Trekkies, Vampires, Wrestling, Witches, Superheroes & etc.

I don't remember a world before The WB. It had just always existed as a network as far I knew, still being young when I watched things like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs. Even then I recognized the brand of the network. I remember the spots and marketing campaign for Dawson's Creek clearly and I remember even more clearly the week of its premiere. The holiday season of my last year in elementary school was coming to a close and my older cooler cousin was raving about how much she wanted to see this new show coming out. I wasn't interested, well not really as an 12 year old I had yet to discover what now can be called an addiction to good stories. But I remember it clearly, I don't know if it is because I was aware that this was the start of something new. Maybe I did realize then that this was the start of some wild ride of growing up having my own station (again that TV station for a generation notion). I think I knew. From that moment of Dawson's Creek premiere, I remember many of the promotional runs and premiere's for so many of The WB shows.

I tuned in for that first episode of Felicity. I was one of the thousands that watched the birth of the 7th Heaven twins (leading to thoughts about it being more like 9th heaven). I loved the "failed" show of Jack and Bobby. I don't think I have since been so involved in checking rating numbers on shows like I did those last two seasons of Charmed. When fans were fighting for its survival and ultimately achieved a much better send off than had been planned. I can't explain how satisfying it was to have the show end on such a great note after devoting 7 years (well mostly, I did protest out of stubbornness when Prue died and Paige came around, but who could stay away?). But like I said, I never noticed that The WB hadn't existed before that point and I never really understood what happened to it when lights went out in 2006. I was always intrigued by The WB, especially when I discovered as an adult that it really almost wasn't a network at all (no offense). A couple of years after The WB closed, after the end of Gilmore Girls and 7th Heaven alike, I was searching around for WB show product when I discovered the book Season Finale. Season Finale : The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN was an automatic must have and read for me. At this point in life I had become well acquainted with film and the industry of story telling but had never read much on television and even less on networks.

I warn readers that this book is not for the faint of heart. It is by no means an easy read, or an addictive read. There are parts that were hard to get through and other parts that were sensational. As a non-fiction book about the business of starting a television network, I am under the impression you would have to be a passionate about the story to begin with before starting this read. That said, for those that are passionate, the ones who want to know more about the inside workings of their favorite after school network this is the book for you. It gives you a great sense of inside information, it sets up the understanding for why the network was just so extraordinary and also why it was doomed.

I finished the book feeling like I knew these people, that had worked so hard behind the scenes to bring me what I best describe as my childhood now available on DVD. Though I must admit being a fan of the WB, it was a bit of a shock for me to discover just how intertwined and competitive WB and UPN were. In my world, WB had been the sole and utter winner of the race for being the network on top. No one I knew watched anything on the UPN, aside from the wrestling that the boys watched. It was at first intriguing to discover how well founded and better wished was the UPN to the WB. My favorite part of the WB story might have been it's launch debuckle. But as the narrative moved into the formulative years and I found out what it was like from the inside to create Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Gilmore Girls and so many others I found myself caring less and less about the turmoils of UPN. I understand why it was important to intertwined the stories together, why it was so critical to understand that while the ratings were only going up at the WB, the ratings were consisting tumbling for the UPN. A true story of rivals, given to the audience slightly skewed with bias (the book was written by a WB exec) but true in spirit to what happened.

I won't go much into the politics because if you are going to read the book it's worth finding out for yourself. But for those of you that are thinking it's not for you, maybe pick up a copy to read the sections about your favorite shows. I loved reading about the creators and writers of Dawson's Creek. It was humorous to find out about the casting and how they worked together. I was intrigued to discover that Steven Speilberg had to be contacted to ask if his image and works could be constant reference by character Dawson. It was even better to discover that Steven Speilberg watched the pilot, thought it was good and didn't mind at all. Or to get the inside scoop on the casting and creative process of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I started cracking up when Joss Whedon first impression was described. The Felicity Hair Chaos of the second season of the show. And from there the stories keep coming, all intimate, all passionate driven to protect the stories that the network strived to present to its audience. If not for anything else, read the book for those small bits of looking into a window the house you use to live in and getting to see the elves at work.

It was one of the most educating reads I've picked up in a while. Though again sometimes dry and hard to get through the industry talk, particular about the UPN (because I'm sorry, I still don't really like them despite respecting the efforts). I have to say that if production, politics and storytelling appeal to you at all... Find Season Finale. And if nostalgia hits you remember: Buffy and Angel are on Hulu and many of the other shows can be found not only on DVD but also on WB.com (including Jack & Bobby)!