When is a spoiler still a spoiler?

Gannicus · 17-01-2014 10:23AM #1

Myself and a couple of the lads were chatting yesterday about TV shows that we watch that have new series starting soon (e.g. Archer & Game Of Thrones) and we then got onto 'Breaking Bad' and started talking about the show and our favourite episodes, quotes etc. We were having the craic when one of the lad's little brother (who only really hangs around us is because we are mates with his brother) pipes up and tells us quite aggressively to stop talking about the show because he's thinking about making a start on it in this weekend. Basically he was told where to go by us, but my question is:

How long after a TV show is completely finished should you hold off talking about it in front of people that haven't watched it (yet)? I'd say no more than a month. I think that gives people plenty of time to catch up with the masses. What does AH think?

EDIT: PLEASE DO NOT PLACE SPOILERS FOR TV SHOWS IN THIS THREAD. (can mods please remove any spoilers put up)

maximoose · 17-01-2014 10:25AM

I'm gonna guess there'll be at least 10 shows spoilt in this thread.

The Master · 17-01-2014 10:32AM

Cain kills Abel

GLaDOS · 17-01-2014 10:35AM

Once the books are out it's fair game as far as I'm concerned.

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 10:36AM

I'm still working through breaking bad myself, sopranos was ruined the day after it ended by radio so now i stick with podcasts or audiobooks for a few days after a show final if i haven't watched it.

Game of thrones after that episode I lost a bit of hope for humanity. For years readers of the books has kept quiet and not been dicks about spoilers. Even when discussing upcoming events on GOT spoiler threads it was only refered to by its initials.

However within minutes anyone who was on facebook, twitter or reddit and a day behind or even a few hours behind for whatever reason had everything ruined and spoiled. And even now I see it on occasion mentioned when someone says they just started watching it. "oh wait till you get to the X or Y part" its annoying and pointless.

Now if you are discussing important plot points, twists or the ending always make sure everyone is up to that level, if its a minor character or a quote that doesn't relate to the plot or whatever there is no issue. There is plenty you could talk about in Breaking Bad that aren't spoilers but there is a lot you can't. Just ask yourself how you would feel if someone ruined a tv show or movie for you?

SuperGrover · 17-01-2014 10:39AM

People can piss off with their spoiler issues. If you don't want to hear people talk about things that they've seen or read, stay indoors.

Also, since when has everything been reduced to the importance of an ending? Like it's all there is, a televisual punchline.

For example, if I had heard somebody make reference to the ending of Breaking Bad while I was on Series 1, I'd still watch and be grand.

Quality is quality.

So, yeah, tell that little gimp to feck off, basically.

sullivlo · 17-01-2014 10:40AM

DannieHasABrazilian wrote: »

I'm still working through breaking bad myself, sopranos was ruined the day after it ended by radio so now i stick with podcasts or audiobooks for a few days after a show final if i haven't watched it.

Game of thrones after that episode I lost a bit of hope for humanity. For years readers of the books has kept quiet and not been dicks about spoilers. Even when discussing upcoming events on GOT spoiler threads it was only refered to by its initials.

However within minutes anyone who was on facebook, twitter or reddit and a day behind or even a few hours behind for whatever reason had everything ruined and spoiled. And even now I see it on occasion mentioned when someone says they just started watching it. "oh wait till you get to the X or Y part" its annoying and pointless.

Now if you are discussing important plot points, twists or the ending always make sure everyone is up to that level, if its a minor character or a quote that doesn't relate to the plot or whatever there is no issue. There is plenty you could talk about in Breaking Bad that aren't spoilers but there is a lot you can't. Just ask yourself how you would feel if someone ruined a tv show or movie for you?

Yeah but if I hadn't watched breaking bad now I couldn't be annoyed if someone spoke about it!!

I think if someone is watching the show, a week or two.

If they aren't, I'd say you can discuss small plot things but nothing major. But I wouldn't stop talking on the chance that someone might watch it.

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 10:44AM

SuperGrover wrote: »

People can piss off with their spoiler issues. If you don't want to hear people talk about things that they've seen or read, stay indoors.

Also, since when has everything been reduced to the importance of an ending? Like it's all there is, a televisual punchline.

For example, if I had heard somebody make reference to the ending of Breaking Bad while I was on Series 1, I'd still watch and be grand.

Quality is quality.

