Context :

Aims : TV Ret was classified as a cataclysmic variable due to an outburst observed in 1977 .
We intended to confirm this classification and derive some basic properties of the system .

Methods : Low resolution optical spectra were obtained for a spectral classification of the object .

Results : We find that the object is not a cataclysmic variable but an emission line galaxy with a redshift z = 0.0964 .
An R–image taken in very good seeing conditions shows that the object is extended .

Conclusions : We show that TV Ret is a blue dwarf galaxy , probably compact , with an absolute magnitude of M _ { B } = -17.5 , a metallicity of 0.12 solar , and an average temperature of 1.3 \cdot 10 ^ { 4 } K. The line ratios place it among the H II galaxies , although close to the border of the Seyfert 2s .
The outburst , which was observed in 1977 , could thus be explained by a supernova explosion .
However , with an absolute magnitude around M _ { B } = -21 , it was an extremely bright one .