Cinerant

The Network That Defined a Generation?

Last night, the WB signed off the air by showing the series premieres of some of its landmark shows--"Felicity", "Angel", "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer", and "Dawson's Creek," During the night of nostalgia, the network aired some very classy promos, reminiscent of promos the network ran during various seasons, as a tribute to the talent that had a home at the network. And the list was impressive: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Keri Russell, Scott Foley, Scott Speedman, Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, Allyson Hannigan, the Wayans Brothers, Barry Watson, Lauren Graham, Michelle Williams, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx. Some of the ads big aideu to the network, claiming that it was the "network that defined a generation."

And the thing, it's right.

Well, almost.

It's a little inaccurate to say that it defined a generation. Sure, there are texts that define generations. ("The Graduate" comes to mind). However, saying that a generation was shaped by the WB is pretty off.

Saying that it represented a generation is more accurate. There's no denying that the moment "Dawson's Creek" hit the air, Gen Y had their seminal film--in a television series. (Just like "Fight Club" and "Reality Bites" are the seminal Gen X films.) It highlighted the generation as what it yearns to be--precocious, intelligent, sex-talking adolescents that skip being a teenager and move straight into adulthood. It was a formula that had its limitations, but was surprisingly successful. Sure, "Dawson's" never transcended much beyond guilty pleasure, but the show was groundbreaking for its view of teenage sexuality, as well as gay teens.

But in quality, the show never held a candle to the real cream of the WB's shows--"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer". Sure, there have been some great shows on the WB, but none of them broke down the walls and toyed with the idea of genre and gender roles the way that "Buffy" did. The serio-comic show took that idea that high school is hell--literally and milked every metaphor out of it. Yet, it went beyond that bag of tricks, transcended the form and became about so many things and ideas--rare for any television show, and even rarer for a "teen show." Some of the episodes of "Buffy"--"The Body", "Once More, with Feeling", "Hush", and "Becoming Part I & II" and "The Gift" are among some of the best hours of television ever produced. And they all came from one show.

The other show that is frequently overlooked and less heralded in the pantheon of WB shows is "Felicity." This is the only show to win the network a major award. Keri Russell picked up a Golden Globe in the show's first season--and with good reason. The program perfectly captured the angst of a teenager burgeoning into adulthood, trapped by a sense of duty to parents and their wishes and a desire to become her own person. Sure, most people can still debate over whether she should've ended up with Noel or Ben, but the fact that after four seasons, this was still a question worthy of discussion proved how real those characters were and how well the writers had created them. They were as real to us as any college buddy. Sure the show was angsty and that angst got on some people's nerves, but guess what? College is angst. That's what made it so brilliant was its honesty. Plus, introducing us to JJ Abrams and Jennifer Garner would never be considered a bad thing.

So, so long to the WB. Hopefully the new shows of the CW (if and when there are any) will be as memorable as these. Just hopefully it won't take two or three years for them to be discovered.

posted by cinegod @ 3:38 PM