when I still used email to tell people I had written a new fic) that contained a spoiler for an episode of SGA in my description for the story. Someone pointed it out to me and I revised the description on my website, but of course anyone who got that first email already knew what had happened in the episode.

† See how careful I'm being? I haven't even named the show or given the gender of the actor! It only took two tries to get it right. (I did get it right this time, didn't I?)

Comments

Teal Deer to state: I agree....

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

OMG, the spoiler discussion about DA has driven me nuts (funny typing DA makes me think of Dumbledore's Army, not Downton Abbey), because some people in the US got spoiled because of either the spoiler in the UK or the airing in the UK, got mad they got spoiled, and then somehow figured that since they were spoiled, everyone else must be spoiled too, so it's open knowledge now that X happened.

Even apparently to people who say may have just started watching the show and are getting intrigued and were not reading everything possible about Downton. You know, hypothetically. ;-)

I was pretty good about being unspoiled for the finale though as far as specifics. I had read something about the actor leaving, but at the time, I still didn't really know the show, so the names meant nothing. I recognized Bates, but otherwise, it could've been Tom, Thomas, Jimmy, Bueller. Hee.

I will admit when I suddenly see Matthew driving in the car, happy, when we have never seen anyone just driving on a road in general except for plot purposes (hi driving lessons, Edith!), I did figure out something was going to happen.

But I knew stuff was happening because major news and newspapers would reference "oh the big thing in the finale that everyone already knows" even if they didn't specifically say...what the thing was.

TV Guide freakin spoiled me for the Sixth Sense, though, so they are dead to me in a TITLE section on an article about TV shows! Why do you DO that, stupid TV magazine!?!?!

ETA: That said, my flist has actually been pretty fantastic about all mutual shows. It's really the mainstream media who can't keep their traps shut.

Re: Teal Deer to state: I agree....

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Oh, and it ticked me off how the writers did it, too, but that's a subject for another post. (Yes! Why should "happy" be a bad sign?)

I need to break the TV Guide habit. We're subscribed to them for most of the rest of our lives because magazine sales are a Girl Scout fundraiser. I knew to skip the article about DA they had before the season started because they do that, but I read the blurp! Arg!

[caffienekitty]

Yes. Thank you. Also, TV Guide is horrible for spoilery stuff.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

TV Guide is horrible for spoilery stuff.
Yes, they are. I often don't read articles about shows until after I've seen the episode or season in question. I hadn't done so poorly with a blurb ever before, but now I know.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Oi...nothing like being spoiled *sigh* and yeah, sometimes reactions can be spoilers in and of themselves!! I never read TV Guide or any rag before watching episodes anymore, just because they spoil with abandon and never think twice about it.

I got spoiled for Doctor Who not too long ago. In the end, I couldn't enjoy it as much because I was spoiled for it. I love the eppie, but was pissed by the end because it was such a good episode - and I already knew some things that would happen in it. UGH.

You are awesome - and giving all of us a pass...a saint as well, lol!!

*HUGS*

Here's to hoping we all remain spoiler-free from now on!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I'm no saint! I'd better give everyone a pass, because a) none of my friends really revealed anything, and any one reaction probably wouldn't have meant much to me and b) (more importantly) I'm sure I'll mess up myself again!

[sg-wonderland.livejournal.com]

I'm really aging myself here but I remember when TV Guide got blasted for spoiling an episode of Hill Street Blues. Thursday night, one character, despondent over I-can't-even-remember-what, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Episode ends there. Aghast, everyone is waiting with baited breath until TVG, which came out on Monday, I think, blithely reveals all. (Another character, fearing a possible suicide, unloaded said gun.) TVG is raked over the coals by both fans and show runners for spoiling storyline.

I got spoiled over another British show I watched and couldn't enjoy the ep because I kept waiting for character X to get killed.

I don't know how you can avoid spoilers. I was live-tweeting an episode of NCIS when I was chastised, and rightly so, by Australian fans who are like a week behind. So I just bitch to myself and keep my mouth shut online.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I got spoiled over another British show I watched and couldn't enjoy the ep because I kept waiting for character X to get killed.
Ugh! It's the worst, isn't it?

[nialla]

I was watching as soon as I could after episodes aired in the UK, but I was still pretty much spoiled for the end long before it happened.

Dan Stevens wanted out, and I think TPTB knew there would massive backlash. They did press releases about how Stevens wouldn't return for season four before the end of season three in the UK, but they didn't give specifics on his exit.

I had wondered if perhaps they'd leave him in a life or death situation and have it as a cliffhanger, or have him in a couple of episodes of season four to send him off to America or someone else for business reasons. Stevens didn't want to do anything further, and they couldn't figure out a way for a new father still in love with his wife to up and leave for an extended period.

Instead, the writer decided to leave it unmistakable that the accident was not survivable, but waited until the end because they did not want the focus of the episode to be about Matthew's death and go through another mourning period so soon after Sybil (the actress also wanted to leave), even though the special was about a year after her death. The passage of time is often rather fuzzy on the show.

I'm already aware of new characters appearing in the fourth season, and just found out there's another who won't return, and I'm not sure how all this change will be handled. This seems to be a regular issue with British shows. They have shorter seasons that allow for a little more planning out of the plot, and allows the actors to work on other projects, but they also are more open to just leave in the hopes of other projects on stage or screen. Shows that go on for more than two seasons can damn near have a complete cast change. I actually know one that did exactly that, and quite a few come close.

Despite all this, PBS has no plans to change the air dates in the US to more closely match when it airs in the UK. They're getting stellar ratings where it is, and if they changed the timing, it would be up against first run major network programming. They rather you be spoiled and watching anyway.

