Note: We will be discussing this topic tonight on the Once Upon a Time Fan Podcast at 7PM PT http://live.onceuponatimepodcast.com

ARE SPOILERS RUINING ABC’S ONCE UPON A TIME?

Spoilers are known to people as spilled out information about movies and TV shows. In fact Webster’s dictionary defines a “spoiler” as:

 “information about the plot of a motion picture or TV program that can spoil a viewer’s sense of surprise or suspense; also :a person who discloses such information”

But in the context of news and the internet, what is considered a spoiler? Are interviews with tidbits from the stars of the show considered spoilers? Or casting news? How about filming pictures and sneak peeks? Are they considered spoilers? How about east coast viewers tweeting about a show after its aired? Are they spoiling it for west coast viewers? Or how about people living in the UK, where the first season is still currently airing. If they watched the ComicCon panel a couple of weeks ago where many things were revealed, was that a spoiler for them?

 The term “spoilers” is a very tricky and broad term and unless you live in a bubble and have no communication to the outside world, you are definitely prone to see spoilers the second you open a news website, twitter or any other social networking site. Some people find it thrilling and exciting to read or hear about future events and some don’t. The basic question here is – “Can we avoid leaks or spoilers in this very modern and technologically advanced era?”

 Once Upon a Time is filmed in real place called Moncton Street in Steveston, British Columbia where people live and have ongoing day to day businesses. Steveston locals get the thrill of watching filming and seeing first hand a general view of what an episode may be about. So we can say, technically speaking, the residents of Steveston are spoiled with information. They don’t get the same surprise factor we get when we watch it for the first time. However, the town of Steveston is very protective of the show, in fact the official twitter account of Steveston has tweeted several times pleading with people not to post spoilers and filming pictures.

Also many fans visiting Steveston to watch filming have been allowed to take pictures but have been requested repeatedly by the cast, crew and residents of Steveston to delay posting spoiler pictures until the episode has aired. Some people have honored this request and others have not. During the Comic Con panel, Ginnifer Goodwin even said that she was apprehensive about filming that very revealing finale scene out in the open where Snow and Charming remember each other’s identities.

 “(We were thinking) what were to look like “Snow” and “Charming” that we can yell. And then we can, you know ADR with the proper names later on.”      – Ginnifer Goodwin.

 Another angle to look at is if certain websites/blogs/podcasts decide to implement a “no spoiler tag” or “spoiler tag”, does it really matter? Going back to the fact that we are living in a modern era where technology is very accessible.

 The questions we need to ask ourselves are – Can we really prevent such information from leaking out? How are we to protect ourselves from spoiler information and at the same time still be part of the internet social stream?  

 The bottomline is, with technology quickly taking over the world, these are very hard questions to answer. Or possibly can never be answered.

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Want more Once Upon A Time? Check out the Once Upon A Time Fan Podcast at http://ouat.roneyzone.com