TV Spoilers May 25, 2006 8:11 AM Subscribe
Can't get enough of the "TV spoilers" debate from the grey, well, it's now available on the blue.
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Had Taylor Hicks not one, I was going to break things.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:19 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:19 AM on May 25, 2006
Why do people get so het up about this? It's a news story, not a plot twist.
Though that post is all kinds of cack, and misspelling MetaFilter is icing on the cack. Sorry, cake.
posted by jack_mo at 8:19 AM on May 25, 2006
Though that post is all kinds of cack, and misspelling MetaFilter is icing on the cack. Sorry, cake.
posted by jack_mo at 8:19 AM on May 25, 2006
Now that's a comment that speaks volumes! Read 'n' heed, people.
posted by mischief at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by mischief at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2006
Can we have this out once and for all? I can see not wanting someone to say "Hey the chick has a dick" in a FPP about the Crying Game -- if it were 1992 that is -- but does time shifting broadcast TV (either via Tivo or via stuff like what the Olympics was doing) mean there should be some sort of continuous spoiler alert for the ending of everything? The World Series? A presidential election? I don't have much of a dog in this fight -- not much of a TV watcher, don't care about having book/movie endings revealed to me -- so I have a pretty hard time getting my head around the social norms for this sort of thing. Is there a standard convention for non-movie/tv-buff oriented forums?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:21 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:21 AM on May 25, 2006
*** refers to the first thread comment. )I hate when that happens.(
posted by mischief at 8:21 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by mischief at 8:21 AM on May 25, 2006
1. Folks who care about popcult contests should learn to stay away from MeFi until they watch their recordings.
2. Would it really kill the poster to put the name of the winner of a popcult contest inside the thread? No, it wouldn't, and they should.
That about covers it, I think.
posted by mediareport at 8:22 AM on May 25, 2006
2. Would it really kill the poster to put the name of the winner of a popcult contest inside the thread? No, it wouldn't, and they should.
That about covers it, I think.
posted by mediareport at 8:22 AM on May 25, 2006
Why is that thread even there, Matt? I'm not even talking about the spoiler. I mean, really, wtf? A link to CNN about a television show?!
posted by dobbs at 8:23 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by dobbs at 8:23 AM on May 25, 2006
jess: Is there a standard convention for non-movie/tv-buff oriented forums?
math: I deliberately avoided the internet until I saw the end of the show.
posted by mischief at 8:24 AM on May 25, 2006
math: I deliberately avoided the internet until I saw the end of the show.
posted by mischief at 8:24 AM on May 25, 2006
dobbs, you have to let one by now and then. Though a heavy deletion spree would make for a fun run of n-tuple posts...
posted by cortex at 8:29 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by cortex at 8:29 AM on May 25, 2006
Yep, mediareport has it right.
posted by brain_drain at 8:36 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by brain_drain at 8:36 AM on May 25, 2006
Is there a standard convention for non-movie/tv-buff oriented forums?
Some have special spoilers sections, I think.
don't care about having book/movie endings revealed to me
Quite, and I absolutely fucking hate the increasing insistence by film studios and publishers that reviewers not reveal plot twists (usually with the implied or actual threat that the journalist/paper won't be getting any favours in future if they do 'spoil'). If your film or book can't be enjoyed by people unless a plot detail is kept secret, it probably isn't very good.
Whatever, if the definition of 'spoiler' now includes competition wins and news stories, some people are going to have to spend a lot of time indoors with the curtains closed and their computers off, poor things.
posted by jack_mo at 8:37 AM on May 25, 2006
Some have special spoilers sections, I think.
don't care about having book/movie endings revealed to me
Quite, and I absolutely fucking hate the increasing insistence by film studios and publishers that reviewers not reveal plot twists (usually with the implied or actual threat that the journalist/paper won't be getting any favours in future if they do 'spoil'). If your film or book can't be enjoyed by people unless a plot detail is kept secret, it probably isn't very good.
Whatever, if the definition of 'spoiler' now includes competition wins and news stories, some people are going to have to spend a lot of time indoors with the curtains closed and their computers off, poor things.
posted by jack_mo at 8:37 AM on May 25, 2006
jessamyn: ""Hey the chick has a dick" in a FPP about the Crying Game"
I finally get around to adding it to my Netflix queue and you ruin it for me. Serendipity. Fly, chardonnay, wedding day, et al.
posted by kcm at 8:40 AM on May 25, 2006
I finally get around to adding it to my Netflix queue and you ruin it for me. Serendipity. Fly, chardonnay, wedding day, et al.
posted by kcm at 8:40 AM on May 25, 2006
Why is that thread even there, Matt? I'm not even talking about the spoiler. I mean, really, wtf? A link to CNN about a television show?!
