Editor's Note: It’s no spoiler to say that we’ve dealt with spoiler issues before, with shows ranging from The Wire to Dexter and, uh, Dexter. Feel free to go back and review previous spoiler columns, and reader responses.
After hosting Friday’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR, I received an impassioned complaint about my revealing something from a previous episode of Breaking Bad, in connection to that day’s guest. Allow me to defend myself, just as passionately…
The complaint – well-written, obviously sincere, and sent to me via this website – came from Kelly Akins, who wrote this:
“My wife and I, separately, listened to the beginning of your interview today of the actor who plays Hank on Breaking Bad. For the last 2 weeks, we have faithfully been trying to catch up by watching Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the show before that last (and final) Season 5. Currently, we are starting episode 11 of Season 4. Thus, we were horrified by your cavalier announcement of Hank's discovery of Walt's involvement in making meth, of which had not yet been revealed to us, and, indeed, to many other potential fans who surely will want to start watching the series, especially with so many recent Emmy awards, nominations, and general accolades.
“This is a MAJOR plot element to the ENTIRE series, and totally irresponsible of you to reveal in today's interview, much less even necessary for you to reveal. I suspect the AMC network is displeased, as well. Downer.”
The word “cavalier” was the impetus for me to write this quite serious response about why I did what I did. If I were truly cavalier, I might point out that Kelly, by posting his complaint on this website, was spoiling the same secret for Breaking Bad fans in the same position as he and his wife, who hadn’t listened to my Fresh Air introduction of Dean Norris.
But I take this Spoiler stuff very, very seriously. So here, once again, is where I stand on all this.
1) I take great pains not to reveal anything substantive when writing or talking about any TV show that has not yet been televised. When I’m previewing rather than reviewing, I want the viewer to share the same sense of discovery that I did. You’ll find, if you make any direct comparisons whatsoever, that my plot summaries in reviews of upcoming shows are less detailed than almost any others.
2) I have a different approach once something has been televised, or made available. This is what used to be the “water-cooler effect,” when people who cared about a show would gather the next day at work to discuss their favorite shows. Take that away entirely, and you’re taking away a lot of fun of watching TV. When Sally Draper walked in on her father on Mad Men, that was a moment that cried out to be discussed soon afterward.
3) I’ve been a TV critic my entire professional life. At some point, I have to be able to ply my craft. Don’t take that away from me.
4) If you love a show so much that you’re crushed by “spoilers,” make a special effort to watch it sooner. The most recent episode of Breaking Bad – the one ending with the plot point I described in Friday’s Fresh Air introduction to Dean Norris – was televised by AMC on Sept. 2, 2012. That’s more than 10 months ago – longer than it takes to conceive, gestate and deliver a human baby. The DVD release of the first half of that season, the one culminating with the same pivotal scene, was more than six weeks ago. How long, really, is too long? What’s the statute of limitations on not discussing something?
5) If you love a show but can’t see it in a timely fashion and want to avoid “spoilers,” the onus is on you, not the rest of the world. I do this all the times with upcoming film releases: If I’m especially excited by the prospects of the movie, or if I don’t see it immediately upon its release, I avoid reading any article, and especially any review, with that film in the headline. In this case, if you were stockpiling Breaking Bad episodes and were behind, turn off the radio. Catch it later on a podcast, or read it on a website, once you’re up to speed. Just because, more than half a century later, you still haven’t seen Citizen Kane, does that mean the rest of us still can’t talk about Rosebud?
6) There’s a big difference between revealing things yet to come and discussing things already on record. I’ve just previewed the next episode of Breaking Bad, the one that AMC will televise in August, and you won’t catch me spoiling any secrets in advance – not even the big musical number with Cheech & Chong. (Relax. I’m kidding.) But especially, on a website or radio program devoted to a serious and thorough discussion of the arts, those should be the places you go to expect, enjoy and participate in such a discussion – not to avoid any mention, like an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, and expect everyone else to do the same.
7) This may come down to a serious difference of opinion, but just know this: I’m not changing my mind on this one. I respect the sincerity, and the civility, with which Kelly made his points. I hope he, and you, receive my own opinions in the same spirit. If, in time, I can’t talk about TV shows, especially the best ones, then for a professional critic, what the hell’s the point?