TV cartoon without pity.

newscaster complains about bad news

Who watches network news?

I had a syndicated cartoon about television for 5 years, and have also sold to Emmy Magazine. Yet I don’t watch that much TV, honestly! But the TV I do watch, I just love, and I almost always go over to TWOP Television Without Pity, (now deceased, which is ridonkolus, since it was super popular) to see what others think of the shows. They usually agree with me, making me feel quite wise, and if they don’t…tough you know what.

UPDATE: Now I go to Primetimer. Some of the forums are fun.

And answer about the news: No, I don’t watch TV broadcasters, because I don’t watch news. I prefer print. Or, nowadays, anything that isn’t Fake News.

Television Without Pity Forums

I discovered Television Without Pity forums after the first episode of Lost, which affected me so profoundly that I needed to connect with others, right away. Was I the only one to be this excited about a television show? (Nope!) For me, Lost is when TV turned from good, to great. After Lost, it was Prison Break, then Reaper, with a few others that followed.

I am absolutely devastated today to discover that NBCUniversal is now dumping TV Without Pity – all the seasons, all the shows, the recaps, thousands or hundreds of thousands of perspicacious comments thrown into the trash. No archives. (Correction: you can find at least some of them on the Wayback Machine.) TWOP was social media at its finest.

I frequented this site more than any other, by far. It validates, respects, enthuses, affects the TV industry more than any other social media. TV has had the “sloppy seconds” stigma for decades, compared to film, deserved or not. In contrast, TWOP gave so many shows new life, and if the shows were canned,  it was with dignity.

I worked in the studios, including on many TV shows, for several years, so you’d think that behind the scenes life would have ruined the fantasy and enjoyment, but not at all! My imagination continues just fine, even knowing some of what it takes to do a show. And thinking about a good epi after it ran was enhanced 10-fold by reading other insights and ideas by (some) smart commenters on TWOP. I even did some TV reviews myself.

SIGH. A sad day. And most of you DON’T have it together yet, not just the audience. But news anchors are so goodlooking, right?

ID #a833z        Caption: News anchor on camera says: This is Jack Hanson. My day was just fine, but it appears most of you don’t have it together yet.

Now I read TV forums on Primetimer mostly, and some on Vulture or AV Club.

There’s a  book out by TWOP, for nostalgia buffs.

Donna Barstow

Donna Barstow

Syndicated cartoonist in the New Yorker, LA Times, Harvard Business Review, Slate, textbooks, papers. Columnist for 10 years in Psychology Today. Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst. Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.