Thursday, May 24, 2007

The Dreaded Phone Call, Killing the Suspense


I think everyone has been through it before. You shut yourself off from the world so that the show you’ve been waiting for won’t be spoiled. It’s that special episode, the one that’s meant to blow your mind, and you know 5 minutes after it’s over every news broadcast and website will be talking about it, so you seclude yourself to watch the episode without it being spoiled. And then someone calls and spoils it.

I came home full of anticipating for the season finale of Lost, the ABC blockbuster show that has kept me guessing for 3 straight seasons now. I came home with multiple questions to be answered: was Locke alive, can Charlie survive the flooding of underwater hatch, will the others be killed by the trap set up by Sayeed, and most importantly, will Jack get the survivors of flight 815 off the island?

So I shut myself off from the world, turn on the DVR, and start watching the episode. And it’s amazing! Tons of action, right from the get goes. Charlie getting his butt whooped by two girls as he tries to stop the others from jamming the signal, Jack playing Moses as he leads the survivors to the radio tower, and Sayeed’s contingent blowing up 7 others and then getting captured. Add in great Jack flashbacks, and I was loving it.

And then the phone rings. Immediate panic, as I realize it’s a friend who watches the show. I know if I pick up he’ll tell me something I don’t want to hear, but I always pick up the phone. After some internal debate, I finally decide, this is one time I’m going to have to not pick up, and send it to the answering machine.

My gut says that he’ll hear the machine and hang up, but no dice, the friend starts talking. I turn up the volume on the TV, trying to mute him out. I can barely hear him now, mainly just mumbling. Until he talks louder, to say “can you believe?” and then scream “the flashback was actually a flash into the future….incredible!” And just like that, all the secrets were blown.

Of course what followed is my shoe thrown at the answering machine, and knocking it off the wall. I should have thought of it two minutes earlier, then the episode wouldn’t have been blown. I did watch the end of the episode, but it just wasn’t the same. Tomorrow I’ll call the friend and give him some crap for spoiling the episode for me, but for now I guess I’ll just have to look forward to next season.

And meanwhile, I think it’s time to look for an answering machine where I can’t hear the messages as their left. Well worth the investment, don’t you think?

Posted by Scottage at 12:34 AM / | |