About S. K. Sloan
Samuel K. Sloan's love of Star Trek brought him to Slice of SciFi, where he was Managing Editor from 2005-2011, and returned from 2013-2014 before retiring once again from scifi news gathering.
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She’s off the show??? I loved her.
Way to put a spoiler on the main page…
Yeah, you’d think Evo had never left.
I think you’ve just made a lot of Brits who were waiting for Tuesday a bit annoyed…
Please…you can’t spit on the Net without word about this occurrence. Besides, the question doesn’t reveal what happened now does it.
This is the final few episodes…you can bet there will be more existing before all is said and done. Also, a ton more took place in this first episode of 4.5 then Dualla….some quite revealing things indeed. Those too are already all over the Net, including other major entertainment sites and papers.
Personally, I think way too much is made of spoilers. Once an episode or movie has aired it is open game. A real spoiler is when something important about a show or film is spilled by someone before it has aired. Now that is spoiling. If we waited until everyone who is ever going to view it does so, then no one would be talking about anything…ever. Nope, the episode has aired, the press is abuzz about what happen in it so our little poll question is appropriate two days after the fact.
She’s not dead. She’s the 5th cylon.
Waah! Spoilers in my RSS feed!
We poor Aussies never get a break 🙁
I watched the episode and even I’m annoyed at this post without a spoilers heads up. Gawd…ruin it for everyone who hasn’t seen it.
The subject could have simply not mentioned which character exited. It would not have been a major spoiler to suggest that some character croaks. I think we’re all expecting many such shockers over the next 9 episodes.
Didn’t spoil it for just international viewers. WIth all the conversations about people TiVoings things and watching when convenient for them. It’s surprising to see spoilers posted just 2 days after a TV show has aired. On an RSS feed no less with no chance not to read it since it’s the title of the post.
Seriously… bad form…
I’ve been in this business a long, long, long time (some may feel too long) and have learned that you can never please everyone and that your gut instinct is right 99.9% of the time. My gut said go with this poll and I still have no regrets. If someone simply can’t handle even the smallest amount of info after something has originally aired then perhaps that person shouldn’t bother turning on their computers, reading a fan mag, a newspaper, listen to the radio or watch television. I thought the heading to this poll would have been sufficient to keep away those who wished not to be enlightened. Besides, when it comes to sci-fi,those living on this side of the pond have always been “spoiled” by our overseas brethren when it came to Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Charlie Jade and a host of other great shows out of the UK and beyond which we enjoyed over here but had to wait sometimes a full year (or longer) to get. It didn’t stop the press or fans in those countries from revealing key points of the show once it aired in the UK or wherever and we still looked forward to seeing them anyway even though they had been “spoiled” (see the real definition of spoiler in my above posting).
I have two good friends in the UK who just happen to have a very successful, popular (and finely produced) podcast. I listen to their show all the time and I certainly don’t hold it against them when they talked about Doctor Who episodes that had already aired in the UK and not in the US yet. In fact, I welcomed their comments about the details of the show and it always increased my anticipation level for when I would see the episode.
Also, just as a side note: Being a part of the FPM family doesn’t negate or relieve me from the joy and responsibility of sharing a personal opinion. I didn’t give up that right or freedom when I joined this team years ago.
Is there a third option? I’m personally of the opinion that it was neither genius nor a terrible travesty, it was just a sad thing that happened to a secondary character to show the impact of the colonial’s discovery of nuked earth.
Dude, spoiler warning next time! Damn!
Wow, spoiler much?
This isn’t so prominent on the main page, but it shows up like any other story in the rss feed. I’m sure most of your listeners aren’t geeky enough to use your rss feed, though!
Come on, if you wanted to do this, you could have done it without putting the spoiler in the headline. Not all of us are privileged enough to have had enough time to have seen the episode by now.
“I thought the heading to this poll would have been sufficient to keep away those who wished not to be enlightened.”
Really, Sam? “Are you surprised by Dualla’s exit from Battlestar Galactica” says, #1, there is a SURPRISE to be had, #2 it was Dualla, and #3 she’s off the show.
Now, I’m not gonna cry about a spoiler. If that’s what you want to do, fine, but don’t try to justify it to people who would rather have the element of surprise remain intact. The headline could have read “Surprise Exit from Battlestar Galactica.” So we know someone leaves but we don’t know who.
I’m not gonna cry about it Sam, but your justification leaves much to be desired.
Here’s a good example:
“Are you Surprised Zarek is the 5th Cylon?”
Would that be an acceptable headline?
