End Of An Era Pt 2

Not since the disappearnce of the DuMont network in 1955 has a telelvsion station just ceased to exist. But now in September of 2006 we have lost two at the same time. That's right, the networks UPN and the WB have ceased to be, instead they have formed into one network, the CW. Shows from both of the networks will make an appearnce, however one of the longest running shows from the WB, "Charmed", will not be returning, see "Charmed" ended its run after eight long seasons. "Seventh Heaven" which was long slated to be ending after ten years on the air, was actually renewed for a tenth season on the CW.

The reason why I write all of this in here is because the WB and UPN are not only networks younger than me, but they are networks I can remember getting their start. The network Fox and I are the same age, its actually a few months younger than me, it was launched October 9th. But for a generation of kids born in the mid to late eighties, early ninties; FOX, the WB and UPN were our places to go for network television. All three of them catered to a younger crowd, and all three of them have housed some debatably great shows. Most notably "Simpsons" and "X-Files" on FOX, "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Moeisha" on UPN and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Seventh Heaven" on the WB. It's also funny to note that all of these shows with the exception of 3 have gone almost ten seasons.

So why am I giving this little recount of recent broadcast history? Well think about it, for the first time since the heat of the Cold War, a network has been dropped from the rooster. It might not change our lives but some of the defining shows of our decade were made on these two networks. Some of the defining actresses and actors of our generation have come from these networks. Seth Green who earlier appeared in the movie "IT" got his big break on "Buffy", as did Alyissa Hannighan and Sarah Michelle Gellar. The UPN carried on the legacy of Star Trek through three spin-offs of the series "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager", and "Enterprise". I could really go on with this, but I think you get the point.

With all these being said one of the most promising shows that we saw last season on the WB, "Supernatural", will be coming back (THANK YOU GOD) and that makes me happy. I only hope that it has a place the season after next, as this is a last ditch effort to save the two networks. As for those of us 15-20 years old, we'll be ending the era of those growing up with Moeshia Mitchell, Hanging with Mister Cooper all over again, fighting along side Buffy Summers, and watching the Camdens grow.

I know I bitched a lot about UPN especially, and I got mad with the WB canceled my favorite show, "Angel". But this is really sad to have to say, these networks have no more history. It looks like the curtain has fallen on Michighan J. Frog...and the house lights dim.