So cool! Thanks for the head's-up.

Wiseblood | February 04, 22:43 CET

Oh, I got the Slayer Washroom shirt back when TWoP had it in the regular store. It's since become one of my favorite shirts. Very clever design, except for one thing -- why is she going after a demon with a stake? ;-)

janeway216 | February 04, 23:30 CET

My American wife informs me that her country folk call t-shirts 'tees'. My mind was thinking why the heck would be people be ordering slayer related golf tees.

Simon | February 04, 23:39 CET

That would have been a fun way to kill a vampire though (with a golf tee). Right up there with Willow's floating pencil.

Also, in regards to the stake, she "know[s] how to use it". Although perhaps they weren't thinking of that exchange in IWARY.

Biff Turkle | February 04, 23:42 CET

LOL, Simon. I still call them t-shirts.

I want! Too bad they don't have my size, darn!

electricspacegirl | February 04, 23:45 CET

Well there's always the messenger bag, ESG. That's what I just ordered in an attempt to look as though I might have had inner-city cool 10 years ago when everyone was wearing them. Sort of a retro statement, ya know?

SoddingNancyTribe | February 04, 23:53 CET

I so totally want that bag now.

Rogue | February 05, 02:47 CET

Ah, too cool! I want.

pezwitch | February 05, 02:54 CET

I probably won't go for this one, but I did get the one for the "Watcher's Council Annual Retreat" in a long-sleeve T a few months ago. It's fun and comfy and fits well. (I'm waiting for the January offer spoofing "Oceana Airlines" from Lost!)

Gaudior | February 05, 03:43 CET

Check out the shut up, spike button...with vampire teeth.

It may be something else but a girl can dream that it's Buffy related.

Rogue | February 05, 04:16 CET

Rogue, I saw that too. I always thought it was from the Superstar episode when they're all in the graveyard and Spike says something snotty... Buffy goes "Shut up, Spike!" All petulant and with a "how dare you talk to Jonathan that way" little 'tude. Quite cute.

Or, you know TWoP, they could just be saying it... anyway, I thought it was funny too.

I'd like that t-shirt, but it should be royal blue, like the real bathroom signs are. And like janeway216 said, the demon getting staked isn't very "in the know".

Stuff like that bugs me.

Willowy | February 05, 04:30 CET

Yeah, but shiny new sleep shirt, if nothing else.

And I heart my Watcher's Retreat one. That one's a work of art.

Jet Wolf | February 05, 06:45 CET

The demon-stakeage issue bothers me a little, too, but then, looking at the image from a purely graphic-design perspective, the issue becomes how to effectively identify the stakee as a vampire without any other distinguishing features to easily draw from except for the predictable fangs.

These characters are so purposely generic that a couple of triangles inside the head-circle wouldn't register as vamp teeth on this reduced scale. How else could the designers have gotten across the idea of it being a vampire in visual shorthand that a majority of people would understand? Changing the outline of the entire figure at least makes it evident it isn't human.

It's an irony of stripped-down design that sometimes the more visually simplified you make something, the harder it is to make it convey meaning with perfect clarity.

And you know, if you want to get technical about it, in the Whedonverse vampires are demons....

Wiseblood | February 05, 09:12 CET

I love the shirt. I do wish it came in a color other than red, though. Red is an extremely bad color for me. But it is a brilliant design.

jewel | February 05, 18:12 CET

It should have a pointy collar.

miranda | February 05, 18:44 CET

Am I the only one who finds it a tad iffy that (in a borderline-legal sneaky way) they're making money off the shows they dedicate their entire site ripping to shreds?

If it's fansites making some half-clandestine shirts, it's one thing, but TWP does little else than point out how stupid pretty much everything about a show is.

Maybe it's just me.

EdDantes | February 06, 01:01 CET

I love TWoP; while they are snarky, they certainly give a complete recap. I admit the first time I read a recap of Angel, I got very defensive, but they make me laugh aloud. And they tend to give credit—even when they are snarking. It is fun, though, to go to a show you don't like but are familiar with (like 7th Heaven, for me) and listen to them, yes, shred it.

In regard to the legal aspect, I haven't a clue. But I suppose it would be up to the show being made fun of to sue. In any case, it's free advertising for the show (or will be for Lost when I get my T-shirt).

I think they're a bit expensive, so I really have to like it to buy it.

Gaudior | February 06, 07:03 CET

Yes TWoP can be a strange experience when you like a show and watch them tear it to pieces but the writing there is so funny I happily forgive them.

As a sidenote, TWoP have placed Point Pleasant on permanent hiatus ie. deemed it not worth while to recap and the consensus seems to be that it wont be on screen for much longer, whats the thoughts around here ?

jpr | February 06, 14:54 CET

"but TWP does little else than point out how stupid pretty much everything about a show is."

Most TWOP regulars are obsessive about their shows and tv in general. Obsessive fans like nothing better than to nitpick. But they know (and love) their shows inside out - I mean, you *have* to, to be able to nitpick like that. If you've ever been among die hard U2 fans, you'll know what I mean, we take the piss out of our favourite band 24/7. TWOP takes nitpicking to the extreme. I enjoy reading it, but it's certainly not everybody's cup of tea.

