'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
The Will They/Won't They WILL Continue!
Let's talk about spoilers ...
by Jane Boursaw, posted Nov 16th 2009 2:00PM
Spoilers are a hot topic here on TV Squad. Nary a day goes by when we don't hear something -- good or bad -- from readers about spoilers. And it's been going on a while; Isabelle wrote this post on spoilers back in 2007. What is a spoiler? Should they be included in titles? Should we always put them after the jump? Are casting announcements spoilers? What about short posts that only fit on the front page? What if the info is common knowledge?
Let's take a closer look at spoilers, what they are, and how we can run a great web site and all live together with these precarious bits of info known as spoilers.
What is a spoiler?
A fairly common explanation can be found on Wikipedia, which notes: "A spoiler is a piece of information in an article about a narrative work (such as a book, feature film, television show or video game) that reveals plot events or twists, and thus may 'spoil' the experience for any reader who learns details of the plot in this way rather than in the work itself."
When is a spoiler a spoiler?
So that's the basic description, but often times, the question is WHEN is a spoiler a spoiler? On TV Squad, we feel that if an episode has aired, whatever we may post about it is no longer a spoiler. After all, our reviews for shows get posted shortly after the episodes air. Our goal is to talk about what happened in the episode and give readers a chance to share viewpoints and thoughts.
However, in this age of DVRs and TiVo, we're sensitive to the idea that not everyone sees the episode as it airs on TV. For that reason, we try to be careful about posting any major spoilers in the title or on the front page of TV Squad. We're not saying it never happens; just that we try to be careful about it. Even Isabelle's weekly Spoilers Anonymous is good about putting all the spoilery info after the jump. If you want to read it, you can click through to the second page.
But the question is, how long after an episode airs should we be careful not to post things in titles or on the front page? Our thought is that 48 hours is plenty of time. So for instance, the day after The Biggest Loser, we probably wouldn't have a post with the title "[Name of Contestant] shouldn't have gone home on The Biggest Loser last night." Instead, our title might be "The wrong person went home on The Biggest Loser last night." We wouldn't be giving anything away in the title, but there's enough info for readers to know what the post is about and decide whether they want to read it or not.
What if the info is common knowledge?
Let's say there's an important casting announcement. One that came up recently was the fact that President Logan (Gregory Itzin) would be returning in season eight of 24. The title of our post was "President Logan returns to 24." Is this a spoiler? No, we don't think so. The reason is because in this age of the Internet, the news was all over the place, including on TV Guide, The Ausiello Files, and Watch With Kristen.
Casting announcements have been done for years, in the trades as well as mainstream magazines, and if producers wanted a casting decision to be a surprise, they'd keep it under wraps. Also, just because we know that someone will be returning to a show, such as President Logan to 24, we don't necessarily know how it will play out. It's fun to speculate, though, and knowing the info gives you the opportunity to do that.Producers know it will build buzz for the show.
Why put major info in the titles?
As mentioned, we try NOT to spoil a show that's aired the previous night, either in the title or on the front page. But in the case of the aforementioned President Logan info, we have to think about SEO and what the search engines will pick up. We're not in the blog business to be the last one in a search engine list. We want to be read, which is why we have to think about our titles, image titles, tags and categories. So a title like "Someone returns to 24" isn't nearly as SEO-friendly as "President Logan returns to 24."
What if the post is too short to carry to the continued page?
That's a toughie, but if this happens, we'll usually put a little "Spoilers Ahead!" note at the beginning of the post. For example, we'd tell a little about the post in the first sentence or two, put the spoilers warning, and continue on with the post, maybe even in the next paragraph to give your eyes a warning.
What about older DVDs?
You're on your own when it comes to avoiding the endings of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire or any series that aired years ago -- or even months ago, such as Battlestar Galactica. I have to admit, though, my readers for Jane After Dark, in which I review older DVDs, are amazingly sensitive at revealing spoilers and endings. I know you don't have to be, and for that, I thank you. But I don't watch these shows thinking I'll remain unspoiled until the very end. If it happens, that's a bonus.
We realize we're never going to make everyone happy, but by following these guidelines, we try to be as sensitive to spoilers as possible on a site that's all about past, present and future TV shows.
Feel free to comment below. We look forward to your thoughts on spoilers.
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