How Spoiled Will Lost Season 4 Be?
My position on spoilers has gotten me into a lot of trouble over the years, so I figured I’d kill too birds with one stone in this post. For spoiler phobes, don’t worry, there will be no spoilers here.
How spoiled will Lost Season 4 be? Plenty spoiled. Why do I know this? Because I have twice been offered a list of shooting locations for 4.01 in case I had folks on the island that might want to try to snag pics. For the record, I have not turned down the offers, but accepting the information would not be used, by me at least, to get my Hawaii spies laying in wait for the film crew. Mostly because, ta da, I don’t have any.
Season 3 started a whole new approach for me where spoilers were concerned. Up until Season 3 I was a bit of a spoiler hound. I’d publish anything I could get my hands on. When I published Michael was going to kill Ana and Libby, I got a chill when it actually happened. Mostly because I sat and considered how different the experience of watching the scene would have been if I hadn’t known.
I struggled for the third season to find the right balance, favoring spoilers that were enigmatic and almost unrevealing without a context. Teaser-spoilers. Bits of info that are true, but through conversation of their meaning actually added to the beauty of the Lost viewer experience.
I was a one man spoilers-anonymous support group for myself, allowing my own rehabilitation to shape my editorial philosophy towards spoilers. When the LF108 incident broke out, I took an unpopular position, and a lot of folks misunderstood my manifesto as saying no spoilers should exist. That wasn’t the point, but whatever.
The bottom line is, Season 3 was the most spoiled season ever. Much of the additional spoilers came from unauthorized photographs shot at exterior locations. With a complete shooting itinerary falling into the hands of websites, you can bet there will soon be candid shots rolling out from Lost’s shooting locations.
If the availability of this information is an indication as to how the rest of the season will go, I would say with regards to exterior shots, especially, look for a lot of Lost Spoilers to emerge from the fansite community this year.
Spoilers suck! I can’t imagin how crushed I would have been had I known that Michael would kill Ana Lucia and Libby. I would not be happy.
Comment by Han Sawyer — August 17, 2007 @ 10:57 am
I’m going to go pretty much spoiler free this year. I might go to Spoiler Fix once in a while, mainly to find out when Ben’s flashback is going to be but I’m definitely not going to look at those “2-4 minutes of an episode” clips that showed up from ABC and CBC last year and I’ll definitely avoid the “Here’s the complete scene by scene breakdown” text things.
Comment by Henry Holland — August 17, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Hey Doc, maybe you’ll know this. In seasons past, when does shooting usually start. I’m concerned that too much will get leaked in one way shape or form, solely because an estimated 12-13 episodes will have been filmed before we see one. That’s a long time for film to be floating around with none of it being shown, I just think someone will make sure the info gets out there.
Comment by Don Walters — August 17, 2007 @ 11:23 am
No spoilers SHOULD exist. News about the show’s future that doesn’t give away crucial plot points are okay, but I think we should all take the J.K. Rowling approach and shun spoilers that give away the important bits. I know there’s the argument that Lindelof and Stephen King make that the end shouldn’t matter as much as the experience. And I agree with that for the most part, but the end is PART of the experience, and when that is ruined, it takes away the element of surprise and wonder that makes watching Lost or getting wrapped up in any story great. I was fortunate enough to avoid spoilers of the final Harry Potter book even with my wife knowing the outcome, and I’m very glad I did. And all I ask from the “Lost media” is that you give appropriate warning before giving out plot spoilers so that I can continue to let this wonderful story play out in front of me.
Comment by Jared — August 17, 2007 @ 11:27 am
Spoilers really don’t bother me at all. I do read them, I don’t spread them around, and it honestly does not affect my enjoyment of the show.
Comment by DAQ — August 17, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
Spoilers don’t usually bother me, butI’d say the LOST finale spoilers ruined the finale for me. I think I’ll be steering clear of them this year.
Comment by rick olson — August 17, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Spoilers Rock! YAY! If it weren’t for spoilers I would have NEVER watched lost in the first place.. And as it is.. for me to continue to watch I would need more spoilers.. Hey! that’s why the make ADS isn’t it? to get you to watch a show by placing teaser ads.. Isn’t that a spoiler?
Yay BABY!