So, yeah, tell that little gimp to feck off, basically.

I completly disagree with you on this, by hearing spoilers you ruin all tensions or excitment about characters if you know if they live or die. if they die you start loosing that emotional interest in them and if you know they live you lose all tension in important scenes.

And people will argue that if they are a main character then they will be grand so that tension is lost but recently i have noticed a lot of shows changing that up a bit so you can't be sure.

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 10:52AM

sullivlo wrote: »

Yeah but if I hadn't watched breaking bad now I couldn't be annoyed if someone spoke about it!!

I think if someone is watching the show, a week or two.

If they aren't, I'd say you can discuss small plot things but nothing major. But I wouldn't stop talking on the chance that someone might watch it.

What about people who couldn't watch it originally?

Myself i missed breaking bad the first time round, then all repeats were on at awkward times for me with work and what not. I only got into it when i got netflix.

I get your point that people are running out of reasons not to have watched breaking bad at this stage but there are more and more people coming to the age where they can watch it and its all new to them too.

I'm sure there are some shows or movies that you haven't seen yet that could be out a while and you don't know you'll like them cause you haven't seen any. Should the story/ending of it be spoiled by someone who has seen it? For example that new irish 4 part show. Its been shown in another country and its available online. If it was something you were interested in how would you feel if someone told you what happens?

SuperGrover · 17-01-2014 11:01AM

DannieHasABrazilian wrote: »

I completly disagree with you on this, by hearing spoilers you ruin all tensions or excitment about characters if you know if they live or die. if they die you start loosing that emotional interest in them and if you know they live you lose all tension in important scenes.

And people will argue that if they are a main character then they will be grand so that tension is lost but recently i have noticed a lot of shows changing that up a bit so you can't be sure.

Yeah, but that's not my problem.

If somebody says to me - "I haven't seen such and such, please don't tell me about it" - grand, I obviously won't say anything.

But not being allowed have a conversation with somebody else about a shared interest just because you are nearby is a censorship I'll ignore. Leave the room if it's that important to you.

Santa Cruz · 17-01-2014 11:09AM

The Master wrote: »

Cain kills Abel

Michael Collins, great film, He gets killed in the end. Titanic, another good one, About a ship that hits an iceberg
OOOOOPS

DavyD_83 · 17-01-2014 11:11AM

For TV shows, if somebody is a good bit in and doesn't want you to ruin the end or whatever, fair enough.
If they might some day start watching it; feck off!
It's rarely as satisfying to watch a show for the first time years after it's run, never lices up to the hype, patly because it is usually in many subtle ways "of it's time"
Save the gimp the time and just ruin it completely by squeezing as many BB spoilers as you can into the next conversation you have with him. Bonus points for the one's he won't even realise you've told him until he's started watching the show.
eg. a new character arrives and he suddenly realises he already knows all about them and how they die.

Gannicus · 17-01-2014 11:16AM

DannieHasABrazilian wrote: »

However within minutes anyone who was on facebook, twitter or reddit and a day behind or even a few hours behind for whatever reason had everything ruined and spoiled.

I agree but I am a big boxing and UFC fan. However if I miss an fight or an event on the night and I am not able to watch it for a day or two I put myself on a media blackout and stay clear of the likes of twiter facebook and the news on tv and radio and it doesn't really bother.

sullivlo wrote: »

I think if someone is watching the show, a week or two.

See this is the thing. I agree if they are in the middle of watching it or a little behind I'll ask amongst the group before I give anything away but I just think that because 'Breaking Bad' is over since end Sept 2013 so as far as I'm concerned I should now have carte blanche to talk about it. Especially if someone hasn't even started watching it yet.

Daqster · 17-01-2014 11:17AM

SuperGrover wrote: »

But not being allowed have a conversation with somebody else about a shared interest just because you are nearby is a censorship I'll ignore. Leave the room if it's that important to you.

It's not about "not being allowed" - it's about having some cop on, along with some basic consideration.

I was talking about Lost there during the summer and a brother of mine mentioned he'd never seen it and so I tempered the conversation and said what I wanted, but also made sure I didn't say anything further that could possibly ruin the show for him and I bought him the DVD boxset for Christmas in fact.

I will always, as just a matter of course, quickly ask if anyone has seen a particular film or TV show if I want to discuss it, especially if I am with the type that people that would be inclined to watch the show in the future.

