Episode Guides are evil.
It was just last year that I discovered episode guides. I wanted to check the HBO shows for the weekend when I happened on the HBO Originals link. I was so excited to read up on the episodes of Sex and the City which I missed for some reason or another. How wonderful that the these excerpts are so well-written and they really tell the reader what happens in the show.
In no time at all, I have updated myself like any avid fan. I was able to once again discuss delightedly with my girlfriends about the naughty antics of Samantha and Carrie’s wise/naive/dumb adventures. It was after some weeks that I realised that I was actually way ahead of my friends in the lives of these Manhattan girls. Like — two seasons ahead. All the while I thought that the cable station was just showing a lot of reruns.
It was not long after the initial discovery that I figured out that a lot of official and unofficial episode guides can be had on the internet. What bliss! What fun! They sure made my lunch hours very rewarding. I can read as much as one season in one lunch hour! It was with such glee that I tracked the lives of the Gilmore Girls, Carnivale, Six Feet Under and most recently, Lost.
Considering that each season has usually at least 12 episodes, I was able to condense several months of viewing pleasure into one hour. Not bad when it comes to saving time right? But let us remember the operative phrase here — viewing pleasure. I may have made myself the resident expert (sort of) on the lives of my screen friends but I have traded-off the watching for the reading. Having known the story, I no longer look forward to actually watching the show on TV. In fact, I treat each show as a rerun and it has become just another show in my channel surfer’s trail. The excitement to view the show is gone and so is the appreciation of the show’s other treats. So satiated I am on the storyline that I have no more appetite for the show’s other qualities — acting prowess, cinematography, soundtrack, fashion and, oh dear — the script.
I believe now that ALL episode guides are SPOILERS.
