Well, thanks for the second opinion(s).
I still think it's fixable, even given the cracked glass, because there's no bleed, and it's clearly displaying an image. The way that the the image is distorted would indicate to me that it's an electronic issue.
There's three other things I would just sneak in at the end though. I really hate the cuture of throwing things out for new just because they're tarnished and/or broken. I would have thought more of you guys would be the same given our hobby, but whatevs, not gonna hate on you.
The second thing is, cheap as they are, she's a single mother, and though she's not really hard up, even a couple of hundred bucks in the back pocket can be a life saver in a situation like that.
And last one, I realise not everyone is like this, but I kind of see this stuff as a challenge. If you get in there and poke about, it isn't going to make it worse, but you might get some benefit out of it. Learning, fun, or even a new TV. I guess I was imposing that view a little.