News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media

thelinster

by thelinster

The WB the way you always wanted it to be

Consider, if you will, the dearly departed Michigan J. Frog's network, the WB.

Did you sort of zone out? Me, too. A mere year and a half after the network — in combination with rival UPN — morphed into the CW, the WB is a vague memory. But in its heyday, the network aired some of our favorite soapy series: Charmed, Popular, Roswell, Gilmore Girls, Smallville and … let's see, what am I forgetting? Oh, yeah — a little show about a vampire slayer.

The WB was something of a guilty pleasure for me. I never admitted to watching Felicity or Dawson's Creek, but magically knew every detail of every story arc.

But aside from the genius that is Buffy, the most important accomplishment of the WB for many of us is that it launched the careers of quite a few of Hollywood's hottest young women: Katie Holmes, Keri Russell, Michelle Williams, Katherine Heigl, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Eliza Dushku, Jessica Biel, Carly Pope, Tammy Lynn Etheridge (née Michaels) and at least a dozen more.

And I've forgiven the network for its untimely cancellation of Birds of Prey since the DVD finally will be released in July.

Thanks to reruns and sites like Hulu, we can watch a few of these shows again. But now Warner Brothers has announced the beta launch of its new interactive, video-on-demand site, TheWB.com, that will let us do much more than just watch. In fact, the site sounds like a lesbian mashup fan's dream come true.

TheWB.com plans to "re-release" a collection of the WB network's most popular series along with original programming and Warner Brothers series that originally ran on other networks. What makes this site unique is the incorporation of technology that lets viewers "play with" the shows and share content on Facebook. According to the press release: "Users will now be able to take ownership of these cherished characters and relationships and bring them into their homes on their own terms, customizing, reordering, re-editing and reinterpreting these shows in a very personal way."

Did you get that? Re-edit! "Through TheWB.com, users will be able to take an unprecedented level of control over their own entertainment experience by easily editing, remixing, and literally 'playing' with their favorite shows. We're giving the users final cut."

So far, TheWB.com programming will include Friends, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Buffy, All of Us, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, The Wayans Bros., Veronica Mars, Everwood, Roswell and others yet to be announced.

OK, I don't particularly want to see a Gilmore Girls mashup.

But Buffy/Faith or Buffy/Willow? Yes, please.


Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Staff, Getty

And I've always thought Buffy and Veronica Mars would make a cute couple.

A three-way among the women of One Tree Hill? Why not? They've already shared all the men on the show.

Add some Warner Brothers properties that could show up eventually and you might get C.J. Cregg with Brenda Johnson. Or Dr. Liz Cruz with Dr. Abby Lockhart. Thinking about the possibilities boggles the mind.

TheWB.com's beta launch is some time this month, with a full launch in August. You can start planning your editing strategy at the site's Facebook page. Meanwhile, let us know what you plan to do with TheWB.com.

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  • Aya's picture

    Wow!

    Oh the possibilities. I can't wait to see what the slash-minded will come up with.
    Reign's picture

    all

    All I can do at the thought of this is smile! :oD

    slash mania!

    lezgirllover's picture

    You nailed it!

    "In fact, the site sounds like a lesbian mashup fan´s dream come true."

    Thank you for the exciting news!

    coffeesky's picture

    That's going to be so

    That's going to be so cool!  As soon as I saw that DC picture and saw that the article was about "The WB" my heart melted...I'll always have such a soft spot in my heart for that network!  I was such a WB Junkie back in high school!

    Mari SanGiovanni's picture

    Frustrated editors unite!!!!

     

    I will get my snips ready....one question though....

     

    You wrote about the Buffy mash-up potential and yet refrained from a MONSTER MASH JOKE....????!!!!

     

    --Mari

     

    Mari SanGiovanni

    Author of: Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer...

    www.GreetingsFromJamaica.com

    thelinster's picture

    Curses!

    I've been out-punned!
    Caprica's picture

    Buffy/Faith!

    Buffy/Faith! A dream come true.

     

    Also, Buffy and Veronica Mars look wayy too much alike for them to be a couple. It would be creeeepy...

    broadstairs's picture

    Love reading your blog!!!!!!

    "The WB was something of a guilty pleasure for me. I never admitted to watching Felicity or Dawson's Creek, but magically knew every detail of every story arc."

    It's so true.

    Mel0223's picture

    FAITH!!

    Buffy/Faith.... I can't wait!!!

    wickedgrrl's picture

    WB :( and :)

    The WB pulls at my heart strings.  I am so glad I was a teenager (if just barely) when this network launched.  Dawson's Creek Joey Potter owned my soul when it first aired.

    Just looking at that list of shows has me baffled how much that network affected my life.  During the entire, AM I or AREN'T I stage of my "awakening"  I was watching these shows.  Lusting Loving these strong amazing women. 

    I mean forget naming the shows, and think about naming the women from them.  Oh, wait.  You did that in pictures.  :D  

    I'm grinning from ear to ear at the thought of all the talented lesbian editors out there getting their hands on this material with free reign.

    McManus in '08!  Vote now.  Vote often.  www.curvemag.com

    litaxen's picture

    I love this!

    The WB was my favorite network!

    I was so sad & pissed when Birds Of Prey was cancelled. So happy that it's coming to DVD.

     

    avab80's picture

    O.M.G.

    This could be the best (read: most addicting) thing to hit the Internet in a very long time. I am already imagining the Buffy/Faith videos that will emerge. Not to mention the super fun OC slash. ;)
    betsys2003's picture

    Not to be a party pooper but

    Speaking of Buffy, the WB was the network that wouldn't let Willow and Tara kiss for a long time, right?

    Also, I don't quite get the big deal - people already make mashup videos all the time. How is this going to be different?

    avab80's picture

    Yes, it was The WB that

    Yes, it was The WB that didn't want to show anything sexual between Willow & Tara. Once the show moved to UPN we got to see a lot of kissing.

    The big deal, IMO, is that it's "official." WB is recognizing the popularity of these kinds of fan videos and is getting in on the game. Yes, they will make money from it through advertising, but it's still kind of cool. And all the episodes will be readily accessible online, instead of people having to search for illegal downloads or upload them from their own DVD collection. Obviously we'll have to see how the site actually works before fully judging it, but it sounds like it has good potential.

    IfOnly's picture

    'Bout time! =)

    Has someone finally realized all the potential that all the fanfictors (femslashers didn't sound that appealing) around the world hold? I'm not that well-read on these things but I have wondered, on more than one occasion, why no one (?) will find some awesome way to profit from arena for these amazing artists.

    All networks need to join up. Let's start to celabrate all the femslash-creators around the world!

    L&O: SVU, CSI, WMC, NCIS, Bones... *drifting off*

    the_way_that_iam's picture

    Birds of Prey DVD

    Finally!  I can't wait to get it!  I wish the show had lasted longer, but at least they finally decided to put out the series on DVD.  Whoohoo!

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