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Complete text of "Media, Fans Increasingly Spill TV Secrets". Kept here because I'm sure that the story will disappear from the web and I will eventually want to reread it.
Media, Fans Increasingly Spill TV Secrets
By William Keck and Gary Levin, USA TODAY
The secrets of Wisteria Lane are getting harder to keep.
For years, obsessive fans have used the Internet to trade inside info on their favorite shows. But the rise of reality TV and, this season, serialized dramas has sent producers scurrying into lockdown mode.
Just ask Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of The O.C., who wasn't pleased when TV Guide devoted the bulk of a cover article last fall to a detailed catalog of plot spoilers from the current season.
"It's annoying, because part of the pleasure you derive from a show like ours or Lost or Desperate Housewives that's twisty or turny is you want to be surprised by the twists and turns," he says.
After word leaked online that a character on Housewives will be revealed as gay in this week's episode, New York's Daily News picked up the story, irritating producers who believe the show's continued success depends upon maintaining secrecy at all costs. As in other series, scripts are closely guarded, crewmembers sign confidentiality agreements, and visitors are shielded from a bulletin board that maps plot points.
"When Diane Sawyer shot an interview in the writers' office, she had to promise to not point the camera at our wall of plot," says Housewives co-executive producer Kevin Murphy.
Others take extreme measures. Ahead of last spring's O.C. season finale, "we put out fake spoilers that the Cohen house burned and that Ryan was taken to a hospital," Schwartz says. Chat room fans "went to it like moths to a flame."
Murphy says Housewives, gearing up for "some really gigantic surprises," may do the same. "We have the option of shooting something at the last minute. We may feed disinformation to actors. And we're also talking about shooting multiple versions of scenes," as Sex and the City did last year.
Reality shows are ripe for snooping. Shortly after CBS' Survivor premiered to instant success, Web sites sprang up ticking off the next contestants to get voted off the island, leading producer Mark Burnett to start his own disinformation campaign that led some to (wrongly) speculate the winner of the first season.
Nearly five years later, the identities of 20 players on the show's 10th season (premiering tonight, 8 ET/PT) could be gleaned online before they had been announced. And insider betting has led one site to end wagering on Survivor finalists.
Sometimes a leaked story line can be a plus, drawing casual viewers to a show. Marissa's (Mischa Barton (news)) lesbian dalliance on The O.C. was spilled months ago, before the episodes had been filmed; Fox reversed course and aggressively teased the story line. As a result, last week's episode, ending in a kiss, earned its highest ratings in nearly three months.
And some struggling series are willing to trade suspense for the attention a spoiler brings. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz complains how tough it is to surprise fans of the comedy, but he doesn't mind touting that one major character will lose a body part on the episode airing March 6. (We won't spoil with details.)
Original Article at Yahoo News. By William Keck and Gary Levin, from: USA TODAY. 2/17/2005
Media, Fans Increasingly Spill TV Secrets
By William Keck and Gary Levin, USA TODAY
The secrets of Wisteria Lane are getting harder to keep.
For years, obsessive fans have used the Internet to trade inside info on their favorite shows. But the rise of reality TV and, this season, serialized dramas has sent producers scurrying into lockdown mode.
Just ask Josh Schwartz, creator and executive producer of The O.C., who wasn't pleased when TV Guide devoted the bulk of a cover article last fall to a detailed catalog of plot spoilers from the current season.
"It's annoying, because part of the pleasure you derive from a show like ours or Lost or Desperate Housewives that's twisty or turny is you want to be surprised by the twists and turns," he says.
After word leaked online that a character on Housewives will be revealed as gay in this week's episode, New York's Daily News picked up the story, irritating producers who believe the show's continued success depends upon maintaining secrecy at all costs. As in other series, scripts are closely guarded, crewmembers sign confidentiality agreements, and visitors are shielded from a bulletin board that maps plot points.
"When Diane Sawyer shot an interview in the writers' office, she had to promise to not point the camera at our wall of plot," says Housewives co-executive producer Kevin Murphy.
Others take extreme measures. Ahead of last spring's O.C. season finale, "we put out fake spoilers that the Cohen house burned and that Ryan was taken to a hospital," Schwartz says. Chat room fans "went to it like moths to a flame."
Murphy says Housewives, gearing up for "some really gigantic surprises," may do the same. "We have the option of shooting something at the last minute. We may feed disinformation to actors. And we're also talking about shooting multiple versions of scenes," as Sex and the City did last year.
Reality shows are ripe for snooping. Shortly after CBS' Survivor premiered to instant success, Web sites sprang up ticking off the next contestants to get voted off the island, leading producer Mark Burnett to start his own disinformation campaign that led some to (wrongly) speculate the winner of the first season.
Nearly five years later, the identities of 20 players on the show's 10th season (premiering tonight, 8 ET/PT) could be gleaned online before they had been announced. And insider betting has led one site to end wagering on Survivor finalists.
Sometimes a leaked story line can be a plus, drawing casual viewers to a show. Marissa's (Mischa Barton (news)) lesbian dalliance on The O.C. was spilled months ago, before the episodes had been filmed; Fox reversed course and aggressively teased the story line. As a result, last week's episode, ending in a kiss, earned its highest ratings in nearly three months.
And some struggling series are willing to trade suspense for the attention a spoiler brings. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz complains how tough it is to surprise fans of the comedy, but he doesn't mind touting that one major character will lose a body part on the episode airing March 6. (We won't spoil with details.)
Original Article at Yahoo News. By William Keck and Gary Levin, from: USA TODAY. 2/17/2005
