Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Finally!! ALL THE ANSWERS TO LOST!!
Ha. You didn't really believe me, did you? Well, if you've ever thought the writers were reticent about giving up any answers... Damon Lindelof has announced a complete "radio silence" from this point on. No spoilers, no interviews, no nuthin. He ain't givin' up anything. Apparently he's pretty upset about what they're referring to as "Spoilergate," i.e. spoilers about the flash-forward in the season finale being leaked all over the place. The thing is, the guy apparently was never part of the Buffyverse. Entire scripts of that show leaked before the episode aired, and I remember fans arguing about the episode before it had even aired. Now THOSE were spoilers.

I'm a spoiler-free kinda gal. It doesn't always do me good (when I have to hand a book in by mid-June, and the finale is end of May, it would REALLY help me if I checked out spoilers ahead of time... but I don't.) But I'm also happy with the slow pace of Lost and the fact the writers aren't showing all their cards too early, so perhaps those two attitudes go hand-in-hand. Some of my dearest friends are spoiler whores (oh, you know who you are, RB) but they also know not to talk about it in front of me. I've never understood why anyone would want to know what's going to happen before it happens, but it's probably just human curiosity. As Damon said in the interview:

I think there will always be people who want to turn to the last page of the book, but I feel that those people are almost universally disappointed with what they read there, because if it's cool, they don't understand the context, and if it sucks, they feel like they've saved themselves time. But no one skips to the end of life. You have to live it, and it's just disappointing to me that people don't respect the integrity of the show enough to let it unfold naturally. There is a fine line between intriguing the audience with what's to come and giving them the whole shebang. And I feel the line was crossed with the finale this year, and it's really disappointing.


In the rest of the interview with Kristen Veitch on E!, Damon agrees to answer her questions, but she gives him the option of "Hell no, I won't tell you!" as a response. He uses that one a lot. (And I love him for it.) The biggest revelation of the interview? Alex is NOT Ben's biological daughter, something I've been saying all along. It appears Rousseau was telling the truth (or at least... that's what Damon's saying this week.)

Check out the interview, and in the meantime, I'm curious: How many Lost fans out there knew how the finale was going to end? Who checked out the spoiler boards, and why?

17 comments:

K J Gillenwater said...

I would *never* check the spoilers for "Lost." Never. I am a person that adores surprises, and reading about it ahead of time just kills the experience for me.

I agree with Lindelof. There are people in this world who *must* know how a book ends when they pick it up off the shelf. They will skip the middle of the book just to get to the end. I don't understand these kinds of people at all.

Life is all about surprise and the unknown. And that's what makes it interesting. Why ruin it?

Anonymous said...

Hey Nikki, interesting topic. I am ashamed to say I checked out the spoiler site. I avoided it for the longest time, but there was so much hype about the finale and the "snake in the mailbox", something made me do it (!). If it makes you feel better, after I watched the episode I wish I hadn't. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the episode, but my jaw would have dropped further with the flash forward. As Jack said on the bridge "Please forgive me!".

I can totally understand how the producers were so upset about the leak. I would never post the spoiler to ruin it for others.

On a more fun note, I found this radio show site, have you heard of them? They are called Preston and Steve. They did a show analysing the finale, and had Michael Emerson and William Mapother as guests before the finale aired. It is a fun listen!

Here is the website for those interested:

http://www.prestonandsteve.com/audio.php?id=5

Anonymous said...

It was actually spoiled for me! Some (insert incredibly rude and degrading name here) posted a thread over at the TV.com forums with the title "The flasBACKS are actually flashFORWARDS" and in his post, he admitted that his sole intent was to ruin it for people. A lot of users were really angry. Like me. I was disspointed, but the episode still is the best one so far and definitely my favorite.

Anonymous said...

Typo:

*dissapointed

Anonymous said...

I go out of my way to avoid spoilers. While Buffy was on, I helped start a yahoo list called Spoiler Virgins.

I had been 'spoiled' unintentionally for Seeing Red, but I thought the spoiler was that Spike raped Buffy. I actually broke into a stress rash.

So don't be a spoilin' me, and way to go Mr. Lindelof! (Though spoilers will come out. They always come out.)

The Chapati Kid said...

I admit I've seen Angel spoilers. But NEVER Lost. NEVER. And thank god, because that flashforward almost broke my jaw.

Brian: Disappointed. ;)

Anonymous said...

Well I admit it. I followed spoilers throughout most of the season except the last 2 hours. It was tough. :o) But I wanted to be surprised also.