No, because it would have been false and misleading.
Also, I see no need to feel guilty. SCI FI put up a piece about it right on their website calling it a Farewell to Dualla right after the episode aired.
If the very company who makes the show feels at liberty to reveal to the world…then I rest my case.
Bravo, Sam. Way to alienate your international readers.
Fact is, your personal opinion should count for a little less, and the opinions of your readers a little more. Try putting your US-centric heads above the parapet once in a while and realise that the world does not end at your borders – expecially when it comes to net traffic.
You couldn’t wait for a few more days before launching a plot point poll? You couldn’t have a link with a spoiler warning? Or, perhaps as you imply, you just don’t care. How fine and responsible of you.
Frankly, I am done with FPM. I already jettisoned the podcast some time ago, but I am going to lose the RSS feed too. You guys need some fresh blood with a bit of perspective outside of your own little circle, if you think that pissing off a chunk of your readership for a pointless poll is fair game.
Don’t bother responding, Sam – I won’t be reading.
I don’t mean the Zarek headline in place of the Dualla headline, I’m trying to keep things in context. You won’t post a poll headline revealing the identity of the final cylon when it happens.
You have grounds since people can watch past episodes on that website, and they would end up spoiling it themselves. But I think I speak for everyone here when I say it’s better to err on the side of caution.
And SciFi ain’t exactly the best example of sense and sensibility.
Oh, come on! Years ago, before the internet was in wide use, my husband used to try and get through the day of the Indy 500 without anyone telling him who won. We needed to tape the race due to other obligations and he would watch it in the evenings. People around us all knew he didn’t want to know who won. Despite our best efforts, he often found out before he could watch.
If you don’t want to know ANYTHING about an episode, stay off the internet, turn off your RSS feeds, shut down your cell phone and hide your head under a pillow. MAYBE you’ll be successful. That is until you accidentally overhear the 2 nerds on the bus discussing the finer points of the show at the top of their lungs.
Spoilers about tv shows are a very touchy subject eh? When talking about sports we know that the game is only played and (usually) aired once, so I know the places to avoid accidentaly seeing the results. If we’re talking about a TV show, not all markets air at the same time, and I can definitely see the points people outside the US are making (I live in Japan so we’re almost 2 years behind you guys in BG episodes). If it WERE simply a sports game then it would be really easy to avoid sports websites and turn off radios when sports news comes on. (I have that down to a fine art until I can see the NFL games I want broadcast here in Japan)
If people don’t want to see spoilers, yeah they can simply NOT visit this website, turn off their RSS, etc, but do we really WANT people not coming to this site for a week until the episode has aired in their region? (I think one week is fairly enough time to get the episode through whatever means) What about people with DVR’s? (I forget which slice member has it, although they practically mention it every week…)
I’m not arguing against the decision to put up this poll, in fact it’s a great poll. I just feel that a simple “Possible Spoiler” alert, or a rewording of the title would appease people visiting this site from outside the US. Hey, how about a poll on this subject alone? (hehe)
BSG is one of the best written shows on TV, however, it can also be very depressing.
You don’t watch this show to go to your happy place.
But that’s the point! If you don’t want to know anything about the episode, THIS is the wrong website to visit! If I don’t want to know who won the Grand Prix, I stay off the Speed Vision website. And while American sport vids are run in “real time”, we happen to follow Formula One racing, which is often on a tape delay from Europe.
I want to be able to talk about the episode. I want to know what you all think about the fact that killing Dee off was made to be a big deal – which I’m not sure it is. There were a half a dozen “Oh My God” moments in that episode. Our intrepid reporters are not allowed to discuss them without putting up silly “Spoiler Alerts”? Please. This is the SLICE OF SCIFI website. This is the best SciFi show on the air today. Do I have to wait until the entire world has had a chance to see this episode?
Wow, right up there with “Wash dies”. In a day of DVR’s and people on your own show supporting the “watch it when it’s good for you” you have to be a little better at the spoilers.
Spoilers in RSS feeds isn’t on I’m afraid.. Justify it all you like, the response you’ve received here should be enough to tell you that it was a mistake. Lisa, you assume that people have visited the site and thus been spoiled. Not true. I’d guess, like myself, many people have the Slice of Scifi feed in iGoogle or any number of other RSS readers. It’s pretty obvious that it’s a spoiler for those outside the US or Canada and frankly, given so many people have PVRs, it’s probably a spoiler for many US viewers too. Even forum posters have the common decency to not put spoilers in topics for episodes that have aired recently.
