Our Spoiled Society

Did you hear what happened on that show last night?

Increasingly the answer is coming back, "Don't tell me!  I haven't had a chance to see it yet! No spoilers, please!"

Spoiler Alert!  There's a phrase that didn't even really exist a few years ago, and now you hear it all the time.

It didn't used to be that way. Most shows were watched when they were first aired.  In 1980, the highest rated show, Dallas, had first episode airings of over 27 million people. and there were 30 shows that had audiences in excess of 11 million. Nowadays, only Empire, The Big Bang Theory, and The Walking Dead come close to those numbers (and those closer to the 11 million number).  The Game of Thrones is very popular, but it doesn't reach much more than 7 to 8 million.

I remember well the feverish pitch around the mystery of "Who Shot J.R.?"  The whole country seemed to be speculating.  Or the large numbers that watched the ending to MASH.  Everybody watched them together, and we could all talk about them at the same time.

Even viewing major news events together has been becoming rarer.  The whole nation was somber and horrified over the assassination of John F Kennedy, and we watched in wondrous awe as we saw men land on the moon.  The only modern equivalent was 9/11, something we pray is never repeated.  Nowadays, we see events, if we see them at all, through divisive filters.  One network shows the Ferguson riots as noble protesters and out of control police, and another shows it as wild, uncivilized thugs against a valiant and outnumbered police force.

Another relatively new phrase was created - watercooler shows.  These were programs that enough people watched that they could be discussed at work.  The last major one for that was American Idol.  These were part of a reality competition concept that demanded more real time viewing, so you could know right away who was moving on and who had been eliminated.  But the viewership for these shows have fallen off to the point that they don't often reach the level or urgency where they could be discussed at the watercooler.


Recently, The Game of Thrones had a gripping and revealing plot point, explaining why a particular character could only repeat one word.  It was a breathtakingly dramatic moment, that left some viewers in tears.  But when you tried to talk about it, you were often met with howls of "No spoilers!  I haven't seen it yet!"  Some were way behind, seasons behind. and were all of a sudden trying to catch up to get up to speed.  How could they do that?  Ah, the power of English to create new words and connotations - binging - the act of watching many episodes in one sitting.

What's happened?

Time shifting has taken control of our entertainment world.  Many have DVR's that record programs for later viewing.  And as more and more people move away from televisions and cable, they are seeing an increasing number of shows through streaming.  We didn't watch The Office when it was originally on.  Instead we streamed the nine seasons and 200 episodes over the course of a couple years.

All this is fantastic, but it is creating a much more fractured audience, and making it harder and harder to have much in common.  That fracturing has created an environment where there are many great new shows, as serial fictional television has expanded to basic cable networks and to streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Unfortunately, more and more of us are not able to share the experience together.

I would love to discuss Game of Thrones with you.  But first we have to make sure that we're not "spoiling" it for those who are behind.  And as for The Flash or The 100?  Please don't spoil it for Benjamin and me. We're still 10 episodes behind!