Caroline | February 06, 15:08 CET

Well, I laughed when I first read the site, to me the stuff I read seemed like fans of the show pointing out some of the silly things. I wasn't upset by it even though I love the show they were writing about and the tee shirt -
I like it.

Passion | February 06, 17:11 CET

Well, I have no problem with picking out mistakes and such, even of shows that I love. (Believe me, I have fun pointing out loads of mistakes in Buffy S7 for example) And it indeed takes fans to know a show so well. But this site deliberatedly ONLY points out bad things. And that is something I don't understand especially from fans. If they pointed out good things too, I would have no problem with the criticism. But intentionally just criticising bad things only results in unfair 'dissing-rants'.

It makes it all a bit pointless to me. Sometimes it's funny, but more often it reminds me of AICN talk backers: just be negative in order to be negative. I mean, Caroline, I assume you still actually like U2 music too? I doubt you buy their albums just to yell out "god this sucks!" with every note Bono sings. Let alone create a U2 site that says nothing but "god they suck!". More than a few artists actually have such sites devoted to them, but no one really considers them 'fan' sites.

Good-hearted fun about weak points of a show, okay. But I just have a hard time seeing how you can still be dubbed a fan if you find fault with literally every piece of dialogue, every nuance an actor makes and literally every plot development you see.

"Everything about this show sucks! Btw, I'm a big fan!" I suppose just don't really get it. But if that's how it works I guess I'm the biggest 'Charmed' fan in the world!;-)

EdDantes | February 06, 23:44 CET

You'd have a point, if every post at TWOP said 'this show sucks' and every recap gave low marks. But that's not the case at all. Maybe the place makes more sense if one spends a lot of time there. I think it's the funniest place on the web (But then I can't stand 'The Onion' which a lot of people find very funny.) and a great resource if you want to get to know a show a little better. I learnt more about BtVS and Angel and tons of other shows at TWOP than anywhere else. As I said, it's not everybody's cup of tea.

Caroline | February 07, 00:05 CET

I agree with Caroline, since I've found that many times the recappers point out good aspects, touching moments, etc. I'm sure it varies among recappers, however; some are likley more "negative" than others (and, well, some shows are more difficult to be "nice" about!). I definitely gives me some good laughs—and we all need that (well, individually; we don't all need me laughing! Sorry, it's been a long day already).

Gaudior | February 07, 03:52 CET

Alright, if positive things get pointed out too then obviously it's a different story. I've read several TV episodes on that site, a lot of them Buffy, and I couldn't find a single kind word. I suppose I was just unlucky then.

I also checked out some shows I hate (figuring I'd enjoy that more for obvious reasons) like Charmed and noticed that the quality of writing for the site strongly varies per person. A lot of those articles were just dull, scene-by-scene summaries, which ironically, didn't have anywhere near enough bite to them for my taste.

Maybe I should try some of their 'Lost' pieces since I'm kind of on the fence on that show...

EdDantes | February 07, 08:47 CET

Ed, if they were reviews of the later seasons of Buffy, chances are you found more negative reviews/comments than positive. I loved most of what was done in Season 6 of Buffy, but even I can agree with the majority of TwoP members and reviewers that some of what was done with a number of the characters (Willow, Spike, underuse of Xander & Dawn, etc) in Seasons 6 and 7 was unsatisfactory or downright character assassination. It's not always just complaining for the sake of being bitchy, though you gotta remember that the name of the site is Television Without Pity, so they're definitely going for a theme and probably feel the need to come off a certain way. Far more fair, I found, when it came to the Joss shows were the Angel and Firefly reviews. The recapper's love for Angel was a lot more apparent in her reviews (steer clear of them if you loved Fred though, she sure didn't). Shack's recaps of Firefly were often hilarious, though he probably would've been more favorable if things had been aired in order, with the pilot first. As far as grading went though, he was fair when it really counted ("A"s and "A+"s for Serenity, Out of Gas, Ariel, though he didn't like Objects in Space much).

To be honest? Aside from the Firefly recaps and some of the Angel ones, I prefered a lot of their reviews for shows that more often deserve the ripping (like my major guilty pleasure, Smallville. That'd be a fun show to recap). Sometimes it's annoying to read nasty reviews of something you really love though, when you don't agree with the nitpicks or don't feel that the reviewer is seeing the series the same way you are.

A lot of those articles were just dull, scene-by-scene summaries, which ironically, didn't have anywhere near enough bite to them for my taste.

Yeah, at the risk of edging up on the borderline of constructive criticism vs. talking trash about other sites, not all of the recaps are winners and I sometimes wonder how there could be enough of a readership to guarantee the return of some of those reviews week after week. A lot of it has to do with popularity of the series itself though. If something like CSI gets recapped (I don't watch the series or read the recaps, so I'm safe on giving this as a hypothetical example), and it's really badly written and unfunny, the activity in the message board forum for that series (which is their measure for the success/popularity of the recaps) will still be high enough due to overwhelming viewership that the recapper's kept on.

Kris | February 07, 18:04 CET