Social media, I love you.
But you’re killing the very entertainment you seek to promote.
Movie trailers already reveal far too much about the plot of most films. By the end of some promos, you know everything but the specific dialogue for each plot point.
Now Twitter and Facebook are doing the same for television and movies, posting spoilers and clips galore. It’s almost impossible to be surprised.
Here are just a few examples from this morning alone:
- Entertainment Weekly believes it has already solved the murder after only three episodes of The Killing, a new series on AMC, and is tweeting their findings in a “Clue Tracker”
- “The Awful Truth” tweeted what character on Glee is leaving the show on tonight’s episode…and whether or not Amber will die on tonight’s season finale of Parenthood
- The opening scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part II is posted on Facebook a full three months before the movie hits theatres in July
I didn’t watch the Harry Potter clip. I want to experience that in the theatre. I love that moment when the lights go down and the saga’s logo fills the screen. Its rendering has been unique to each movie and always foreshadows in a small way what’s to come.
Watching those two minutes now, sitting here at my laptop, can’t touch that.
Sure, I could ‘unfollow’ the Facebook and Twitter feeds of these entertainment sites. But I’m interested in the news that they regularly report. I’m just asking for a bit of restraint.
Tease the entertainment that’s to come, absolutely.
Just don’t give it all away.
Posted in Advertising, Blog, Blogging, Blogs, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, Movies, News, Television, TV
Tagged AMC, blog, blogging, blogs, commentary, entertainment, Entertainment Weekly, EW, Facebook, GLEE! tv show, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part II, Harry Potter logo, Humor, Internet, life, movie clips, movie theatre, Movies, Parenthood tv show, social media, spoilers, Television, The Awful Truth, The Killing tv show, TV, tv clips, tweets, Twitter
What’s in a name?
I have devoted many a blog post to the all-too-short-lived series Parenthood on NBC.
You may have noticed.
But this weekend, an unrelated article in the Sunday New York Times has brought forth yet another question:
Why did the family name change from Buckman — in the 1989 origin film — to Braverman in the TV series?
I’ve done some research, and apparently I’m not the first to ask this question, but for decidedly different reasons.
Many viewers pointed out that “Braverman” is a surname of Jewish origin, but the Parenthood family is decidedly not so. Others surmised that “Buckman” sounded a bit too Midwestern — where the movie was located — and the name change was necessary to reflect the California setting.
Or was it a bit of an inside joke?
The Sunday New York Times article discussed the evolution of Doc Johnson Enterprises, the ‘first family of pleasure products.’ The family surname? Oh, it’s not Johnson; it’s Braverman. And it got me thinking…
Could one of television’s great family dramas have added this little Easter egg…just for giggles and grins?
Or maybe one of the creators is simply related to a Braverman, or it tested well…neither of which is as fun for me.
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Posted in Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Television
Tagged Braverman, Buckman, Doc Johnson Enterprises, Easter egg, Jewish origin, Midwestern, New York Times, Parenthood, Parenthood movie, Parenthood tv show