Chatted with a fellow tv aficionado (similar passion differing shows)… She asked me what I thought about all the hubbub surrounding The Game of Thrones. I had to admit that the show was on ‘real cable’ so not only did I not keep up, but I had actually managed to avoid finding out what the hubbub was all about. Not because I’m not always intrigued by tv talk but because I do intend to watch the series at some point and as much as I can avoid the drama around the drama that surrounds the plot the better.
I also refrained from chiming in on a question put forth from a Facebook friend regarding spoilers on Facebook or Twitter. Not because I didn’t have an opinion but because I am a huge anti spoiler proponent and am starting to wonder if my lines are too strict, I tend to stifle as many television conversations as I promote. But to be honest the argument that if I cared enough I would watch live just can’t be lived up to. I watch more television that most healthy people and I don’t watch everything. With the state of technology today sometimes I do save shows, either proactively or by default, and would like to view them with a clean slate like folks who watch live.
With more and more people shifting television, either by an hour/day/week/month/year are we beholden to a different standard or a different method of television watching and discussion? Does live conversation come to the responsibility of the listener to shut their ears? If something is within a timeframe East Coast/West Coast/UK/Live Watchers/DVR Watchers/Netflix Streamers at what point is it fair game?
Part of the conversation is the format, Twitter/Facebook vs. a Headline vs. Content. Personally I feel like I can scan headlines and decide whether I want to read an article but if your tweet is not that there is news, but what the news is I don’t have an opportunity to turn away. And yes I can choose who to follow, so while I might not follow American Idol proper or enthusiasts to avoid spoilers (btw I’m totally over Idol), I follow a lot of TV peeps and I have mostly been able to do so without results or killings immediately shared. Of course the people I follow do write more in depth articles, often graciously dubbed with Spoiler Alerts in case I’m in questionable territory, and I can choose to pass, or save for later.
That’s not to say that it’s not ok to talk about television. Reviewers mostly get material ahead of time, sometimes an episode and sometimes a series, and they can review a show without telling me what happened, a review is held to a different standard than say a recap. I just think the standard should be held to a similar as one in person. Did you see last night’s episode of Game of Thrones? If the answer is yes, read on… if the answer is no, don’t shout out ‘wasn’t it crazy that it was all a dream’, before I have a chance to turn away.
Now don’t even get me started on people who tweet sports…
What’s your policy on tv talk?
