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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Lost Spoilers vs. the Passions of Curiosity: No Big Deal

Lost producers Lindelof and Cuse have been lamenting the spoilers that were released about the superb Season 3 finale, and according to some reports, Disney is vowing to track down the source and exact some form of punishment.

Maybe because I came up with predictions that were pretty accurate for the finale in my review of Charlie's Greatest Hits episode - including the flip from flashbacks to flashforwards - but I don't see the spoilers as that big a deal. And I'm not the only one who foresaw that wrenching twist - which was still breathtaking even though we saw it coming. Ron Chusid at SciFi Friday saw it, too.

In fact, the greatest damage done by the spoilers is they undermine the fun of predictions, and the clout of their being right. If a spoiler is out there, and says the same as your prediction, why should anyone believe that you came up with this all in your demented mind? Anyone who knows me knows that I never partake of spoilers - life is too short - but most people who read my posts don't really know me beyond my posts.

But this kind of price has to do with the joy and benefits of predicting, not the world's enjoyment of the show. And if anyone's enjoyment of the show is spoiled by spoilers, which I can well understand, then the simple expedient of steering clear of them seems the best response.

Given the very passions of curiosity that a great series such as Lost unleashes, we'll always have spoilers, however much Disney may try to prevent them.

Useful links:

Lost New Questions: 1. How Far in the Future? ... 2. Who's In the Coffin? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 4. Who Is Naomi's Boss? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?

Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards

Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On

Spoilers for 24: Did They Lead the Producers to Change the Finale?

And see also Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast: Season 4 Episode 1

3 comments:

Kate Dammit Run said...

Unfortunately many of us had no choice about avoiding the spoilers. Lostfan108 and others shotgunned the spoilers on boards. I like some mild spoilers as they aid speculation but I would NEVER have read the major spoilers about the finale if they were labeled as such and I had a choice. Unfortunately many people shotgunned the spoilers on the message board I frequent. I had most of the events of the finale, including the Rattlesnake in the Mailbox, spoiled for me.

Karen said...

Unfortunately many people shotgunned the spoilers on the message board I frequent. I had most of the events of the finale, including the Rattlesnake in the Mailbox, spoiled for me.

Oh my gosh, that's awful! I avoided all the Lost boards for about three weeks before the finale, exactly for that reason. I think I was reading the Lost wiki, and I saw an announcement about a "HUGE" spoiler, and I ran for cover.

You almost have to do that if you don't want to be spoiled.

In terms of stopping spoilers at the source, they can clamp down on the lot and on the production team, but it's tough. I mentioned elsewhere when I was an ER fan, there was someone in a casting agency who got the scripts about six weeks in advance and posted salient scenes verbatim on the Internet. I don't know if they ever tracked that person down, but it's tough to do when there are hundreds of people involved in producing a show.

Paul Levinson said...

Kate - that's horrible. Leaking spoilers to a few people in the media is one thing. Irresponsibly posting them all over is another.

As I mentioned, I steer clear of spoilers to the extent that I can. What I do is never read discussions about upcoming episodes, period.

But, of course, someone can post a spoiler to an upcoming episode in a discussion of a previous episode.

So, you're right. And I would amemd my final to point to say, if used responsibly, spoilers are no big deal. But, like most things, they can do damage when wielded by malicious people...

And Karen's point is very well taken: it's almost impossible to seal the lips of dozens to hundreds of people...

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