Every so often the number one movie or tv show has some big news and everyone on mefi wants to talk about it. This is one of those rare times.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:50 AM on May 25, 2006
Every so often the number one movie or tv show has some big news and everyone on mefi wants to talk about it. This is one of those rare times.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:50 AM on May 25, 2006
Slightly OT, but what the hell: So last week I was talking to a friend of mine about Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ--it turned out she had never heard of the movie, nor of the controversy that surrounded its release. I said it's just about the only movie made about the life of Christ for which you could spoil the ending. She said, "Well, duh, Christ dies in the end, right?"
I said nothing and loaned her my DVD of the film; I envy her having the experience of watching it unspoiled (which I don't think anybody had when the film was initially released).
posted by Prospero at 8:54 AM on May 25, 2006
I said nothing and loaned her my DVD of the film; I envy her having the experience of watching it unspoiled (which I don't think anybody had when the film was initially released).
posted by Prospero at 8:54 AM on May 25, 2006
I haven't seen that movie, does he get laid or something?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:55 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:55 AM on May 25, 2006
kcm writes "I finally get around to adding it to my Netflix queue and you ruin it for me."
But you don't know _which_ chick.
posted by Mitheral at 8:59 AM on May 25, 2006
But you don't know _which_ chick.
posted by Mitheral at 8:59 AM on May 25, 2006
Damn, I wish I had seen this MeTa before I posted in the blue.
Don't s'pose you handsome admins could slide this comment over here, could you?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:03 AM on May 25, 2006
Don't s'pose you handsome admins could slide this comment over here, could you?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:03 AM on May 25, 2006
I finally get around to adding it to my Netflix queue and you ruin it for me.
Never watch the Simpsons, I take it.
I spoiled Alan Lemay's The Searchers for glenwood back in the day. Most. Obscure.Spoiler.Ever.--at least for moi.
posted by y2karl at 9:20 AM on May 25, 2006
Never watch the Simpsons, I take it.
I spoiled Alan Lemay's The Searchers for glenwood back in the day. Most. Obscure.Spoiler.Ever.--at least for moi.
posted by y2karl at 9:20 AM on May 25, 2006
It's been mentioned twice, but people are still talking, so here it is: mediareport nails it.
I predict that this conversation will come up again once the football World Cup kicks off. Or, well, ends. Pay heed and all that.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:36 AM on May 25, 2006
I predict that this conversation will come up again once the football World Cup kicks off. Or, well, ends. Pay heed and all that.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:36 AM on May 25, 2006
World Cup spoiler: Brazil won.
posted by funambulist at 9:41 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by funambulist at 9:41 AM on May 25, 2006
Well, we call it "The Super Bowl" here, but I'd bet there is.
posted by kcm at 9:46 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by kcm at 9:46 AM on May 25, 2006
Yeah, isn't that baseball thing called the World Cup or Series? The one that may or may not actually exclude 'the world' outside America.
I'm also sure that the results for various sporting events have been 'spoiled' on metafilter.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:52 AM on May 25, 2006
I'm also sure that the results for various sporting events have been 'spoiled' on metafilter.
posted by slimepuppy at 9:52 AM on May 25, 2006
It was NewsFilter.
Well, PopCultureNewsFilter.
If it's truly about the links - and it is - to say, for example, that this link is inherently more worthy of being an FPP than this one displays at best a misunderstanding of what MeFi is about , and at worst, disengenuous agenda pushing (In my eyes, at least).
While it could have used more links exploring the theme of the Slate piece, behind the scenes stuff like mediareport's NYT link, or the impact Idol has had on the web, it was just as valid (Or invalid) an FPP as the one below it, a one-link to a CBC article about The Prime Minister cracking down on the press (The news reporting news about the news, NewsFilter3.)
I've seen far weaker FPPs get a free pass from members simply because they don't offend the delicately rarified aural and cultural sensibilities of MeFi's artistic elite, or because the content pandered to their political affiliations.
