**SPOILER ALERT**

NOTE TO ANYONE WHO IS ABOUT TO READ THIS BLOG.

WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ CONTAINS A ***SPOILER ALERT***. 

A SPOILER ALERT FOR AN EPISODE OF WALKING DEAD THAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS SEASON BACK IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.

I NEED TO COVER ALL OF MY BASES IN CASE SOMEONE DOES NOT HAVE A CABLE PROVIDER WHO HAS AMC OR IF THEY DO NOT HAVE A TV.

NOW THAT YOU HAVE HAD AMPLE WARNING, I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE IF I SPOIL SOMETHING FOR YOU RE: WALKING DEAD.

@texasbennet oh for love of Pete. Stay off twitter. lol
— Taryn Cooper (@TarynItUpNY) February 11, 2013

Not a day goes by that I see a gazillion or more people complaining on Twitter or Facebook or whatever social medium they choose about an ending or episode or some television event about seeing a "spoiler."

Spoilers are nothing new.  I remember I used to work with a guy on Sundays, and he was a huge football fan.  Typically, he worked till around 4 pm, and if his team was playing the one o'clock game, he'd have to "tape" it (back before there were such things like DVRs or TiVo).  He would resist visiting sites like ESPN or CBS to see scores.  If someone was following the game, and they started to talk about it, he'd start covering his ears with the "LALALALALALALALALA I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOUUUUUUU" song.

He did well for a few weeks.  As he came home from his shift, just moments before watching the game he had taped, a cab had driven in front of him...with a prompter on the top of the car with scores from ESPN fed into it.

Guess what game he saw the results of inadvertently?

So you see, no one is perfect, and no method is failsafe when it comes to spoilers or avoiding them.  They do eventually slip through the cracks.  Now with social media, our universes have expanded so greatly that even with all our might, we still manage to find out the results of things whether we like to or not.

Here's my advice: stay the hell off either one if you do not want a spoiler or the chance of something being spoiled.

Seriously, my conversation with @TexasBennet a few weeks ago wasn't intentional.  He told me that he doesn't invest in cable but rather a Netflix account.  He's a little behind on the seasons.  Meanwhile, this episode happened several MONTHS ago.  It wasn't like it happened last week, and I shouldn't have said anything for fear people have DVR backup.

Generally, I give a few days grace period before talking about a critical episode.  Like last week, I had finished watching an episode of Law & Order: SVU, and since it was brand new, and people who are following on the West Coast might not have seen it, this is what I wrote.

Holy shit SVU was fucked up!!!!
— Taryn Cooper (@TarynItUpNY) February 14, 2013

See?  Simple.  My philosophy is that if you are dying to talk about a pop culture event, like the Oscars or a television show, chances are that the social media are going to be abuzz.   If you are purposely staying away from the event, or for reasons beyond your control cannot watch it as it unfolds real time, wouldn't it make sense to stay away from Twitter or Facebook while they occur?  Isn't it human nature to want to share what's going on, or make a reference to it without getting all up in arms?

Don't be so sanctimonious about it, for crying out loud.

And while I feel bad that I may have divulged a little much about what I thought was common knowledge amongst Walking Dead aficionados, the reality is, the event itself had taken place three or four months before.  I'm surprised he was able to last that long without finding out what's going on.  I mean, heck, when (Another **SPOILER ALERT** for anyone who is Netflixing Dexter episodes that are over THREE YEARS OLD) Rita was killed on Dexter, I had a friend who doesn't have Showtime nor watches the show who knew about it a few days later.

Spoiler alerts happen.  But if you're going to be up in arms about it, blame yourself, not the people who share it.  If you want the element of surprise, don't think Twitter is going to be discrete about it just because you want it to be. 

I Need More UN-Reality TV

When I was in second grade, that was when I first realized what the "Year 2000" (way prior to "Y2K") represented.  We would hear that, and automatically we would think that when we went to sleep on December 31, 1999, we'd wake up on January 1, 2000, to a world not dissimilar to the Jetsons, with sky condos, flying cars, and automated lifestyles.  Many things were automated by then, but we were far and away from living in a world where George and Jane would have video conferences (which would happen later on, especially with the advent of smart phones).
Even when I was a kid, MTV (MUSIC Television) and VH-1 (VIDEO Hits 1) were new and had actual videos, which if you think about it, are nothing more than short stories told by a band in song form.

When I was in high school, a show called The Real World probably launched the dreams of small-town kids everywhere, when a bunch of people who were trying to launch some kind of artistic career (music, acting, dancing) auditioned for a conceptual new show: the "reality" show, where things weren't 100% scripted, and edited to show that real life was also as intriguing as the old form television show. 

I can't say that I watch much television these days.  Except for sporting events, I am not a person who is all OMG-I-NEED-TO-BE-HOME-TO-WATCH-MY-SHOW-ASAP.  Even with sporting events, I can follow the action on my phone and never feel as though I'm missing anything.  My husband and I are big fans of the show Dexter, and he loves the new AMC show The Walking Dead.  I can't say I am one for zombie culture, but hey, to each their own.  Another series I am a big fan of is Desperate Housewives, and I am really sad to see this will be the final year it's on television.  One of my all-time favorites is the Sex and the City franchise, and quote it like it's Shakespeare (just don't ask this former English lit major what she thinks about Billy). 

I guess my point is that I like creativity, and always appreciate good writing, and that's what keeps me returning: the compelling art of the written word, whether it's reading a good story, website or watching one unfold on television or on the big screen.

Something that has changed somewhat in television in the "aughts" is what the public wants.  Reality shows kind of take over precedence from unreality.   Shows like Survivor, X-Factor and Biggest Loser are touted as these feel good types of rewards shows, yet the public has shown that they value the voyeur factor here.  I have to admit, the reality show contests I prefer add absolutely nothing to culture (i.e. stuff people aren't talking about Monday morning at the water cooler), like RuPaul's Drag Race and Flavor of Love.  I mean, if you think about it...those shows lean towards the more unrealistic (especially Drag Race, since it's men dressing up as beautiful and glamorous women, adhering to the whole "illusion" thing). 

Look at MTV and VH-1 now.  They promote not videos (except for VH-1 Classics or MTV in the morning or late evenings) but their own scripted reality shows, like The Hills or Jersey Shore, even Basketball Wives.  I have this here bridge I'd like to sell you if you think these shows aren't the least bit scripted, but something about voyeurism comes into play that makes these franchises successful. 

A misconception people have about reality shows is that these "actors" are somewhat not as credited as those on totally scripted fictional shows, but the reality is there they do have to file with the Screen Actors Guild.  In theory, they are making the acting playing field a little bit of a thinner margin, typical to how we fool ourselves that outsourcing jobs is somewhat good for the economy. Meanwhile no one ever applauds the people who make the shows what they are: no, not Snooki or The Situation, but the editors who make the calls about what goes on for the public to see. 


Many things have changed since I was in second grade, talking about the Year 2000 and beyond.  I suppose one of the things that had to evolve was the television, which itself evolved out of radio shows and soap operas.  Now, soap operas are going the way of the dodo, and reality shows based on daytime dramas are taking over.

Call me crazy, but the idea of television and entertainment is escapism.  Haven't these reality-type shows jumped the shark yet?  Gimme more fictional shows, or don't give me anything at all. The only thing that should be reality, in my opinion, are sporting events.