![]() I had the endings of Better Call Saul and Watchmenand The Leftoversand many other shows "spoiled" for me in this way. ![]() It creates many such possible outcomes – in so great a number and with such conviction that at least a few of them are probably gonna come close to hitting the mark. It conjures the merely possible in a way that makes it notionally real. Avid fan speculation isn't a spoiler, but it does have a spoiling effect. But to hop onto social media is to see this same tool of inquiry applied unilaterally, every damn where, to shows that hide no secrets, that withhold no information for only the most eagle-eyed viewers to discover.Īvid fan speculation isn't a spoiler, but it does have a spoiling effect.īut it is something I'm going to stop doing, because Succession is coming to a close, and I want to experience its end in real time, without a brain a-sizzle with competing, well-argued theories. Series like Lost and, most recently, Westworld were made to withstand, and benefit from, that kind of close attention.īut this kind of analysis was only ever meant for a very specific type of high-concept, puzzle-box series like The X-Files, Lost, Westworld, Fringe and Dark – shows intentionally packed with secrets and hidden connections for viewers to untangle. Hardcore fans were only too happy to publish their own painstakingly researched roadmaps unpacking a show's dense lore on their webpages. The X-Files' overarching serialized plotting grew hilariously dense and complicated (whose side were those alien bounty hunters on, again?), because suddenly it had leave to do so. Fandoms swelled to fill message boards and chatrooms with a more fervent species of discussion and speculation. When the internet came along, that passive involvement grew active. Above, Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway) in Lost. Series like Lost and Westworld were made for intense speculation and close audience attention. You might ask a friend or co-worker if they'd seen last night's Hill Street Blues, and you might idly speculate about that shocking death on ER, but the remarkable thing about such speculation was just how idle it inevitably was. Mostly, what TV provided was familiarity, comfort, pattern recognition. Characters on cop shows, doctor shows, lawyer shows and nighttime soaps might get run through serialized plots over the course of a given season ("Who shot J.R.?"), but they certainly didn't permanently grow or deepen or complicate that wasn't why people watched. Sitcoms could be counted upon to supply canned laughter (the com) but their setting, characters and premise (the sit) would reset back to starting positions every week. It didn't demand much from you, it just unspooled itself before your eyes. It was a time when your basic TV show was just that: basic. Kids, gather 'round ol' Pappy Glen's knee, and he'll tell you a tale of television in the olden days of his far-off youth. ![]() Above, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in The X-Files. Some shows like The X-Files are high-concept, puzzle box series - intentionally packed full of secrets and hidden connections for viewers to untangle.
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