(Wow, thanks, jessamyn. I was kinda hoping you'd just swap it for my previous comment here, instead of forcing me to rely on my nonexistant short term memory, though. :))
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:57 AM on May 25, 2006
Well, PopCultureNewsFilter.
If it's truly about the links - and it is - to say, for example, that this link is inherently more worthy of being an FPP than this one displays at best a misunderstanding of what MeFi is about , and at worst, disengenuous agenda pushing (In my eyes, at least).
While it could have used more links exploring the theme of the Slate piece, behind the scenes stuff like mediareport's NYT link, or the impact Idol has had on the web, it was just as valid (Or invalid) an FPP as the one below it, a one-link to a CBC article about The Prime Minister cracking down on the press (The news reporting news about the news, NewsFilter3.)
I've seen far weaker FPPs get a free pass from members simply because they don't offend the delicately rarified aural and cultural sensibilities of MeFi's artistic elite, or because the content pandered to their political affiliations.
(Wow, thanks, jessamyn. I was kinda hoping you'd just swap it for my previous comment here, instead of forcing me to rely on my nonexistant short term memory, though. :))
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:57 AM on May 25, 2006
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5.31.33 (37.46 km/h)
2 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
3 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
posted by Wolfdog at 10:00 AM on May 25, 2006
2 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
3 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
posted by Wolfdog at 10:00 AM on May 25, 2006
I'm not sure how someone could expect to log onto the internet without finding out who won American Idol. That's the real question here. I don't even watch the show and I see the results all over the damn place.
posted by OmieWise at 10:01 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by OmieWise at 10:01 AM on May 25, 2006
Omie: Heh, my first contact with earth each morning is cnn.com. Within ten minutes of awaking today, I had read the winner; that is, BEFORE my coffee even finished brewing.
posted by mischief at 10:05 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by mischief at 10:05 AM on May 25, 2006
Wow, I guess it was a good thing that I linked to CNN's "Cheney May Have To Testify" story in my example, instead of the "Lay Convicted" article.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:14 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:14 AM on May 25, 2006
Yeah, you won't even see me around here at World Cup time. My bet's on Finland to repeat.
posted by Otis at 10:18 AM on May 25, 2006
posted by Otis at 10:18 AM on May 25, 2006
But you don't know _which_ chick.
I'll fix that: it's Margaret Thatcher. Hahaha! Now you know!
posted by languagehat at 10:18 AM on May 25, 2006
I'll fix that: it's Margaret Thatcher. Hahaha! Now you know!
posted by languagehat at 10:18 AM on May 25, 2006
I don't care about American Idol. I was just reading the thread for the fireworks.
But if those totally unexpected "Lost" spoilers are true, there's gonna be some people who need killin'.
posted by Cyrano at 10:52 AM on May 25, 2006
But if those totally unexpected "Lost" spoilers are true, there's gonna be some people who need killin'.
posted by Cyrano at 10:52 AM on May 25, 2006
I like to come into these kinds of threads and spoil The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf.
In Pierre it turns out Belle probably isn't his sister after all.
Baby steps.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:11 AM on May 25, 2006
In Pierre it turns out Belle probably isn't his sister after all.
Baby steps.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:11 AM on May 25, 2006
Quite, and I absolutely fucking hate the increasing insistence by film studios and publishers that reviewers not reveal plot twists (usually with the implied or actual threat that the journalist/paper won't be getting any favours in future if they do 'spoil'). If your film or book can't be enjoyed by people unless a plot detail is kept secret, it probably isn't very good.
Have to disagree with this statement (Okay the implication of withholding favours in the future might be irksome alright). Movie-makers have probably insisted on secrecy for as long as movies have been made, and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing.
As a child of the eighties I had never seen Star Wars or in particular Empire Strikes Back before I had heard 'I am your father' a thousand times. Did it lessen my enjoyment of the film to know this plot twist? No, it's still one of my favourite films. Would it have been an incredibly awesome moment if I hadn't known about it? You betcha! Would I have wanted to put a reviewer feet first through a mincer if he had revealed this in a review? Absolutely.
(Thankfully I did manage to catch 'Psycho' without being aware of its little gem of a twist!)
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:39 AM on May 25, 2006
Have to disagree with this statement (Okay the implication of withholding favours in the future might be irksome alright). Movie-makers have probably insisted on secrecy for as long as movies have been made, and as far as I'm concerned that's a good thing.
