# I think we have to accept that TV will rarely surprise us anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695 "2018-01-15T15:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/1 "2018-01-15T15:40:24Z")
With the Internet, Reddit in particular, and thousands if not millions of people discussing plots etc. crowd sourcing will almost always second guess every twist or plot surprise a handful of writers in a writer’s room can come up with. I think we have to decide we are okay with this and stop complaining when it happens (it will almost always happen) or stop dissecting TV (which will never happen. The Genie is out of the bottle). There’s a related phenomena where the Internet treats art like a product they bought and expect the creators to give them exactly what they want (a lot of the bitching about the Last Jedi online goes down this road). This is also silly and stupid. Art is not crowd sourced and if you don’t like how someone wrote a story, write your own story. I think we will all be better off as a people if we learn to accept surprise isn’t going to happen unless you let it happen and just enjoy the journey. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/2 "2018-01-15T15:46:33Z")
As much as I like discussion, I’m tempted to avoid everything about Westworld next season. So much of it was ruined just by everyone dissecting every clue. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/3 "2018-01-15T16:19:53Z")
Some people like to be surprised at the end, some like to feel superior when they figure out the ending. The one thing no one likes is when the ending falls flat. That’s a fault of the storyteller, not the Internet. As for people bitching because they didn’t get what they wanted, that’s always been the case. Dickens changed the ending of _Great Expectations_. And although Shaw refused to change the ending for stage productions of _Pygmalion_, he did write an alternate final scene for the 1938 film. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/4 "2018-01-15T16:20:52Z")
This has been happening for over 20 years, when people discussed _Babylon 5_ in forums on GEnie (and I doubt that’s the first). The speculation is fun, and really doesn’t ruin the surprise. People always speculated as to the meaning of things in serial art (they speculated on Charles Dickens’s novels when he serialized them). And, even now, it’s possible to surprise people: take a look at _The Good Place_. There was a long discussion of it here, but no one actually guessed the big twist (a few came close, but no one really paid attention). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/5 "2018-01-15T16:24:36Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > With the Internet, Reddit in particular, and thousands if not millions of people discussing plots etc. crowd sourcing will almost always second guess every twist or plot surprise a handful of writers in a writer’s room can come up with. I think we have to decide we are okay with this and stop complaining when it happens (it will almost always happen) or stop dissecting TV (which will never happen. The Genie is out of the bottle). I’m sure you’re aware that many millions of us have never visited Reddit (or even would know how to do so) and can avoid spoilers by not clicking on SDMB threads that contain “Spoilers” in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/6 "2018-01-15T16:42:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m sure you’re aware that many millions of us have never visited Reddit (or even would know how to do so) and can avoid spoilers by not clicking on SDMB threads that contain “Spoilers” in the title. This. It’s only a problem if you engage in that kind of thing. I’m subscribed to 100 subreddits, none of them related to entertainment. I can’t think of a single post I’ve seen there about TV. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/7 "2018-01-15T18:27:40Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > And, even now, it’s possible to surprise people: take a look at _The Good Place_. There was a long discussion of it here, but no one actually guessed the big twist (a few came close, but no one really paid attention). That’s what I came in to say, I was completely surprised by the season 1 reveal. It was perfectly logical, a major plot advancement, and few saw it coming. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/8 "2018-01-15T18:49:15Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > That’s what I came in to say, I was completely surprised by the season 1 reveal. It was perfectly logical, a major plot advancement, and few saw it coming. Me too although I find I rarely speculate on plots of comedies. All I care about is if they are funny. In this case I laughed and was surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/9 "2018-01-15T19:36:15Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m sure you’re aware that many millions of us have never visited Reddit (or even would know how to do so) and can avoid spoilers by not clicking on SDMB threads that contain “Spoilers” in the title. A few points: Of course not everyone uses Reddit. I barely use it and I have used the Internet for decades. That was just an example plus what happens in Reddit usually filters its way throughout the rest of the Internet these days anyway. I’m not complaining about the lack of surprise. I am commenting on the common attitude that shows are boring now because people knew what was going to happen because the combined guessing of millions of people figure it out six episodes earlier. I also liked to be surprised. Seeing The Sixth Sense opening weekend before people even knew there was twist let alone what it was was one of my best Movie memories. So I get the disappointment. My point is basally you have to accept you won’t be surprised (most of the time) if you dig deep into your favorite shows online but if you do so it is fiar to also complain the show is boring because it didn’t trick you properly. ETA: I loved the twist of the Good Place. That was similar to my Sixth Sense experience but I suspect if the show were more popular it would have been spoiled ahead of the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/10 "2018-01-16T00:13:45Z")
This has been going on for a long time. I remember the cliffhanger from _Dallas_, when the woman woke up and Patrick Duffy, who should have been dead, was in the shower. (Please forgive my lack of specifics, I didn’t watch the show.) People speculated all summer, and TV Guide asked the smartest people their opinions – Issac Asimov was sure we were going to see a season of a recreation of _Gaslight_, someone was going to drive her insane with a lookalike. Issac Asimov was wrong, they just made the entire previous season a dream. :smack: This wasn’t caused by the internet, but instead, the endless speculation worked the writers into a corner, and sometimes they just decide to go completely off the rails to generate some interest. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/11 "2018-01-16T00:23:45Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Some people like to be surprised at the end, some like to feel superior when they figure out the ending. Really? So if I like solving mysteries, I’m doing it to feel superior? No chance I just like solving mysteries for fun? I enjoy coming up with theories about shows, but I’ve never done it to feel superior to anyone. I just like solving puzzles. I am guessing that describes most people who like to do that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/12 "2018-01-16T02:53:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Really? So if I like solving mysteries, I’m doing it to feel superior? No chance I just like solving mysteries for fun? I was talking about the people who hang around subforums discussing a plot to death and then complain that there are no surprises in the story. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-have-to-accept-that-tv-will-rarely-surprise-us-anymore/806695/13 "2018-01-16T03:40:50Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > As much as I like discussion, I’m tempted to avoid everything about Westworld next season. So much of it was ruined just by everyone dissecting every clue. My wife and I waited until it had all aired and we avoided all discussion of it entirely. It was a lot of fun and we did not see the twists coming.