Ninja_Squirrel
Regular
The CW: UPN & WB merging into one network Fall \'06
I know the news of UPN & WB merging into one new network, The CW, is a few days old now, but no one here has mentioned it yet. I'm assuming the initial CW are short for Columbia (since CBS owns UPN) and Warners.
I'm just curious if anyone has any reactions to this. Surprise? Worry that your favorite show(s) might be cancelled? Don't care?
Also, I'm curious as to whether the merging carries any potential in the sci-fi realm, particularly with the Star Trek & B5 universes, considering that both Paramount & Warner Bros. might be stronger or more willing to take chances when they can lean on each other.
I'm doubting this more than when I first heard the news. The CW will air 30 hours of TV a week, and originally, I assumed that meant going to a full 3-hour primetime block like the Big 3 networks. However, further news has revealed that they'll still do only 2 hours a night (like Fox), skip Saturday, and instead, do a 2-hour afternoon block from 3 to 5 PM, which I suppose will be filled with either soap operas, talk shows, judge shows, dating shows, or some combination thereof. The only exception is Sunday, in which they'll do a 7 to 10 PM prime time block, plus an extra hour or two before that (repeats of their top shows, perhaps). With fewer prime time hours, I'm guessing has sci-fi has just as much, if not less, potential than it did on the two individual netlets.
I think that's a mistake. They should go for the extra hour of prime time to compete in the mature drama category and skip all the daytime fluff.
The only show I watch on either network is Gilmore Girls, and my fast-growing appreciation for that show is rather late-blooming (didn't start watching until season 5). But, from the buzz I hear about them, I'm assuming the combined network would be smart to keep around the following shows:
From WB:
Gilmore Girls
Smallville (over-rated)
Supernatural
One Tree Hill (snoozeville)
Everwood
Reba
From UPN:
Veronica Mars (probably the net's current post-Trek flagship show)
America's Next Top Model
Everybody Hates Chris
Girlfriends
WWE Smackdown (blech)
Funny, even if both networks were in trouble, enough that merging was a good idea, at least the WB seems to have a little more class. It just seems kind of wrong to have Gilmore Girls and Smackdown on the same network, but surely they wouldn't dump GG when it's critically acclaimed and most likely has only one year left anyway. As for Smackdown, I read one article that implies that show making it onto CW is a foregone conclusion.
I know the news of UPN & WB merging into one new network, The CW, is a few days old now, but no one here has mentioned it yet. I'm assuming the initial CW are short for Columbia (since CBS owns UPN) and Warners.
I'm just curious if anyone has any reactions to this. Surprise? Worry that your favorite show(s) might be cancelled? Don't care?
Also, I'm curious as to whether the merging carries any potential in the sci-fi realm, particularly with the Star Trek & B5 universes, considering that both Paramount & Warner Bros. might be stronger or more willing to take chances when they can lean on each other.
I'm doubting this more than when I first heard the news. The CW will air 30 hours of TV a week, and originally, I assumed that meant going to a full 3-hour primetime block like the Big 3 networks. However, further news has revealed that they'll still do only 2 hours a night (like Fox), skip Saturday, and instead, do a 2-hour afternoon block from 3 to 5 PM, which I suppose will be filled with either soap operas, talk shows, judge shows, dating shows, or some combination thereof. The only exception is Sunday, in which they'll do a 7 to 10 PM prime time block, plus an extra hour or two before that (repeats of their top shows, perhaps). With fewer prime time hours, I'm guessing has sci-fi has just as much, if not less, potential than it did on the two individual netlets.
I think that's a mistake. They should go for the extra hour of prime time to compete in the mature drama category and skip all the daytime fluff.
The only show I watch on either network is Gilmore Girls, and my fast-growing appreciation for that show is rather late-blooming (didn't start watching until season 5). But, from the buzz I hear about them, I'm assuming the combined network would be smart to keep around the following shows:
From WB:
Gilmore Girls
Smallville (over-rated)
Supernatural
One Tree Hill (snoozeville)
Everwood
Reba
From UPN:
Veronica Mars (probably the net's current post-Trek flagship show)
America's Next Top Model
Everybody Hates Chris
Girlfriends
WWE Smackdown (blech)
Funny, even if both networks were in trouble, enough that merging was a good idea, at least the WB seems to have a little more class. It just seems kind of wrong to have Gilmore Girls and Smackdown on the same network, but surely they wouldn't dump GG when it's critically acclaimed and most likely has only one year left anyway. As for Smackdown, I read one article that implies that show making it onto CW is a foregone conclusion.