As a child of the eighties I had never seen Star Wars or in particular Empire Strikes Back before I had heard 'I am your father' a thousand times. Did it lessen my enjoyment of the film to know this plot twist? No, it's still one of my favourite films. Would it have been an incredibly awesome moment if I hadn't known about it? You betcha! Would I have wanted to put a reviewer feet first through a mincer if he had revealed this in a review? Absolutely.
(Thankfully I did manage to catch 'Psycho' without being aware of its little gem of a twist!)
posted by TwoWordReview at 11:39 AM on May 25, 2006
Did it lessen my enjoyment of the film to know this plot twist? No...
Well, quite.
A particularly fine example of an eponysterical comment was that, though.
posted by jack_mo at 11:55 AM on May 25, 2006
Well, quite.
A particularly fine example of an eponysterical comment was that, though.
posted by jack_mo at 11:55 AM on May 25, 2006
"I did manage to catch 'Psycho' without being aware of its little gem of a twist!"
I'll go you one better. I found Robert Bloch's original novel when I was 8 and read that with only the knowledge that it had been made into a movie by a scary director.
Two years later, I discovered Atlas Shrugged...
posted by mischief at 12:53 PM on May 25, 2006
I'll go you one better. I found Robert Bloch's original novel when I was 8 and read that with only the knowledge that it had been made into a movie by a scary director.
Two years later, I discovered Atlas Shrugged...
posted by mischief at 12:53 PM on May 25, 2006
mediareport is right of course.
With that said, the conversation is largely about the conversation and not the topic unless you count the asshats lining up to feign pompous arrogance at their not owning a TV or offer (red herring) spoilers to unrelated shows. No one has marked it as a favorite but more than a few have claimed to have flagged it. Why does it stand? Wouldn't cleaning it up to read 'American Idol has a winner' or something similar have been middle ground? If it wasn't deemed worthy of deletion it certainly could have been cleaned up.
my $.02
posted by geekyguy at 3:58 PM on May 25, 2006
With that said, the conversation is largely about the conversation and not the topic unless you count the asshats lining up to feign pompous arrogance at their not owning a TV or offer (red herring) spoilers to unrelated shows. No one has marked it as a favorite but more than a few have claimed to have flagged it. Why does it stand? Wouldn't cleaning it up to read 'American Idol has a winner' or something similar have been middle ground? If it wasn't deemed worthy of deletion it certainly could have been cleaned up.
my $.02
posted by geekyguy at 3:58 PM on May 25, 2006
But if those totally unexpected "Lost" spoilers are true, there's gonna be some people who need killin'.
Right on. Even if they're not true. I read that thread and then went home to watch Lost and the whole time I was waiting for...
posted by tellurian at 4:43 PM on May 25, 2006
Right on. Even if they're not true. I read that thread and then went home to watch Lost and the whole time I was waiting for...
posted by tellurian at 4:43 PM on May 25, 2006
Jessamyn, did you ever get your standard established?
One thing I would consider is this - West Coasters don't have to be recording something. We just get the shows three hours later. So, have some consideration, there...
posted by Dunwitty at 11:31 PM on May 25, 2006
One thing I would consider is this - West Coasters don't have to be recording something. We just get the shows three hours later. So, have some consideration, there...
posted by Dunwitty at 11:31 PM on May 25, 2006
Taylor Hicks wins American Idol....
Yeah, this seems to count as a spoiler in my opinion.
Heh. Duh. It's funny how careful people are in the first few comments. Sometimes they smell a fucked up post, but it's a little more scary to express your opinion before the hairy mob has descended in full force. If only all of us could retain that scared state of mind at all times, we might be more civil 'round here.
posted by scarabic at 11:54 PM on May 25, 2006
Yeah, this seems to count as a spoiler in my opinion.
Heh. Duh. It's funny how careful people are in the first few comments. Sometimes they smell a fucked up post, but it's a little more scary to express your opinion before the hairy mob has descended in full force. If only all of us could retain that scared state of mind at all times, we might be more civil 'round here.
posted by scarabic at 11:54 PM on May 25, 2006
I'll fix that: it's Margaret Thatcher. Hahaha! Now you know!
We watched Resurrection of the Daleks the other night and were struck by how much Davros looks like Thatcher. Give him a handbag and a blue hat and you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 4:18 AM on May 26, 2006
We watched Resurrection of the Daleks the other night and were struck by how much Davros looks like Thatcher. Give him a handbag and a blue hat and you wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 4:18 AM on May 26, 2006
Jessamyn, did you ever get your standard established?
