Idea Channel - Are there rules for spoilers?

[orangerful]

Haven't posted an Idea Channel in awhile but I felt this was a perfect one for all of us to discuss!

I am the kind of person who avoids spoilers at all costs if it's a show/movie I really love. I tend to judge stories by how much they can pull me in and surprise me and a lot of that comes from not knowing where it will all end up. It's the reason I haven't read the any of Song of Ice and Fire, I am enjoying the tv series so much that I don't want any clues or hints at what is to come (though I admit I did read the articles about who Lady Stoneheart is...so far, I regret nothing because I feel like the showrunners are probably not going to go that route, but if they do, I will still be surprised LOL).

I tend to watch more story and character driven shows and, for me, part of the enjoyment is seeing it all unfold for the first time, being just as shocked as the characters on screen. And then discussing with all of you afterwards.

But I have friends who love spoilers. They read the Wikipedia pages for every show out there, with either no intention of watching or planning to watch "some day".

What about you? What are your "spoiler rules"?

Comments

[geekslave.livejournal.com]

Like you, I tend to try and avoid spoilers for shows and movies I love. Like I haven't read my copy of "Gone Girl" yet and I'm trying, and surprisingly successful, to avoid spoilers for it.

I won't stay completely spoiler-free. Like some people consider watching the end of the show previews and reading anything about an episode, spoilers. I'll watch the previews and I'll read interviews/articles, if they're spoiler light.

Usually the only time I really seek out spoilers if if it's a show that I watch, that I'm stating to get annoyed with, but can't give up quite yet. I seek out spoilers to know what's ahead to prepare myself for anything crappy the show might be about to unleash.

Stacey

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I've stopped watching previews because I find they get worse and worse when it comes to reveal. For awhile, I didn't even want to read the blurbs on the guide, though we started reading the "synopsis" for the Game of Thrones episodes which were hilarious because so much happens in one episode that the "short version" is pretty much worthless.

Yes, I sought out spoilers for several shows that I was getting to be "done" with. Was pretty much how I experienced the final season of LOST.

I've heard they made several changes to the Gone Girl movie script vs the book so even those who have already read it will be surprised.

[tellshannon815.livejournal.com]

In the past, I've made a conscious effort to avoid spoilers - I remember there was one episode of Lost that I wanted to watch when it aired in the UK so I tried to avoid any spoilers for it and then some idiot posted some icons with "We will remember you, *name of character who was killed off in that episode*" on the cut tag.

Anything I see doing the rounds before something aired, I take with a pinch of salt - some incorrect things do get out, after all. But I do feel kind of disappointed if I do hear any - once, it was someone's theory I'd read that turned out to be pretty close to what happened and I felt almost as if I'd been spoiled.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I'm very worried about the leak of the ENTIRE SEASON of the new Doctor Who scripts. There are so many trolls that take pleasure in spoiling people. Though I think now that I'm not in any comms on LJ or the fact that I only friend people on tumblr that I knwo won't do something like that, it isn't as big of an issue.

And I pretty much avoid twitter/tumblr after a show airs that I like if I haven't seen it.

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I prefer to be as spoiler free as possible, at least for shows I really care about and are invested in (like Doctor Who, SPN). It’s more fun to watch something when I don’t know what is coming and can be surprised, delighted, shocked, disappointed, upset and any other feeling. I like to see the story unfold. I am very good at scrolling past things I don’t want to see/read and feel even set photos ruin some of the allure.

I do watch film/show teasers and trailers, and some episode preveiws, but I tend to stay away from interveiws and such.

A thing I dislike about spoilers, besides them revealing something, is that people often forget they are a small piece of a much bigger picture and that spoilers can’t really be judged until seen/read in canon. I feel people often blow things out of proportion, like I remember many people were upset about Amy (Doctor Who) because people assumed she would be too much like Gwen (Torchwood). Now Gwen was a police officer and in an early introduction to Amy she is wearing a police uniform, and people saw set photos before the show even aired and talked about how bad she would be since she was basically Gwen point two. Now, Amy didn’t turn out be anything like Gwen at all, and not even a police officer so all the energy of disliking her and the decision of writers/showrunners were for nothing.

I notice I do this as well, react to spoilers and rumours and the reaction does end up colouring my veiw as I watch the show. And I don't really want that - things always ends up differently when viewed as part of a whole.