“Silly Spoiler Alerts”? How insensitive. What a shame that you are happy to ruin the show for those that haven’t had the chance to view it yet.
I can fully understand a mistake like this occurring but I’ve found your justifications to be in poor taste. I guess this is one RSS feed that I’ll have to ditch for fear of being spoiled once more. A shame.
Lisa, I never meant to imply that you couldn’t talk about a certain episode until it had aired in all markets. On the other hand, are you all implying that all other people in the world, like those commenting above us from the UK and Australia, are REQUIRED to know what days in the US shows “originally” air? Where on this website does it say that this if for North America users only?
Like I said, this is a good poll, but is it too hard to reword the questions, or put a small warning that would take about 1 second to type for international readers?
Last year there was a 5 month gap between the U.S. broadcast and the Australian broadcast of episodes of BSG, so obviously spoilers are a problem.
I think Sam could have worded the heading and the question without naming the character that was exiting.
ie. “Were You Surprised by the characters sudden exit from last weeks Battlestar Galactica?”
“Should Ron Moore have allowed the character to go out in such a shocking way for the Battlestar Galactica season 4.5 opener?”
This would allow those who have seen it to vote and those who haven’t to wonder who.
Yeah. I took the least of the several “OMG” moments from the show and polled it. I took the plot-point that would make the least impact of what is to follow in the final nine episodes of the series. Should I have put a SPOILER ALERT on it? Perhaps. But, statistics show that it really keeps very few away from reading it and still pisses off some that it was listed at all.
And honestly, do you think I was really going to let everyone else be talking about this all over the net, TV, forums, etc… and not mention it here, one of the biggest sci-fi websites in the world? I felt that a poll was the best way to address it without opening the door to discussion of the more important revelations that were revealed in this first return episode of the show. My gods! There was so much fraking info revealed in this one hour episode that it makes Dualla’s exit seem almost off-hand. (How’s that for building up excitement?)
PLEASE POST SPOILER! I HAVEN’T WATCHED THIS YET!….
WOW, kinda no brainer people…. but yea, wow, spoil much. 🙁
Sam, with respect, I think you are missing the point somewhat. If I went to the Sci-Fi Channel’s website the day after a new episode then I know I’d see spoilers, so I don’t go there. That’s an active attempt to avoid places where spoilers might occur. But a spoiler in an RSS feed gives the reader no chance to avoid it. Tomorrow night, when BSG airs here in the UK, I won’t get the same kick out of the episode that your US listeners got from the episode.
I not so much irritated by the spoiler, though that’s annoying in itself, I’m annoyed by the “well hard luck” attitude you seem to be displaying. The lack of sensitivity towards your international listeners/readers is worrying, or am I to take it that Slice of Scifi is now clearly for US listeners and readers only? Not one of the posters here is begrudging you the opportunity to have a poll or talk about the episode but how much effort would it have taken to make that topic into a non-spoiler? Precisely zero. Heck, even in forums, most people avoid using spoilers in the topic line so they don’t spoil it for those that don’t get the episode on the day of release.
Let me add this. I know that much, if not all, of Slice is a labour of love for you guys and we do appreciate the effort you all go to, but please, please, be more careful in the future and remember that we don’t all live in the US.
I dont think a simple “SPOILER…..” at the start of the headline would hurt the article.
Ya know, just saying….
Ya kno and it’s a spoiler in the choices: “No. Dualla should have never gone out like that.”
I mean, “gone out like what…gone out? gone! whaa”….. at first I thought she didn’t sign for another season, now it’s like she’d D-E-A-D….wtf.
Wash dies?!?! . . . oh, yeah, that’s right . . . thanks a lot; I had put that out of my mind.
Interestingly, with as much RSS feed people subscribe to, the story might have been overlooked by most . . . but since getting all the notices for the comments, it’s kind of hard to miss. I’m referring to the BSG story, not the Wash one. I have not watched BSG, waiting for a time when i can watch the series from the beginning. One small item on the reader would likely have been forgotten by the time I get around to watching it, but now Dualla’s fate is burned in my memory.
A side question . . . what do people do when they re-watch a movie or a series? Obviously they already know the ending, and all the pertinent details. Are they enjoying it less? I mean, I know full well the joy of discovery as opposed to having someone tell you, but these days it is much harder to go without hearing something like this. Not impossible, but much harder.
