I don't mean in terms of fewer viewers, but specifically things like message boards.

I enjoyed season 2 of Heroes until I read all the complaints on Nightly, and then couldn't help but see the problems that were brought up. I don't think it was as bad as Tank, but I'm definitely influenced by his logic.

Similarly, I've brought up issues with shows like Psych that others wouldn't have noticed on their own.

Show-runners can even be influenced by message boards, most notably (in my experience), Rob Thomas while working on Veronica Mars. He read and even posted on one message board that was full of complaints about various things and even wrote off a character who was unpopular in an episode named after the nickname he was given by the message board regulars.

Other shows have dramatically changed planned endings because things have been leaked, or even guessed. Rob Thomas (again) admitted to considering it based on people guessing the identity of the killers at the end of seasons one and two.



Thoughts?

I dunno. I've watched shows because of hearing about them on here that I wouldn't have even given a shot.

It's a give an take situation, imo. Like Rock I've given shows a chance based on what I've read and I wouldn't have otherwise. Like Brando I've noticed flaws in a show only because of something I've read. The thing about this, though, is that it isn't really the fault of the internet. What we are doing is really just what has been done for ages before the internet. In the past people were "around the water cooler" etc (situation obviously differening based on job class and social class). As such the internet is just one big water cooler.

Not in my opinion. The internet is what it is, a separate entity to other forms of information and entertainment. It may intersect in usage for a lot of people, though.

For me, what you describe is 'knowing how the magic trick is done'. People in Tank's line of work have always known the inner workings of TV. I'm not sure it's the internet that is the only reason more people are privvy to insider knowledge of anything these days. I think it's a combination of advancing technologies that's making the world seem smaller.

Yes and no.

No if for no other reason than if it wasn't for the internet Heroes would have sucked even more last season, sucked AGAIN even more this season, and been cancelled. Yet another show starts brilliantly only to end up getting flushed down the toilet because the show runners were out of touch. The good show runner can tell the difference between hateful bitching of people you're never going to please anyway and actual constructive feedback from fans who would rather like the show if only it didn't suck.

If the internet had been a stronger force back in the day perhaps the original BSG series would have lasted longer and gotten much better. Perhaps Sliders wouldn't have gone down the ****ing tubes. And so on.

Yes if for no other reason than spoilers. The spoiler craze is going to end up ruining television. You've got morons breaking onto sets, stealing scripts and props, and wasting the time of show runners devising ways to get around spoiler when they could be focusing on not sucking.

There were spoilers and spoiler nuts before the internet (most famously, the Bobby shower scene in Dallas was faked as a soap commerial to avoid spoilers LONG before the internet) but the damage was minimal compared to now.

I agree. The internet helps promot shows, but one drawback is spoilers. However, spoilers don't necessarily mean you won't wtch a show, just helps you stay away from the stinkers.

The spoiler addicts are the reason I never check out fansites for any of my regular shows. At all. Ever. Not even shows that were canceled long ago that I still plan to catch up on someday. Spoilers instantly reduce my reaction to a show from an emotionally stimulated response to a cold clinical evaluation. I fight hard to preserve that aspect of my TV enjoyment. In that sense, my infrequent fondness for TV actually hampers my Internet experience. (This also holds true when it comes to online videos. I don't like watching TV on my computer for long periods of time, and I resent when it's the only way I can catch something, so I avoid a lot of those Internet opportunities, too. Dr. Horrible was a rare exception for me.)

Nightly's pretty modest about spoilers, thankfully. The spoiler sensitivity (or maybe it's just boardwide laziness in propagation) is vastly appreciated. If anything, the post-show discussions help amplify my TV fandom, because fellow fans often force me to think harder about my viewing choices in general and each viewing experience in particular. I have to ask myself why I liked something that someone else didn't, or figure out how to amicably contrast my scorn for a show with someone else's adoration for same, or consider what I'm hearing about shows I've been missing. Whichever way it goes down, the opinion exchange prevents each episode from being just an hourlong time-killer that dissipates from memory abruptly after the final commercial break. I like when TV feels like more than just a cheap mental snack. The Internet adds nutrients to TV!

(Proof positive: one of the few reasons I still watch Smallville is that I enjoy the aftershow discussions here on Nightly. And for that, someday you will all pay. But until then, I thank you.)

Other things are killing TV, but I don't consider the Internet a primary suspect.

I've never had anything ruined for me because of the internet. Where are you people going and what are you reading that you're just stumbling onto spoilers?

Sometimes it doesn't take much. Even at Nightly, people will occasionally put spoilers in unrelated threads (ie minor Tropic Thunder spoilers in a Batman thread). It might not be much, but if you see just a few relatively minor spoilers it often makes it enough of a major spoiler.

My main thought in posting this was, in fact, how I thought the other board had pretty much ruined Veronica Mars.

People always think the internet is ruining something. It's either TV, or movies pr books-- but honestly, all of the have benefited. he only things I truly think the internet has ruined is journalism.

Things the Internet has ruined for me :

• Star Wars
• politics
• my respect for the common man
• news
• interest in the lives of others
• the inherent cuteness of cats, dogs, babies
• ignorance
• injokes
• breakfast
• movie trailers
• my sense of self-worth
• my enjoyment of Rick Astley's many quality songs
• the sense of genuine beauty behind the female form
• video games
• Grice's Maxims
• Cookie Monster
• the notion that Kirk and Spock are just close friends
• glue
• respect for the opinions of others
• other people's respect for MY VERY IMPORTANT OPINIONS
• jazz
• the solitary vice
• arithmetic
• the belief that it requires talent or skill to succeed
• hope
• pride
• love and its far more meaningful cousin : wuvv
• my steadfast faith in Superman not being a dick

Rick Roll could quite possibly be the greatest thing ever created!

On a serious note though... The internet in has ruined television in Australia, but also served as a catalyst for change. I'm speaking of the point of view of that we get shows months, sometimes a year, after they air in the US, with people here turning to downloading.

Journeyman, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, South Park, the list goes on. Australia is the second biggest market worldwide in downloading TV shows, according to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald. Networks here are only just realising it now, promoting new shows that are "fastracked from the US" and being only say 1 or 2 days behind.

LMFAO RC. Preach the rage, BAY-BEE.

Now if only you'd change your avatar away from that stale crusty assed ****.

That list is effing HILARIOUS, but jazz?

The Internet said that Kenny G was lame but he's so not lame I love when plays his music in the elevators.