So long WB and UPN. Hello CW.

[Shockeye]

CW Network to replace WB, UPN

CBS, Warner Bros. announce plans for new network to debut in September.

January 24, 2006: 12:16 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Warner Brothers and CBS Corp. announced plans Tuesday for the creation of a new broadcast television network, called CW, that would replace the WB and UPN networks in the fall of this year.

The new broadcast network will draw on programming from both WB and UPN, and will be a joint venture between Warner Bros. and CBS, with each company owning 50 percent, officials of both companies said.

WB's 'Gilmore Girls' will be one of the shows on the new CW network, officials said.

"This new network will serve the public with high-quality programming and maintain our ongoing commitment to our diverse audience," said Les Moonves, the chairman of CBS, in a statement (see video).

Prime time programming will target the profitable 18-34 age group, officials of Warner and CBS said.

The new network will broadcast such UPN shows as "America's Next Top Model" and "Veronica Mars," as well as WB programs "Beauty and the Geek" and "Smallville."

In addition, World Wrestling Entertainment's "Smackdown," which has been a mainstay at UPN, is expected to play a role in the schedule.

UPN and the WB have struggled to attract viewers from the four established networks since they were launched in the mid-1990s. But each has its strengths.

The WB has had some hits throughout its history, particularly with younger audiences, having done well lately with shows such as "Smallville" and "Gilmore Girls."

UPN has recently gained some critical acclaim and strong ratings for its sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris," which airs on Thursday nights and fared well against shows such as NBC's "Joey" and Fox's "The O.C."

Both networks will cease operations in September, broadcasting their respective network schedules independently until then.

Dawn Ostroff, currently president of UPN, will become president of entertainment, and John Maatta, currently chief operating officer of the WB, will become chief operating officer of the CW.

Warner Brothers Entertainment is a division of Time Warner, as is CNNMoney.com.

They should've done this 5 years ago.

[schild]

I guess when both stations show "Hanging with Mr. Cooper" during all offpeak hours it only makes sense to merge them.

Maybe Aquaman will get canned now.

[Merusk]

Huh.. I wonder what this is going to do to my local stations.  Prior to WB/UPN one showed Andy Griffith & Gilligan's Island in prime time, the other old anime movies. 

I agree with Shock, this is what they should have done from the start.

[WayAbvPar]

Less crappy shows clogging up my TV. All good. Hopefully my cable provider will put something non-crappy in place of whichever channel goes away. Probably another fucking shopping channel.

[Strazos]

Hmm....UPN where I live airs Flyers games a few times a year....

[Paelos]

They screw with my Simpson's reruns, and I'll get pissy.

[Signe]

I don't think I even watch anything on those channels.  I've seen a few episodes of Smallville but the acting is so bad I had to stop.  It makes my gag reflex kick in.

[WayAbvPar]

WTH were you and Righ up to when you were watching??

[schild]

Signe turns into a lesbian whenever Erica Durance is on screen.


Obviously.

[WayAbvPar]

Well that blows my gagging theory straight out of the water.

[Signe]

Signe turns into a lesbian whenever Erica Durance is on screen.


Obviously.

Geez.  I don't even know who that is!



I still don't know who that is!

[Righ]

I googled her. She's a recent addition who plays Lois Lane. Apparently, schild knows all this stuff about girly teen programs while not knowing anything about Blake Edwards movies.

[Signe]

I googled her. She's a recent addition who plays Lois Lane. Apparently, schild knows all this stuff about girly teen programs while not knowing anything about Blake Edwards movies.

Yes, but he's so adorable.  I want to affectionately pinch his cheeks very, very hard! 

Let's kidnap him.

[schild]

Just Smallville, Gilmore Girls, and Veronica Mars. I don't know about any of the other shows as the only other things I watch are Boondocks, Supernatural, and House.

Edit: And I'll admit it, I know nothing about Blake Edwards, but when I IMDB'd him after Signe filled me in, I can only assume he was Uwe Boll's mentor. So I don't feel that bad about not knowing his entire catalogue of crap.

[Paelos]

Smallville sucks no matter what you comic nerds say. OMG IT'S ABOUT METEORS AGAIN? ROXXORS!

[schild]

Smallville sucks no matter what you comic nerds say. OMG IT'S ABOUT METEORS AGAIN? ROXXORS!

OMG HOUSE IS ABOUT A RARE MEDICAL CASE AGAIN?