Speaking of Lady Stoneheart; I’m still upset we didn’t get to see her (I was really disapointed after waiting a whole season)and if she never shows up it will make no sense to me. I started with the show, but quickly found my way to the books and prefer them, so in this show I don’t really care about spoilers. But in any case spoilers are rarely something I seek out.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

And I feel like for shows and movies that were based on books, there's like a whole different spoiler zone. I tend to read the books first, except that I'm not a big fantasy reader, so I've only ever read (well, listened to the audiobook) of Game of Thrones. Then I remembered I'm the kind of person that prefers to watch fantasy vs reading it.

I think the hardest thing about tv shows and movies based on books is separating the two. I think this is what made it so hard for me to enjoy The Walking Dead. I had read a LOT of the comics long before the tv show came out and instead of watching the show for the show, I kept watching it for moments in the book. And instead of enjoying what the show writers were trying to create, I got caught up in being upset about missing favorite moments or the wrong person being killed off by a zombie. Or the fact that they stayed in one place WAY too long.

I'm enjoying watching Hannibal right now and I am having an internal debate about reading the book. Part of me wants to know where this might be heading, even though Bryan Fuller & Co. are clearly going to give it all their own twist. But another part of me is worried that I will spoil some twist in the tale and I well never be able to un-know it.

And, yeah, people do freak out immediately at any little change. I try to wait for the show to actually air, which is another reason I stopped watching the previews and trailers. Either they gave too much away or they gave away something that just bothered me for the next week.

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I have the same problem you have with reading fantasy vs. watching fantasy only with sci-fi. I can’t get into written sci-fi at all; sometimes I wish I could, but this genre I prefer on the big and small screen.
And yes it is difficult keeping book vs. shows/films separate (I only manage this with LOTR/The Hobbit, and I love both mediums endlessly) and this is one of my biggest problems with Game of thrones. I do prefer when they keep as close to the books as they can. Of course I understand changes are absolutely needed and things need to happen sooner and faster, but there are some things I really miss and things I wish they had done better/differently when they first went ahead and changed things.

Film trailers, especially, I feel often spoil the whole thing; don’t the higher ups notice these things?...Previews I tend to watch right before the episode if at all, but teaser trailers I watch whenever. Trailers I only watch after consideration and it depends which show/film. Sometimes I want a little peak and other times I don’t. Like I am really excited for the trailers for the next season of Doctor Who and the next Hobbit film.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

The level of annoyance I get when I realize a trailer has just shown me the ENTIRE MOVIE is very high. The Incredible Hulk movie with Ed Norton was a HUGE offender for that, they showed you every single plot twist in the trailer.

The "higher ups" have done tests that people will go see these movies the more they know about them and have no problem with spoilers. (On an interview with Bryan Singer about 'Usual Suspects', he actually had to argue with the studio to NOT give away the twist ending in the trailer!). I've had several movies I've seen a trailer for, known it was the whole movie, and opted to not see it. But I guess we're not normal?

Oh Hobbit. I did read that one, actually listened to the radio drama. But the movies bother me for reasons other than their deviation from the book. But that's a rant for another post LOL. :)

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I suppose we are...For me the point of a trailer is to get an idea in regards to what the movie/season is about, I don’t want every twist and surprise thrown at me. I just want a small tease, something to lure me in!

I’m just really in love with Peter Jackson’s Middle-Earth and though there are some things I would want done differently with the Hobbit movies, overall I really enjoy them and I will certainly find my way to the cinema when the next one is released :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't really have a rule. For some things, I don't mind spoilers. For others, I avoid them like the plague. There's no real reason for either -- it doesn't depend on how much I like it or anything like that.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

I absolutely hate spoilers. They are adeptly named as they do "spoil" my enjoyment of a show/movie. In a culture where we can see things quite soon after they're released, I really see no point in wanting to know things in advance (I wanted to as a teen when you couldn't DL US shows and Japanese anime and had to wait for years to see them in France), it just decreases their impact. I especially don't understand why some shows announce character deaths in advance as a marketing tool (Teen Wolf, I'm looking at you right now >_>).