Comment by Me — August 17, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
I think that there should be a balance… there should be a little bit of spoilers… but more the speculation kind, i don’t mind speculating without really knowing what’s going to happen.. that’s the kind of excitement that keeps the show going for me… and that said, this is just me, and works well for me…
Comment by Jair — August 17, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
I think that there should be a balance… there should be a little bit of spoilers… but more the speculation kind, i don’t mind speculating without really knowing what’s going to happen.. that’s the kind of excitement that keeps the show going for me… and that said, this is just me, and works well for me…
Comment by Jair — August 17, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
I read LF108 spoilers by mistake, spoilers suck and my season 3 finale was ruined after that.
Comment by Luke — August 17, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
I didn’t even know spoilers existed until season 3. Believe me, Michael shooting Ana Lucia and Libby was unbelievably shocking. On the one hand, that feeling is great, being totally shocked, but on the other hand, you’re so enthralled by what’s going on that you completely miss a lot of things. The only advanced knowledge I used to have was ABC’s official description and I only read that as far as Yahoo TV had published them. Those were the days.
Comment by jimmy — August 17, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
I’m all about teaser spoilers, or bits of knowledge about a character who will return or a plot point that will be addressed. I think those are all well and good. It’s incidents such as that involving LostFan108 that are the real problem, where the entire thing is spoiled. Worse, a lot of people who were used to teaser spoilers read LostFan’s post thinking they’d just get a few juicy bits of information, not a description of the whole episode. People should, of course, take responsibility for looking at spoilers, but those who spread and post spoilers should decide what’s acceptable and what isn’t for their respective sites, and stick to that. I’m glad you’ve got your stance on spoilers figured out, Doc.
Comment by Paula Abdul Alhazred — August 17, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
If the LostFan108 spoilers had stayed on AICN, a site known for its bullcrap as much as its valid news, no one would have focused on them. It was only when the Lost fansite community, notably DorkUFO/Misfit (come on! You don’t know!?) turned them into traffic fodder, that it really hit the fan. The argument over there was that “don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read it”, and I stopped going to the site because of it, but some loser known to post there, posted the flashforward spoilers right here in the comments of a random news thread - and that fucker took my choice away. Spoiler hounds will never know what it feels like to have the most anticipated episode/moment of TV in the year to be thrust upon an unsuspecting mind. I can never get that moment back - it was stolen from me.
Comment by Dusk — August 17, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Thank GOD I never encountered the LS108 spoiler. Watching the finale with no knowledge of what was going on was THE best tv viewing experience of my life.
As a result, as soon as 4.01 starts shooting on aug 20 I am going to steer clear of Lost fansites (as painfull as that may be during the hiatus) to protect me from anything like that next season. That unless Arzt promises to keep them away from the main news articles.
Comment by bchova — August 17, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
The problem for S4 will be that pricipal photography will be nearly wrapped before any episodes air. So there will be lots of opportunity for serious spoilers months ahead of air dates. IMO, spoilers will never go away. I enjoy them - to a point. I avoided that LF108 ones last season because, in the past, I was very disappointed when I knew a “reveal” before it happened. The only one to keep everyone happy is for fan sites to closely monitor what is posted on non-spoiler pages. The webmasters are going to need to be diligent this season.
Comment by carmela — August 18, 2007 @ 11:56 am
This is unrelated but nice new look!
Comment by nickk — August 18, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Hi all - long time reader, first time poster so be nice.
I have an interesting take on this as I’m UK based.
Last season we got to see our episodes on the Sunday after they were shown in the US. This meant that by the time the episoded aired over here a full breakdown of everything that happened in it would be published and be being discussed across the net.
So if I want to, I can have ever detail “spoiled” for me before I get to see it! (and its hard staying away from the websites when I’m in work and bored)
Comment by IanG — August 20, 2007 @ 6:55 am
bchova - You can trust the doc to make it clear if an article is going to have spoilers or not.
Comment by TrillianM — August 20, 2007 @ 10:37 am
Spoilers are evil and we can all stay safe from them over at a site I visit regularly - http://www.lostcommunity.co.uk
Forget all these spoilers sites that simply feed off mindless spoilers (you know the sites i’m talking about) and ruin the enjoyment for us!
Join us at the Lost Community UK and lets enjoy the show as TPTB intended.
Comment by Lost Community — November 5, 2007 @ 5:42 am