In a way, it’s the nature of the community; it revels on all sorts of information (look at the stuff for the new Star Trek), with a lot of movies releasing clips well ahead of release. Even trailers spoil the movies to a point since when you are watching a movie you are aware of scenes which have not aired yet (TV shows do the same thing). I may not like it, but we live in an age where spoilers are the norm.
Sam,
I don’t see here where anyone is saying that the poll itself wasn’t a good idea. The complaint, and I can see the point, is the way it was delivered. I too, found this in my RSS feed this morning and clicked the link to vote. While I’ve seen the episode and I’m not spoiled, I did think it was odd to put something that explicit in the news feed.
I understand everyone’s point. I just think it is an over reaction to it. I was fully aware of the raking over the coals I was likely to receive from fans for posting this the way it was done. Like I said, I’ve been at this a long time. But sometime one has to be willing to take the hit to get something out there the way their gut tells them to.
I hope we loose no fans over this, but for those who choose to do so…it has been a pleasure serving you all these years…and to those who will stick with Slice of Scifi….it continues being my pleasure, now in my limited capacity, to serve you with the latest in sci-fi news and entertainment.
To those who were offended by it, I apologize for giving offence. But, I stand true by my decision to post it.
I agree it was in bad form to post it the way it was. The topic could have been something like “BSG Survey: WARNING-SPOILER” so someone could have the option of opening it or not.
As for the actual topic of the survey… We were quite surprised but as my wife said, people who are going to commit suicide don’t talk about it. They just do it. These people have been through a lot and I think it was just too much for this character. We decided the clincher was finding the jacks on “Earth”. The amount of death both in the fleet and on the planet along with finding out that it wasn’t over yet pushed them over the edge.
As for other possible spoiler info… I thought the reveal of the final Cylon was a bit anti-climactic. And the wife and I are confused since they actually revealed TWO characters who may be Cylons. Certainly the one who said “Don’t worry. We will be reborn” is probably a Cylon (that’s the anti-climactic one) but what about the other one? Is he/she a clone? What the heck is going on?
Dualla commits suicide? Oh, man, I thought Sam meant she dumped Lee and left Galactica.
I think that she was actually one of the more tragic characters on the show. Apollo treated her like crap, cheated on her on their wedding night and didn’t even come home. Always made her feel like a second choice. If I were him, I would feel way guilty.
spoiled it for me, this is the only place i look for entertainment news
sam,
i’ve never read this site before, just came across it when looking for some info on the whole dualla thing after the episode aired. and i can’t help the feeling that you have a little bit of contempt for the people who come to this site. it was in your gut to potentially & knowingly ruin the surprise for alot of people? would it really have destroyed the integrity of your poll to be a little more considerate towards your readers and post a spoiler warning?
its obvious that the majority of people who have spent the time to write on this thread are in agreement with each other about the spoiler. its also obvious to me, maybe not to you that they also care. you sound like kanye west does when he says he wants less fans, arrogant.
Spacemonkey (“i can’t help the feeling that you have a little bit of contempt for the people who come to this site”): Sorry you feel that way because, as those who have followed my writings for several years…they know nothing could be further from the truth.
Come on folks. We live in the days when you can download and watch movies before they are even released in your country. To be mad about a “spoiler” for an episode that has AIRED is beyond childish. If you don’t want to see or hear anything about it just stay off the rss feeds and steer clear of the web. ELLEN IS THE 5TH. How’s that for a spoiler.
And what do you mean “Wash Dies!!!!”. I had lost my copy and never got around to watching it! How dare you behave in such an insensitive manner and “spoil” it for me. Next thing you know you will be telling me that Darth is Luke’s father or something!!
Adam,
Beyond childish? Pass me your email address, let me know what shows you like and I’ll spoil them for you. Let’s see how childish you think it is then. Comments like yours give this website a bad name.
Can’t we all just get along???
spoiler? it’s not like he described how she fell down that pit and was attacked by a canabilistic rogue 6
😛
I was very shocked. But I also thought it was great story telling and made perfect sense. Life is more unfair to some than others and I was hoping she would get her revenge on Apollo. Now that I think about it, I guess she did. I would have rather had her go out in a heroic blaze of glorry with her last words “you can go frak yourself Lee, going out over all channels.” Sigh. She was my biggest BSG crush.
I am in Oz and am “obtaining” the episodes a few days after aired. This is the first time I have done this as I usually wait for the local TV to air &/or get the DVDs. But for the last 10 episodes, I can’t wait, especially if they are all as good as this one !