OMG SOMEONE [BROUGHT A GUN/KILLED SOMEBODY/SAID "NIGGER" TO THE PRINCIPAL] AT BOSTON PUBLIC AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S A HOSTILE ALIEN RACE ON STARGATE AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S AN URBAN MYTH BROUGHT TO LIFE ON [XFILES/SUPERNATURAL/INSERT NAME OF DETECTIVE SCIFI SHOW HERE] AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S TERRORISTS ON 24 AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S A NON-SEQUITER ON FAMILY AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S [DECEIPT/CHEATING/SPOUSAL ABUSE] ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S ANOTHER TWIST WITH NO EXPLANATION ON LOST AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE SLEEPING WITH THE WRONG PERSON ON GREY'S ANATOMY AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE MISUSING MAGIC ON CHARMED AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE [DOING DRUGS/CHEATING ON BF/GF/AT SCHOOL/SPENDING PARENTS MONEY] ON THE OC AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S WHITE TRASH ON AMERICAN IDOL AGAIN?

I think that covers everything.

Edit: OMG ZACH BRAFF IS [TIMID/SHY/STUTTERY] ON SCRUBS AGAIN?

Ok, and I'll admit it, I can't come up with a clever one for Southpark or the Adult Swim shows. They spoil me with originality.

[Llava]

Well, shit.

UPN has a lot of syndicated shows I liked to watch.  King of the Hill, That 70's Show, Malcolm In the Middle.  I won't exactly be heartbroken, but it was nice to have those options when I felt like having the TV on and there was nothing particularly attention-grabbing on at the time.

WB I couldn't give less of a shit.  I don't watch any of that crap.

Personally, I blame Joss Whedon for this.  This has been in the works since Buffy moved from WB to UPN.  They had intercourse without protection, it's only natural that a hybrid love child would rise up to consume them both.

I never want children.

[Ironwood]

Smallville sucks no matter what you comic nerds say. OMG IT'S ABOUT METEORS AGAIN? ROXXORS!

OMG HOUSE IS ABOUT A RARE MEDICAL CASE AGAIN?

OMG SOMEONE [BROUGHT A GUN/KILLED SOMEBODY/SAID "NIGGER" TO THE PRINCIPAL] AT BOSTON PUBLIC AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S A HOSTILE ALIEN RACE ON STARGATE AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S AN URBAN MYTH BROUGHT TO LIFE ON [XFILES/SUPERNATURAL/INSERT NAME OF DETECTIVE SCIFI SHOW HERE] AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S TERRORISTS ON 24 AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S A NON-SEQUITER ON FAMILY AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S [DECEIPT/CHEATING/SPOUSAL ABUSE] ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S ANOTHER TWIST WITH NO EXPLANATION ON LOST AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE SLEEPING WITH THE WRONG PERSON ON GREY'S ANATOMY AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE MISUSING MAGIC ON CHARMED AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S SOMEONE [DOING DRUGS/CHEATING ON BF/GF/AT SCHOOL/SPENDING PARENTS MONEY] ON THE OC AGAIN?

OMG THERE'S WHITE TRASH ON AMERICAN IDOL AGAIN?

I think that covers everything.

Edit: OMG ZACH BRAFF IS [TIMID/SHY/STUTTERY] ON SCRUBS AGAIN?

Ok, and I'll admit it, I can't come up with a clever one for Southpark or the Adult Swim shows. They spoil me with originality.

Well done sir.

Personally, once you get by the meteor rocks freak of the week that was the first season, Smallville does in fact find it's pace and becomes an entertaining show.  It helps, of course, that when the credits go up at the start there's NOT A SINGLE ONE of the cast members that I wouldn't do.  Even Hazzard looks good on this show.

And it's now got Zod in it.  What's not to like ?

[Paelos]

I watch one of the shows you lambasted Schild. LOST. The rest I agree totally that they are crap.

[Signe]

Are you kidding?  Blake Edwards made some excellent films.  The Pink Panther, The Party, The Great Race... sure, he's had some dogs but he's done a lot.  They should erect a statue in his honour for A Shot in the Dark and The Party alone.  Edwards was at his best when writing for a genius like Peter Sellers.

I love House and I used to like Lost until it got really silly.  Now I just watch it because I can't look away... a bit like a car wreck.

[Strazos]

Oh no, this means I lose the UPN "U Crew"!

"So Philly, So YOU!"

Bleh.



( I will concede that the girl in the middle looks better in the commercials)

[Sky]

Bringing in that tart Lois Lane ruined Smallville. I watched it now and again, and Chloe using the alias Lois when she worked for the Daily Planet added a nice tension back to the show. It was always about Chloe and Lana, really. It was barely watchable beforehand. Now it just suckles.

