Television Without Pity, one of, if not the internet’s first television recap sites, is being shut down on April 4. Founded as Dawson’s Wrap in the late 90’s (and later Mighty Big TV) by Tara Ariano, Sarah D. Bunting, and David T. Cole, the site was sold to Bravo in 2007.
TWoP, along with since-shuttered sister sites Hissyfit and Fametracker and their respective forums, were hugely influential in creating the snarky tone that characterizes much pop culture coverage today. (Including, yeah, me.)
Often controversial, particularly in regards the forums, TWoP was nonetheless a huge force in various TV fandoms. (An infamous Sorkin incident actually inspired a b-plot on The West Wing.)
Ariano, Bunting and Cole are currently running Previously.TV Other alumni include Pamela Ribon and the ladies at Go Fug Yourself.
Yet another piece of my internet “childhood” of sorts goes away. I loved TWoP and always thought that the site (which takes nothing seriously) was a poor fit with Bravo (which takes itself and everything it exploits far too seriously). I thought TWoP went seriously downhill the last few years and the writing became very mediocre despite their covering fewer new shows. That, plus a seriously underdeveloped mobile app, showed the end was near, so this wasn’t a surprise. Maybe Bravo just bought them to silence their vicious and often funny riffs of Bravo’s own programming.
Too bad. At it’s height, it was pop culture criticism at its snarky best. I like to believe that TWoP and its ilk have held media writers feet to the fire and thus hopefully helped improve the quality of what gets produced. It’s harder these days to foist mediocre stuff on an audience informed by educated snark…