I'm not gonna do it if I'm talking about Who Shot JR or who stole the Christmas Club money in Eastenders back in '86, but stuff like The West Wing, Rescue Me, Breaking Bad etc, of course I will be mindful of whether or not the company that I am in has seen it or not and edit my conversation accordingly. It's just manners.

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 11:20AM

SuperGrover wrote: »

Yeah, but that's not my problem.

If somebody says to me - "I haven't seen such and such, please don't tell me about it" - grand, I obviously won't say anything.

But not being allowed have a conversation with somebody else about a shared interest just because you are nearby is a censorship I'll ignore. Leave the room if it's that important to you.

personally i'd keep my mouth shut if i realised someone nearby was behind in the show or hadn't seen it. Or at the very least be very vague about it. Yes its annoying but surely you and your friends can talk about something else for a few minutes. And yous can discuss it then between yourselves later on at another time.

Calibos · 17-01-2014 11:24AM

Bruce Willis is a......

ArmaniJeanss · 17-01-2014 11:26AM

SuperGrover wrote: »

Yeah, but that's not my problem.

If somebody says to me - "I haven't seen such and such, please don't tell me about it" - grand, I obviously won't say anything.

But not being allowed have a conversation with somebody else about a shared interest just because you are nearby is a censorship I'll ignore. Leave the room if it's that important to you.

Its not a censorship thing, its a decency thing.

Gannicus · 17-01-2014 11:34AM

DannieHasABrazilian wrote: »

personally i'd keep my mouth shut if i realised someone nearby was behind in the show or hadn't seen it. Or at the very least be very vague about it. Yes its annoying but surely you and your friends can talk about something else for a few minutes. And yous can discuss it then between yourselves later on at another time.

Thats fair enough but most regular people don't plan out their conversations so that they don't spoil something on someone. We got talking about it through natural progression. And as I've said the show has been over since the end of last September so I think I should be free to discuss it at will. Its not like he has a job or commitments that would keep him from watching it either. It just seemed like he wanted us to satisfy his whims.

Chemist Difference · 17-01-2014 11:40AM

Big Steve wrote: »

Thats fair enough but most regular people don't plan out their conversations so that they don't spoil something on someone. We got talking about it through natural progression. And as I've said the show has been over since the end of last September so I think I should be free to discuss it at will. Its not like he has a job or commitments that would keep him from watching it either. It just seemed like he wanted us to satisfy his whims.

Yea but the show has only recently finished, if you were talking about the Sopranos for example that would be a different matter.

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 11:43AM

Big Steve wrote: »

Thats fair enough but most regular people don't plan out their conversations so that they don't spoil something on someone. We got talking about it through natural progression. And as I've said the show has been over since the end of last September so I think I should be free to discuss it at will. Its not like he has a job or commitments that would keep him from watching it either. It just seemed like he wanted us to satisfy his whims.

i get the natural progression of chatting can lead somewhere like that, but just because you can't talk about it doesn't mean you have to sit in silence, but like other posters are saying its not censorship its decency. quotes and certain scenes, grand just leave major plot points out if you have to talk about it.

You could always say to him that on this occasion you won't discuss it but next time you bring it up (and i don't mean an hour after this) and he still hasn't bothered to make an effort to watch it then the balance will have swayed in your favour.

frag420 · 17-01-2014 11:43AM

This thread is not going to end well, somebody will die

Hope I didnt spoil it for anyone:D

krudler · 17-01-2014 11:44AM

Depends really, some things enter popular culture and are so well know you cant really call them a spoiler anymore. I knew for years before I watched Citizen Kane who Rosebud was (Simpsons references!) but it didn't stop me enjoying the film. I've had plenty of things from shows I never watched spoiled, know how Lost ends, and Six Feet Under, doesnt bother me. Something that only ended a few months ago that people may not have watched yet and is a word of mouth show then yeah, that's a spoiler.

Gannicus · 17-01-2014 11:51AM

Chemist Difference wrote: »

Yea but the show has only recently finished, if you were talking about the Sopranos for example that would be a different matter.

I would hardly call the best part of 4 months recent....

DannieHasABrazilian wrote: »

You could always say to him that on this occasion you won't discuss it but next time you bring it up (and i don't mean an hour after this) and he still hasn't bothered to make an effort to watch it then the balance will have swayed in your favour.