[HaemishM]

Are you kidding?  Blake Edwards made some excellent films.  The Pink Panther, The Party, The Great Race... sure, he's had some dogs but he's done a lot.  They should erect a statue in his honour for A Shot in the Dark and The Party alone.  Edwards was at his best when writing for a genius like Peter Sellers.

Yes. Part of directing well is knowing when you have a rare genius to work for you and getting him to do it again.

I love House and I used to like Lost until it got really silly.  Now I just watch it because I can't look away... a bit like a car wreck.

I still have yet to see this silliness Lost has supposedly degenerated into. I still like it, and it still surprises me. But then I'm not trying to analyze every single iota of data for some kind of answer. I'm just letting it wash over me like the waves at the beach.

[schild]

Peter Sellers isn't a rare genius. He was The Genius back then. And everyone knew it. Side from that, It's the casting directors job. Edwards has a batting average worse than Oliver Stone.

What happened to Lost is the same thing that happened to Alias. JJ Abrams got twist crazy. He loves introducing twists, but hates answering them. This bugs the hell out of some people. Some people don't even notice. Some people don't remember there was a polar bear on the island in lost. Or a black cloud of insects. Some do.

[Rasix]

Errrmm.. there was never a black cloud of insects.  There was/is the "beast", which apparently is a black cloud of something.  You know, that thing Eko stared at 2 episodes ago? Most people are guessing that it's a magnetic cloud.

The not answering shit is what's killing me in the show though. But mainly it's just through the character motivations and interactions.  Why the hell is Locke suddenly interested in Sawyer's real name?  Why the hell do Jack and his father talk to each other in a way that we could only understand IF WE WERE MIND READERS.  He's leaving too many dangling plot lines and not bothering to clean anything up.

And the romances.. PULL THE TRIGGER ON SOMETHING. The courtship of Kate is getting tiresome.

Ohh, and for the thread: good thing.  Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls on the same channel is a good thing.

[schild]

Don't ask quests. It took JJ Abrams 4 seasons to finish answering season 1 questions of Alias that I guess he forgot about. He wonders why his show is getting canceled. I don't blame them. Season 5 went every fucking direction off the map. Basically, he needs to tie stuff up in a bow. I hate to ask a storyteller to do that, but you can't write good conspiracy thriller stuff without telling the answer in a reasonable amount of time. He could learn something from Usual Suspects and Spanish Prisoner.

[Righ]

Peter Sellers isn't a rare genius. He was The Genius back then. And everyone knew it. Side from that, It's the casting directors job. Edwards has a batting average worse than Oliver Stone.

A batting average worse than Oliver Stone? How many of Blake Edwards' theatric releases are you familiar with? On IMDB, he's credited with 46 directorial works, 9 of which were not theatric releases, so that leaves just 37. Of those 37, 7 are among Peter Sellers' best works, and a bunch are highly regarded and important works, whether you like them or not: Operation Petticoat, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?, Victor/Victoria. There are at least a dozen more movies in his body of work that are better acted than all Stone movies bar Salvador.

As far as I know, its typically not the casting director's job to get the best perfomance out of his actors during filming. That falls to the director, and Edwards was highly talented in that regard. Some of his scripts haven't stood the test of time, but the performances he nearly always gets from his actors have. The sense of timing that Edwards has in his movies is legendary throughout Hollywood. I suppose I'd rather watch a trite plot thats well composed and acted than a arthouse cult movie that's poorly acted. To each their own.

[schild]

I suppose I'd rather watch a trite plot thats well composed and acted than a arthouse cult movie that's poorly acted. To each their own.

Maybe that's the problem. I'd rather watch an interesting, original plot that's well composed and acted.

[Righ]

Don't be a moob. Smallville et. al. are none of those things.

[schild]

Don't be a moob. Smallville et. al. are none of those things.

I never claimed otherwise. The WB shows I watch are a guilty pleasure, and I've got some catching up to do, I've missed about 8 episodes of each this season. The only things I've been on the ball with are ERing, Grey's Anatomy, and House. And two of them are those things.

[Signe]

I love House but it's not art.  None of those things you listed is art, not even close.  And they're not genius.  They are simply better than average tv shows... well, actually, I can only vouch for House in that list.  I've never seen ERing and I don't much care for Grey's Anatomy, though I've only watched one episode. 

[Righ]

I love House but it's not art.

If it were, would it be art house?

[schild]

All I said is that they were interesting, well composed and acted with original plots. I fail to see the word "art" anywhere in there.

[Signe]

I give up on this conversation.  You're all too strange!

[schild]

I give up on this conversation.  You're all too strange!

You can't give up after you put words into someone's mouth. That's a terrible strategy!