[padfootie.livejournal.com]

I prefer to stay spoiler free, but when I am really invested in a show I prefer to be spoilered concerning character deaths, because I've been seriously (as in crying for an hour or so) upset by sudden and really unexpected deaths. :(

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I remember crying after [character] died on [show] and I was so upset, the boyfriend-at-the-time told me I was NOT allowed to watch that episode ever again.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Some of my co-workers do the last page thing, or even last chapter. It boggles me but if it helps you get through the book, so be it. :) Just don't tell me anything until I'm done!

[ekaterin24.livejournal.com]

I do my best to avoid spoilers with movies, TV and books, although I've been known to peek ahead in nonfiction books, usually to see how a particularly interesting topic is being handled, sometimes to see if it's worth reading the whole thing.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Non-Fiction and Spoilers - now there's a tricky one! Pick up a biography on Abe Lincoln and someone talks about him getting shot at the play, do you scream SPOILERS at them?? haha. I guess as long as it's not common knowledge non-fic, peeking ahead is the same as spoiling yourself but if it helps you get through the book, I can't judge you!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I used to be such a spoilerphobe in the past, especially concerning television shows I was into. Like, I wouldn't even watch previews for the next episode or even the "previouslies" before a new one (since they would foreshadow what was going to happen). Nowadays, not so much. Unless it's big reveals and twists, I don't really mind spoilers all that much anymore.

Sometimes I like knowing something beforehand to prepare myself for what is to come in an episode (ex. with GOT, I like being warned if there are any offensive scenes that I can just fast-forward through). I do sometimes spoil myself so I can mentally and emotionally prepare myself for what I'm getting into, be it shows, movies or even books. For example, when I got into Game of Thrones I started reading the wiki for ASOIAF so I can know all the information I could, which comes in handy as I'm going through the books themselves along with seeing where GOT currently is at (because those books are huge, and I'm a slow reader, but want to know what's coming ahead).

Aside from that, spoilers don't usually bother me much anymore. But I am still very mindful about spoilers for other people, though.

though I admit I did read the articles about who Lady Stoneheart is...so far, I regret nothing because I feel like the showrunners are probably not going to go that route, but if they do, I will still be surprised LOL

See, this is what concerns me. After the whole outrage from book fans it was enough to mention it in articles and interviews, so much that I think, if they do decide to include Lady Stoneheart into the plot, the element of surprise won't have that much of an impact. Which sucks and is kind of disappointing.

But at this point the show isn't really following the important points of the books anymore, so I'm concerned about how they think they'll manage to end the show to where the books are currently left off. Like, if their ending is a cliffhanger and complementary to their version of the story, then fine. But if they have already been told the ending of the books, how would that not count as a spoiler for book fans? I just don't know.

[mousewings.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid spoilers as much as possible for shows, films, books, etc. I enjoy or plan to enjoy. I was recently annoyed when my father gave away the ending for The Great Gatsby; he thought "everyone" knew how it ended. Not me and I was planning to read it.

I've learned the hard way to avoid tumblr and twitter and sometimes even FB to keep away from spoilers. My FB friends are good but their friends may be a bit talkative. Tumblr is addictive, though, and I've gotten spoiled a few times with reblogs.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I usually like to be spoiler free. There are shows that I don't mind that much if I get spoiled on, though. Usually those are the ones that I figure I'll catch "eventually".

[twissie.livejournal.com]

I only look up spoilers if it's for shows I don't follow/have no interest in, but see a lot of news/drama about ... XD; I want to know what all the fuss is about, I guess. When it comes to shows I like and follow, however ... nope. I stay far away, why would you want to ruin the surprise/storyline like that?

With books I can understand it to a certain degree, because it becomes more about the journey (in.. lack of a better way of explaining) - so knowing a certain twist/element of the journey won't necessarily ruin the whole thing (sometimes it can even motivate you to read on "... what? How is that even possible? Nope, you must be wrong ...."), but I still don't want any spoilers for the books I read. Someone on my flist spoiled Harry Potter for me back when those were still coming out (I think it was the fifth one?) ... ironically enough in a post more or less like this one. We were discussing spoilers, and then her example in a comment to my reply happened to include a major spoiler for the current Harry Potter book. I was seriously pissed, hahahahhaha (as far as I remember, this happened less than a week after the book had been released).

I guess the only "spoilers" I allow myself are casting news. Particularly for upcoming films. Then again, I don't really count this as spoilers ...