I get what you're saying, except he's had opportune time to watch it. If the final episode was on last week and he was just waiting to see the last episode or even season I would say "cool", but not all 5 seasons of the show at this late in the game.

Muise... · 17-01-2014 12:01PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neuMyI8M5fc

I can't be the only one who deliberately spoils books and tv series, can I? If the middle bit is bloated or getting too tricksy with twists, I flick to the last chapter or google the plot. No patience for over-written narratives.

BetterThanThou · 17-01-2014 12:01PM

With sports, a week after it's aired on TV.
With soaps, I'd consider it the same, a week after it's aired on TV.
With tv shows with series that are on repeat and old episodes readily available in one way or another, I think a spoiler will always be a spoiler, the same with a book, movie, video game and anything else of the sort.

OneOfThem Stumbled · 17-01-2014 12:02PM

For a show like GOT, I made the mistake of looking for information that hadn't been covered in the show (but had appeared in the books) by looking at a wiki article on one of the characters.

I'll only look at his information up till the end of the second book. That should be safe enough.

Unfortunately said character had a family tree near the top, with characters who had died highlighted in bold. Including himself. :pac:

Chemist Difference · 17-01-2014 12:08PM

Big Steve wrote: »

I would hardly call the best part of 4 months recent....

I get what you're saying, except he's had opportune time to watch it. If the final episode was on last week and he was just waiting to see the last episode or even season I would say "cool", but not all 5 seasons of the show at this late in the game.

Yes 4 months ago is recent, 7 years is not.

Gannicus · 17-01-2014 12:13PM

Chemist Difference wrote: »

Yes 4 months ago is recent, 7 years is not.

Neither are recent. The latter is just a lot more distant than the former.

The way I see it is. he has had everychance even to make a start on it. Had he even started it I would have only discussed up to where he has seen but no he hasn't bothered to make an attempt at it up until now.

krudler · 17-01-2014 12:15PM

Big Steve wrote: »

Neither are recent. The latter is just a lot more distant than the former.

The way I see it is. he has had everychance even to make a start on it. Had he even started it I would have only discussed up to where he has seen but no he hasn't bothered to make an attempt at it up until now.

I hate watching tv shows week to week, I watched Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones that way purely to avoid spoilers. But I prefer to let something build up and plough through it at my own pace, been saving American Horror Story for a wet weekend and will get into the new season of it in one fell swoop.

It's the great thing about box sets, I never watched The Wire at broadcast, devoured it over weeks watching a few episodes a night instead.

Vision of Disorder · 17-01-2014 12:24PM

When my ex chucked me I idly considered texting her some spoilers for Game of Thrones (I'd read all the books, we used to watch it together). After some basic consideration I came to the conclusion that it would be a petty, childish thing to do and abandoned the idea.

I was chatting to a good friend (who had been a rock through my breakup) not long after and said to him,

"I was gonna text *ex's name* and tell her that *huge Game of Thrones Spoiler* but decided not to."

He turned green. I had forgotten that he hadn't read any of the books and just slapped him in the face with the great, big spoiler instead. Fun times...

danniemcq · 17-01-2014 12:25PM

Big Steve wrote: »

I get what you're saying, except he's had opportune time to watch it. If the final episode was on last week and he was just waiting to see the last episode or even season I would say "cool", but not all 5 seasons of the show at this late in the game.

with netflix etc binge watching is a thing though, I only started a while back like i said and I've got through nearly to season 5 now, it doesn't take long when you just click next.

There could be other things though too that might put people off watching shows. For example all those stung by V, Firefly, Flashforward, The Sarah Connor Chronacles for example all got canned before they could be concluded. For that very reason i don't watch "new" shows and prefer to wait for a season or 2 (sometimes more) to ensure that there is a decent chunk and a good chance it will run its course.

Like I said netflix makes it so easy to catch up its no longer a chore so more and more people do it. Weeds, Breaking Bad, The Wire, American Office, Parks and Recreation and Calififornication are juist some of the ones on my netflix that i'm watching at the minute. I didn't have sky in my last 2 houses and in my last 3 i haven't had broadband. Its only a few years ago that i got both of these in my current house so like i said it was impossible for me to watch all those with other commitments. Now i know not all of those are full of potential spoilers but I'm using them as an example as how someone could miss a show and only now be able to properly catch up.

When is a spoiler still a spoiler?

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