Normally through the season I like the spoilers as it actually makes me pay more attention to the details of the show. Backgrounds such as pictures on the wall, signs on the streets, you know, the hidden easter eggs, things like that. Of course even then I may miss them. LOL.

I think if you go to boards where spoilers are written in special sections you can miss them if you want. If you don't, you have the option to read them. I have a cube mate who I cannot share spoilers with and sometimes it kills me but I respect his wishes.

I understand how the writers feel but its tough to keep them secret. I guess its up to the individuals to read or not to read. And at best avoid all sites until after each show - well, except for yours of course. :o)

Anonymous said...

i love spoilers, as you know ... i hate surprises and i want to know everything ahead of time, right down to the little last detail, so i know what to expect. i've been spoilt for every single show i've ever watched ... EXCEPT lost. in fact, i've done a complete 180 and completely reversed my position for this show, and this show alone. i don't know why -- i just decided after the pilot aired that it was so cool and creepy and weird that i wanted to unravel it piece by piece and not know everything in advance. and i've stuck to that for 3 whole seasons now, whch is quite a feat for me!

so yeah ... had NO idea about the flash-forwards, i didn't even really cotton on that they WERE flash forwards (i thought they happened in between jack's wife walking out and him going off to thailand) until the very last scene with jack/kate ... and then BAM!! :-D

Anonymous said...

Not me Niki...I am a purist, I am a mystery, epionage, thriller reader and visual watcher... I love to go along for the whole ride. What I do usually want to know ahead of time is "who is the lead character in the episode". The internet has made it way to easy to "flashforward" to try and experience and episode before you really experience it.

Carlie said...

I admit that I read spoilers (also I love reading theories) but I avoid spoilers for the last couple of weeks so I had no idea about the flash forward and it make the season finale soooo good (but the Heroes finale so bad - I guess I was expecting more).

So I guess I'm in between.

Nikki Stafford said...

OK, here's my worst spoiler story. A friend of mine was over and said, "Have you heard about what's going to happen this week on Buffy?" (The upcoming episode was Seeing Red; by the way, if you're new to Buffy and haven't watched season 6, don't read any further.) I said no, I don't listen to spoilers and I didn't want to know any spoilers AT ALL, and I was happy like that. I was currently finishing writing "Bite Me" and said while it would be in my best interests to check out spoiler sites, I'm willing to sit up late every night for the next 3 weeks working on it rather than read what's going to happen. She said, "But you do know that Tara's going to die and Willow's going to go evil and the finale will be about Buffy having to stop Willow from destroying the world, right?"

I just stared at her.

I couldn't make that one up if I wanted to.

That said, I think the look on my face spoke volumes, because she's never spoiled me since, which is good. :)

Brian: Argh, that is SO annoying. I hate when people put the spoilers in the actual titles, because there's no way to avoid it in that case.

Doe: I've definitely heard that argument before; that if you get the plot out of the way, you can focus on the other things. For me, I get the plot out of the way by watching it, and then watch a second time for that other stuff. But your argument for spoilers is definitely one I've seen before, and many people would agree with you. :)

Anonymous: I agree with you that I always want to know who the flashback is going to be for. That isn't something that spoils the show for me, it makes me excited to watch it.

Anonymous said...

I love spoilers. I can't stand surprises. I am more of an instant gratification kinda guy. The spoilers for the finale did nothing to ruin the season finale for me. I was still riveted to the TV set. I still rewound parts of it and re-watched scenes over and over again on my PVR.

For those that use the argument that life is meant to be about surprises and the unknown...Come On! It's a TV show, it's not life. I can tell you that I was surpised about the finale, only my surprise came about a week before yours.

The Chapati Kid said...

Ah Nikki! And let's not forget book spoilers... like the time we found out Dumbledore died.

Nikki Stafford said...

amsted: Good points. I've had people question why my husband and I wanted to know the sex of our baby in advance, and I said, "Well, it's a surprise at 5 months, or it's a surprise at 9." So when it comes to life, sometimes I ask for spoilers. ;)

But for me, there's a big difference between watching the scene say, of Charlie dying, with Monaghan standing there as the room fills up, a look on his face of part dread, part peace, realizing he's fulfilling his destiny and is really going to be a hero, as the music becomes very quiet with only a harp and a piano. The writers have written that scene to be a certain way, the director and production people have set it up to have a certain beauty, the composer has written a requiem for Charlie, and Monaghan nails it.

Do I want that, or some fan posting in advance, "Charlie is going 2 die 2morrow night. He'll drown."

Um... I think I'll go with option #1.

Nikki Stafford said...

