People Underestimate the Value of a Good Ramble

Monday, January 7, 2013

Spoilers and Star Trek

I was reading an article about why JJ Abrams is so secretive. And I get it, I really do. He wants people to have the whole experience and not be spoiled ahead of time. He personally probably doesn't like to be spoiled; lots of people don't like it.

But that's not really natural. Hear me out. Anyone who's ever had, or even been around a two-year old, knows that  little kids love to re-watch the same thing. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and, for instance, over again. In no way does knowing that happens next ruin the experience for them. It's just as much fun to watch Woody and Buzz fly down the street towards the moving van if they are seeing it for the first time or for the 100th time. That week. The Oompa Loopa song never gets old. They will sing along with it every time. The Wicked Witch of the West is still scary; when she threatens "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog, too" they still think she may be victorious.

As kids, the experience isn't ruined for us, even when we know what's happening. So it feels to me like Mr. Abrams is throwing his own issues on to everyone else. Cause, seriously, what difference could it make for everyone to know what part Benedict Cumberbatch plays in Star Trek Into Darkness?  Of course, maybe I'm involved in a  little transference here myself, cause I haven't yet forgiven anyone for Lost. I'm not sure I ever will.

But I've got no problem with spoilers. (And every time I hear that word, River Song is saying it in my head, "Spoilers, sweetie.") They don't ruin anything for me. I kinda hate surprises, actually. (As my husband will be too happy to tell you, when he threw me a surprise birthday party once. We'd only been married a couple of years and he really didn't know me too well yet. It was a bad, bad idea. Poor guy. I think I made him cry.)

Anyway, as everyone in the world knows, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is my favorite show, of all time. I still watch every single episode (all 144 eps from 7 seasons, plus the original pilot) every year.  It does not ruin the experience, even though I know exactly what is going to happen and I can basically quote all of the dialogue.

Even back in the day, when the eps were new, there was this thing called the Wild Feed run by a guy who's name - due to any existing statutes that may not have run out yet - that I can't remember, who somehow managed to get a hold of the episode feed before the show aired. He'd watch each ep, re-cap them down to every detail, including commercial breaks (even though there were no commercials in the feed he saw - expect once there was one for  Windex, which was totally weird and unexplained) and I'd read that silly thing every week. Even if it went up just hours before the show aired. Seriously. I couldn't help myself. I had to know what happened. Then I would watch the show and, in some ways, knowing what was going to happen made the experience better for me.

I guess I just like being prepared.