TV Talk Etiquite in the Time of TiVos

This past Friday evening, I had something disappointing happen. If you have not watched the first episode of the second half of season 4 of BSG, don't read on, or you will be in the same boat that I was on Friday night.

Battlestar Galactica is one of the few shows that I truly love to watch. There are several shows that I watch on a weekly basis, but very few that I actually discuss with others. BSG is one of those shows that I like to talk about. I like to try to figure out what's going on: It has a great mystery component to it. That's all probbaly pretty clear to you, if you read my blog entry from Friday. I may usually guess incorrectly, but I enjoy the guessing and discussing process. Now for what happened on Friday evening:

My roommates and I typically watch a few of different shows togetether—or, at least, I usually watch a couple of shows with at least one of them. These shows include BSG, Lost, and Heroes. Watching TV together is made possible by TiVo (of which I have three). When you own a TiVo, it's unlikely that you will watch many shows live. When you own three TiVos, it's even more unlikely that you will watch anything live. I mean, really, who wants to deal with commercials? In the time of TiVos, this is a fairly common practice. I don't watch ANYTHING live, and some shows I don't watch for weeks. This brings me to my question: What is the TV talk etiquite in the time of TiVos? When is it safe to discuss a show? Should you check before saying anything at all?

I have had TiVos since around 1999 or 2000. I frequented the Tivo Community Forums for years and still visit fairly often (though I don't post nearly as much as I used to). I learned the culture of this group, and spoiler ettiquite was strictly enforced. As more and more people have started using TiVos or other DVRs, I expect that this "spoiler free" concept would grow. I never talk about a show unless I ask if those around me are caught up on the show in question (unless I am aware that they have no plans/desire to ever watch it). On Friday evening I eagerly awaited the return of BSG. I was looking forward to seeing where things went, to seeing how off my predictions were, and to the stunning beauty of the show on my new HDTV. Sadly, while I was playing WoW on my computer, I got a text message to my phone that told me that Dualla was dead. I didn't see the text message right away, but that didn't stop me from seeing the spoiler—the same person that sent me the text message then proceeded to tell me the same spoiler in a WoW whisper. Wonderful >_<

I wait for months for this show to return, and people can't even bother to say, "Hey, have you seen the new episode of BSG yet?" before spamming me with spoilers? The moment of Dualla dying was a big moment. It was huge, really (especially for me, considering I had her pegged as a likely candidate for the final Cylon). The whole time I was watching the episode, I was thinking, "When's she going to die?" I couldn't enjoy the experience of seeing her near the brink of insanity when she realized that the Earth that was, was no longer; I couldn't enjoy her rekindling romance with Lee; I couldn't enjoy the prospects of what might be, because I knew what would be. When I reacted in a not so cuddly way to the source of the spoiler, I got a "You should have watched it" retort. After a while, the culprit back peddled and said that I just should have made it clear more quickly that I had not watched the show, and he eventually conceded that he should have asked first, but that took a lot of doing to get that final response.

My opinion is that, before discussing a show that has recently aired, you should ask if everyone involved in the conversation is caught up to that point. If it's a show that aired weeks ago, it's a whole different ballgame. I would still prefer that I am asked, but I can't hold someone at fault for assuming I have watched the season 4 finale of LOST a couple of days before season 5 is about to start (and, of course, I have ^_^).

Yes, I am spoiler sensitive. I watch these shows because I enjoy the storytelling process, and I enjoy considering what may come later. I lose out on that when I am told what is going to happen. There are so few good shows available. It sucks when the good ones are ruined for me. Please be considerate and don't be a spoiler.