17. april får tredje og sidste sæson ‘The Leftovers’ premiere på HBO Nordic’, og der er ingen tvivl om, at det er en af den slags serier, hvor det er godt ikke at vide for meget på forhånd. Den tager nogle vilde spring i tid og sted, som unægteligt virker bedst, hvis man ikke har hørt om dem forinden.
Bekymringen for spoilers præger også manden bag serien, Damon Lindelof, men modsat andre serieproducenter gider han ikke skrive en lang punktliste til kritikerne med ting, de ikke må nævne i deres anmeldelser.
I stedet har han forfattet et humoristisk brev rettet mod kritikerne, der har fået syv ud af otte afsnit af tredje sæson til rådighed. Her argumenterer han først for, at binging er en skidt ting – i forlængelse af ‘Avengers’-instruktør Joss Whedon, der gjorde det samme for nylig. Hvert afsnit ‘The Leftovers’ er da også en så mættende oplevelse, at det kan ødelægge oplevelsen, hvis man kører syv stykker ned på én gang.
Dernæst appellerer han til, at seriens hemmeligheder bliver bevaret. For til sidst at erkende, at han selv binger både Pringles og chips. Læs den fine og selvironiske appel, som The Playlist har viderebragt, i sin helhed her:
Dear Critical Community,
G’day! Welcome to the third and final season of THE LEFTOVERS. On behalf of our entire team, I just wanted to say one thing before you embark on the journey.
Bingeing is bad.
I am old school. And not just because I agree with Joss Whedon about everything. Never before in the history of the English language has “binge” been associated with something healthy or productive. Just because there is an entire can of Pringles in front of you does not mean you should eat them all in one sitting. Every time I have done this, I feel sad and guilty, and then mad at The Pringles Corporation. Which is probably not even a thing. But I also must acknowledge times have changed. I must acknowledge there is not just too much television, but too much good television (“Fleek TV?”) and in order to make any kind of dent, we folks who produce it have to get out of our rocking chairs and get hip to the times. Which probably includes not ever saying “hip” again. Anyhoo…
We’re providing you with seven of our eight episodes. Watch them however you see fit. Review them however you see fit. It’s not my place to suggest how to do your jobs. I’d rather you not spoil some stuff, but I ultimately think it’s ridiculous to list that stuff, as it would seem completely arbitrary. All I ask is that if you were surprised by something that happens on the show (either positively or negatively), it would be cool to maintain that same surprise for the audience. For example, when Liv Tyler shoots lasers out of her eyes in Episode 4, we want that to be as shocking for them as it was for you.
Liv Tyler does not shoot lasers out of her eyes in Episode 4.
It’s Episode 6, actually.
But aren’t you bummed that I told you?
You get it. You’re pros. The point is, I’ve never sent out this many episodes in advance and I feel scared and I am trying to mitigate that fear by controlling things, but the way I’m controlling them is by trying to convince you that I’m okay with not controlling them. I also ate an entire can of Pringles last night while watching the entire first season of FLEABAG until three in the morning, so y’know, hypocrite.
One last thing. Please do not reveal the year this season takes place nor the new architectural design of STERLING, COOPER, PRYCE, GARVEY & JAMISON.
Your Pal,
Damon
Læs også: ‘The Leftovers’ møder ABBA i medrivende trailer for sidste sæson