- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Quirk Books (21 Sep 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1594741174
- ISBN-13: 978-1594741173
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.9 x 17.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,217,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"Television Without Pity" features 752 irreverent but spot-on observations about the TV shows, characters, actors, cliches, plot devices, memorable moments, and catchphrases that make watching television such a guilty pleasure. From weekend-long Real World marathons to notorious speeches at award shows, from favorite characters (Brenda Walsh) to potty-mouthed senior citizens (Golden Girls), this is a celebration of television unlike any other. Written by the creators of televisionwithoutpity.com (hailed by Entertainment Weekly as "the industry standard" for obsessive TV fanatics), this tribute to the best of television's worst features 100 illustrations and an encyclopedic two-column design. It's great fun for nostalgic browsing, and guaranteed to prompt more laughter than reruns of Seinfeld.
About the Author
Tara Ariano (screen name "Wing Chun") and Sarah Bunting (screen name "Sars") are the cofounders of televisionwithoutpity.com. Tara is the coauthor of Hey! It's That Guy! (Quirk, 2005). She and Sarah also have a regular column on msnbc.com and a semiregular gig with New York magazine.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
21 reviews
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
I was hoping for better
25 Nov 2006
Format:Paperback
I am a longtime reader of the Television Without Pity website, so I expected the book to be snarky, occasionally irreverent, and a good read. And it was...to a degree. There's a fine line between snark, bitterness, and just plain meanness, and while the authors didn't cross that last line (often), they bounced between the first two a lot. Maybe watching television for a living makes it impossible not to be hyper-critical of everything coming across the screen. There were times when I wondered if the authors actually like television all that much. Still, if you're a fan of the site or just a TV buff, it's worth a read.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
For those who love television and love making fun of television
26 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback
I'm a long-time fan of Television Without Pity - it's essential web-reading in my book. So buying this book was a no-brainer for me. I love the encylopedia format complete with what are truly the most important entries for any television addict - things like notorius "show killers," signs that you're watching a bad sitcom, and the answer to one question that's bugged the hell out of me for years: how to tell apart twin "actors" Jeremy and Jason London.
And, hey, any book that has entries for "Jack Bristow" and "Jem & the Holograms" on facing pages is a must-read for me!
And, hey, any book that has entries for "Jack Bristow" and "Jem & the Holograms" on facing pages is a must-read for me!
14 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Delightful Reference Repository of Television Snarkiness
24 Oct 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been a member of the site Television Without Pity for a long time. I used to be an active forum poster --- these days, I mainly just lurk. But the site is still as good as ever and this book won't fail to delight readers of the site or television fanatics in general.
Ariano and Bunting (Wing Chun and Sars) have laid out "Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (And Hate to Love) About TV" rather like a traditional reference book. So you'll find entries such as "Brady Bunch, Musical Stylings Of" and "Police Videos, Shows Reliant Upon." This book can easily be read cover-to-cover, or depending on your tastes, you can start by looking up some of your favorite shows and people and reading what it has to say about them.
This book covers a wide range of material and there's no doubt there'll be stuff in there you probably won't be interested in, or just plain disagree with. For example, the book skims over "Star Trek: Voyager" as barely worth mentioning, but it's my personal favorite "Trek." And the authors also comment that they don't really mind the split-screening of closing-creidts on programs because people can look that stuff up on the Internet. Well, sorry, but somebody has to *enter* that stuff on the Internet first and for those doing that, those splits are a real pain.
But never mind that, though, within seconds, you'll soon be finding something to laugh at and that you can totally identify with. For example, the hilarious description of local television news broadcasts "News, Crappy Local --- ...something about local unions, about which nobody cares... and then the weather report (always overhyped, always inaccurate)" or something surprisingly touching about "Reading Rainbow ... just really, really cute."
"Televisin Without Pity" is no doubt a book you'll be coming back to often. And given how large this medium is, if this book sells really well, there's certainly more than enough material for something like "Television Without Pity 2 The Sequel: 1000 More Things..."
Ariano and Bunting (Wing Chun and Sars) have laid out "Television Without Pity: 752 Things We Love to Hate (And Hate to Love) About TV" rather like a traditional reference book. So you'll find entries such as "Brady Bunch, Musical Stylings Of" and "Police Videos, Shows Reliant Upon." This book can easily be read cover-to-cover, or depending on your tastes, you can start by looking up some of your favorite shows and people and reading what it has to say about them.
This book covers a wide range of material and there's no doubt there'll be stuff in there you probably won't be interested in, or just plain disagree with. For example, the book skims over "Star Trek: Voyager" as barely worth mentioning, but it's my personal favorite "Trek." And the authors also comment that they don't really mind the split-screening of closing-creidts on programs because people can look that stuff up on the Internet. Well, sorry, but somebody has to *enter* that stuff on the Internet first and for those doing that, those splits are a real pain.
But never mind that, though, within seconds, you'll soon be finding something to laugh at and that you can totally identify with. For example, the hilarious description of local television news broadcasts "News, Crappy Local --- ...something about local unions, about which nobody cares... and then the weather report (always overhyped, always inaccurate)" or something surprisingly touching about "Reading Rainbow ... just really, really cute."
"Televisin Without Pity" is no doubt a book you'll be coming back to often. And given how large this medium is, if this book sells really well, there's certainly more than enough material for something like "Television Without Pity 2 The Sequel: 1000 More Things..."
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