Television Without Pity Review

http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com

Overall 4.71 of 5 view all 7 reviews

LoveisJoy
Chicagoland, IL

"Snark" Served Daily: Cold, Fresh, and Salty

Pros

TV show, Interactive Forums, Smart and biting humor

Cons

Can be a little mean-spirited

DEC

2007

Television Without Pity —

I reluctantly admit that I am guilty of the occasional "snark." Defined by urbandictionary.com as a combination of the words "snide" and "remark," we all know someone with the uncanny ability to serve lethal doses of witty and sarcastic comments that we wished we'd thought of. Now, all of the snarky people--and their admirers--have a place where they can gather online to thoroughly trash and overanalyze mindless television programming: Television Without Pity (TWOP).

I had never heard of TWOP when I first came across it while searching for information on a favorite TV show (America's Next Top Model - another guilty pleasure). TWOP is best known for its "recaps" of television shows, which are written by seriously snarky writers who provide often-hilarious play-by-play analysis of what happened on the show. After reading the recaps, you can go to the forums and discuss the shows with other users.

Ironically, even though the snark can get a little mean-spirited (hence my guilt and reluctance) most of the users are actually huge fans of the shows they weigh in on. They just realize the absurdity of our collective devotion to contrived television programming and are happy to compose well-sharpened barbs to drive the point home. The forums are moderated and discussions must be on topic and follow house rules. In general, participants tend to be respectful of each other, and save their daggers for the show in question.

TWOP covers a wide range of programming: late night, reality, drama, and talk shows. Now that I've discovered the website, I can't imagine that watching television would be nearly as fun without it.

televisionwithoutpity.com or TWOP.com