Re Sam’s spoiler, I stay away from obvious sources which would have spoilers such as scifi channel. I had thought that the Slice site was one that went out of its way to avoid spoilers after the “Wash incident”, but it appears I was mistaken 😉
Bottom line for me is that:
– Sam is unrepentant. Nothing against Sam, as I have enjoyed his contributions, but his position is clear.
– Slice of SciFi RSS feed is now removed from my RSS reader until at least after BSG is finished.
– I will still listen to the podcast as the lesson was learnt by the “on-air” team after the aforementioned Wash incident 😉
Again: Correct definition of SPOILER:
A published piece of information that divulges a surprise, such as a plot twist in a movie, TV show, stage production before it has originally aired.
Who is to determine when “before it has originally aired” is applicable?
The first rule of thumb….the place of origin. If the program has first aired in the UK, then no spoiler can be attributed to any information spoken about such program after it has aired in the UK. If it is in the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Timbuktu or some other location, then the same rule applies.
Who determines how long after original airing before information is released.
That is at the discretion of the person or organization releasing the info.
Look. There is no way those who are upset about this are ever going to be placated and that is why I offer no official apology for making the decision to run with the poll TWO DAYS after the original airing of the episode. I did apologize for offending any who were offended but my journalistic integrity cannot allow me to apologize for releasing the info when I did. I stayed full within the bounds of good intent and well within the confines of the true definition of spoiler.
Secondly. I could have done far worse (in the eyes of those upset with me now)…like make the poll about who the 5th Cylon was, the mystery surrounding, the Chief, Sam and the other 4 known Cylons, and more importantly—–Kara. I took the “least objectionable” plot twist and ran with that (not to imply that a suicide is something “least objectionable”, but within the context of the event, of lesser importance then the other revelations).
Those who wish to turn off their RSS feed to SoSF are free to do so, I simply feel that in the end, you will be less informed.
Can I promise something like this won’t happen again in the future? Of course not. I’d be lying if I did. I can say that, for the more sensitive in our SF world, you will be forewarned in the title that goes out in the Feed.
So for now:
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease! Leeeeeeeeeeeave Saaaaaaaammmmmmmy Alone! 😉
It’s unfortunate. I don’t come to slice for spoiler free news. I come to look for discussions of things I’ve already watched and learn about things that are in the works. It was a great discussion question about one of my favorite characters on the show but I had to fish through all the muck to see what others thought. Spoilers are just a hazard of taking a deeper interest in your favorite show. I couldn’t download the BSG episode until the following Sunday so I just made sure to go “radio silent” for a few days.
Leeeeave Sam a-looooone!!!!
LOL!!
Seriously. Can we PLEASE stop whining about spoilers.
I don’t think it’s fair to dump on Sam just because you may have not yet seen what’s been discussed.
A show airs first in the U.S. and you won’t see it for a few weeks? Then stay away from places where you might get spoilered. Places like news sites that originate in the country of initial airing.
i miss boxey……..boohoo, ironic sniffle, promised myself i wouldnt cry, blub blub…evil laugh!:)
Yes, I was surprised. Not in the way Ron Moore probably intended, because I hadn’t actually watched the episode I’d recorded yet, but definitely surprised. That’s what I get for going to work instead of watching TV! Dang, I knew that work ethic would get me in trouble.
Once I thought about it, after watching the episode, I thought it was an understandable development. Dualla had taken it in the teeth for a number of years and it seemed that the character had finally reached a point of no return. Kudos to the BSG team for not sugarcoating the despair she might feel after…wait, that might be a spoiler.
Sam,
You are still missing the point here. I have only just stumbled on this website after doing a quick search and so I am pleased to say I have seen the episode in question, however having read your post and responses I cannot leave without supporting your injured readers. You try to justify your actions by providing definitions of “spoiler” that supposedly argue that it doesn’t matter if the episode has just aired.
This is not about strict definitions; the fact is that you have “spoiled” the episode for many people. You also argue that the plot point is not major but it is about the death of a character that has been in the series since day 1. This is a serious spoiler and you should have had the courtesy to warn people about it.
This does not affect the quality of the post- it could have had exactly the same content. All you needed to do was protect your reader and start with a warning- particularly in the RSS feed.
Finally, you could placate your displeased readers by honestly apologising for what was a mistake and trying to avoid it in the future. I agree with SpaceMonkey here in that your attitude does seem to be that of contempt for the angered readers rather than of apology.
I’m sure that those who turn off their RSS feed will be less informed, at least I would hope so. No one wants to be informed of plot details before they see a show and decent, well delivered material that doesn’t make this error is available elsewhere.