The WB + UPN = The CW – Clacking the dream week of primetime

Believe it or not, but before there was a network for teenage angst, The WB and UPN existed as individual entities with distinct personalities. Neither one was ever my favorite — I still mainly remember The WB 11 as home of the Yankees — but each aired some shows that I still look back fondly on today. Not enough to avoid having to share one post, mind you. But some shows.

Sunday

7:00-7:30 It’s kind of depressing to spend too much time on any one of these, so we’re really going to cut through the fat here. 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, and Smallville all got some love at this hour, but never from me. Comedians had their moment in the sun as well, what with The Jamie Foxx Show, Steve Harvey’s Big Time, Reba, and Everybody Hates Chris. But for me, it was a cartoon that got me to tune in. Do you remember that wonderful Animaniacs spin-off, Pinky and the Brain? I still sing that theme song today.

8:30-9:00 One other point of order — if I skip the time, assume it’s “Free Play.” The landscape is too barren to bother discussing all the non-choices. Anyway, there are actually a couple of shows here that I’ve seen in one way or another — The Steve Harvey Show, Unhappily Ever After (with Kevin Connolly), and Smart Guy, which was cute enough not to change channels on. And I guess The PJs, but only enough to have tried it and passed. This choice I was actually a huge fan of. And although Adhir Kalyan has been recently employed on Rules of Engagement, it doesn’t make up for the loss of Aliens in America. That was a really fun show.

9:00-10:00 This is so confusing, because not only do I have no idea what many of these shows were — Cleghorne!, The Tom Show, Jack & Jill (scary nursery rhymes?), Hype, Nikki, Black Sash, The Mountain, Easy Money — I also have no inclination to check. Some of you may remember that Angel aired here one year. I, however, prefer to remember two years down the road, when author Brad Meltzer helped bring us Jack & Bobby. It wasn’t perfect, and I still can’t recall which one was president in the end, but the cast was great, and I enjoyed the structure of the show. I just wish they’d done more with it.

Tuesday

9:00-10:00 Amazingly, this was an hour when a lot of you may have tuned in to one of these three networks. Felicity, Angel, Smallville, America‘s Next Top Model, One Tree Hill, Veronica Mars, Supernatural, Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll, Privileged, 90210, and Melrose Place all graced the hour at one point or another. I, however, never watched any of those shows. My choice is one that needed some more love from us all in order to succeed, and unfortunately didn’t get enough to please the suits. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Reaper back again?

Wednesday

8:00-9:00 Yet another “star-studded” timeslot. Sister, Sister, The Sentinel, Dawson’s Creek, Star Trek: Enterprise, Smallville, America‘s Next Top Model, South Beach, One Tree Hill, Beauty and the Geek … how could these networks have failed? The only one of the above series that I ever watched was Sister, Sister, and that only in reruns on some afternoon or another. And not with any regularity. Unfortunately, the hour didn’t ever get any better for me. Instead, I have another gift for the wife. And whereas the last one took care of her birthday and anniversary for this year, this one takes care of next year. She loved Privileged, and was very sad to see it go. I can understand that feeling of having a show that you’re enjoying not get a chance to really grow. So enjoy!

9:00-10:00 This is like a clash of the titans, isn’t it? The Wayans Bros., Unhappily Ever After, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Star Trek: Voyager (different from Enterprise?), Charmed, Felicity, Angel, Amish in the City (I loved this that one summer it was on!), Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Pussycat Dolls Present, Farmer Wants a Wife, 90210 … man oh man. This one, unlike the last, is just for me (though my wife loved it too). I’m a big fan of the legal dramedy, and I’m a huge fan of Taye Diggs. So when someone had the brilliant idea of putting the two together? Kevin Hill was absolutely awesome. Plus I promised my wife that Kevin would get Sarah back, so the show kind of has to resolve that or else she’ll never let me forget it.

And that’s all she wrote. The one thing I decided against doing was gifting my wife Gilmore Girls as well. I just think the show lived a full life, and should never be heard from again. What do you think about that? How about my other tough choices? And how about you … what does your dream WB/UPN/CW lineup look like?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 19, 2010 @ 12:30 EST5EDT