Though I did think it was interesting that the DVDs for season three were released before the run on PBS was complete. Usually they release the Tuesday after the series is over. Looks like they'd want to get more people watching live, but I guess they make enough on DVD sales so it doesn't matter.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I'm already aware of new characters appearing in the fourth season, and just found out there's another who won't return
Lalalala I can't hear you!

I am annoyed at PBS. They pay a big chunk of the production costs of Sherlock and DA; they should demand to get them soon after airing! I have thought of writing to tell them so, but surely they already know. And I still give them money even though I watched DA on the DVDs (except for the week I was keeping a tv diary for a survey company, when I actually watched the TiVo'd version so that I could fill in honestly when I'd TiVo'd and when I'd watched).

Does PBS get a good chunk of the DVD profits, then?

In a way, I'm glad the actors can leave when they want, but I also want to keep my favorite characters! I can think of one UK show that has had 100% turnover in lead characters, in fact. . . .

[sholio]

I can think of one UK show that has had 100% turnover in lead characters, in fact. . . .

Which pretty much killed my interest in it, if it's the one in your icon ... (Though this also had to do with certain writing choices in later seasons.)

I'm on board with a certain amount of character turnover -- the alternative is often a show getting very stale, and I've quit watching a couple of shows because they took the characters everywhere they could take them and then just ... kept going. Some character turnover would have been welcome! But past a certain point, it just gets to where you don't want to get attached to anybody. That was essentially what happened to me with Lost -- a lot of people complain about meandering writing, but for me, it was more to do with the fact that I didn't dare get invested in any of the characters.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Yep, that's the show. I had already become somewhat attached to one of the new leads before I even knew he'd be a lead, and it didn't take me long to become attached to the next, and then the next. . . .

I never started Lost (and several other shows) because I didn't start at the beginning, and I quickly heard what happened to their casts.

I've quit watching a couple of shows because they took the characters everywhere they could take them and then just ... kept going
I'm thinking of giving up Psych because they have a severe problem this way. I've been with them since the start, but the magic is gone.

[sholio]

I'm thinking of giving up Psych because they have a severe problem this way. I've been with them since the start, but the magic is gone.

Yeah; I've given up both NCIS and Supernatural in the last couple of years for that reason. Especially Supernatural; I don't want to say much for fear of spoiling you if you haven't seen it, but it's a peculiar combination of both of the above problems.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

i haven't watched NCIS regularly since, well, they killed a particular character fairly early in the run (though that wasn't my only reason). But I do drop in from time to time and get frustrated about Tony.

I don't watch Supernatural; I missed it at the outset, and by the time I was thinking about watching it, I was seeing complaints about female and minority characters getting killed off, which is even worse than just killing off any character!

[sholio]

But I do drop in from time to time and get frustrated about Tony.

THANK YOU. Sometimes I feel as if everyone loves Tony but me! Tony is actually the other main reason why I stopped watching the show -- well, the focus on him. I can handle him in small doses, but having him at front and center of almost every storyline killed what lingering interest had managed to survive my dissatisfaction with the show's repetitive plots.

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

*Waves a hand to join the Tony haters!*

[sholio]

Hee! "Hate" is too strong a word for how I feel; it's more like annoyance. But it's awfully nice to not be the only one!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I don't hate Tony either; I'm inclined to like him, actually, but I get too frustrated at the character making the same mistakes and covering the same ground over and over again to keep watching.

[sholio]

Yeah, I think that sums it up pretty well for me, too! I liked him at first -- I think he started out in a good place to grow as a character. But as it became obvious that the character just wasn't going to grow, my interest in him (and the show) started to tank.

[nialla]

I made a point of not saying the departing person's name, so you won't know who to expect to disappear. It's on the level of watching a Joss Whedon production, you're pretty sure someone's going to go, you just don't know who. ;)

I don't think the BBC or ITV would have any issue with PBS airing the shows sooner. The issue is PBS wanting to stick to a schedule of Masterpiece changing the type of programming it shows on a seasonal basis and also not wanting to put their "big guns" up against new network programs.

They're going to get excellent ratings by PBS standards no matter when they air them, so they don't really factor in trying to air them before a percentage of the audience watches via other means. They also don't really care if you get spoiled by those who've seen it legally or illegally. I find it really interesting to see so many online review sites who have obviously downloaded eps to review them, yet no one blinks over it.

I'm not sure how much of the cut PBS gets from the DVDs. I just thought that could be the reason they released DVDs before the series had finished airing on PBS. They are also selling them as the original UK versions, as series one and two had some scenes snipped for PBS. However, it appears series three had some minor extra bits in the US version, perhaps as a lure for those who had seen the UK version already.

[sholio]

Augh, thank you so much for the reminder (and illustration!), because I have gotten bad about this - and it's stupid, I'm a spoilerphobe and should know better.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Hee! I thought of White Collar because I know your tastes so well that I know not to look at anything you write about an episode before I've seen it, and I figured the feeling would be mutual—if I ever managed to write about shows any more!

No recriminations here. I'm happy that once I have watched an episode of WC, I can go and celebrate or commiserate with you—sometimes both!

[sholio]

It is kind of funny how, knowing a person's tastes, the smallest emotional reaction becomes a major spoiler! And it works in both directions; if I know that someone hates a couple I love, then an episode they're depressed about is probably going to be one I'll enjoy ...

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you were sad about being spoiled. I'm so happy to be a spoiler ho. It's the journey for me, not the destination. I especially look for spoilers if it's a Joss production. I do try to respect my flist tho and use cuts and warnings.

I don't mind when they re-cast a character altho that doesn't happen much these days. I think they should have re-cast.

BTW, if you're reading the Bible...the devil did it. In the library, with the rope. ;o)