Writing the Network Wrongs

My Variety colleague Cynthia Littleton and Lifetime Entertainment president Susanne Daniels were the toast of the Paley Media Center (formerly Museum of TV & Radio) Thursday night, as TV heavyhitters stopped by to celebrate the publication of "Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN."

It's a good read, especially for you TV geeks out there. For me, it also brings me back to my early days in Los Angeles, covering the beat for Electronic Media magazine as a 22-year-old obsessed with all things TV. I still remember my very first day in L.A.: I had barely found my desk when I was sent to the Warner Bros. lot to cover a WB affiliates meeting. This was pre-"Dawson's," pre-"Buffy" WB -- as a matter of fact, the execs mentioned they were developing something called "Slayer" -- and I grew an affinity to the scrappy, small network and its eager, young staff of execs. I got to know the folks there as the WB rose to "It" status... and watched as it began to crumble. (Of course, I was also there watching UPN as it continually struggled for relevancy... I still have a "Shasta McNasty" hat, and a pic of me with "Moesha" star Brandy.)

The turnout at Thursday's party was strong: Studio chiefs like Warner Bros. TV's Peter Roth and 20th Century Fox TV's Gary Newman; Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong; agents like Endeavor's Richard Weitz and Lisa Harrison; CW COO John Maatta (who's also a board member of Trader Vic's); Warner Bros. TV Group's Bruce Rosenblum; former Paramount Network TV president Garry Hart; and even Daniels' husband, "The Office" genius Greg Daniels.

It was almost like one final weblet shindig. TV screens played old WB promo clips ("The Night is Young") and one-time Frog execs like distribution head Ken Werner (now at Warner Bros. TV Distribution) and marketing guru Lew Goldstein (now at Lifetime) reminisced about the old days. There's still some lingering regret out there that the WB wasn't able to live on -- perhaps as a cable network, or as the ultimate victor in the baby network wars. But it wasn't meant to be... and with the recent announcement that Kids'WB! would shut down at the end of this season, the brand has now been relegated to the history books... like "Season Finale."