Spoiler alert: this column is about spoilers in TV

Last week I wrote a column that featured major spoilers for those who have not seen the first three season of “Lost,” My bad. I know how bad it is to have things spoiled.

I’m currently behind on the current season of “24” and have had a major death spoiled for me.

It was hard to deal with. Not only was this character one of my favorite characters, but it has taken some of the joy out of catching up on it. Spoilers are a common piece with T.V. viewing life, especially if you’re on the Internet.

Going to your favorite show’s Wikipedia page is a mine field of spoiler alert worthy information. I currently know the episode descriptions of the next four episodes of “90210,” including the finale.

While “90210” spoilers aren’t on the level of “Lost” spoilers, which I avoid like the plague, it’s still going to stink knowing exactly what’s going to happen while I watch it.

I try to avoid spoiling things for friends. Wednesdays while “Lost” talk is going on, I make sure there’s no one left in the room who needs to watch the episode on Hulu later in the week.

If so, they are shunned from the conversation immediately. In high school, there was a character who hung around my group of friends. Let’s call him Spoiler Man. Spoiler Man’s goal in life was to ruin even the most surprising twist.

My friend was watching “24” from the beginning for the first time. He came in and we were talking about how he liked the first disc of the first season. Without missing a beat, Spoiler Man ruined the finale and every plot twist in between.

When I was catching up on “24,” I had multiple twists spoiled for me. Even while watching the show live during its fifth season, a major death was revealed to me weeks earlier by Spoiler Man.

Some of the worst spoilers I’ve ever seen were on the “24” DVDs. Each of the episodes has its own menu, a nice feature for a T.V. DVD fan, but they also include an image from the episode.

During the third season this played a major spoiler for me. The image featured a character who was supposedly in exile just standing there holding a vile of some made up “24” virus.
Another time, in the middle of a hot pursuit of some yellow terrorist truck, you change it to the next episode menu and there you see the truck, crushed by an oncoming tractor trailer. This event happened maybe halfway through the episode. “I wonder how this long, now boring, chase is going to end.”

Reality star Ray Jay managed to spoil his own show, ironically on live television.
The reporter asked him about a rumor that “Risky” was pregnant. He responded with a typical “You’ll have to watch to find out.”

Instead of ending like he, or any trained speaker would, Ray Jay continued this train of thought by saying “Risky actually comes back this season… pregnant.” Rarely does someone accidently spoil their own competitive dating reality show.

With the advancement of communication on the Internet, story lines frequently being leaked and increasingly busy schedules, it’s hard not to have your favorite shows’ storylines ruined. Avoidance is the best policy in my book. You have to cut the Spoiler Man out of your life, and realize it’s not necessary to Wikipedia your favorite show.

Stuart Ross can be contacted at sross@keeneequinox.com