Chapatikid: HAHAHA... oh MAN, I totally forgot that one. An entire room of Harry Potter fans at work were settling in for a meeting, when one of our colleagues walks in and says, "You all know Dumbledore's going to die at the end, though, right?" And all of us, whose Harry Potter Book 6's were sitting out on our desks with bookmarks in various spots, just sat there, going, "NOOOOOOOOOO."

This time I'm buying book 7 on Friday at midnight, starting it immediately and we are BANNING HIM from the office for the following week. ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Nikki,

When I was in high school and my early college years I saw psychics for various reasons, I guess b/c it helped me anticipate what would happen. One said a "prominent man" in my life would "pass away" or some such, and I dreaded that this was a foretelling of my father dying. I couldn't do enough for him, tell him I loved him, etc. It was awful! A year later I realized that it was a foretelling that I'd be getting a new boss, as my previous one, a male, did pass away in a way (he didn't die, but I got a new one). That kind of made me stop seeing seers.

A month before I was to begin a class in detective fiction in college, a Newsweek/Time article on Agatha Christie spoiled the killer in one of her most famous books that we were about to read; we had to read it twice to appreciate it, and boy, was it a whopper, but the secret had been spoiled, and I'm still sore about it nearly 20 years later! I wish the media wouldn't do this; I've noticed that no one really divulges spoilers in the press (it's unusual for them to, anyway), and was delighted when the press went out of its way to hide the secret of "The Crying Game" before one of its stars blabbed it. Why is this?

When the last Harry Potter book came out, someone walked into a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New Jersey and yelled the spoiler out as to who had died. How do civilized societies deal with this?

There are plenty of Yahoo groups that enjoy posting spoilers about Lost, and they are not shy about it. There are also sites that spoil the secret of Agatha Christie murder mysteries -- HISS! HISS! -- and I don't know what the solution is. Anyone, anyone?

I avoid all talk of Lost online before the show airs. (BTW, Nik, I consider the talk in your blog that Alex isn't Ben's biological daughter a spoiler, as it was divulged in an interview I hadn't read. But that's me.)

One of the managers at my company loves to read the last page of mysteries or books in general, tells his wife what he got her for her birthday days before she opens her presents, and reads all the Lost spoilers. I said I wasn't interested in knowing about the finale, and he said, "You'll be really surprised who dies!" UGH!

Learning spoilers isn't a crime if you keep it to yourself. It is a crime when you can't wait to tell someone(s) and blab it for attention or whatever. The day I was born my maternal grandmother called the hospital for the details of my birth, then called all the relatives with the news. My father never got this glory -- can you imagine? Years later, when my first 2nd cousin was born, my aunt called all the relatives, leaving AP-bulletin-like messages on everyone's answering machine. She was seconds sooner than my grandmother, who left the same message seconds later with the next phone call!

I think the diagnosis for this is a form of obsessive compulsiveness -- to tell (as opposed to washing, checking, etc.). It is a form of attention getting, so be warned!/glenn

Nikki Stafford said...

Glenn: Great post! I just wanted to comment on the Alex/Ben thing. Because I'm so sensitive about spoilers, I'm very careful, and the reason I posted it is I don't consider it a spoiler. It's like saying, "Sawyer's name is James Ford," as far as I'm concerned. The evidence is all there that she's not Ben's biological daughter. Damon, too, is extremely sensitive about spoilers, so he wouldn't have said it if he thought it was one.

Rousseau said she was pregnant when she came to the island. Ben's been there since he was 12. There's no way he could have impregnated Rousseau if he's telling the truth.

When Ben was in the Dharma Initiative, he obviously didn't have Alex with him. In the birthday flashback when Ben's dad tells him that he killed his mother, his dad looks about 35, Ben's 12. Then during the Purge, his dad looks about 70. Now obviously Ben's not in his late 40s (he's only 40 now) and the hard drinking hasn't been good to poor ol' Roger. But I hardly think Roger is supposed to be 46 in that scene... and Michael Emerson, brilliant actor he is, isn't pulling off 23. But if you believe that Alex is his biological daughter, he'd have to be 23 at the oldest in that scene, then get Rousseau pregnant, then have Alex, then push out Rousseau and raise Alex for 16 years, making him 40 now and her 16, which are their ages.

And that is near impossible, as far as I'm concerned. So that's why I don't see it as a spoiler. It's been pretty obvious to me from the get-go, which is why I was so shocked at fans going, "OH MY GOD BEN IS ALEX'S FATHER" in Not In Portland. Because he's simply her adoptive dad, and that's been made pretty clear.