September 13 (5MOC: Five-Minute "The Heartbreak") - The Five-Minute Forums

Mighty Jalapeno · #1 09-14-2006, 05:23 AM

Yay, another TwoP fan!

Zeke · #2 09-14-2006, 10:22 AM

...TWoP fan. Yes. Yes, that's me.

Let me put it this way. I find TWoP a very useful resource, and I like some of the people who work there, such as Keckler. I often get a kick out of the recaps and even make the occasional reference, like this one or the Weight of the World Window ref in Five-Minute "Damage." But I hate everything TWoP stands for. They've become incredibly successful by appealing to the basher mentality, and boy, has it gone to their heads. Their slogan, "Spare the Snark, Spoil the Networks," sums it up perfectly. That's how important they think they are. (See also "shoutouts.") Most galling of all, people buy it -- Yahoo TV is full of TWoP links now, and Veronica Mars fans cite the TWoP recaps as an example of "critical acclaim."

And they KILLED MY FATHER.

Anyway... this fiver was originally written in '04. I was a real fan of TWoP back then; a lot has changed since. I still go there sometimes and I may keep making references, but I would definitely not call myself a fan anymore.

Mighty Jalapeno · #3 09-14-2006, 03:53 PM

So "Spare the Snark, Spoil the Site" is your credo now?

Yes, TWoP has realized that television shows, writers and producers now read TWoP in order to figure out where to take things. Veronica's death in Prison Break was a result of the unstoppable hate the forums had for her... she was supposed to live for a week with Terrence.

Mostly, I just read the amusing recaps, hang out in the Hizzy (House General Gabbery) and vote on the Tubeys. I've never seen Veronica Mars, I've never used Yahoo, so I don't know much of what you speak of... mostly I complain that they STOPPED recapping Rescue Me, and STARTED recapping god-damned Project Runway.

They killed my gerbil.

Gatac · #4 09-15-2006, 06:14 PM

They killed Veronica? One more reason to...be mildly indifferent about them, I guess. I mean, dude, killing off characters to appease the shouting masses as Twop strikes me as a supremely bad idea, but it's not like it was a big loss, either...

Gatac

Mighty Jalapeno · #5 09-15-2006, 08:35 PM

It wasn't so much to appease them, but rather them realizing that "Wow, a significant percentage of the audience hates her.... know what we could do to get a big cheer, and move the plot up a few episodes?" I'm glad that television producers are now actually thinking about their audience.

Zeke · #6 09-15-2006, 09:40 PM

But that's just it: TWoP is not their audience. It's a particular group of people who come to a particular forum to talk about how much better they are than the show's writers. Sucking up to TWoP is a recipe for getting burned. J. J. Abrams found that out, but apparently other producers aren't going to learn from his experience, so they'll have to find out for themselves.

Mighty Jalapeno · #7 09-15-2006, 09:51 PM

TWOP, and it's 1.2 million readers, is a fairly good slice of their audience. Most of them don't talk about how much better they are than the shows writers, but let's face it, it's television.... you can't please everyone. Mostly on the Hizzy we talk about how much we adore the writers who are capable of creating more than one dimensional characters.

Yes, TWOP, and a lot of the regs, have gotten too big for their diapers, but they know that they do have clout, even if it's mis-guided... sort of like the government.

What did JJ Abrams do that got him burned? He only did Alias, Lost, and Felicity, and I've never seen an episode of any of those.