What was Television Without Pity like?

The forums seemed to amplify everyone’s negativity exponentially, until they found every single thing that happened on the shows offensive and infuriating.

Wordy McWord, r1!

I loved it, it was one my favorite places on the web. But a lot depended on which shows you were discussing - certain fanbases were obsessive and scary and also some of the forum moderators. I hung out on the early American Idol, Amazing Race and Everwood forums which were mostly tame save for the birth of the Clay Aiken crazies.

The forums were heavily moderated and some people hated it but I thought it was great - you were expected to use proper grammar and punctuation (or at least an honest attempt) and you had to have read either the whole thread or the last 10 pages of posts before posting so that it wouldn't just be hitting the same points over and over. Moderators were very proactive and if you had obviously not read the thread and were just repeating what was already said you'd get deleted and a time out. I liked it, I managed to never get banned or have any issues with any mods and I even went to a couple of in-person events and the people there were perfectly sane, normal people. It was a break from the Yahoo Answers type of forum.

I had fun, it was smart people discussing low culture semi-intelligently. Some of the recappers were great - I loved Shack's American Idol recaps, some of the funniest shit I've ever read and I almost felt like I watched the show so I could get the jokes in the recap as opposed to the other way around. It eventually took a severe downward nosedive but in the early days it was some of the best the internet had to offer.

Miss Alli, otherwise known as Linda Holmes of NPR, was affectionately called the Twat of TWoP for good reason.

I couldn't wait to read the Lost recaps after watching each episode. It was a strangely satisfying ritual to watch the show seriously, then see it savagely mocked and skewered. I miss TWoP (not Lost, though).

Alternatively, though I didn't watch 7th Heaven, I did read the snarky recaps of each episode with relish. Other shows, too.

I didn't post much, but as a previous reply noted, they were strictly policed. God forbid you didn't read the whole thread before posting!

I loved the recaps. Sometimes the forums could be great. It depended on the show. I think it got too full of itself in the end. It was no longer just snarky fun.

No boards on boards!

The mods were plainly working out their personal mental health issues. Somewhere it departed disciplined board and morphed into fat girl with a cat and no hope dictatorship.

It must've been expensive to have all those pages monitored so closely.

Are they archived?

I'm regretting I didn't spend more time on TWoP. Is any material from that site collected anywhere? It would be a shame if not.

R7, I still have no idea what that means.

GOD IS IN THE TUB!

R12, the TWoP mods vehemently banned any discussion/criticism of the site/moderators on the forums themselves -- no discussion of the boards on the boards.

The mods ruled the site with a fibromyalgia fist.

When Survivor premiered back in 2000 I used to go on a forum and it was hilarious. Low culture is definitely fun to mock. Season 1 was enough for me, though. I like to hang on to the old braincells.

I frequented the site often and sometimes contributed. Reading the reviews of different shows was a blast (the Sandra Lee threads were a particular hoot), but the Gestapo-like cuntwad moderators often dragged it down.

It was archived at brilliantbutcanceled.com but the site has been down for a while now. This version at the Wayback Machine seems to be pretty complete but is a little slow to load. I've been watching old Amazing Race seasons and reading the recaps alongside and say what you will about her moderating, Miss Alli's writing still makes me laugh out loud.

Yeah I spent a lot of time there... the mods were overbearing but the recaps for some shows were funny (others were tedious) and the forum community was pretty fun. The sports sections were stupid because eventually the mods decided that since it wasn't a sports board the sports action/results/what happened should not be the topic of conversation, only the 'coverage'. Which was dumb as hell.

There was another website called Jump the Shark, or were those two the same thing?

Some of the recaps were funny, but after a while the moderators began to feel like Popular Mean Girls and Their Pet Fairies.

[quote] I've been watching old Amazing Race seasons and reading the recaps alongside and say what you will about her moderating, Miss Alli's writing still makes me laugh out loud.

I wonder if Survivor/Amazing Race's Amber ever got a restraining order against Miss Alli? She was [bold]IN LOVE[/bold] with Boston Rob.

[quote]the TWoP mods vehemently banned any discussion/criticism of the site/moderators on the forums themselves -- no discussion of the boards on the boards.

I think it was more than that, though. It was like you couldn't discuss the actual discussion you were currently having in the thread. Criticizing the mods was getting your ass banned forever but there was something else. And, it wasn't going after other posters in the thread, either. It literally seemed like discussing anything that was being discussed in the thread instead of just commenting on the show or something was forbidden but that meant you couldn't really have a discussion about the show with the other posters, you could just post what you thought but it better not be what a poster five pages back thought because then you were in trouble for not reading far enough back and repeating something that was already said. That is literally how confusing it was.

The mods were fucking insane.

I used to love TWOP as a teen. I remember getting a warning from a mod for saying something like “I think most everyone would agree” because she said I was putting words in people’s mouths or whatever. I loved the ANTM forums which actually had some contestants post on it.

