I love the CW for bringing me
Gossip Girl and for having the guts to resurrect
90210, but there's no denying that the network pales in comparison to the glory days of the WB. For those of us who were teenagers in the '90s the WB was a truly special network. They brought us such classic shows as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Angel,
Dawson's Creek,
Gilmore Girls and
Felicity, and such charmingly forgettable fare as
Blue Collar TV,
The Mountain,
Tarzan and
Black Sash. It's hard not to feel affection for that bygone era, even if it did produce atrocities like
7th Heaven.
The WB may no longer exist on television, but it's currently enjoying a resurrection on the Internet.
TheWB.com launched yesterday and features full episodes of many of the shows mentioned above, as well as games, a blog, desktop wallpapers and some original web series.
The great thing about TheWB.com is that it has episodes from plenty of classic shows, including
Buffy,
Angel,
Firefly,
Babylon 5,
Everwood,
Friends,
Gilmore Girls,
The Loop,
MADtv,
The O.C.,
One Tree Hill,
Roswell,
Smallville and
Veronica Mars. Most of these actually aired on the WB, but a few are shows from other networks that were produced by Warner Bros. Unfortunately, not many episodes from these shows are available on the website as of yet. Watching the first nine episodes of
One Tree Hill won't help fans who want to catch up on all five seasons of the series. However, I assume more content will be added in the near future.
In addition to old favorites, there will also be some new shows available on demand.
Sorority Forever is an innovative mystery/drama from director McG;
Rich Girl, Poor Girl is a new reality show from the creator of
Laguna Beach, in which a wealthy Orange County girl swaps lives with a low-income Los Angeles teen; and there's also new reality fare following Australian surfers and a high school theater department. Josh Schwartz, creator of
The O.C. and
Gossip Girl, is also developing a series set at a fictional Hollywood rock club. All of these web-exclusive shows will premiere throughout 2008 and during the first few months of 2009.
Does TheWB.com have what it takes to become as popular as Hulu and other video sites? That remains to be seen, but at least for now we can enjoy the first few episodes of
Gilmore Girls and pretend like it's the late '90s all over again.
What's your favorite cancelled WB show?
- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the WB)