Hate is only a deeper level of dislike. It depends on how much you dislike something and what you intend to do about it that can make it an abomination.

Hello everyone

I don’t like spoilers. Be it in magazines or so-called ‘fans’ who want to let everyone in on what significant happening is going to happen in a film or TV series. Judging by how directors like Tim Burton are filming multiple endings to his ‘Planet Of The Apes’ film or Joss Whedon releasing misinformation about the ending of the latest ‘Buffy’ season just so there is something to look forward to.

It just goes to show that I’m not the only one who dislikes spoilers. It is the bane of the TV and film industry alike with no ready solutions.

Granted it’s rather difficult to keep anything secret these days. In different parts of the world, there are different seasons of any TV series on satellite and terrestrial channels or new film premiere being shown. There’s also the multitude of media mags want to be the first with the ‘news’ trying to show that they have the inside ear of what’s going on.

You can’t even avoid ‘Spoiler Alert!’ information if a sentence catches your eye. Even then, there is always at least one magazine that will let the cat out of the bag intentionally or otherwise. It’s this certain lack of responsibility and spoilsport attitude that production companies see as a threat to providing any sort of surprise to their fans.

Like them, I’m missing the surprises. I also dread to think of the unnecessary extra expense that has to be spent just to keep ahead of these so-called ‘fans’.

To some extent, this is a ‘Catch 22’ situation. All production companies have to court the press to ensure they get media coverage that will help to sell a TV series or film to those who will appreciate their subject.

Likewise, the media mags get the material to fill their pages. It can also backfire somewhat when last year’s film ‘Pitch Black’ got heavy coverage but missed its scheduled airing a couple times. By then, the media mags had moved on to the ‘next big thing’ which is totally understandable.

With near identical interviews in all the media mags, it can also be appreciated that many of the media journalists want something else to take back to their editors. If it can’t be directly related to the product, then it has to be the dirt end of the stick like doesn’t get on with whom. Is it any wonder that the actors proclaim it's a happy set?

Now, I’m not disputing that it might well be but it’s forcing everyone to put up a front than let anyone through the door of internal dispute unless it causes bad feeling. In an ego-driven industry, it’s an accepted given that no one will get on with anyone forever or that actors might want to leave a series simply to find some other challenges.

There doesn’t always have to be much ulterior motive beyond that. However, there is a great deal of difference between news and speculation and how much the fans need to know. Is it really that important to spoil the surprise of what is happening in a TV series or film even before it’s been shown anywhere?

It’s one of the problems of free-speech and the speed of communication through things like you’re using here on the Internet. One advantage on the Net though is, unless you deliberately look in on particular dedicated sites, you can remain blissfully ignorant and still have some surprises from your TV shows.

This is a lot harder when you come across spoiler information in the media mags. Even those who warn about information still can’t resist letting something out of the bag just in case a rival gets there first.

Whereas journalists are only going about their jobs looking for scoops, it is the fan obsessives who are really becoming the real party poopers. They’re also becoming journalists in their own right which is also rather scary.

No doubt in their youths, these people needed something to fulfil in their lives and the only talent they had was to spoil things for others. Y’know the sort. They tell the kid that he’s got a surprise party a week before it happens and don’t worry about how he’ll keep mum about knowing. That particular example also demonstrates how gossip can be malicious and how such people get off spoiling the fun for others.

They’re probably the tittle-tattles at school - wanting to be the first to tell everyone else that they know something. In short, they want to be noticed although if the truth be known, they aren’t really liked or trusted in the long term. You certainly wouldn’t want to take them into your confidence. If you want some information to be spread quickly, tell the class gossip and bad news couldn’t travel faster.

That’s all they are: gossips who haven’t got anything else to fill their life with than the bad events that affect others. It’s a pity that they can’t find something else to do with their lives. The problem is that gossiping is so fulfilling to them that they can’t differentiate between fact and fiction and carry as much misinformation as truth. Why not? It puts some importance in their lives at an easy cost.

I don’t think we can ever stop spoilers completely more’s the pity. Although I can hear claim that they find out information that production companies don’t want to let out aka as ‘the company line’ rather than the absolute truth. Y’know the sort of thing. Such-and-such an actor doesn’t get on with another member of the cast or production staff. That things aren’t so lovey-dovey as it's made out to be. This sorta thing is going to happen in any workplace. Just because the production company is under scrutiny doesn’t mean to say it never happens.

Does it really matter? At the end of the day, it’s the end result, ie the episode or film, that is most important and we all appreciate that it’s a group effort made at a somewhat breakneck speed to fulfil a schedule. Unlike conventional shows that don’t have such an intense fan scrutiny, the efforts from everyone from wardrobe to stage management is looked at now as much as the special effects and the cast.

The appreciation is there but the parts only make sense when taken as a whole. It puts an undue pressure for the wrong kind of information from people doing their jobs that would not otherwise be talked to. It’s inevitable that something will be said or taken out of context as journalists/fans befriend them. Having people more guarded can only make things harder for reliable information in the long term.

When I was younger, there wasn’t many media mags. I could count them on less than a hand. Now, there is a flourishing industry to the point that the majority will feature the same stars and news items monthly.

Granted there is a vast arena of fans out there but there’s also a lot of things begging their money as well from models to tee-shirts. If anything, I see the media press becoming far too jaded and covered with individual likes and dislikes than factual journalism. It’s a slippery slope that we, the fans, deserve better from those who are supposed to be supplying the news.

Personally, I don’t like having to leave certain magazines for a month before I read them thoroughly in case it spoils surprises. With this job, I can’t really do that anyway. I need to know what’s being scheduled or in the pipeline. It’s certainly not going to affect media magazine sales figures but it certainly shows there’s a disturbing problem that needs to be addressed.

Are there any solutions? Good question and frankly, I don’t have any ready answers other than vote with your pocket and avoid those who just want to spoil your fun too much.

If you’re a spoiler or media gossip, then remember that there are still a lot of us out here who rather have some surprises when the episodes or films are shown than have some eager ‘journalist’ just out to build his or her word quota.. It would be in your interest to have show some other aspect of the work than go any further in such a direction.

Thank you and good night.

Geoff Willmetts

editor: SFCrowsnest.com

PS I’m making progress through my submissions backlog. Please maintain your patience. Remarks from those whom I’ve recently dealt indicate that I’ve given them far more to chew over than they have had from other publishing houses.

For those of you using Windows ME, please don’t make the same mistake I made to replace datafiles by re-installing on top of itself. It tends to cause more problems than enough although thankfully, uninstalling does return the earlier edition. At least with Windows’95, it could do such a thing with less damage

SFCrowsnest e-mail: gfwillmetts@REMOVE.FOR.SPAMhotmail.com
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