Well it seems like waiting for whatever it is to show in all time zones is asking for a minimal level of consideration. In a general sense it's polite to keep spoiler-iish information behind the [more inside] or behind a link, but realistically it's the Internet, there will be spoilers and if learning something like this would ruin someone's day, that maybe can't be on MetaFilter's head. Or, what mediareport said.
Now can someone tell me what happens to jesus in Last Temptation?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:49 AM on May 26, 2006
Well it seems like waiting for whatever it is to show in all time zones is asking for a minimal level of consideration. In a general sense it's polite to keep spoiler-iish information behind the [more inside] or behind a link, but realistically it's the Internet, there will be spoilers and if learning something like this would ruin someone's day, that maybe can't be on MetaFilter's head. Or, what mediareport said.
Now can someone tell me what happens to jesus in Last Temptation?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:49 AM on May 26, 2006
Now can someone tell me what happens to jesus in Last Temptation?
Jesus is let free and begins walking out of the station. Just as he leaves, the Customs agent looks at his board and starts seeing things that Jesus was telling him. He saw names Jesus was using on wanted reports, memos, and the like. The Customs agent immmidiately calls out for the arrest of Jesus.
Meanwhile, "Jesus", leaves the station, as his clubbed hand and foot straighten out as a man rolls up in a car and they speed away, leaving the Customs agent wondering where he went.
posted by Otis at 6:05 AM on May 26, 2006
Jesus is let free and begins walking out of the station. Just as he leaves, the Customs agent looks at his board and starts seeing things that Jesus was telling him. He saw names Jesus was using on wanted reports, memos, and the like. The Customs agent immmidiately calls out for the arrest of Jesus.
Meanwhile, "Jesus", leaves the station, as his clubbed hand and foot straighten out as a man rolls up in a car and they speed away, leaving the Customs agent wondering where he went.
posted by Otis at 6:05 AM on May 26, 2006
Foremost, what dobbs said.
Thereafter: People are assholes about spoiler alerts. They want you to compensate for the fact that they can't keep themselves from reading on the internet about the movie/event in question before they fire up their TiVo. The post in question is pretty sensationalist about putting the winner's name right in the title link, but honestly... Amercian Idol is such a massive media event that, if you care about it, fyou need to avoid major media if you intend to watch the final episode after the fact. Read mathowie's first comment in this thread. I'm sorry, but those of you who have TiVos cannot expect all of the rest of us to wait for you to take your sweet ass time watching the show. Put yourself on media blackout, like Matt, if you intend to time-shift the event, and it's a major media affair, and you care a lot.
Those are actually the nicest things I have to say to folks who care deeply about the outcome of American Idol.
posted by scarabic at 9:32 PM on May 26, 2006
Thereafter: People are assholes about spoiler alerts. They want you to compensate for the fact that they can't keep themselves from reading on the internet about the movie/event in question before they fire up their TiVo. The post in question is pretty sensationalist about putting the winner's name right in the title link, but honestly... Amercian Idol is such a massive media event that, if you care about it, fyou need to avoid major media if you intend to watch the final episode after the fact. Read mathowie's first comment in this thread. I'm sorry, but those of you who have TiVos cannot expect all of the rest of us to wait for you to take your sweet ass time watching the show. Put yourself on media blackout, like Matt, if you intend to time-shift the event, and it's a major media affair, and you care a lot.
Those are actually the nicest things I have to say to folks who care deeply about the outcome of American Idol.
posted by scarabic at 9:32 PM on May 26, 2006
those of you who have TiVos cannot expect all of the rest of us to wait for you to take your sweet ass time watching the show.
I think the west coast delay issue is the stronger point, scarabic, and one that puts the burden on the poster more than the MeFi member who hits the front page before the show airs in California or something. I wouldn't mind Matt and Jess moving unnecessary spoilers to inside threads, if they have time/feel like doing it.
posted by mediareport at 9:38 PM on May 26, 2006
I think the west coast delay issue is the stronger point, scarabic, and one that puts the burden on the poster more than the MeFi member who hits the front page before the show airs in California or something. I wouldn't mind Matt and Jess moving unnecessary spoilers to inside threads, if they have time/feel like doing it.
posted by mediareport at 9:38 PM on May 26, 2006
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posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:16 AM on May 25, 2006