Secrets in Television

It is always a tricky thing to have a protagonist with a great secret in a television series.  Unlike in books or in films or plays, you have to wait sometimes years for even a single person to come upon this secret.

There is a dumb show coming out soon that appears to be stealing a plot from Tootsie but extending the cross dressing as woman for work into setting of the modern economic crisis.

I am not referring to this sort of secret. (Nor do I condone such terrible, terrible shows in general)

The example sitting in my head right now is BBC's Merlin in which the eponymous wizard must hide his powers.  Because people performing magicks in Camelot are put to death.  Very tricky secret, that one.  I've been watching it just shy of four seasons now and again am convinced that with the next episode (season finale) everyone (or at least one person, which we know for sure) will learn of his magick.

But they always have something tricky.  Like they'll find out and then lose memory of something.

I think the show I'm thinking of is Jake 2.0 but I don't remember him telling someone in a strange situation in which they forget (that he has tiny robots inside him that let him interface with technology via brain waves).  No, I must be thinking of Drop Dead Diva when she tells Grayson a zillion times that she's actually his dead girlfriend but it always turns out to be a dream.

Oh!  But in Lois and Clark his Superman-ness was revealed to his love interest in the first season.  But that kinda detracted from the other seasons.

Moral of story-- don't tell secret!  Only to certain people at certain points.  I.e. Lancelot is going to be sent off somewhere at end of episode, may as well let him know about Merlin's magicks not Jake telling his girlfriend and her thinking he's a jackass and dumping him (effectively leaving show).  There may be nothing worse than the telling of secrets and the not only not believing (which happened in Drop Dead Diva) but dumping.

Maybe it's just because his girlfriend was a jerk.

Anyway, I now sit on my brain in anticipation of the Merlin finale.  I am hoping at least one more person will learn of his power!

Eek!