And OMG, the Jon and Kate Plus 8 forum was fucking legendary. It ended up having to get shut down because it started becoming a frau rage fest all because the Gosselins were getting free trips

Also I think the really strict mod was named Howard

It was a great place for discussion. Most posters were very articulate and educated and grammar and spelling were a BIG DEAL. One of a few places that also didn't allow smilies and other shit on their boards. Loved that place, but I guess the founders got greedy and sold it to the highest bidder several times and basically destroyed a great community for greed.

R19 Nope, two different sites. Jump the Shark was created by Howard Stern regular Jon Hein when he was at the University of Michigan. It went to shit when he sold it to Tv Guide.

[quote] Also I think the really strict mod was named Howard

I remember him. But a lot of the mods were ridiculously strict. But even worse than the mods were the gaggle of posters who always kissed the mods' asses.

You guys remember Wing Chung? That bitch was a mega cunt.

Did twop have celebrity discussions or was that ezboard/yuku? I seem to recall a legendary Britney Spears thread that always had the latest photos. It was during the Federline era.

I loved it. I was a huge fan. Damien’s reviews of Charmed were the greatest thing ever. I tried making a snarky comment on the Previously.tv / Primetimer website that was started by the original TWOP owner and was given a warning. The site definitely would have the woke of today complaining.

^Wasn't that on Yuku and the name was JTT or JBB or something. They also had the latest Brad and Angelina photos and covered a bunch of other celebrities. The 00s were really a great time with all the blogs and boards.

That site was the pre Twitter blue haired cat ladies of Tumblr.

The mods were some spiteful bitches, I got banned seconds before it closed.

r30 same here. I made a joke that was common on TWoP at Previously TV/Primetimer and got a Warning and the mod said the other mods wanted me banned.

If memory serves, the mods would even stalk other boards to see if people were talking shit about them.

Oh shit I didn’t realize Linda Holmes was Miss Alli. I even read her book but thankfully didn’t buy it I got it from the library.

I hate — with the heat of a thousand suns

I miss Fametracker. I wonder if b Stewart posts here, he was a scolding tattletale.

JJB, TWOP, Fametracker, fuck. Those were the days.

BWAH!!!

I got banned for correcting someone that the show started at 8:00 PM Central and not 7:00 PM Central as they mistakenly said. Miss Alli told me I was suppressing freedom of expression.

I remember when Fametracker was in its final hours. Everyone was just shitposting with many people rightfully calling b stewart an obnoxious cunt.

People mad at the moderation on TWOP formed a board called TWOP Sucks, which I went to when I got temporarily banned after complaining about Gilmore Girls fans plotting to sneak their way onto the set. They had decided all the extras on the show were people who just happened to be nearby after taking a studio tour, so they were going to take the tour, hop off the trolley, sit in Luke's Cafe and become extras.

When I went to TWOP Sucks it had already been absorbed by another forum called Bitter But Brilliant, and I assume the original TWOP Sucks was long deleted. I discovered the Bitter But Brilliant crowd had another secret board called Lyle Lovett's Needs, where they bitched about BBB posters. So one moment I could be on BBB and some guy named Kermit would be chatting away with me in a friendly tone, then I'd go to LLN and see them calling me a raging stupid cunt nerd asshole who was probably a spy for Miss Ally anyway.

Everyone involved was exhausting. It was not a scene for normal people.

[quote][R19] Nope, two different sites. Jump the Shark was created by Howard Stern regular Jon Hein when he was at the University of Michigan. It went to shit when he sold it to Tv Guide.

And then TV Guide went to shit.

I say this every time a thread about twop comes up on DL. I loved Shack. He was truly hilarious.

I was a teenager at the time so did not participate in the forums, but the recaps were often hilarious (the "Lost" ones in particular as someone else noted) and were very different at the time when reviews were largely respectful--these went all out and often mocked plot holes and bad dialog and all that.

I would admittedly steal lines I'd read there and pass them off as my own to sound like a much wittier 15 year old to peers who were unaware of the site.

I loved their recaps - they helped me catch up on shows that were on several seasons before I noticed them.

I was also able to skip watching entire series and just read the recaps (“Lost”, “Angel”). And, when a show stopped being interesting after the first season (“Dexter”, “Dark Angel”) I could follow the recap as it circled the drain.

Recaps and their discussion boards that relied heavily on the use of nicknames irritated me. This was especially true for shows featuring an ensemble cast. A boring episode with multiple story lines isn’t redeemed by pet names given to each character.

The Housewife recaps were hilarious and the forums were fun until it seemed like the Third Reich took over...You weren't allowed to give the housewives nicknames. The monitors took all the snarl and joy out of the threads

I got a warning for being rude to another member...if I remember correctly, she was a moron. Before they would let me post, the mods wanted me to acknowledge my nastiness, and promise to behave. I refused, told the mod to fuck off and was banned forever..under that name of course

I loved the recaps of 24 by Gustav, who found a joke for every time Jack Bauer was debriefed.

Apparently TWOP traumatized an entire generation worse than Vietnam since people are still bitter about it.

R51, to be honest, kind of. The over-modding was the antithesis of the spirit of the internet - which is not to say some law and order goes amiss, not at all. I am amazed this morning how the very mention of those deadly mods still irritates and frustrates me. It was a bit like living with an abusive parent - you eventually realised it wasn't anything you did or would do, because the parent was always looking for a reason to strike.

