Now Where Will We Go To Mock Pretty Little Liars?: An Obit For Television Without Pity

The biggest water cooler on the internet, Television Without Pity, will be closing down for good at the end of May, just after the end of the current TV season. It was originally announced this morning on Re/Code, then confirmed by this tweet:

TWOP will cease operations on April 4, but our forums will remain open till May 31. To our fans: Thank you for your support over the years.

Ironically, the reason for the closing of TWoP is what kills any TV show...a declining internet audience. The site has been owned by Bravo and NBC Universal since 2007, but it wasn't generating enough revenue.

This will be bad news for people who were looking forward to mocking the summer TV season, and the second half of Game of Thrones' fourth season..and that's just for starters. While Twitter has become the social media center of choice when it comes to talking about shows as they're happening, TWoP was a valuable tool for people who wanted to rant about TV and movies without being limited to 140 characters.

The site originally started in 1997 to mock Dawson's Creek. Back then, it was called Dawson's Wrap. About a year later, it changed into Mighty Big TV, where people could also mock Felicity and her goofy hair. If only they knew who'd she would eventually become...right, comrade?

Anyway, it soon took on other shows, and genres for that matter. Today, hundreds of shows have been discussed, dissected, mocked, defended and praised in the TWoP forums, under the watchful eye of the classic logo, Tubey. It even had its own "awards" that seemed to be more savvy than the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys combined.

When the original WB Bronze was on its last legs because it was handing off Buffy to the channel formerly known as UPN, I turned to TWoP as my go-to place to talk about TV shows. It discussed shows and handled discussions the way the Original Bronze did.  It was a great place to discuss television and movies.
I haven't gone there as much as I had ten or 12 years ago, but I still went there to see what people thought of Believe, Person of Interest, and even wrestling. It was also the best place to find recaps to shows I don't usually watch, but have some interest. It's kind of like the Cliff's Notes of watching TV.

So did Twitter and tv tag kill TWoP? Did people think live-tweeting was better than going into extensive details about how the story line is getting worse for Once Upon a Time? If so, that is a shame. TWoP was a great place to debate the quality of TV shows and movies. Trying to debate with someone by Twitter can get really difficult after a while.

So where will those who visited TWoP go? They might head to forums connected with one show, or maybe the ones already prepared by the networks themselves.

Already, the site is becoming nostalgic. The home page is showing links to its past recaps of Veronica Mars, Sports Night, The Sopranos, 24, and the show that started it all, Dawson's Creek. It's expected that links to past recaps of Buffy, Angel, Breaking Bad, Gilmore Girls, Lost and Arrested Development will be coming soon.

The only forum missing...at least for now...is one for TWoP regulars meeting for one last goodbye, and recalling their favorite snarking moments. Maybe one will be set up in time for the final hours, just like people gave their last goodbyes to the WB Bronze back in 2001.

It's best to end this with this statement from TWOP Pembleton, whose announcement was called "So long, and Thanks For All The Fish"..which seems appropriate:

TelevisionWithoutPity.com will cease all editorial operations on April 4 and the site will be taken offline.
However, the forums will remain open until May 31 to continue to provide our members with a place to debate, discuss and deride all the shows we love and love to hate. 
Obviously, we are all sad about this, but we are keeping the forums open for a grace period so that you can contact your fellow posters and perhaps find new places to continue your conversations. There may be some technical glitches going forward as most of the site is shut down, and we ask for your patience as we figure things out.
To our readers, posters, and forum members: Thank you for your support over the years.

We'll miss you Television Without Pity, and you, too Tubey.
At the very least, James Van Der Beek should give a eulogy in the virtual funeral.
Afterwards, we'll all be looking for a new online water cooler to gather and snark.

Comic-Con to Comic Cannes

When I went to San Diego Comic-Con the first time in 2004 to see Sarah Michelle Gellar, getting a ticket wasn't a problem. Sure, it was a great place to plug new movies and TV shows (it was the year of Lost, for example), but it was still a niche event.Those were the days where you didn't have to buy a ticket a year ahead of time to guarantee a spot. It was still an option, but not the only one. 

That was ten years ago, and those days ended once it was the place to promote movie franchises, from Harry Potter to Twilight, and now the Marvel-verse. Comic-Con tickets sold out months ahead of time The Super Bowl started to become jealous of Comic-Con.

Now, it's come to this...

this year's Comic-Con is making history by not selling four-day tickets, with preview night included.
This is the rate this year:

For adults: Preview Night is 35 bucks, Thursday through Saturday is 45 bucks, Sunday only 30 bucks.

For teens (13-17), people 60 and older and military, half that cost

That's the cost of massive popularity, and the chance of maybe meeting Robert Downey Jr., Joss Whedon, Angelina Jolie, or maybe the 12th Doctor...or maybe Stan Lee. 

That's why I came up with the Twitter hash tag, #ComicCannes

Comic-Con has been called "Cannes for nerds" for years, but now the rising cost, parties, off-convention events and free swag makes it complete. Getting to a sneak preview for a new movie is great, too. I still treasure the fact I was among the first in the U-S to see Inglorious Basterds in San Diego.
Despite higher ticket prices, people will figure out some way to get to San Diego in July, or Wondercon, which apparently has officially declared Anaheim its new home. Combining it with a short trip to Disneyland makes it more obvious. 

What people may be upset, aside from dropping two Benjamins for the week right off the bat, is that they may not be able to go to all five days. Also, preview night is now officially Day 0 of Comic-Con, including an admission price. Maybe the organizers may decide to add more events that day, aside from setting aside time for Warner Brothers to show its TV pilots. 

At least the amount of off-convention events, which are usually cheaper, may attract those without SDCC tickets. We should also thank websites that are smart enough to send us breaking news thanks to smartphone videos. It's how we learned about Tom Hiddleston brought the house down as Loki introducing the trailer for Thor: The Dark World.

However, making Comic-Con more expensive is good news for smaller cons, such as the Wizard World and Creation circuits. There may be less swag, but the chance of meeting a favorite actor is much better. 

When Sacramento has its first Wizard World event in March, people will get to see Stan Lee, William Shatner, James Marsters, and several people from The Walking Dead. Not a bad deal, and thanks to my status as a blog reporter, I get to check it out. I envy those who'll be at Wizard World in New Orleans, because Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor, will be there. 

It's also good news for DragonCon, which retains its status as Comic-Con without the glitz, but still filled with celebrities. 

High prices or not, I hope to get back to Comic-Con someday, mainly through being hired by someone despite my advanced age. For now, I'll look for any chance to see my favorite actors, in costume or not.