I'm fully aware that this issue can be avoided by simply not listening or reading everything I do. However, if given the option to not spoil something I don't want spoiled, I don't read on or I try not to listen. Often you see a SPOILER ALERT message when something is given away before hand, especially on the net. Thank you to those people that are considerate. But sometimes, especially in our local network in NH, they sneak up on you and bite you in the ass, resulting in ruining the Friday night you look forward to when the kids are asleep and you can cuddle up with your spouse and watch the DVR'd show from the night before that you both have been excited to see for weeks. (Say that extreme run-on sentence out loud in one breath, and you'll feel the frustration) .
I try not to complain without a valid reason, but this morning I reached my breaking point of staying silent. I was very close to contacting the local radio station and saying, "Thanks a lot for ruining the show ... jackasses." I didn't because I dug my own grave. I've been listening to this station/entertainment report for years and I should know better. They constantly give away endings and results before things are even shown on the boobtube. Why I still listen to them? I'm loyal.
Most of us live in the age of the DVR. Some people use DVD recording. Some people watch on the net when they have some free time. Some people, like a relative of mine, still tape shows using a VCR (that's funny as hell!). My point is that most people nowadays don't have the luxury of watching their favorite TV shows when it's aired. Since a lot of the good shows are on after 9pm, we record them to watch the next day, or even the weekend. My wife and I record about 3 or 4 shows per week and try to watch them the next evening, sometimes later, when the kids are in bed and we run out of things to talk about. Sometimes, it even takes us 4 days to watch an hour long show.
I can understand that certain reports are unavoidable, and that's okay. The all too important American Idol and Dancing with the Stars finales are a no-brainer for results reporting. But I think that spoiling the normal weekly TV shows could be done with a lot more discretion. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how to report something without spoiling a much anticipated result. Just say something like, "If you didn't see The Visionchild last night, you missed a good one!" That way, people who have it recorded can still enjoy it, and those people that did watch it, don't care because they watched it, and those people that don't watch it, don't give a crap. Everybody wins! Instead, they say things like, "On The Visionchild last night, Johnny died in a car accident and his wife was kidnapped shortly thereafter. The large man sitting on the park bench that we have seen all season long turned out to be the real killer so Ronnie was innocent all along." Bye-Bye three seasons of excitement and anticipation. The only ones affected are the ones who record the shows ... think about that.
If the DJ's have a desperate need to report something to spoil it, the listeners and the readers should be warned so they can turn down the volume, or not click on the story link. "If you don't want to know what happened, turn down your volumes."
I recently DVR'd the new show Flash Forward. I was looking forward to watching it until the ending was spoiled for me by the DJ's. What made it even better was that they said, "If you didn't see it, there's a rerun on Saturday." Why the hell should I watch it now? You just told me what happened! I feel bad for those people that watch Greys Anatomy because they also gave away everything significant thing that happened on that show, the season premiere no less. I can only hope that people got a chance to see it before they listened to the radio the next morning.
The one spoiler I will never forget was when they gave away the ending to the final Harry Potter book ... the day before it came out. They ruined years upon years of anticipation for so many people in a matter of seconds. Last year, they also gave away the ending of the season finale of LOST (my favorite show) before the finale even aired. Thanks guys, I appreciate it. The funny thing is that I listen to numerous entertainment reports on many different radio stations, and even though obvious entertainment news is reported, I have never heard any other radio DJ's spoil TV shows like the ones I am talking about.
The report lasts about 5 minutes every morning. With the entertainment drama in the world - some fun, some not- can't you guys find one or two additional things to talk about instead of spoiling the things a lot of us look forward to?
If you guys give away the ending of the LOST SERIES FINALE this coming spring, my mouth will no longer stay shut.
Random thoughts:
1) I had to laugh when I heard about the Red Sox fan teacher who made a kid turn his Yankees shirt inside out in school. And people pick on the world of Professional Wrestling.
2) Rumors on Kayne West going to the WWE? If that's true, I hope he gets a few chair shots to his ugly freakin face.
3) An idiot paparazzi suing Britney Spears for $221,000 for running over his foot with a car. If I was her, I would offer him $442,000 if she could run over his other one ... what a dumbass.
4) Sarah Michelle and Freddie had a baby .. nice nice. I actually have a funny story about her.
When I first started going into chat rooms about 10 years ago, I met a girl who claimed to be an actress. When I asked her questions, she was very hesitant about answering them, understandably so. Anyway, the only thing she said to me was that her name was Sarah and she was a famous actress. I then asked her if she had been in anything I may have seen. She responded by telling me, "not likely". She then told me that she played on a soap opera for a little bit and her character was named Kendall on All My Children. HAHAHAHAHA! Little did this girl know, I was a fan of the show during that time. So I responded with, "Do you expect me to believe that I'm talking to Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Of course she was all like, "What the F? How did you know that?" blah blah blah. We talked for a few more minutes and I pretended it was actually her. We never spoke again after that conversation.
I always wondered if it really could have been her. If someone was in a chat room claiming to be famous, wouldn't she just tell me that she was SMG? or Buffy? Why would she tell a guy who most likely doesn't watch soap operas that she was a character on the show? Anyway, it was a fun bluff to call.
till next time
The Visionchild
http://www.dansvisionproductions.com/
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This was a funny post, and this is why I stick with the news. You never know what will happen in the political realm so I'm never thrown for one of those spoilers.
ReplyDeleteWas the Harry Potter thing that he died? I asked a friend about that and she read the book and said he lived. That's the only thing I remember about hearing anything about Harry Potter and the "surprise ending".
As for Kendall on AMC, I remember the character. I just can't believe it was that long ago since I watched it.
The DJ's told the listeners which characters died and gave a brief description of what was in the epilogue.
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