End of an Internet Era

Last week it was announced that my favorite television-related Web site, Television Without Pity, is being acquired by BRAVO TV. For the uninitiated, TWoP has recaps of television shows, along with the best message boards that I have found in cyberspace. Much of the reason is that posters are required to be polite and respectful to each other and direct their praise or their ire at the television programs and the people responsible. Proper spelling and punctuation are required. I’ve found TWoP posters to be unfailingly witty, insightful, hilarious, literate, knowledgeable and, of course, snarky. It wouldn't be TWoP without the snark. As their motto says, "Spare the snark, spoil the networks." Poster there can also be a fount of information. Need an answer to some obscure television reference? Can’t find a link to an article about your favorite show/actor/producer? Need a recipe for that wacky dish your neighbor made when you were a kid? Not to worry -- the good posters at TWoP have probably got that information right at their fingertips and are happy to share it.

So I greeted the news of the acquisition with a bit of trepidation. Despite the good intentions of the TWoP czars and the folks at BRAVO, I think it’s only a matter of time before TWoP as I know it disappears. Organizations with deep pockets like BRAVO, which itself is owned by GE, will always become the target of those out to make a quick buck. Someone will get their nose out of joint because some poster on some board said something mean about them. Next thing you know there will be lawsuits and depositions, followed by language and content restrictions on in the recaps and on the boards.

As much as I’m going to miss the TWoP that I know and love, I can’t fault Glark and Sars and Wing Chun for selling. They’ve labored long and hard for probably not so much money and they deserve to get paid for their efforts. But I think they’re naive if they think BRAVO won’t directly or indirectly try to influence the content of their site. It’s inevitable. The current executives will be out of there sooner rather than later and who knows what the attitude of the next batch will be.

So, good-bye, TWoP. I hope that whatever form you morph into will be as much fun and as interesting as what’s come before. Sadly, the pessimist in me doesn’t think that’s the way that things will turn out. But, boy, would I love to be proved wrong.