Yet in some ways TWOP [italic]was[/italic] the essence of the internet. It provided a place for those damaged souls to find one another, form their coven and lash out at the world. As said upthread, and [italic]this[/italic] was the essence of TWOP: "Everyone involved was exhausting." If it had a tombstone and you could be honest, that's what you'd carve on it.

The threads about the various Sandra Lee shows on Food Network were a national treasure and should be in the Library of Congress.

To my everlasting shame, I loved the first season of The Apprentice. I don’t remember who the TWOP recapper was for that, but I remember crying and choking with laughter at the recap about the episode in which Omarosa said she had a migraine and couldn’t help but the camera kept catching her having a good old time with others while her team was working.

There were some incredibly witty people on that board.

By the way, I went on a Warner Bros. studio tour while the Gilmore Girls was filming, and I certainly didn’t get asked to be an extra! The tour guide seemed surprised that anyone in the group actually liked the show, and I was allowed to go on the set for Richard and Emily’s main floor. I saw Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson far in the distance.

Wasn’t there another site, Gold Derby, that got started to discuss award shows? I feel like a lot of the main people on there got kicked off TWOP.

Do you suppose those mods still convene, mourning their lost powers and various discontinued high fat processed foods?

R55, some of them are at TWoP's successor, Primetimer, which was started by TWoP's former owners. They're not as batshit crazy as they were at TWoP but the basic OCD/anal retention qualities shine through. They live to scold!

TWoP's recapping format has became very widespread though and you can find them in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, AV Club, Guardian and other publications, though on a far more selective basis as opposed to Every Show Ever.

The recaps are particularly useful now when everyone is binge watching and so it's unlikely any of your friends has just watched the same episode of Succession or Mr. Robot and you can read the various recaps to figure out things you missed/confirm things you were thinking.

I remember they nicknamed Vicki from the housewives of Orange County “the truffle hunter” and that’s stuck with me

I was a faithful reader of the Six Feet Under, Lost, Sister Wives and Sopranos threads but rarely posted because I didn’t fully understand the Byzantine rules. As others have said, while annoying to navigate, the structure did make for high-end conversation and analysis, even of the most low rent shows. I do miss going there… I enjoyed TV more when I could read the reaction the next day and probably watch less now because it’s gone.

God help you is you called the then ugly Giudice trolls, "trolls"

^^If^^ please let us edit!

I read a few recaps of scripted tv shows. Sometimes there was a plot point or a piece of dialogue that I didn’t quite catch and the recappers were just so nasty. They hated everything about a show. It was a competition to see who could be the snarkiest. It got tiresome.

And in the reality show forums, god help you if you liked a contestant that a prolific poster decided had declared to be awful. Eventually I found the webpage where posters were encouraged to report other posters for transgressions. It was like fucking jr high reading those complaints.

R62...that's why it was called TWOP. The snark

In its time it was glorious.

Tedious and not as funny as they thought.

Eventually it became more important to it than its reason for being.

[quote]Eventually I found the webpage where posters were encouraged to report other posters for transgressions. It was like fucking jr high reading those complaints.

That'd be Troll Patrol. We had a tattletale on the Gilmore Girls group that I started to report on Troll Patrol just out of petty revenge. It worked but people were incredibly unhappy about it. After numerous scoldings for literally nothing, I was tired of it, so I lashed out.

We usually didn't have much good insight into the show because of all the trolling and tattling and people stepping on eggshells, and our recapper was Pamie who didn't even try to snark after a while, she just complained endlessly about hating the show. By the time Al Lowe became recapper the forums were people dancing around the subject of Lauren Graham reportedly demanding Lorelai and Luke break up because she didn't like Scott Patterson. You couldn't say you didn't like the Christopher character without people wailing and screaming.

Squee!

^Damn, I was obsessed with Gilmore Girls and Dawson's Creek back then and remember all the gossip. Spent my college years obsessing about fictional TV shows and characters instead of going out and getting fucked.

[quote] Do you suppose those mods still convene, mourning their lost powers and various discontinued high fat processed foods?

I'd rather picture the mods during their heydays. Venti- (or trenta) sized Starbucks drink. Maybe a Big Gulp of Diet Coke. Cheetos, Pringles, etc.

Fresh pack of menthol cigarettes with an emptied ashtray, ready for butts.

I wonder if these moderators can work from home or have to go into an office.

Or fit into an office, for that matter.

I think they were headquarterd in Seattle right?

I also remember on the RHONJ, if you weren’t a Teresa fan you were obviously considered a goon of the Manzo’s and Gorga’s. Some RH tea blog wrote a whole post about how I was secretly Melissa because I was critical of Teresa on a TWoP forum

[quote]It must've been expensive to have all those pages monitored so closely.

IIRC they weren't paid for the moderating, only for writing the recaps. If you wrote a recap for them, you were expected to moderate the adjacent forum. Some of them got an extra stipend to moderate the forums that had no recaps.